Bheed
In the early days of the Covid 19 outbreak, thousands of people try to return to their villages from Indian cities. The police are ordered to stop them crossing state lines. On one border a small group of officers stop a disparate group from going any further and tensions rise. This is mostly powerful stuff, laying bare government corruption, prejudice and the ignorance that was widespread at the time. There are generally solid performances, especially from Bhumi Pednekar as a doctor, Kritika Kamra as a journalist and Dia Mirza as a rich woman trying to reach her daughter and the crisp black and white cinematography by Soumik Mukherjee suits the subject matter well. But some of the dialogue sounds more like a lecture than a conversation and the ending does not match the tone of the rest of the film.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Caught Out
At a time when sport coverage on TV is saturated with bookmakers’ adverts and stories of players gambling, it is inteteresting to revisit a scandal at what seemed like a more innocent time. Between 1997 and 1999 Indian journalists uncovered spot and match fixing in cricket. It is a well known story for lovers of the sport and this film covers Hansie Cronje’s disgrace before concentrating more on the issues in India and culminating in the alkegations against Mohammad Azharuddin. The journalists who broke many of the stories are allowed to tell us what happened in an entertaining way. In both cases mentioned, and as is shown with footballers flocking to Saudi Arabia, it is clear that most sports stars might love the game but they love money more!
Rating: 7 out of 10

My Sailor, My Love
Howard (James Cosmo), a retired sea captain, refuses any help from his daughter Grace (Catherine Walker). When she hires Annie (Brid Brennan) as domestic help for him, Howard unexpectedly falls in love. This is a delightful small film. The central love story is nicely performed but quite predictable as the warm Annie brings joy to the curmudgeonly Howard. Much more interesting and complex, is the relationship between Howard and Grace, with Walker quite outstanding as the damaged daughter. It also benefits from great cinematography by Robert Nordström, capturing the bleak Irish scenery and gloomy interiors really well, and emotive score by Michelino Bisceglia.
Rating: 8 out of 10

    Also this month:

Where The Tracks End is about a teacher who, against the odds, inspires a group of impoverished Brazilian kids. Uplifting at times but way to sentimental, especially with a particularly cloying soundtrack.

Rich in Love was a pleasant romantic drama, but Rich in Love 2, following the further entanglements of Paula and Teto feels a bit unnecessary. Apart from “just saying” and any variations on “my truth”, there are fewer more annoying modern saying than You Do You. True to form, this film is incredibly irritating thanks largely to the excruciating central character.

A Beautiful Life is a very plodding drama about a fisherman who is also a talented singer and guitarist.

Take Care of Maya is a documentary about the mis diagnosis and mis treatment of a young girl in Florida. It feels very biased and leaves too much unexplored.

King of Clones is an odd documentary about a disgraced Korean scientist in that the entire story is given away in the first few minutes thus making it feel like a waste of time. Even the most formulaic rom coms can work with the right casting, and Make Me Believe is elevated by the pairing Ayça Aysin Turan and Ekin Koç as a couple that you know will end up together.

Whereas, Gabrielle Union is pretty good in The Perfect Find, she has no chemistry with her co star Keith Powers.

Continuing with romantic dramas, the problem with the sequel Through My Window: Across the Sea is the same as in the original film, what on earth does Racquel (Clara Galle) see in Ares (Julio Peña)? But at least it is not as grim as the tedious The Village, that does try to depict the brutality of living in an Indian village but in an unengaging way.

iNumber Number: Jozi Gold is more lively but the poor acting and frenetic direction made it pretty unwatchable. South African thriller Home Wrecker about a lawyer taking over her friend’s life is quite well acted but with its production values, it feels very TV movie like.

Run Rabbit Run is an Aussie horror that tries to be oppressive and atmospheric but is plain boring.

    Ratings out of 10:

Where The Tracks End: 4.5
Rich in Love 2: 4
You Do You: 2
A Beautiful Life: 3.5
Take Care of Maya: 4
King of Clones: 3
Make Me Believe: 5.5
The Perfect Find: 4
Through My Window: Across the Sea: 3.5
The Village: 2.5
iNumber Number: Jozi Gold: 2
Home Wrecker: 3.5
Run Rabbit Run: 4