Two films that had small release earlier this year, and can still be seen at some reparatory cinemas, are also now available on Amazon Prime…
Prevenge
Filmed in just 11 days when writer, director and star Alice Lowe was seven months pregnant, Prevenge is an audacious comedy-horror. Lowe is Ruth, a heavily pregnant woman who goes on a murderous rampage, gaining revenge on the people she holds responsible for the death of her husband.
There are a few great sequences in the film – the uneasy meeting with the pet shop owner, going to DJ Dan’s flat and especially Ruth’s Halloween walk through the streets of Cardiff accompanied by Pablo Clements’ and James Griffith’s tremendous, John Carpenter influenced, synth score.
However, the film doesn’t quite hold together as a coherent whole, with the device of her unborn baby talking to her not really working, and despite a short running time, there are moments where the film drags.
Lowe, though, continues to prove that she is talented, being able to present this reasonably enjoyable film on a tiny budget.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Letters From Baghdad
An intriguing documentary that charts the remarkable story of Gertrude Bell, who, against all odds, became one of the most important women in the British empire in the first quarter of the last century. She was an explorer and archaeologist who became a prime mover in the shaping of the middle east following the end of the first world war.
It Cleverly blends archive footage and photos with Tilda Swinton giving voice to Bell in the form of her letters. Other actors play the part of her contemporaries, reading from correspondence and documents written at the time. Whilst TE Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) remains a really well known person, Bell’s role was arguably more important, and she has become a largely forgotten figure, so it is good that the film sheds light on her achievements.
This undoubtedly a well-made film, though some things did rankle a bit, such as adding sound to what is clearly silent archive film, and it does become a bit too maudlin towards the end.
Rating: 7 out of 10