Film Reviews by Peter B

This is such a beautiful film about a remote village in Bhutan. It mirrors my experience spending time in distant parts of Nepal. People battered by life events but calmly philosophical about life, full of kindness and fun. Children with little, who seem so much happier than those in rich countries. Beautiful story, fantastic acting and brilliant photography. Watch it. Better still, visit the Himalayas and trek or raft into wilderness, and experience the beauty yourself.

I really enjoyed this film. Gave an interesting fictional account of Emily Bronte's short life before she died of tuberculosis like two of her sister's before her.Little is known of Emily as she wrote few letters. She was known to be shy, passionate in her love of animals and nature. Her only novel, Wuthering Heights, is seen these days as a work of genius. Great photography and brilliant acting, particularly Emma Mackey as Emily...a spell-binding performance.

Beautifully filmed and acted. Catherine Clinch is brilliantly subtle and authentic as a shy and troubled child of a poor Irish family in County Waterford in the 1980's. Deliverance and a slow awakening to happiness comes when she is sent to her mother's cousin for the summer holidays. Great photography and an authentic feel to the story.

Fabulous photography and amazing that this era is only 100 years or so ago. Account of how French women ran their farms when their menfolk went to war.

Though I should do, I don't remember anything about this story at the time. A great film about a brave young woman at GCHQ whistle-blowing on Bush and Blair itching to unleash war on Iraq.

A philosophical and artistic interpretation of the history of Chile, starting with a detailed analysis of indigenous peoples of Patagonia and moving on to the crimes against humanity during the Pinochet military dictatorship backed by the USA and CIA. Great photography and interesting interviews with the few remaining indigenous survivors. I recently read This Thing of Darkness, which is about Captain Fitzroy's command of the Beagle with young Charles Darwin on board. Having been lucky enough to visit Patagonia en route to Antarctica, I admire the indigenous people who managed to live in this wild and desolate landscape for thousands of years. The Pinochet years still cast a long shadow over the soul of Chile.

A beautiful film with such authentic young actors. The pain of bereavement in childhood and the angry behaviour that can make life so difficult for those trying to help. There is no sugar-coating here, just life proving difficult for the aunt and uncle trying their best to help. `The young couple show such patience, sense and compassion. Heart-breaking, but ultimately very real to life. Reminded me of the early years with my 7-year-old step-daughter, now aged 51 and living down the road from us with husband and our two lovely granddaughters. Patience and playing the long game are key.

I knew very little about Ukrainian history and nothing about what happened in WW2 in that country. During the Second World War, Ukraine lost more people than the combined losses of Great Britain, Canada, Poland, the USA and France. The total Ukrainian losses during the war is an estimated 8-10 million lives. The number of Ukrainian victims can be compared to the modern population of Austria.

The film pulls no punches and is graphic in its portrayal of barbaric murdering by all sides during the Nazi invasion, particularly of Jews, but progresses on to ethnic cleansing of Polish Ukrainians by Nationalist Ukranians as the Nazis withdraw after losing to Russia. It also puts into perspective how little claim Russia has to recently taking Crimea, which was only occupied when Russia drove the Nazis out of Eastern Europe. Like Poland, this is a country with an horrific history and a deep longing for independence as a sovereign nation. Michalina Labacz is absolutely brilliant as the central character brutalized by these horrendous events. The ending is an enigma to me. What a sorry species homo sapiens can be.

Brilliant, brutal film about racial hatred.

Time when, in UK, one in three people had TB and many young people died of it. More tragic when people, like Chopin and Keats, were so talented. Staggeringly, in the rest of the world 1 in 3 people are still infected with it, mainly in poor countries. The WHO is trying to eradicate it world-wide. Good acting, sad little tale but close to known facts.

Good series and worth watching to stimulate interest in the period and by far the most worthy of Henry's wives. Unfortunately if you like your period drama accurate then this series may irritate. Philippa Gregory takes great liberties with historical accuracy. It is well acted though, particularly Catherine of Aragon. Pleasing few hours of entertainment.

A small decent guy gets bullied by a local criminal. Unrelenting gloom. A depressing view of humanity.

Most of the actors in this movie are children and they do an impressive job. Could probably have benefitted from being 20 minutes shorter.

Very atmospheric french film with great actresses and beautiful cinematography. Memorable film, think arthouse. Great attention to detail with interesting costumes and stunning locations. Not one for those who like plenty of action in their films, this is a slow-burn love affair between the two main characters.

Always slightly worrying when you have loved a book and then watch a film of it. No worries here, the sense of history, the superb child actors and the atmosphere of traditional life in Italy is absolutely fantastic. It also reminded me of days of my youth, playing outside with friends for days on end. Teachers either tyrannical or inspiring. Strict childhoods. Education as a genuine privilege to be grasped at any cost. The reality of poverty in households before birth control became widespread. One of the best series I've ever watched.

Well made film showing what a bizarre period in history this was. Napoleon narrowly missed victory, obviously not at his best, what with having stomach cancer etc. The weather was not on his side either. Communications were so difficult and erratic that a large band of french soldiers wandered around missing all the important action. Knowing absolutely nothing about this period of history, I found it very interesting.