Michael Holland

Has it come to this? Modern cinema, what is going on here? Anora is a systematically awful film: thuddingly predictable, and where is the charm, the awakening of attraction, the sensual games, the wondering? Sex is not eroticism - where is the tension. The human connection? The romance, the wit... anything? Sex, yes, from the beginning, cocaine, yes, the self-indulgent high life, and the narcissism. The main characters' lack of care for anyone else who is not partying is absolute. The sustained foul-mouthed screaming match in the middle of this mess... what is it's purpose? The characters are paper thin, and self-serving. Why should we care about them? Do they have any personal qualities or virtues? What are their dreams, ambitions, desires... beyond their immediate satisfaction. This is influencer porn - turn a trick, give a like, buy what I have to sell. Transactional stuff. A 'romantic comedy'? How so? Very sad. Very, very sad.

Obviously much could be written about the film Tar. I want to pick up one point - the supposed emotional detachment of the film. And that this is somehow a failing. The film addresses, brilliantly, a complex psychopathology in which Lydia Tar's emotional detachment is key. The film in my mind is a masterpiece because it begins with this as a starting point and proceeds to give the lived detail of Tar's life to show people are not just their governing symptoms (and this is where we as viewers but also as human beings should start paying attention). And Tar does show 'non-transactional' behaviour, more obviously with her daughter. Much of the film brings the viewer in to face Tar's experiences as she did, and here we can find ourselves also anxious, frustrated and confused as we try to make sense of those experiences ourselves. And if honest I imagine we would probably not know what to do or how to act in those situations, or what our emotional responses would be. Tar's apparent cruelty and unsympathetic behaviour are what we are all capable of, but usually we are less aware of these failings when we are actually being cruel and unsympathetic. This film is not a feel-good film. Don't go wanting bang for your emotional buck. If the film 'works' you will leave it feeling disturbed and uneasy, possibly exhausted, and see things you've taken for granted differently. It's the way Tar achieves this effect that makes it a profound work of art. Tar offers an extraordinary insight into understanding ourselves in relation to others.

Love Jane Campion, but there's Emperor's new clothes about this one. And curate's egg - some parts are good. Watch The Piano, and then watch Power. I was struck by the shallow, unrounded nature of the characters in Power. As to Dunst, for goodness sake watch Melancholia to see what she can do. Great talent not quite getting it together. The need for transforming stories is so great now, and so is our desire to applaud them.

I love this film and have played it a dozen times over the years. It still fills me with the same wonder. And what's the value of that in days like these? The script is so psychologically quick and cuts so finely you're hardly aware it's a film at all. All aspects are sublime. Don't read about it. Watch it and then warm up knowing there's hope for us all.

Unbelievably beautiful! If that doesn't make you think life is worth living, nothing will.

Such a surprise. It never lets up and develops in the ways so many other series simply don't.