Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month
The Eternal Daughter
Joanna Hogg's enthralling ghost story, featuring an astonishing performance by her regular collaborator Tilda Swinton.
Director: Joanna Hogg
Overview
Shot in secret during lockdown, the details of this project were kept under wraps. To share too much would spoil some of the pleasure in decoding its riddles. Suffice to say The Eternal Daughter centres on a middle-aged filmmaker (Swinton) and her mother who spend a few nights in an old country hotel, a location that holds meaning for them both. It’s an intricately layered piece about motherhood, memory and loss, dressed up as a gothic chiller.
Swirling mist, looming shadows, a ghostly presence half-glanced in a window… embracing some of the heightened stylistic flourishes seen in The Souvenir Part II, The Eternal Daughter takes Hogg into exciting new territory, while retaining her distinctive naturalistic signature. The film exists entirely as its own deeply enthralling and moving drama, but fans of the filmmaker’s recent work will also find it a puzzle-box of meta-textual delights.
Related
Downfall Downfall
Historical drama 2004 155 mins Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Bruno Ganz is extraordinary as Adolf Hitler, living out his final days during the fall of Berlin in Oliver Hirschbiegel's acclaimed drama.
Palindromes Palindromes
Comedy 2004 100 mins Director: Todd Solondz
Todd Solondz’s casting of eight different actors of varying ages, genders and races to play the lead role of Aviva, makes for a truly original film.
Distant Journey Distant Journey
Drama 1949 98 mins Director: Alfréd Radok
Blending documentary and fiction, Alfréd Radok's remarkable film chronicling the Terezin ghetto was one of the first films to address the Holocaust.
Dreamers Dreamers
Drama 2025 79 mins Director: Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor
Two Nigerian migrants dare to imagine a vibrant future outside of their confinement at a British immigration removal centre.
Amélie Amélie
Drama 2001 117 mins Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Audrey Tautou plays the shy waitress whose altruism leads to love, in Jean-Pierre Jeunet's BAFTA-winning hit romance.
Viridiana Viridiana
Drama 1961 91 mins Director: Luis Buñuel
Banned in Spain, condemned by the Vatican and celebrated at Cannes, Buñuel’s satire about an aspiring nun takes a stinging crack at society.
Rare Beasts Rare Beasts
Drama 2021 92 mins Director: Billie Piper
Billie Piper stars in her own directorial debut, a no-holds-barred, Fleabag-esque anti-romcom about a modern woman’s struggles in work and love.
Naked Naked
Drama 1993 131 mins Director: Mike Leigh
David Thewlis stuns as the motormouth predator of Mike Leigh's divisive masterpiece.
SCALA!!! SCALA!!!
Documentary 2023 96 mins Director: Jane Giles and Ali Catterall
Engrossing tribute to London’s legendary Scala cinema, aptly subtitled.
Silver Haze Silver Haze
Drama 2023 103 mins Director: Sacha Polak
Sacha Polak and Vicky Knight reunite for this daring drama about love, family and forgiveness, loosely inspired by Knight’s life.
Sky Peals Sky Peals
Science Fiction 2023 91 mins Director: Moin Hussain
A coming-of-age tale about a father-son relationship that might just be out of this world.
Starve Acre Starve Acre
Horror 2023 98 mins Director: Dan Kokotajlo
Sinister forces invade a couple’s home in this wildly eerie British folk horror, with unflinching performances from Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark.
I Am Love I Am Love
Drama 2009 114 mins Director: Luca Guadagnino
Tilda Swinton and Luca Guadagnino’s sumptuous, operatic vision of an aristocratic family disrupted by unstoppable forces of passion.
The Souvenir The Souvenir
Drama 2018 120 mins Director: Joanna Hogg
Sight and Sound's 2019 film of the year is the compelling, semi-autobiographical drama from acclaimed writer-director Joanna Hogg.
Last and First Men Last and First Men
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2020 70 mins Director: Jóhann Jóhannsson
Tilda Swinton narrates this visually stunning lament for humanity by acclaimed composer Jóhann Jóhannsson (Sicario, Arrival).
Wittgenstein Wittgenstein
Biopic 1993 72 mins Director: Derek Jarman
Wittgenstein is a bold, offbeat biography, exploring the politics and sexuality of the great, troubled philosopher.
Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon
Biopic 1998 87 mins Director: John Maybury
Derek Jacobi and Daniel Craig star as artist Francis Bacon and his muse George Dyer in John Maybury’s darkly exquisite biopic.
Caravaggio Caravaggio
Biopic 1986 93 mins Director: Derek Jarman
Derek Jarman’s unique biopic of the 17th century Italian artist Michelangelo da Caravaggio is a powerful meditation on sexuality, criminality and art.
The Souvenir The Souvenir
Drama 2018 120 mins Director: Joanna Hogg
Sight and Sound's 2019 film of the year is the compelling, semi-autobiographical drama from acclaimed writer-director Joanna Hogg.
Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros
Documentary 2023 240 mins Director: Frederick Wiseman
Frederick Wiseman’s gastronomic dream of a film captures daily life in one of the world’s most prestigious restaurants.
Titicut Follies Titicut Follies
Documentary 1967 84 mins Director: Frederick Wiseman
Frederick Wiseman’s unflinching debut shows life inside an institution for the criminally insane, voted one of the greatest documentaries of all time.
Multi-Handicapped Multi-Handicapped
Documentary 1987 126 mins Director: Frederick Wiseman
A compassionate portrait of students at the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, directed by Frederick Wiseman.
Ex Libris: The New York Public Library Ex Libris: The New York Public Library
Documentary 2017 206 mins Director: Frederick Wiseman
An immersive journey into the New York Public Library with great documentarian Frederick Wiseman.
Welfare Welfare
Documentary 1975 167 mins Director: Frederick Wiseman
Frederick Wiseman’s remarkable glimpse into the Kafkaesque nature of New York’s welfare system.
Central Park Central Park
Documentary 1990 177 mins Director: Frederick Wiseman
A fascinating portrait of the comings and goings, and the people involved in maintaining Manhattan’s iconic green space.