Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £4.99 a month
The Painted Bird
Based on Jerzy Kosiński’s 1965 novel and a long time in the making, Václav Marhoul’s extraordinary The Painted Bird finds a lone Jewish boy on a dark odyssey towards home during wartime.
Drama 2019 169 mins
Director: Vaclav Marhoul
Overview
A boy (Petr Kotlár) is sent to his aunt to protect him from the Nazis; when she dies unexpectedly, he’s propelled on a bleak journey across Central Europe – from one brutal encounter to the next. Shot in starkly beautiful 35mm black and white by Kolya cinematographer Vladimír Smutný, The Painted Bird’s textures recall both the crispness of The Bicycle Thief and squalor of Aleksei German’s Hard to be a God. Featuring several standout cameos (Harvey Keitel, Stellan Skarsgård, Udo Kier), Marhoul’s darkly magnificent Venice Film Festival competitor is sumptuously crafted, though rarely an easy watch, with scenes some will find distressing. A terrifying and highly relevant exploration of what humanity looks like when there is only vicious survival, with little space for compassion.
strong violence, sexual violence, disturbing scenesRelated
Drama
Embrace of the Serpent Embrace of the Serpent
Action and Adventure 2015 124 mins Director: Ciro Guerra
The spirit of Werner Herzog and Apocalypse Now imbue this majestic Oscar-nominated odyssey through the heart of the Amazon.
Betty Blue Betty Blue
Drama 1986 185 mins Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix
Jean-Jacques Beineix’s story of a volatile, highly sexual relationship was one of the most successful French films of the 1980s.
Beyond the Horizon Beyond the Horizon
Drama 2019 88 mins Director: Delphine Lehericey
Under the relentless summer sun, Gus’s childhood is coming to an end as the long-awaited thunderstorms sweep across the exhausted countryside, taking a whole world with them in Delphine Lehericey sizzling rural coming-of-age drama.
Honey Cigar Honey Cigar
Drama 2020 99 mins Director: Kamir Aïnouz
Selma, 17, grows up in a bourgeois and secular Berber family. After meeting Julien, the dashing young man she's attracted to, she realises for the first time how restrictive the rules of her patriarchal family are.
Nadia, Butterfly Nadia, Butterfly
Sport 2020 107 mins Director: Pascal Plante
At 23, Nadia decides to retire from professional swimming and a life of sacrifice. After one final race the hidden excesses of the Olympic Village offer Nadia her first breath of freedom.
All Hands on Deck! All Hands on Deck!
Comedy 2021 96 mins Director: Guillaume Brac
A group of young adults, from different cultures and social backgrounds, meet during a shared summer in the southeast of France and embark on a on romantic adventure together.
BFI London Film Festival
Dreams of a Life Dreams of a Life
Documentary 2011 91 mins Director: Carol Morley
The power of kinship is explored in Carol Morley’s drama-documentary, drawn from real life and resonant with the way we live now.
Talking about Trees Talking about Trees
Documentary 2019 94 mins Director: Suhaib Gasmelbari
Beautifully shot documentary about four members of the 'Sudanese Film Club' who decide to revive an old cinema.
After Love After Love
Drama 2020 90 mins Director: Aleem Khan
In this knockout feature debut from filmmaker Aleem Khan, Joanna Scanlan is superb as a woman left reeling upon discovering her late husband’s secrets. Winner of six BIFAs.
Stray Stray
Documentary 2020 72 mins Director: Elizabeth Lo
A soulful new voice emerges in Elizabeth Lo’s evocative award-winning debut documentary, which details life on the streets of Istanbul from the perspective of the city’s stray dogs.
Siberia Siberia
Drama 2020 91 mins Director: Abel Ferrara
Abel Ferrara returns with an extraordinarily vivid, visually dazzling and characteristically strange rumination on sex, dreams and death.
The Prey The Prey
Action and Adventure 2018 93 mins Director: Jimmy Henderson
An innocent man sentenced to rot in a Cambodian jail is released for the sadistic pleasure of twisted trophy hunters and forced to fight – or die.
Featuring Udo Kier
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne
Horror 1981 91 mins Director: Walerian Borowczyk
Udo Kier stars in Walerian Borowczyk's delirious erotic fever dream, which re-imagines Robert Louis Stephenson's moral tale as a deranged domestic sex farce.
Suspiria Suspiria
Horror 1977 101 mins Director: Dario Argento
Dario Argento’s phantasmagoric gothic nightmare blends operatic violence, disorienting dream logic and hyper-real visuals to create a horror classic.
New
Embrace of the Serpent Embrace of the Serpent
Action and Adventure 2015 124 mins Director: Ciro Guerra
The spirit of Werner Herzog and Apocalypse Now imbue this majestic Oscar-nominated odyssey through the heart of the Amazon.
Betty Blue Betty Blue
Drama 1986 185 mins Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix
Jean-Jacques Beineix’s story of a volatile, highly sexual relationship was one of the most successful French films of the 1980s.
The Epic of Everest The Epic of Everest
Non-Fiction 1924 87 mins Director: J.B.L. Noel
Premiere. A breathtaking and poignant account of the valiant 1924 British assault on the awe-inspiring peak, beautifully restored by the BFI.
Beyond the Horizon Beyond the Horizon
Drama 2019 88 mins Director: Delphine Lehericey
Under the relentless summer sun, Gus’s childhood is coming to an end as the long-awaited thunderstorms sweep across the exhausted countryside, taking a whole world with them in Delphine Lehericey sizzling rural coming-of-age drama.
The Monopoly of Violence The Monopoly of Violence
Documentary 2020 89 mins Director: David Dufresne
As anger and resentment grows in the face of social inequalities during the Yellow Vests movement in France, many citizen-led protests are being repressed with ever-increasing police violence.
Gallant Indies Gallant Indies
Documentary 2020 109 mins Director: Philippe Béziat
By bringing together urban dance and opera singing, 30 hip-hop, krump, break, voguing dancers reinvent Jean-Philippe Rameau's baroque masterpiece, Les Indes Galantes.