In his breakthrough second feature Taika Waititi does an outstanding job of striking a balance between the weight of nostalgia and the wisdom of hindsight that marks any film about childhood. The savage, scarring plight of African child soldiers-with Idris Elba as their abusive, messianic leader-is captured with vivid strokes and lasting pain in this drama from True Detective (and latest 007 film No Time to Die) director Cary Joji Fukunaga. Whether through fear of love or love of fear, this claustrophobic thriller lodges itself where it can’t be ignored.īeasts of No Nation (2015) Watch on Netflix

One of the great Australian debuts of all time, and an equally great horror film from Jennifer Kent, in which the monster is not only under the bed but also inside Essie Davis’ besieged parent. A young Senegalese couple, Ada (Mama Bineta Sane) and Souleiman (Ibrahima Traore), are torn apart when Souleiman tries to leave for Europe-only to return in a different form. It’s a deeply involving character study and political critique that builds to a mesmerising peak.Īn otherworldly love story for our age of displacement, Mati Diop’s remarkable debut feature is a beguiling mix of social realism and supernatural longing. Wisely focusing on the tumultuous 10 years period between 19-when Muhammad Ali (Will Smith) won the heavyweight title and had it stripped before winning it back, faced imprisonment, and married and divorced twice-Michael Mann’s biopic is rarely troubled by the scale of the subject’s life.

Eu best movies 2017