Sombre documentary shot over five years follows two healthcare workers as they deliver babies in a brutally divided societySnow Hnin Ei Hlaing’s documentary is about two midwives – one Buddhist, one Muslim – in Rakhine state in western Myanmar, on the …
Invisible Demons review – pollution nightmare in Delhi means apocalypse now
A despairing handwring of a film shows the effects of environmental crisis on India’s capital – with images as nightmarish as sci-fiEnvironmental doom is coming: as the planet heats up, it’s all going to get much worse. Nothing new there – but, terrify…
Return to Dust, Chinese hit film about rural hardships, disappears from streaming platforms
Film’s sudden disappearance in China prompts censorship accusations amid heightened sensitivity ahead of key Communist party meetingChina’s party Congress explained in 30 secondsA popular Chinese film depicting a love story amid the hardships of life i…
My Sunny Maad review – culture shock animation for woman’s Afghan love
Despite its visual appeal, the characters in Czech animator Michaela Pavlátová’s clash-of-values family drama struggle to get past sorrowful stereotypesPost-Taliban Kabul is seen through the eyes of a Czech bride in this new film from acclaimed animati…
Less Bollywood, more Tollywood: how Indian cinema’s hit machine flopped
Big releases with usually bankable male stars criticised for formulaic storylines as audience taste evolvesThe opening of a new big-name Bollywood film was once a national event across India, greeted by weeks of fanfare, long queues outside cinemas and…
Chup: Revenge of the Artist review – a killer Bollywood horror to frighten film critics
A thriller that skewers the tense film-maker/reviewer relationship in this tale of a Mumbai serial killer out for revenge on careless journalists Director R Balki must have got a kick out of writing this very enjoyable poison-pen letter to film critici…
Post your questions for Freida Pinto
The actor will answer questions on Thursday on anything from her new film Mr Malcolm’s List to her career in movies such as Slumdog MillionaireMumbai-born actor Freida Pinto found fame after being cast in 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire: she had been worki…
My Childhood, My Country: 20 Years in Afghanistan review – desperately sad study of a boy’s life
Phil Grabsky and Shoaib Sharifi have followed Mir for two decades in what is almost a brutal companion piece to Richard Linklater’s BoyhoodThis documentary following one boy’s life in Afghanistan feels like a brutal, desperately sad companion piece to …
Thai court orders repair of The Beach location 22 years after filming
Ruling on Maya Bay, on Ko Phi Phi Leh, comes decades after local authorities filed lawsuit over environmental harmMore than two decades after the Hollywood film The Beach was shot at Thailand’s glittering Maya Bay, the kingdom’s supreme court has order…
Brahmastra Part One: Shiva review – peppy superhero franchise starter
Bollywood’s answer to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a star-studded special effects extravaganza with Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt as convincing romantic leadsAmid a woeful 2022 so far, this almost feels like Hindi mainstream cinema’s last roll of th…
K-everything: the rise and rise of Korean culture
From music to movies, technology to food, the world has fallen in love with everything South Korean. Ahead of a big London exhibition, Tim Adams visits Seoul in search of the origins of hallyu – the Korean waveOur critics on where to start with Korean …
Chinese censors alter ending of Minions: The Rise of Gru film
Viewers mock addendum explaining Gru’s family values and arrest of thief Wild KnucklesCensors in China have changed the ending of the animated film Minions: The Rise of Gru for its domestic release, according to viewers in the country, in yet another e…
‘Nobody gave us a hope in hell’: 83, the feelgood film about India’s underdog cricket team
Director Kabir Khan shares his memories of India’s surprise World Cup win, and imbuing his unconventional biopic with generational weightOn Sunday night, one film did a clean sweep of the awards at this year’s Indian film festival of Melbourne: 83, an …
Raksha Bandhan review – women get a bad deal from dowry melodrama
Akshay Kumar is the noble-souled hero charged with marrying off his four sisters, while they are left mostly as figures of funIndian film-maker Aanand L Rai gives his very mediocre melodrama a campaigning message about the culture of dowry-paying, thou…
Laal Singh Chaddha review – a ‘Hindi Forrest Gump’, no more, no less
Director Advait Chandan is too literal in his adaptation of the 90s classic but finds a warmth and political honesty the original lacksBollywood megastar Aamir Khan’s “Hanks-ish likability” is tested to the limit by his new project with his Secret Sup…