Summer Of Soul (...Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised), in cinemas 16th July
The joyous chaos of a series of music events staged during 1969’s Harlem Cultural Festival is deftly harnessed into a politically plugged-in, life-affirming concert movie to rival any of the greats. What’s particularly thrilling is the fact that the footage, featuring everyone from Stevie Wonder to Nina Simone, Sly and the Family Stone to Gladys Knight & the Pips, was until recently thought to be lost. It’s a phenomenal directorial debut from Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, whose knowledge of and love for black music is evident in every frame.
I’m Your Man, in cinemas 13th August
Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens is a revelation in this sharp German comedy from Unorthodox director Maria Schrader. Stevens plays a humanoid robot, custom-made to serve the tastes and needs (all of them) of the cynical researcher who has agreed to a two-week trial in the name of science. Immaculately groomed, with ice-blue eyes and a data bank full of cheesy romantic lines, Stevens, performing fluently in German, is terrific. But the film digs beneath the comic premise and finds uncomfortable truths about desire and alienation.
Our Ladies, in cinemas 27th August
Alan Warner’s novel, The Sopranos, is brought to vivid, booze-sodden life by director Michael Caton-Jones and a holy miracle of a cast of largely unknown young actresses playing a Catholic girls’ school choir on the rampage in Edinburgh. There’s something of the mischievous spirit of Derry Girls to this romp of a film, which combines irreverent comic energy and unexpected pathos in a riot of bad behaviour that showcases tightly-knit female friendships.
