Irish Film Institute -REVIEW ROUNDUP: DIEGO MARADONA, WE THE ANIMALS, BALLOON

REVIEW ROUNDUP: DIEGO MARADONA, WE THE ANIMALS, BALLOON

New releases at the Irish Film Institute on Friday June 14th are Diego Maradona, We the Animals and Balloon.

Read on for a selection of reviews or pop in to make up your own mind!

DIEGO MARADONA
“A dizzying rush that (appropriately, considering the subject) showcases Kapadia’s most stylish film-making to date”
4/5 – Irish Times

“Asif Kapadia’s evocative documentary uses period footage and thoughtful voiceovers to give us a more balanced picture of the great footballer’s career and life.”
4/5 – Irish Independent

“[I]t’s like a 130-minute Match of the Day title sequence created by Sophocles.”
4/5 – Guardian

“The archival material retains a hypnotic quality, particularly when it comes down to the nuances of Maradona himself.”
IndieWire

“Asif Kapadia’s doc has the football and the drugs – think ‘Scarface’ with screamers – but it’s a surprisingly emotional ride too.”
4/5 – Time Out

“As Signorini says: “Diego has had a life both tremendous and terrible.” Kapadia’s film does justice to both sides.”
4/5 – Times

WE THE ANIMALS
“The joys and fears of childhood are wonderfully evoked in this intense and painterly drama from Jeremiah Zagar.”
4/5 – Irish Independent

“Indie and roughouse, but tender too, We the Animals is a boldly experimental work that approaches true cinematic greatness in its understated exploration of one American family under pressure.”
RTÉ

“Zagar builds a world that is simultaneously deeply authentic and dreamlike – the perfect combination to express a child’s deeply felt but inherently distorted view of the universe he inhabits.”
4/4 – Washington Post

“Working with writer Daniel Kitrosser, Zagar achieves something magical with an adaptation that’s akin to films like Moonlight, Mustang and The Florida Project.”
4/5 – The List

BALLOON
“It is an engrossing mixture of adventure yarn and methodical police procedural that generates moments of pulse-racing tension and captures a sense of a country where paranoia reigns and nobody can be trusted.”
The List

“German critics are divided with some saying it is too near the knuckle in times of political turmoil regarding reunification and immigration – but to this critic (admittedly ignorant about such things), I found it to be incredible tense and watchable.”
4/5 – The Sun

 

 

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