British Film Institute (United Kingdom): 11

Ammonite (2020), a romantic drama film written and directed by Francis Lee, loosely follows the life of British palaeontologist Mary Anning, portrayed by Kate Winslet. In the 1840s, Mary and her ailing mother Molly run a small shop in Lyme Regis, Dorset. Every morning, she heads to the beach at low tide to search for fossils for the shop – with ammonites being her most common discovery. Upon returning, she assists her mother in cleaning and polishing eight animal figurines. One day, geologist Roderick Murchison visits their shop with his wife Charlotte and expresses ...

Breathe (2017) is a biographical drama film, marking Andy Serkis’ first time directing. The screenplay was written by William Nicholson. In 1958, Robin Cavendish falls ill with polio at the age of 28 while in Kenya. Shortly after marrying his wife Diana, he becomes paralyzed from the neck down and relies on a respirator to breathe. The doctors give him just three months to live and he is flown back to Britain. Initially, Robin is despondent and refuses to see his wife or newborn son, Jonathan. He even expresses a desire to be taken off life support. Through ...

God’s Own Country (2017) is a British romantic drama film by Francis Lee, marking his first feature as director. Set in the springtime of Yorkshire, this heartfelt story follows Johnny Saxby, an isolated sheep farmer who drowns out his daily frustrations with alcohol and casual relationships. However, everything changes when a Romanian migrant worker named Gheorghe is hired for the lambing season. The arrival of Gheorghe sparks a passionate relationship that leads Johnny down a new path. Ever since his father Martin suffered a stroke and became physically disabled, Johnny has shouldered the responsibilities of ...

The British black comedy buddy cop film, War on Everyone (2016), was both written and directed by John Michael McDonagh. After being suspended for physically assaulting a coworker who held racist views, corrupt cops Terry Monroe and Bob Bolaño are back on the Albuquerque police force. The duo has a reputation for committing acts of assault, robbery, extortion, bribery, and drug use. While keeping an eye on petty criminals, Monroe and Bolaño come to the conclusion that local criminal Jimmy Harris is planning a heist. In order to obtain more information, they track down one of Harris’ former associates named Reggie ...

Free Fire (2016) is a British black comedy-action film directed by Ben Wheatley, with a screenplay co-written by Wheatley and Amy Jump. On a chilly night in 1978, while en route to meet IRA members Chris and Frank, Stevo confides in Bernie that he was attacked the previous day by the cousin of a woman he had assaulted. When they arrive at a Boston warehouse, Justine acts as their intermediary and they are welcomed inside by Ord, the group’s representative. Vernon and his associates – Martin, Harry, and Gordon ...

Calvary (2014) is an Irish drama film written and directed by John Michael McDonagh. In the film, Father James is confronted with a troubled soul who confesses to him about suffering sexual abuse from a priest in his childhood. Shocked by this revelation, Father James offers sympathy for the man’s pain. However, things take a dark turn when the man reveals his plan to murder Father James as revenge for the indifference towards priestly child abuse. In a twisted logic, the man believes that killing an innocent priest will spark more outrage than punishing a guilty one. He gives Father James one week before carrying ...

Sunshine on Leith (2013) is a romantic musical film, directed by Dexter Fletcher. It begins in Afghanistan, where an APC is on patrol with nervous passengers such as Davy Henshaw and Ally, who fear for their survival (‘Sky Takes the Soul’) before being ambushed. Some time later, the recently discharged pair return to Edinburgh and their families after their tour (‘I’m on my Way’). Ally reunites with his girlfriend Liz, who happens to be Davy’s sister. On their first night back, Liz introduces Davy to her English colleague Yvonne at a pub. The two women share some drunken storytelling, ...

Directed by James Watkins and written by Jane Goldman, The Woman in Black (2012) is a gothic supernatural horror film. It tells the story of lawyer Arthur Kipps, who is sent to the village of Crythin Gifford in 1889 to retrieve documents from the late owner of Eel Marsh House, Alice Drablow. During his visit, three young girls tragically pass away after seemingly being hypnotized by a mysterious presence. In 1906, Arthur’s wife Stella dies after giving birth to their son Joseph, and four years later he makes his journey to Crythin Gifford. Despite being met with ...

Seven Psychopaths (2012) is a film, directed and co-produced by Martin McDonagh. Marty, an alcoholic writer in Los Angeles, is struggling with his new screenplay of the same name. Although he has the title, he lacks the characters to fill it. His best friend Billy, a struggling actor, makes money by kidnapping dogs for rewards. Hans, Billy’s partner-in-crime, is devoted to his religious beliefs and caring for his wife Myra who has cancer. While Billy wants to collaborate with Marty on the screenplay, he feels too embarrassed to ask directly. In hopes of persuading Marty, Billy shows him a newspaper article about ...

Now Is Good (2012), a teen romantic drama film by Ol Parker, is based on the novel Before I Die by Jenny Downham. The story follows Tessa, a 17-year-old battling terminal acute lymphoblastic leukemia. With help from her best friend Zoey, she works through an undisclosed bucket list before her impending death. Tessa’s father joins her on a radio talk show and together they use humor to cope with her diagnosis. Despite feeling guilty for taking attention away from her brother Cal, Tessa shows him love and care and dedicates special days just for him. Her ...

In A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995), a British documentary of 225 minutes in length, Scorsese examines his top picks among American films. They are categorized by four types of directors: storytellers, illusionists like D.W. Griffith and F.W. Murnau who revolutionized the use of editing for sound and color, smugglers such as Douglas Sirk, Samuel Fuller, and Vincente Minnelli who subtly wove controversial messages into their works, and iconoclasts like Charles Chaplin, Erich von Stroheim, Orson Welles, Elia Kazan, Nicholas Ray, Stanley Kubrick, Arthur Penn and Sam Peckinpah who ...