ROGUE HEROES
Other movies
THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
The Voice Of Hind Rajab is an emotional and innovative hybrid of documentary and drama that recounts the heart-wrenching story of a six-year-old Palestinian girl killed during the Israel-Gaza war. In January 2024, Hind was trapped for hours in a car after it came under fire, squeezed between the bodies of her aunt, uncle and cousins, leaving her the sole survivor. For hours she remained in contact with Red Crescent volunteers, who navigated a maze of military and governmental approvals in an attempt to reach her. The film transcends traditional cinema, becoming a powerful act of resistance and a vital work of memory. Filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania delivers a haunting testament to the tragic reality of war, resonating with audiences long after the credits roll.
NORMAL
Director: Ben Wheatley
Normal's night of reckoning and west-meets-east thrills and blood-spills is dark, absurdly funny and drenched in its own B movie with A movie viewing sensibility. Back in trenchant Free Fire form, Ben Wheatley directs Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul, the Nobody movies) from a script by Odenkirk and John Wick creator Derek Kolstad. It's mid-winter, and Odenkirk is Ulysses, a laid-back, somewhat oblivious sheriff on a temporary job in a tiny Minnesota town where all is certainly not what it seems — as heavily signalled by an ultra-violent prologue featuring a yakuza standoff in Osaka. Normal is the name of this burg of 1,890 cheerful inhabitants (including cameos from Henry Winkler and Lena Headey), but the film is decidedly anything but.
GIRL
Director: Shu Qi
Superstar Shu Qi, icon of Asian cinema and muse of Hou Hsiao-hsien, makes her directorial debut with this self-penned, deeply personal coming-of-age drama. In a cramped home ruled by abuse, young teenager Lin Xiaoli keeps her head down, caring for her little sister while her father’s drunken rages cascade into her mother’s cruelty. Everything shifts when she befriends Li Lili, a rebellious classmate who skips class, smokes and urges Xiaoli to challenge the family’s toxic status quo. As escape glimmers, Shu Qi films with poised restraint, observing at a remove and tuning the viewer to intimate, everyday textures with a quietly harrowing strength. Tender yet unsentimental, Girl finds fragile beauty amid hurt and announces a formidable new directorial voice.