Kajillionaire, Siberia and Never Gonna Snow Again – Quick Read Reviews

With so many movies on offer at the London Film Festival, it is often difficult to plough through all the full-length reviews. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered, as our popular Quick Read brings you a range of festival favourites without the long review. Instead, these quick picks offer a summary of our thoughts alongside our star rating. Our first Quick Read at LFF features Kajillionaire, Siberia and Never Gonna Snow Again.

Kajillionaire (2020)

Kajillionaire is showing in cinema’s nationwide now

There is an ethereal quality to Miranda July’s deadpan tale of dysfunctional family life. The narrative surrounded by bubbling surrealist charm. Within a film that is one part crime caper, and one part psychosocial comedy. With love, belonging, and identity sitting at the core of a story that slowly wraps its audience in a quirky, tender and loving journey of acceptance.

Director: Miranda July

Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Gina Rodriguez, Debra Winger, Richard Jenkins

Genre: Comedy

Siberia (2020)

Visually stunning, Abel Ferrara’s journey into existential angst never quite finds its footing, despite Defoe in the saddle. The resulting film feeling more like a grand artistic experiment than an accessible movie. The descent into a dreamlike void between reality and fiction not only losing the viewer but purposefully alienating them. Of course, some will find Siberia to be a work of art, but for me, it was a desolate, cold, and a rather lonely place to spend 92 minutes.

Director: Abel Ferrara

Cast: Willem Dafoe, Dounia Sichov, Simon McBurney

Genre: Mystery/Drama

Never Gonna Snow Again

Sitting somewhere between comic book fantasy and social satire, Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert’s film is both beautiful and at times frustrating. The beauty seated within a stunning dissection of middle-class life, as seen through the eyes of a rather gifted Ukrainian Masseur. His visits from one house to the next, joyously dissecting the hidden truths that sit behind the doors of suburbia. Our masseur played beautifully by Alec Utgoff, who floats through the streets and houses with a calm yet bold demeanour. But, while full of wonder, originality, satire and stunning performances, there are elements of the screenplay that suffer from a lack of space to breathe. The result of which leaves the viewer left dangling in a slightly frustrating finale.

Director: Malgorzata Szumowska, Michal Englert

Cast:  Alec Utgoff, Maja Ostaszewska, Agata Kulesza, Weronika Rosati, Katarzyna Figura

Genre Fantasy/Comedy

Check out more from this years BFI London Film Festival here