A United Kingdom (2016)
Genre: Drama
Certification: 12A
Duration: 111 minutes
Directed by: Amma Asante
Starring: David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike, Jack Davenport, Tom Felton, Laura Carmichael, Jessica Oyelowo
KRS Releasing Ltd

The British romantic drama is based on a true story, that of the Prince of Bechuanaland (now Botswana) who falls in love with a  British woman in the late 1940s.

The screenplay is based on a book about their romance called Colour Bar by Susan Williams.

The plot kicks off in 1948 when Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo) meets London office worker Ruth Williams  (Rosamund Pike). They  seem like a perfect match but their interracial relationship and their proposed marriage is not approved by either of their families, nor by the British and South African governments.

The latter had recently introduced the policy of apartheid and finds the notion of a biracial couple ruling a neighbouring country intolerable. South Africa threatens the British: either thwart the couple or be denied access to South African uranium and gold and face the risk of South Africa invading Botswana.

So the couple must defy family, apartheid and the British empire to return from an imposed exile to  their African kingdom and assume power after independence.

The film, directed by British female director Amma Asante, has received generally positive reviews. Mark Kermode of The Guardian wrote: “This true-life romance between an English office clerk and the future king of Botswana is a beautifully shot, crowd-pleasing gem.”

Peter Debruge of Variety did not agree 100 per cent. He said that the film “treats their love story like a Disney princess movie, reducing the drama to a series of polite disagreements between the couple and the cardboard officiates who opposed their union.”

Helen O’Hara of The Empire commented that despite some flaws, including the fact that “its plea for tolerance isn’t subtle”, the “story still deserves to be told”.

The film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was screened at the London BFI Film Festival, has so far garnered $756,367 since its release in the UK on November 25. It will only open in the US next February.

Ratings
IMDB: 6.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
Empire: 4 stars

Sully (2016)
Genre: Biopic
Certification: 12A
Duration: 96 minutes
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Valerie Mahaffrey, Mike O’Malley, Jamey Sheridan, Laura Linney
KRS Releasing Ltd

The biographical drama, directed by Clint Eastwood, is based on the autobiography Highest Duty by pilots Chesley Sullenberger and Jeffrey Zaslow.

Tom Hanks (left) and Aaron Eckhart (right) prevent a human catastrophe in Sully.

Tom Hanks landed the role of Captain Sullenberger, who tried to make an emergency landing in New York’s Hudson River on January 15, 2009, after a US Airways Flight 1549 struck a flock of geese.

Aaron Eckhart plays Zaslow, who was the first officer on the doomed flight.

All of the 155 passengers and crew miraculously survived the harrowing ordeal, and Sullenberger became a national hero in the eyes of the public and the media.

But despite the accolades, the pilot faced an investigation that threatened to destroy his career and reputation.

The film, its director and the main protagonist were showered with praise.

The Wall Street Journal review reads: “An impressive achievement, a portrait of a good man whose heroism lay in having the right stuff and knowing how to use it during a small eternity of looming chaos and unprecedented peril.”

Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote: “Clint Eastwood is very good at his job, a talent that gives the movie its tension along with an autobiographical sheen.”

While Sandie Angulo Chen of Common Sense Media said: “Hanks delivers a winning performance as in Eastwood's thoughtful tribute to Sully's courage and humble heroism.”

Others praised the special effects, especially the landing in the Hudson River. Apparently, Eastwood experienced a crash landing in water first-hand when he was young.

The film, produced on a $60 million budget, grossed $189 million worldwide since its release in the US in September.

Ratings
IMDB: 7.7
Rotten Tomatoes: 84%
Empire: 3 stars

Apparition Hill (2016)
Genre: Documentary
Certification: N/A
Duration: 115 minutes
Directed by: Sean Bloomfield
Eden Leisure Group

The small town of Medjugorje is believed to be a place of miracles in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where six Croatian children claim to have witnessed apparitions of the Virgin Mary in 1981.

A team of strangers investigates the truth behind the Medjugorje visions in Apparition Hill.

Three of the six visionaries continue to report daily apparitions of Mary to the present day, 35 years later, and millions of people journey to the Slavic village every year to see for themselves.

In this documentary,  seven strangers try to investigate the truth. These are a young mother with stage 4 cancer, an atheist from England, a man suffering from ALS, a heroin addict and a former felon, an atheist police officer, a father of nine who lost his wife to cancer and a woman questioning her faith.

Will their climb up Apparition Hill lead to a modern-day miracle or a spectacular hoax?

The documentary has been described as “poignant, beautiful and heart-breaking”, while others found it less interesting.

Michael Rechtshaffen of The Los Angeles Times commented that Apparition Hill is “a compelling but unnecessarily long-winded sociological study”.

The documentary is showing at the Eden Cinemas until December 8.

Ratings
IMDB: 9.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
Empire: N/A