Jonathan Romney
The Guardian
United Kingdom
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Past articles by Jonathan:
Saint Omer director Alice Diop: ‘I make films from the margins because that’s my territory, my history’
Raised in a Paris banlieue, the documentary-maker is now in the spotlight thanks to her Venice prize-winning first feature, based on the true story of a woman accused of killing her baby → Read More
Alcarràs director Carla Simón: ‘I have feelings for Spanish culture and Catalan culture’
Inspired by her own rural upbringing after her parents both died, the Barcelona‑born film‑maker’s latest movie won the top prize in Berlin for its vivid portrayal of Catalonia’s peach farmers → Read More
Corsage review – Vicky Krieps mesmerises as a rebellious 19th-century royal
The defiance and despair of glamorous Elisabeth of Austria, trapped in a loveless marriage, has a familiar ring in Marie Kreutzer’s stately psychodrama → Read More
Director Luca Guadagnino: ‘I was one of those isolated guys who found solace in horror’
The Call Me By Your Name director on his new film about teenage cannibals falling in love, the view that it’s his most personal work, and why Italy is a very scary farce → Read More
What to watch at LFF: French cinema’s new generation
Newness and tales of youth are baked into our idea of French cinema, and the baton is passed to a new generation in some of this year’s best French films. → Read More
Venice film festival 2022 opening roundup – a promisingly juicy start
Call Me By Your name director Luca Guadagnino serves up some fine young cannibals, Cate Blanchett dazzles in a musical tour de force, and Call My Agent!’s Laure Calamy is full of surprises → Read More
Film-maker Asif Kapadia: ‘I am a fan of social media. At least it gives people a voice’
The award-winning documentarian talks about the films that make him cry, being caught up in the Champions League chaos in Paris – and a ‘mad’ new project → Read More
Berlin film festival 2022 roundup – earnestness, joy, and the best film won
At an unusually quiet, Covid-strict festival, it was a good year for the French, and female directors – and we got to see Jean-Luc Godard do his ironing → Read More
Actor Noémie Merlant: ‘Women have been taught to see ourselves through other people’s desire’
The Portrait of a Lady on Fire star talks about her role in Jacques Audiard’s new dating drama, making a documentary about her own family, and the Hollywood actor who inspires her → Read More
Richard Jenkins: ‘If a serial killer is your son, do you stop loving him?’
The Six Feet Under actor on challenging roles, working with Guillermo del Toro and being recognised at funerals → Read More
Film-maker Prano Bailey-Bond: ‘People think horror is just exploding heads’
The British director’s debut film, Censor, has won awards and plaudits, and attracted new fans to the genre → Read More
All About Me! by Mel Brooks review – constant corpsing
The comedian and film-maker seems oblivious to his best material in an uneven life story in need of a punchline or two → Read More
Film-maker Julia Ducournau: ‘Women kicked serious ass this year’
Only the second woman to win the prestigious Palme d’Or, the French director behind Raw and new film Titane discusses the boom in female-led horror → Read More
French films and new extremities
A lurid, neon Palme d’Or winner revs up the extreme factor in this year’s French selection at the BFI London Film Festival, says programme advisor Jonathan Romney. → Read More
Venice film festival 2021 roundup – a formidably good year on the Lido
Big name directors at their best feature alongside daring visionaries from the farther realms of art cinema – but to whom will Bong Joon-ho’s jury award the Golden Lion? → Read More
The Last Duel review – Affleck, Damon and Driver deliver damp mullets in the fog
An all-star cast and some showstoppingly horrible hair can’t save Ridley Scott’s medieval epic → Read More
Halloween Kills review – indestructible killer returns in efficient follow-up
Forty years on from John Carpenter’s classic slasher film, David Gordon Green’s latest reanimation of the title is functional but enjoyable → Read More
Venice film festival 2021 week one roundup – serious firepower
With big-hitters from Jane Campion, Pedro Almodóvar and Paolo Sorrentino, plus an electrifying return from Paul Schrader, it’s a heck of a starting lineup → Read More
‘I want to make people laugh’: Quentin Dupieux, the fun auteur of French cinema
The cult French director talks about his first UK release – about a man’s obsession with a cowboy jacket → Read More
‘I wasn’t what you’d call sensible’: a walk on the wild side with Call My Agent’s Liliane Rovère
The actor’s remarkable life fed into the character of Arlette in the Netflix hit, from growing up Jewish in occupied France, via Left Bank jazz and a relationship with Chet Baker → Read More