The latest releases reviewed.
FATELESS/SORSTALANSAG
Directed by Lajos Koltai. Starring Marcell Nagy, Aron Dimeny, Andras M Kecskes, Jozsef Gyabronka, Daniel Craig 12 cert
Koltai's factually based Holocaust drama is quietly powerful and visually haunting as it charts the experiences of a 14-year-old Hungarian boy (expressive newcomer Nagy) in three Nazi concentration camps. Michael Dwyer
16 BLOCKS ***
Directed by Richard Donner. Starring Bruce Willis, Mos Def, David Morse 12 cert
Willis's boozy detective has 118 minutes to transport Mos Def, an informant, 16 perilous blocks to the courthouse. Readers who were shocked for the wrong reasons by the lame surprise ending of this otherwise taut, economical thriller will be intrigued by the inclusion of an alternate denouement on the DVD. Donald Clarke
THE WHITE COUNTESS ***
Directed by James Ivory. Starring Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave, Lynn Redgrave PG cert
The 1930s. As the Japanese army approaches Shanghai, Richardson's Russian émigré and Fiennes's blind diplomat find themselves falling in love. The last ever Merchant Ivory film is, like so much of their work, luscious, classy and more than a little dull. The DVD features a tribute to producer Ismail Merchant, who died last year. Donald Clarke
C.R.A.Z.Y. ***
Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée. Starring Marc-André Grondin, Michel Côté, Danielle Proulx, Pierre-Luc Brilliant 16 cert
Decent drama, set in Canada during the late 1960s and early '70s, following Grondin's bright youth as he slowly and painfully comes to terms with his homosexuality. The contemporaneous pop music is used effectively. The attempts to draw biblical parallels with the hero's plight are notably less successful. Donald Clarke
THE DEVIL AND DANIEL JOHNSTON ****
Directed by Jeff Feuerzeig 15 cert
In the wrong hands, a documentary about Daniel Johnston, the mentally troubled singer of weird, naive love songs, could have turned into a dubious freak show. As it happens, this film, though frequently disturbing, treats its subject with great dignity. The DVD is stuffed with excellent extras, among them three of Johnston's eccentric short films. Donald Clarke
DON'T COME KNOCKING **
Directed by Wim Wenders. Starring Sam Shepard, Jessica Lange, Tim Roth, Sarah Polley, Fairuza Balk, Eva Marie Saint 15 cert
Shepard self-consciously plays a movie star discovering offspring he never knew existed and meeting up with a former lover (Lange) in this handsomely photographed but whimsical and irritatingly vague modern western. Michael Dwyer
LEMMING **
Directed by Dominik Moll. Starring Laurent Lucas, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Charlotte Rampling, Andre Dussolier 15 cert
Charting the peculiar experiences of an engineer and his wife when they move to a new town, Moll's film is intriguing and entertaining up to a point. However, despite the best efforts of a strong cast, it loses interest as it veers off on irrational tangents. Michael Dwyer
