Midnight Traveler review – refugees’ gripping escape from Afghanistan

Filmed entirely on smartphones, Hassan Fazili’s powerful documentary charts his family’s perilous, gruelling trek to sanctuary in Europe

Emma Thompson plays a Croatian mother in Last Christmas. Would my own Croatian mother approve?

The film has been panned, and I was worried by the geopolitical faux pas in the opening scenes. But Thompson’s performance was thrillingly familiar

Honey Boy review – the Shia LaBeouf renaissance begins here

LaBeouf writes and co-stars in this heartfelt, well-performed film based on his own personal history as a troubled young actor and addict

So Long, My Son review – exquisite, agonising Chinese family saga

The epic story of two married couples enduring personal tragedy and state-imposed suffering is an almost unbearably poignant, profound masterpiece

Heimat Is a Space in Time review – epic journey into Germany’s dark past

Thomas Heise’s four-hour documentary draws on the journals of his own family to construct a powerful, agonising history

‘I must have watched it 50 times’: a Frozen dad prepares for the sequel

It’s the glue in many father-daughter relationships, with its earworm anthem and empowered princesses. Can the most successful animated film of all time do it again?

Jacob Rees-Mogg: my early career as an avant garde film star

Long before he reclined for the cameras in Parliament, the Tory MP had a career as an actor – in experimental films made by his socialist aunt. He recalls his days of blazers and butterfly-chasing

Simone Lia on scary films for babies

Coming soon to a small child near you…

It’s through our stories that trauma can be transformed into spirit-soaring beauty

Memories are shaped by how we feel, not how we act. Through suffering we can uncover the best versions of ourselves

Tell Me Who I Am review – amnesia documentary is like a psychological thriller

An amnesiac man and his twin brother come to terms with their troubled childhood in this involving but upsetting film

One Child Nation review – China’s monstrous plan to shape the future

This powerful and upsetting documentary examines the legacy of a brutal policy that limited couples to a single baby

Normal review – lawyers in bikinis to dogma in the doll’s house

Adele Tulli’s elegantly deadpan documentary challenges the sexual stereotypes that prevail across the generations

Is The Farewell the olive branch the US-China culture war needs?

A film depicting a young Chinese-American woman’s experience highlights differences between the two countries – but may also signal hope for the future

‘Dad described the plot of Psycho at the dinner table’: how my parents taught me to love film

The Guardian film critic on how his mother and father shaped his relationship with cinema

For Sama review – searing story of a Syrian warzone baby

A student documenting the siege of Aleppo kept filming when she became pregnant. The result is a profoundly moving study of horror and hope