Breathless continues to shock and surprise 50 years on

Jean‑Luc Godard’s masterpiece remains a startling example of the French new wave and marked the arrival of one of cinema’s most influential directors

Fish Story

This captivating Japanese film weaves together separate storylines in different time periods with a quirky touch, says Philip French

The tale of a provincial Romanian girl plucked from obscurity to appear in a TV commercial has charm and promise, says Philip French

Elia Suleiman's movie about life and death in the heat of the Middle East conflict is a cool, controlled minor masterpiece, says Philip French

Philip French admires an unflinching study of homosexual love in ultra-Orthodox Israel

An Israeli film, set entirely inside a tank, about the 1982 incursion into Lebanon, is both visceral and powerful says Philip French

Triomf is a disturbing view of the life and hard times of a dysfunctional family in South Africa, says Philip French

All your worst feelings about Mussolini are confirmed in Marco Bellocchio's highly operatic Vincere, says Philip French

Marco Bellocchio's account of the dismal life of Mussolini's lover fizzles out when Il Duce exits the film, writes Andrew Pulver

A sadistic black comedy about a dysfunctional Afrikaans family is highly questionable, writes Cath Clarke

This award-winning film entirely set inside an Israeli tank during the 1982 war struggles to justify its reputation, writes Andrew Pulver

It's the morning after the official opening of the Cannes film festival, and the competition films have started unspooling. Xan Brooks gets stuck in

Philip French on a film about the Russian emigre Joseph Brodsky, imagining a journey home that he never made

Malian actor renowned for his long association with the director Peter Brook and his work in film