Bruce Weber’s acclaimed 1988 documentary about wild jazz genius Chet Baker is re-released theatrically in the UK in June.
Review by James DC

The idea behind the film was to create a cinematic vehicle for Sun Ra’s mythology, linking the extra-terrestrial theme with the erudite Egyptian alchemy that played such an important role in the musician’s philosophy.
Review by Celluloid Liberation Front

A multi-stranded narrative about the clash of Romanian and American cultures, California Dreamin’ is an affecting feature debut in more ways than one.
Review by James Merchant

Beastliness and clinical horror cohabit in Georges Franju’s wonderful Gothic fairy tale.
Review by Stephen Thomson

Nagisa Oshima’s 1960 The Sun’s Burial is a radically nihilistic portrayal of post-war Japanese youth.
Review by Sarah Cronin

While it might be considered less important or engaging than Nagisa Oshima’s later work, Night and Fog in Japan is a fascinating reflection on the dynamics of political movements in 1950s Japan.
Review by Martin Cleary

Bertrand Tavernier’s transposition of Jim Thompson’s disillusioned chronicle of Southern corruption to the moral quagmire of colonial Africa was an inspired choice.
Review by Paul Huckerby

In April, the Polish film festival Kinoteka paid tribute to the recently deceased Polish master Jerzy Kawalerowicz, screening three of his films, including the acclaimed Mother Joan of Angels, a feverish exploration of sexual repression and religious fanaticism.
Review by Stephen Thomson

The ground-breaking animé series Paranoia Agent first aired on Japanese TV in the spring of 2004 and has recently been re-released in a beautifully packaged thin box-set. Written and directed by Satoshi Kon, the man behind Perfect Blue and Tokyo Godfathers, Paranoia Agent focuses on a seemingly random set of attacks by a mysterious skater armed with a golden baseball bat.
Review by Alex Fitch and Virginie Sélavy