The Observer (UK)

This feature is not without laughs, but it is more pensive in tone than its predecessors. There are points at which its drift towards soulfulness comes at the expense of entertainment value.

This is an epic, mythic spectacle that honours its ancient Greek source material, with its monsters and magic, while also addressing more topical themes of exile, war trauma and survivor’s guilt. In a way, the film is a Trojan horse; an extravagant, good-looking adventure that serves as a delivery mechanism for messages about the treatment of strangers, the uneasy weight of legacy and the impossibility of returning from combat as the same person who left.

What the film loses in breadth of storytelling it more than makes up for in ruthless focus. The premise helps Wilde showcase her strengths as a director: her handling of her excellent cast, and her deft navigation of dramatic shifts in mood and emotional temperature.

Soderbergh’s film is rich with such small but perfectly judged flourishes, and it is this depth of character development, together with the crackling chemistry between McKellen and his co-star Michaela Coel, that makes this odd-couple art world tale so charmingly raffish.

While it is not quite in the same league as any of the films that clearly influenced it, The Sheep Detectives is an appealingly offbeat children’s film, showcasing Balda’s knack for visual humour while also sheep-dipping into unexpectedly weighty themes.

It’s a rich depiction of a traditional Yörük community – Turkic tribal people – that feels authentically lived in rather than an ethnographic curio, as well as a fresh coming-of-age film.

This is an underdog tale straining so hard to be endearing that it’s more likely to pull a muscle than tug a heartstring.

DaCosta’s film is a macabre morality tale about the best and worst of human nature. It is utterly brutal, and one of the most compelling so far.

While the film is largely content to tread a safe path, it does at least feel full-hearted in its appreciation of the way music can connect lost souls and enrich lives.

Even by the standards of a Yorgos Lanthimos film, Bugonia is an unhinged and savage piece of storytelling.