CHRISTOPHER ROBIN (PG) ***
Dir:Marc Forster
With: Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell
Runtime: 104 minutes
TOWARDS the end of Marc Forster’s fantasy, Winnie-the-Pooh stares adoringly at a grown-up Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor), who has forgotten the joy of his childhood. “It’s always a sunny day when Christopher Robin comes to play,” coos the bear. Alas, that sunshine doesn’t always penetrate the rain clouds that linger over this cinematic namesake, which shamelessly milks our affection for beloved characters. Credited to three screenwriters, Christopher Robin relies heavily on the charm of Pooh and his companions, including Peter Capaldi as Rabbit, who are convincingly brought to life through digital trickery.
The Guardians (15) ****
Dir: Xavier Beauvois
With: Iris Bry, Nathalie Baye
Runtime: 135 minutes
SET in la France profonde during the First World War, Xavier Beauvois’s epic drama is a beautifully realised study of family and belonging. Iris Bry plays an orphan, Francine, one of many young French women hired to work on farms while the men were away. The matriarch of the household, Hortense (Nathalie Baye) is grateful for the help and the farm flourishes under female control, but as the war grinds on, and losses begin to be felt, bonds of loyalty in the small community are placed under strain. Every frame of Beauvois’s film looks like a painting come to life, and the performances, from Bry and Baye in particular, are superb. While it has a long run time, this is the kind of picture that, once lost in its embrace, you don’t want to leave.
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