1 Okja (15)
(Bong Joon-ho, 2017, S Kor/US) 125 mins
The movie couple of the year turns out to be a Korean girl and a giant pig: their poignant separation sets in motion this hugely enjoyable adventure. On Netflix (and in selected cinemas) from 28 June, it’s a warped family movie somewhere between King Kong and 101 Dalmatians, taking in an evil Monsanto-like corporation, animal-rights activists and shopping-mall rampages.
2 Whitney: Can I Be Me (15)
(Nick Broomfield, Rudi Dolezal, 2017, UK/US) 105 mins
Broomfield asks the difficult questions in this Houston biodoc, investigating the superstar’s life for clues to her tragic death. The price of the film’s revelations is a reduced emphasis on her music, but some stunning live footage conveys her awesome talent.
3 By The Time It Gets Dark (12A)
(Anocha Suwichakornpong, 2016, Thai/Fra/Qat/Net) 106 mins
Echoes of Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Chris Marker in this experimental Thai movie, which regularly wrong-foots the viewer with its switches between different realities. Revolving around a real-life 1970s university massacre in Bangkok, it’s a strange, engrossing journey into history and its representation.
4 My Cousin Rachel (12A)
(Roger Michell, 2017, UK/US) 106 mins
Rachel Weisz excels as Daphne du Maurier’s slippery heroine in this romantic mystery, whose juicy subtexts offset the surface elegance. Along with her naive young cousin, we’re kept guessing as to whether she’s a husband-slaying seductress or an unfairly maligned widow.
5 Slack Bay (15)
(Bruno Dumont, 2016, Fra/Ger/Bel) 122 mins
Miserablist Dumont surprises us with a transcendently bizarre comedy: a seaside farce whose slapstick idiocy conceals a dark undertow. Juliette Binoche and Fabrice Luchini are among a family of upper-class twits visiting Belle Epoque Normandy, where their holiday is ruined by all manner of strangeness.
