Riotsville, USA (12A)
Directed by Sierra Pettengill 
★★★★

SIX years in the making, Sierra Pettengill’s painstakingly researched documentary lifts the lid on the shocking fake towns — or “riotsvilles” — the US military built to militarise the police and train them to snuff out the uprisings and civil rights protest movements of the late 1960s. 

Set in 1967-68 and created entirely from archival footage shot by the US military or broadcast on television, the film shows a national psyche hell-bent on maintaining law and order no matter the cost. 

Written by Tobi Haslett and narrated by Charlene Modeste, it focuses on a rediscovered military training film which depicts soldiers and police being trained how to respond to civil disorder in these army-built model towns. The footage is truly disturbing as they use all manner of tactics and weapons, including tear gas and snipers on civilians played by military personnel. 

It also examines how then president Lyndon B Johnson appointed the Kerner Commission to investigate the causes of the urban riots in the summer of 1967 and to provide recommendations for the future. The report, which was published in 1968, declared the US a racist country which was moving toward two societies: one black, one white, separate and unequal. 

It found the riots were sparked by a lack of economic opportunities for black people, police brutality and racism, and not by outside agitators as Johnson believed. The only recommendation that the Johnson administration implemented was to increase federal funding for the police which was in itself one of the root causes of the protests. 

This is a remarkable and thought-provoking documentary which sadly shows how little has changed in 56 years. 

Out in cinemas

God’s Creatures (15)
Directed by Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer 
★★★

SET in a small Irish fishing village this slow-burning drama explores the limits of a mother’s love in a haunting debut feature by Saela Davis and her co-director Anna Rose Holmer. 

When Aileen’s (Emily Watson) estranged prodigal son Brian (Paul Mescal from Normal People) returns after living seven years in Australia she is overjoyed, particularly as he is interested in breathing new life into the family’s ailing oyster farm business. However she soon finds herself torn between protecting him, and her own sense of right and wrong, and her actions result in ripping their family and close-knit community apart. 

Painfully raw and moody, a harsh and windswept landscape reinforces the sense of hopelessness of life in a village where the future came to die. Where the women are controlled by the men who refuse to learn to swim so they cannot put themselves at risk by helping to rescue any drowning souls. How selfish is that ...?

It is a bleak and tense drama which is elevated by Watson’s standout performance as she navigates its morally murky waters. 

Out in cinemas

Law of Tehran (15)
Directed by Saeed Roustayi 
★★★★

IN the war against drugs, one cop’s unrelenting drive to catch and bring down an elusive drug kingpin known as Nasser Khakzad is the heart of this riveting non-stop action-packed thriller from Iranian film-maker Saeed Roustayi. 

Every pusher in Tehran admits to getting their narcotics from Khakzad (Navid Mohammadzadeh) but no-one has ever seen him. He becomes an almost mythical figure and the bane of detective Samad Majidi’s (a mesmerising Payman Maadi) existence. This turns into a gripping cat-and-mouse game as the film, written and directed by Roustayi, examines a society ruined by corruption and drug abuse. As Majidi states: “When I started there were one million addicts. Now there are 6.5 million.”

Just as Majidi gets close, Khakzad slips between his fingers to keep both frustrated cop and expectant audience guessing, and doubting whether he really exists or not. Once caught Khakzad uses his money and power to try to escape and to save his family as the film takes an unexpected and more thought-provoking turn. 

This is a thrilling drama which offers an enlightening perspective on life, crime and drugs in Tehran. 

Out in cinemas

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman (15)
Directed by Pierre Földes 
★★★

A GIANT talking frog, a lost cat and a tsunami help a bank clerk, his crisis-stricken wife and a debt collector to save Tokyo from an earthquake in this existential tale of self-discovery. This is an ambitious debut feature from composer and painter Pierre Foldes. 

Adapted from three of renowned Japanese author Haruk Murakami’s short story collections this animated film explores loneliness, purpose and humanity as it follows these multiple characters on their bizarre journeys.

Set in the Japanese capital a few days after the 2011 Tohoku quake and tsunami, it is a surreal ride through the protagonists’ dreams, memories and fantasies which feature giant earthworms, evil willow trees and mysterious boxes. 

With arresting visuals and colourful protagonists this is one magical mystery tour. 

Out in cinemas