MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
Latest editorial
War damage
MARIA DUARTE recommends a gripping thriller on the terrible dilemma faced by a young Jewish girl in nazi-occupied Norway during WWII
New releases from Mountain, Soul Asylum and Michael McDermott
ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
The Birdcatcher (15)
Directed by Ross Clarke
Inspired by true events, The Birdcatcher follows 14-year-old Norwegian-Jewish girl Esther (a phenomenal Sarah-Sofie Boussnina) who, on attempting to flee the nazi round-up in 1942, is forced to conceal her identity and her gender in order to escape detection.
She ends up at an isolated farm whose owners are nazi sympathisers. Their son Aksel (Arthur Hakalahti), a sufferer from acute cerebral palsy, finds a kindred spirit in Esther whom he decides to help by keeping her secret.
He tells her that his father Johann (Jakob Cedergren) hates the British but the Jews even more so. Esther, pretending to be a boy, tells him her name is Ola and her parents were killed by the Brits, when in fact it was at the hands of the Germans.
More from this author
MARIA DUARTE recommends a tough love story that unfolds among mental health issues, drug addiction and inadequate housing
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Sebastian, Four Mothers, Restless, and The Most Precious of Cargoes
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends a drama that explores the formative years of Richard Burton’s life
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends a deliciously dark thriller that explores the complex loyalties within a marriage
