The Kingmaker (15)
Directed by Lauren Greenfield
★★★★★

LAUREN GREENFIELD’S scarifying and deeply depressingly documentary on Imelda Marcos, the notorious first lady of the Philippines for almost two decades, pulls no punches — especially when victims of government-initiated torture speak of their torment.

The narrative reveals a ruthless, self-centred and ego-driven woman — whom we first see distributing banknotes to youngsters as part of her vividly created fake persona — as it explores the disturbing legacy of the Marcos regime and her push to help her son, Bongbong, to win the vice-presidency.

Marcos, her husband and her aspirant president son are revealed as a tainted family and their corruption, political and financial, is a potent warning against current and future political and financial flimflam everywhere.

At times stomach-churning, this is nevertheless a must-see.

Alan Frank

Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles (12A)
Directed by Max Lewkowicz
★★★★

FANS of Fiddler on the Roof are in for a wonderful treat with this in-depth look at the story and history of a much-loved musical and how, after more than 50 years, its themes still resonate.

It’s a tale of tradition and family ties but, more importantly, it examines the displacement and persecution of refugees and immigrants.

Through archive film footage and interviews with those involved in the original 1964 theatre production and the 1971 film version, along with numerous stage versions through the years, this glorious and insightful documentary paints an eye-opening picture of the significance and appeal of the multi-layered musical.

It shows how it transcends languages and cultures as you watch it being staged in Japan, Thailand, and in a predominantly black and Hispanic school in the US.

It still hits the high social and political notes and you’ll be humming its show-stopping tunes like If I Were a Rich Man for days.

Maria Duarte

Jumanji: The Next Level (12A)
Directed by Jake Kasdan
★★★★

THE SEQUEL strikes back, larger, louder and very entertainingly, as the characters who survived Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle return to the magical video game-created world to rescue a pal and face mounting mystic danger in a mysterious environment which is now much more than simply a jungle.

Danny De Vito‘s daffy grandad is a splendid scene-stealer before lashings of enchanted action erupt when video game avatars — played by Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Jack Black — return to face danger and death when told that Jumanji is once again in great peril and only they can help.

Which they do, in an enjoyable deluge of magical action involving everything from legions of attacking ostriches to camel riding, a heroine who becomes a horse, bellicose apes, a fantastic fairy-tale city, vivid villains and enough narrative and visual surprises to keep fantasy-film fans happy.

AF

Citizen K (15)
Directed by Alex Gibney
★★★

AFTER focusing on the likes of Lance Armstrong and Steve Jobs, Oscar-winning film-maker Alex Gibney has now turned his attention to former Russian oligarch-turned-political dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

Through his strange story, Gibney takes a fascinating yet intimate look at post-Soviet Russia and provides an insight into how power is leveraged and abused there, along with the complex relations between oligarchy and government and its destructive effect on democracy.

It is a very involved and complicated tale, which shows how Khodorkovsky became one of the wealthiest men in Russia in the 1990s through banking and oil production. But when he accused the Putin regime of corruption, he was arrested, his assets were seized and, following a number of show trials, was sentenced to more than 10 years in jail.

Now an exile in Britain and funding anti-Putin projects through Open Russia, the charismatic Khodorkovsky comes across as an enigmatic and guarded figure in his enlightening interview with Gibney.

Citizen K is another gripping and insightful film from the director. But it is hard to feel sympathy for this former oligarch who still managed to smuggle around £400 million out of Russia.

MD