ALL THE LOVERS IN THE NIGHT – ★★★★

A long-ish Japanese film about a young woman who acts as a freelance book proofreader and leads a fairly quiet solo existence, bar occasional interactions with her female manager friend. She meets a man in his 50s, and they begin to catch up for a coffee and conversation. As the story unfolds, the darker side of what initially seems like a lighthearted take on her approach to alcohol consumption leads to some of her history, and as such, much of the film feels like her dealing with trauma and how it plays out in her interactions with the man, as well as her more extroverted, go-getter friend. I think I liked this more than many at the session, judging from the comments I overheard as I left the cinema. It wasn’t a fast-moving film, but I enjoyed it.

THE LONELIEST MAN IN TOWN – ★★★★

As I watched this, I was unsure to what extent it was a documentary vs a drama. I believe it’s somewhere in between – a film about an ageing blues artist in Vienna, Al Cook, who is actually a genuine artist who’s been releasing albums for over 50 years. In the film, he’s the last person living in his apartment building, where he’s lived since he was born. The building has been bought by developers who are planning to tear it down, and so he has to face decisions about whether to continue to reject their not-so-subtle requests to leave, and what to do with himself afterwards. It’s a touching story as he faces what to do with his lifetime of collected things, interacts with a long-ago ex-girlfriend that he re-connects with, and that for some, it’s never too late to chase your dreams.