ENCANTO*****

60 movies in and Disney finally made one where my childhood self might have seen herself on screen: brown, bespectacled, curly-haired, clearly not a Princess, no magical powers, not at all submissive or mild, but definitely curious and loyal, from a large loving multi-generational family.  It's easy to say the phrase "representation matters" and it's another to truly feel it in your bones and to believe that you could be a Disney hero.  What I would've given to have seen ENCANTO as a kid. 

The film is an absolute joy: a riot of colour and dance, best seen on a big screen with a great sound-system. Lin Manuel Miranda provides songs that are instantly recognisable as his - mashing up musical genres but reaching back to latin roots. And Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz) is just a wonderful heroine. She clearly loves her eccentric, magically gifted family, but harbours a secret sadness that she is the only one without magical powers. That said, she's smart, and realises that something bad is happening to her enchanted family house, and that her family's magic might be under threat. And in exploring why, she realises that all of her family have their own stories too:  the super strong Luisa is buckling under emotional stress; perfect princess-like Isabella actually just wants to "let it go". The final act twists are deeply satisfying and I found myself in tears at the ending, with all of its affirmation and emotional release. Kudos to all involved.

ENCANTO is rated PG and has a running time of 102 minutes. The movie is on global release.

BAD LUCKY GOAT - BFI London Film Festival Preview 2017

BAD LUCKY GOAT is a wonderfully unique, heart-warming, laugh-out-loud funny film set on a small Colombian Caribbean island.  It's the kind of place where everyone knows everyone; even the local bad guy isn't that bad; where superstition rules; and where your mum calls up the local radio station to call you home for supper.   It feels a million miles away from urban London, and yet its themes of angry parents, warring siblings and seemingly insurmountable odds are hugely relatable. 

In sun kissed, beautifully photographed Port Paradise, siblings Corn and Rita (Honlenny Huffington and Kiara Howard) think they've invoked bad juju when they accidentally run over a goat and ding their father's truck.  They need to find the money to pay for the repairs before their parents find out which leads them to back to get the dead goat, despite the juju, and essentially strip it for parts.  This is done with great gusto and isn't for the faint hearted. We see it part sold to the slightly sceptical local butcher, it's skin used to repair a drum, and the head kept as a kind of totem. All of this serves as a brilliant way to get to know the characters on the island, and for the warring siblings to finally work together and make their peace despite their different values are preoccupations:  Corn wants to be a musician, whereas Rita is far more hard-headed and practical.

Debut feature director Samir Oliveros has truly crafted a unique and yet relatable film. His observations about the charm and claustrophobia of small-town life, and the decibel level of being in a large family are absolutely on the nose.  And his use of editing and music cues for comic effect is confident and impressive. This film truly deserves to become a break-out success and I can't wait to see what Oliveros does next.

BAD LUCKY GOAT has a running time of 78 minutes. There are still tickets available for one of the screenings at the BFI London Film Festival.