October 8th 2026

On the Sea

Tony

It seems as if I constantly give the films I see four stars. (Well, most of them!) Perhaps because I figure life is too short to watch movies that are no good, or perhaps just lucky choices? Here are two more excellent films for your consideration. 

On the Sea

Dir: Helen Walsh

Length: 113 min

Exclusive to Cinema Nova

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naSPecsAUV0

©  - a life-changing meeting for a Welsh
fisherman, stuck in his daily routine

Jack (Barry Ward) and his brother Dyfan (Celyn Jones), along with Dyfan's sons, work on the mussel beds in a small seaside village in Wales. Jack has been with his wife Maggie (Liz Smith) since their teens, and they have one son Tom (Henry Lawfull). Life runs according to strict routine, until itinerant worker Daniel (Lorne MacFadyen) turns up. The instant spark of attraction between Jack and Daniel must be hidden in such a conservative and gossipy society. To add to Jack's distress over his long-suppressed, now emerging sexuality is his past cancer diagnosis, and the conflict with both his son and his brother over the business. Using a relentlessly grey palette to reflect the gloomy lives in this village, this film is nevertheless tender and beautiful, exploring concepts of masculinity, prejudice and repressed desire. It is suffused with a deep melancholy, but also with the concept of love; not only a love discovered too late in life, but also of marital love that endures, despite challenges. Sensitive performances from Ward and MacFadyen bring depth and empathy to their characters, while Smith's performance as the heartbroken wife is truly moving. A little resonant of Brokeback Mountain, this is a compassionate, low-key but sensitively made film.

4 - highly recommended

Tony

Dir: Matt Johnson

Length: 106 min

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1MVnzd2aVc

© A24 - these two leads really impress, in
Anthony Bourdain's origin story

Anthony Bourdain is a name much revered in the world of celebrity cheffing, along with culinary-based writing and travel. Author, TV show presenter, and chef, the man had a very unprepossessing start, as depicted in this engaging origin story, set in a particular small moment in time. Dominic Sessa plays the young Tony, brash, arrogant, opinionated, and a liar, pretending to all and sundry he is what he is not. Besotted with his high school crush Nancy (Emilia Jones), he heads off to Cape Cod where she is staying for the summer, gets himself wasted and robbed and ends up working as a dishwasher in a restaurant run by Chef (Antonio Banderas).  Other disreputables in the restaurant include cocaine-snorting Sal (Leo Woodall), Stavros (Stavros Halkias), and cheery waitress Mary (Monica Raymund). The film reminds me a little of The Bear, with its no-holds-barred kitchen chaos. The passion of the owner/chef, is portrayed in a wonderful performance by Banderas. He also creates a strong, compassionate chemistry with Sessa, who impressively embodies a wanker/loser who ultimately comes good. The mid-70s era is artfully recreated, including an evocative soundtrack. Though I knew nothing about Bourdain before this film, I find all the characters so real, and Tony's "small" story so suggestive of future possiblities, that I have already delved into old Bourdain clips on the net. Fans of Bourdain shouldn't miss this one.

4 - highly recommended