Breaking the Cycle review – meet the charismatic Thai politician striving to change his country’s history

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Gripping documentary examines the Future Forward Party’s unprecedented 2019 election result, and its leader’s aim to break Thailand’s repeated military coups With his disarming good looks, pro-democracy activist and businessman Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit resembles an actor rather than a typical Thai politician. Heir to the country’s largest car manufacturer, he is blessed not only with personable charisma but also inexhaustible funds. His stunning rise into public consciousness is the beating heart of Aekaphong Saransate and Thanakrit Duangmaneeporn’s debut film, a thrilling documentary about an extraordinary political campaign that shook a nation. As founder of the progressive Future Forward Party (FFP), Juangroongruangkit’s central message cut through the noise of electoral politics: secure a brighter future by correcting the wrongs of the past. Since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932, Thailand has undergone a never-ending cycle of military takeovers, including 12 coups. Dur...
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The Cow Who Sang a Song into the Future review – gripping tale sprinkled with animal magic

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Chilean director Francisca Alegría weaves together singing cows and family trauma in this thoughtful magical realist fable with an environmental message

First-time Chilean director Francisca Alegría turns up the arthouse dial past eleven right from the name of her debut feature. The Cow Who Sang a Song into the Future is a conspicuously poetic title that gives every impression that we’re in for a hardcore cine-patience tester. I have to admit that it made my heart sink. But while, yes, TCWSSF is a dreamy magical realist fable with an environmental message, Alegría weaves into her tale an emotionally satisfying, gripping family drama, with singing cows – and fish too.

It begins with the fish, dying by the shoal-load on the banks of a river, poisoned by pollution from a nearby factory. As the fish die, a woman gasps to the surface of the water. This is Magdalena (Mía Maestro), who drowned herself decades ago. Now she is back from the dead as if time stopped – still gorgeous, still dressed in the boilersuit she wore when she drove her motorbike deliberately into the river. Magdalena’s husband collapses when he spots her outside a mobile phone shop. Their adult daughter Cecilia (Leonor Varela) – just a girl when her mum died – drives from the city with her two kids to look after him at the family’s dairy farm.

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