Sunphlowers ★★★★☆

Directed by Dave Byrne. Starring Anne McCrudden, Patrick Bergin, Abigail O’Regan, Kathleen Warner Yeates, Jerry Fish. 12A cert, limited release, 80 min

Set against the arresting landscapes of north Co Dublin, this heartfelt Irish drama follows Catherine (McCrudden), a recently widowed woman whose husband leaves behind a mountain of hidden debt and evidence of marital infidelity. With the family farm on the line, she faces an impossible choice: hand it over to the bank or begin again. Joining Four Mothers and My Sailor, My Love in the welcome, growing canon of Irish films featuring older protagonists, Sunphlowers is an understated story of grief, resilience and self-discovery. Avoids excessive sentiment and convenient happy-ever-afters. Full review TB

One Battle After Another ★★★★★

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti, Benicio Del Toro, Teyana Taylor, Regina Hall, Tony Goldwyn. 15A cert, gen release, 161 min

The latest from Anderson, loosely inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland, pitches Leo DiCaprio’s ageing revolutionary against Sean Penn’s reactionary despot in an unnervingly heightened version of a divided United States. The director’s taste for maximalism is, as often before, here demonstrated through the collision of lush images – like The Brutalist, shot on the antique VistaVision format – with clattering sound design and, from his long-term collaborator Jonny Greenwood, of Radiohead, a scratchy, honky score that presses home each character’s raging anxiety. Anderson and his fine cast layer all these pyrotechnics with a palpable sadness for their characters and for the country. Unmissable. Full review DC

The Lost Bus ★★★★☆

Directed by Paul Greengrass. Starring Matthew McConaughey, America Ferrera, Yul Vázquez, Ashlie Atkinson, Spencer Watson, Levi McConaughey. 15A cert, limited release, 130 min

Greengrass’s treatment of the deadliest fire in California history is old-fashioned in both good and bad ways. What we have here is, in its larger shape, at least, the sort of disaster film that dragged in crowds in the mid-1970s. A school bus, crammed with frightened youngsters, must make its way through the flames while parents fret together in the clean air. McConaughey is the driver, Ferrera a plucky teacher. The backstory concerning the hero’s relationship with mom and son is hackneyed, but, thankfully, the director compensates with his characteristically kinetic rendering of deadly mayhem. Full review DC

Brides ★★★★☆

Directed by Nadia Fall. Starring Ebada Hassan, Safiyya Ingar, Yusra Warsama, Cemre Ebuzziya, Aziz Capkurt. 15A cert, limited release, 92 min

This raw, compassionate, colourful chronicle of teenage friendship and radicalisation was inspired by the case of Shamima Begum, the London schoolgirl who left home to join Islamic State. Nadia Fall’s character-driven film is an intimate portrait of two 15-year-olds, Doe (Hassan) and Muna (The Witcher’s Ingar), wrestling with domestic turmoil, abusive father figures and social exclusion in a grim British seaside town. The leads deliver compelling, complementary performances: Hassan is as quiet and vulnerable as Ingar is fiery and charismatic. Judicious use of flashback sets up a gut-punch coda to a notably brave production. Full review TB