Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

thekarmicnomad This follows a family living in a totalitarian dystopia.This is a hard film for me to review.First off, its production is very good. The camera work and direction is great. The characters are very well constructed and the acting is absolutely top notch. The world is quickly and deftly painted using iconography and suggestion. The world is oppressive but not overly brutal making it feel more real and dangerous. I enjoyed every minute of the first hour greatly and was gripped to see what was going to happen.Here is the problem. Not much does happen. This film has plenty of story, but hardly any plot. Characters are introduced, and adversities befall our leads, but very little is resolved or explored. Any small victories the characters win aren't exploited.The only analogy I can think of is if you made a film about a waitress who works in a bar in Star Wars. Sure dancing girls are fed to monsters and Jedi come in - but at the end of the day you are still watching someone serve drinks.Maybe it is my personal taste, I thought I was more open minded than this, but it seems I do need a certain degree of resolution.I kept the mark high because of the quality of the film making - not sure if I would recommend it though.

oniongod-2 This film is exquisite! Dystopia through the eyes of a child and the effect it has on him directly. The film moved me. The acting was spot on. The story was mature. AND the cinematography was vivid and lush. It also made my skin crawl as a citizen of a future dystopia=USA. The characters (and thoughtful ending) are what really resonate. Obviously this is for anyone who loves/likes the Hunger Games but this is smarter in many ways and more subtle...and more ambiguous...it the right way. This film makes me continue to love Jonathan Pryce very much. BUT Lorenzo Allchurch as Djata is a true discovery. He simmers and shines in this. His acting is superb and I could see him as the star of many Angry Young Man films in the future. Strong work by the Directors all around.

Helene von Boeventer The opening credits of The White King are some of the best I've ever seen. A brilliant animation hints at the world we're about to discover. Thankfully the film itself, does them total justice.It's 1984, it's Nazi Germany, it's north Korea. The society we enter is ruled by a brutal, fascist regime that tries to eke all joy from its people. What sets this film apart is the fact that it's seen through the eyes of a boy whose hope and humanity have not completely been shattered by those who dictate his future. Without revealing too much, the film explores the decisions he has to make and the relationships he keeps, when a close member of his family is accused of speaking out against the regime.It's an acting feast with a sterling debut from Lorenzo Allchurch who plays the main character alongside actors du jour Agnes Deyn and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, with film royalty Jonathan Pryce and Greta Scacci.The film is beautifully directed. Country landscapes are bathed in the dreamy sunlight of a late summer's afternoon, in total contrast with the dark, oppressive ways of the White King dictatorship.It's the future and it's also the present; scarily reminiscent of the current political climate. But not without total hope. Go and see it!

Christophe Taddei I love dystopian films and therefore I really enjoy this film, yes as some critics mentioned there are a few set pieces / stories that aren't fully explained (The robot or cave scene for example) but the viewer needs to take this as a part of the overall world the film is set in. Why is the state depraving his citizen of wealth or technology? what happen to people that rebel, how to survive? what is freedom? all these questions are viewed from the young main protagonist that is delivering a really good performance. A film that makes you think is always a good thing, a film that doesn't have an happy ending is also always better...