You would think that after years of covering London Film Festival, I wouldn’t get lost so easily. And yet, if you had eyes on Waterloo Station the day I set out to see Julián, that’s what you’d see: a lanky, bespectacled film critic stumbling past roadblocks and protests to find the concrete halls of the BFI set against the River Thames.

Fortunately, no one makes the journey worthwhile quite like Irish studio Cartoon Saloon, and Julián — a powerful debut from director Louise Bagnall — easily solidified its place as my favorite film of the festival.

Check out the full article over at RogerEbert.com. For past LFF coverage, check out Søren’s 2024 Preview and Highlights, 2020 Highlights, and 2017 Highlights.