Comedy

Ewan McGregor, Mélanie Laurent and Christopher Plummer in a rich, romantic comedy of second chances. “A sad, sweet, funny and ultimately unforgettable love story about a man and a woman and a father and son.” — Salon.com

A milquetoast fish store owner gets drawn into the orbit of a serial killer and his equally nutty wife. A funny, perverted and shocking film by Sono Sion, the cult master of extreme madness.

Korean Hong Sang-soo’s latest satire of artists (and drinkers) is a characteristically sly farce of feckless men and hopeful women with a touch of Groundhog Day. “A crisp little gem.” — Screendaily

A deadpan Israeli comedy about duelling father-son professors, Footnote was an unexpected hit at Cannes and a deserving winner of the Best Screenplay award. “An enjoyable, and quite literal, textbook thriller.” — indieWIRE

In this delicately cracked comedy from Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know) a 30-something LA couple give up their jobs for a last taste of freedom – before adopting a cat. “Surreal, precious, devastating and brilliant.” — The Playlist

This funny, perceptive tale of teenaged city boys let loose in the countryside imbues Stand by Me with sardonic social realism and shades of the Brothers Grimm. “Unselfconscious, endearing and completely believable.” — Screendaily

“The Guard is a fish-out-of-water story, an upside-down Irish Western, a crime drama, a diabolically self-aware comedy and a marvelously acted character study.” — Hitfix.com

City couple meets country couple in this shrewd and frank Scandinavian sex comedy. Grand Jury Prize, Sundance 2011.

Shot on location inChristchurchin early 2009 with a cast of some of the city’s best known faces, Patrick Gilles’ comic urban fairytale is based on Australian co-scripter/lead actor Angus Benfield’s own experiences as a pastor.

This tender French comedy by Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki was a huge hit at Cannes and winner of the Critics Prize. “Wonderful, big-hearted comedy… What a treat this film is.” — The Guardian

Chow Yun Fat, Ge You and Jiang Wen star in this spectacular, brutally comic blockbuster Chinese Western. “China’s biggest domestic box-office hit to date is a freewheeling romp full of sex, violence, and humor.” — Newsweek

Danny Boon follows up his phenomenally popular Welcome to the Sticks with another hit comedy about parochial prejudice: when the EU dissolves the borders it can’t dissolve the rivalry between French and Belgian customs officers.

Festival favourite Hong Sang-soo returns with a playful, supremely droll, multi-part comedy that finds the self-reflexive auteur in inspired form.

Chocolate brings a pair of clinically shy people together in this delicious French romantic comedy starring Benoît Poelvoorde (Coco avant Chanel). “Packed with bittersweet humour and genuine charm.” — Screendaily

A charming second film from Mid-August Lunch writer/director/star Gianni Di Gregorio and nonagenarian co-star Valeria De Franciscis Bendoni. “Funny, poignant, life-enhancing, and much cheaper than a return ticket to Italy.” — Screendaily

French 17th-century theatre is inventively spirited into the cinematic present in this delightful, thoroughly contemporary adaptation by Mathieu Amalric starring a great Comédie Française cast and set in the luxurious Hôtel de Louvre.

This is the hilarious and true story of Raymond and Peter, the world’s oddest couple and how their surreal arguments, taped by the students next door, became a worldwide viral phenomenon in the era of the audio cassette.

Duffle-coated teenager Oliver copes with being an unappreciated genius in 80s Swansea and pursues the pyromaniac girl of his dreams in this Brit hit directed by IT Crowd comedian Richard Ayoade. “Simply a joy.” — Empire

Injecting concern with laughter, this high school comedy stars John C. Reilly as a vice-principal who identifies with the biggest losers on campus. “Smart, gentle and instinctively wise.” — Roger Ebert

Actor/writer/director Lena Dunham made indie headlines with this autobiographical comedy. “The honest story of a young woman’s vulnerable desires and a bemused satire of real-life Gossip Girlhood.” — Entertainment Weekly

Comedians Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan take a road tour of northern English restaurants. "Hilarious and touching... like a funnier, flakier, madcap British version of My Dinner With Andre." — Entertainment Weekly

Intrepid student journalists score scoop: mythological marauding giants in deepest Norway. “Very entertaining… a semi-goofy wilderness of dark comedy, populated by rock-eating, fart-blowing trolls.” — San Francisco Bay Guardian

Notorious and nasty Sundance feral-woman-chained-in-the-cellar shocker. “A girl-power allegory, a cheeky genre-twister, and exploitation cinema par excellence.” — L Magazine

In this breezy comedy an uptight middle-class couple (Fabrice Luchini and Sandrine Kiberlain) are snapped out of their tired routines by their Spanish maid and a houseful of her female relations.