Stranger By The Lake, Only Lovers Left Alive, Nymphomaniac: this week's new films

Stranger By The Lake (18)
(Alain Guiraudie, 2013, Fra) Pierre Deladonchamps, Christophe Paou, Patrick D'Assumçao, Jérôme Chapatte. 100 mins

Sex and death take a synchronised swim in this bold thriller, shot at a single lakeside location. It's a popular cruising spot, and the rituals of its regular (and regularly naked) male visitors are observed with a combination of frankness, lyricism and mischievous satire. But a more mysterious tone takes hold when newcomer Franck sees his Selleck-moustachio'd crush commit a terrible crime. The riptide of desire drags him into a dangerous game.

Only Lovers Left Alive (15)
(Jim Jarmusch, 2013, UK/Ger/Fra/Cyp/US) Tom Hiddleston, Tilda Swinton, Mia Wasikowska. 123 mins

Making Twilight look like Sesame Street, Jarmusch gives us the coolest vampires imaginable – too cool to even do much vampire stuff. But these lovers are great company: retro-snobs surveying the modern world with a sophisticated disdain acquired over centuries – at least until they're jolted out of their comfort zone.

Nymphomaniac Volumes I & II (18)
(Lars von Trier, 2013, Den/Ger/Fra/Bel/UK) Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgård, Stacy Martin. 117/124 mins

A sex odyssey of masturbatory proportions, but mercifully Von Trier is as interested in the idea as the act. It meanders between being compelling, provocative, theatrical, tragic and downright absurd, as Gainsbourg narrates her sorry sexual history, punctuated by Skarsgård's intellectual interjections.

A New York Winter's Tale (12A) (Akiva Goldsman, 2014, US) Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Russell Crowe. 118 mins

An epic, magical, century-spanning love story with extra cheese, this sees Farrell's thief live 100 years after having his heart stolen by a dying girl. Throw in flying horses, mystical miracles, cancer, Will Smith as the devil and Crowe doing Oirish, and you've got … a real dog's breakfast.

A World Not Ours (NC)
(Mahdi Fleifel, 2012, UK/Leb/Den/UAE) 93 mins

Fleifel gives us an unorthodox view of Palestinian history, revisiting the Lebanese refugee camp of his childhood, and bringing comedy, history and music to a story of a dispossessed, and frustrated, community.

Stalingrad (15)
(Fedor Bondarchuk, 2013, Rus) Pyotr Fyodorov, Thomas Kretschmann, Mariya Smolnikova. 131 mins

Russia renders its totemic wartime battle almost as a blockbuster disaster movie – a Band Of Brothers-style war story with faithful detail, spectacular action and improbable romance.

The Godfather: Part II (15)
(Francis Ford Coppola, 1974, US) Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall. 202 mins

A new restoration for Coppola's mighty sequel/prequel, expanding on the original story at both ends with the same quality throughout. Pacino and De Niro in their prime take some beating.

Highway (12A)
(Imtiaz Ali, 2014, Ind) Randeep Hooda, Alia Bhatt. 133 mins

A kidnap develops into romance over the course of this north India-spanning road movie.

Out from Friday

Non-Stop

Air marshall Liam Neeson finds himself accused of hijacking the flight he's protecting.

The Book Thief

Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson in an inspirational wartime tale. Out from Wed

As The Palaces Burn

Documentary about the legal travails of noisecore metal band Lamb Of God.

Funny Face

Reissue for Audrey Hepburn's 1957 Parisian fashion fantasia.

Ride Along

Ice Cube and Kevin Hart star in a buddy cop comedy (pictured).

We Are What We Are

Horror remake visiting a backwoods family with some gruesome traditions.

Unforgiven

Clint Eastwood's classic western reimagined as a Japanese samurai tale.

Bafta Shorts 2014

Touring compilation of the best of British live-action and animation shorts.

Shaadi Ke Side Effects

Bollywood sequel – a married-life romcom.

Siva Senai

Tamil action thriller shot in London.

Coming soon

In two weeks... Check into Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel… The Athenians strike in 300: Rise Of An Empire…

In three weeks... Scarlett Johansson stars in Scots sci-fi Under The Skin… Terry Gilliam posits The Zero Theorem…

In a month... Chiwetel Ejiofor leads Nigerian story Half Of A Yellow Sun… Errol Morris makes The Unknown Known…

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