Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £4.99 a month

Evolution
The long-awaited second feature from Lucile Hadžihalilović (Innocence) is a gorgeously surreal coming-of-age tale laced with bizarre body-horror.
Drama 2015 82 mins
Director: Lucile Hadzihalilovic
Overview
Lucile Hadžihalilović’s remarkable debut was a female coming-of-age story; her long-awaited follow-up offers a male variant, but while Innocence had otherworldly atmosphere to spare, Evolution spins off into even more surreal, sci-fi-infused territory. 10-year-old Nicolas lives on a remote island, inhabited solely by women and young boys. He spends his days exploring the sea and the rocky shore, and playing with the other lads from the island. But after making an eerie discovery that no-one else will believe, Nicolas is due to keep an appointment at the island’s hospital, where he will confront the mysteries of his origins and his destiny.
At once a lyrical allegory around adolescent fears of bodily transformation and sexuality, but equally effective as an unsettling horror film with clear echoes of the works of David Cronenberg and H.P. Lovecraft and H.R. Giger, Evolution offers a resounding reaffirmation of Hadžihalilović’s precious talent.

Related
Drama

Goodbye Solo Goodbye Solo
Comedy 2008 87 mins Director: Ramin Bahrani
The pairing of a Senegalese taxi driver and a grumbling old-timer in North Carolina is the basis for the latest insightful portrait of human behaviour from Ramin Bahrani.

Chop Shop Chop Shop
Drama 2007 81 mins Director: Ramin Bahrani
Hopeful and heartbreaking second feature from the director of Man Push Cart.

Servants Servants
Drama 2020 81 mins Director: Ivan Ostrochovský
Ivan Ostrochovský’s stark drama about a seminary’s struggles for religious independence under Communist rule is both beautiful and brutal.

Tides Tides
Drama 2017 100 mins Director: Tupaq Felber
Four thirtysomethings find some much-needed time to reconnect in this beautifully observed and subtly insightful debut.

Tony Takitani Tony Takitani
Drama 2004 76 mins Director: Jun Ichikawa
Award-winning film adapted from Haruki Murakami’s New Yorker tale of solitude and obsession.

Ava Ava
Drama 2017 103 mins Director: Sadaf Foroughi
Sadaf Foroughi's gripping debut about a young girl's coming-of-age in a strict, traditional society.
3 You Must See

Berberian Sound Studio Berberian Sound Studio
Drama 2011 92 mins Director: Peter Strickland
In 1970s Italy, a timid British sound engineer joins the crew on a violent horror film. But the disturbing world of the film soon seeps into reality.

The Duke of Burgundy The Duke of Burgundy
Drama 2014 104 mins Director: Peter Strickland
Peter Strickland’s visually and aurally intoxicating tale of sadomasochistic power-play is a daringly erotic sensory feast.

White Colour Black White Colour Black
Drama 2016 83 mins Director: Joseph A. Adesunloye
A young mixed heritage man confronts the psychological complexities of his identity in this essential, truly cinematic discovery for anyone interested in Black British cinema.

Enemy Enemy
Drama 2013 91 mins Director: Denis Villeneuve
Jake Gyllenhaal stars as doppelgangers in this dark, pulsating thriller from Denis Villeneuve.

Frantz Frantz
Period drama 2016 114 mins Director: François Ozon
The ever-prolific François Ozon directs this richly-evocative period piece, set in the aftermath of World War I.

In Fabric In Fabric
Drama 2018 119 mins Director: Peter Strickland
A beautiful blood-red dress unleashes a curse on its wearers in Peter Strickland's erotic and twisted horror.
New

Goodbye Solo Goodbye Solo
Comedy 2008 87 mins Director: Ramin Bahrani
The pairing of a Senegalese taxi driver and a grumbling old-timer in North Carolina is the basis for the latest insightful portrait of human behaviour from Ramin Bahrani.

Chop Shop Chop Shop
Drama 2007 81 mins Director: Ramin Bahrani
Hopeful and heartbreaking second feature from the director of Man Push Cart.

Catch the Fair One Catch the Fair One
Thriller 2021 86 mins Director: Josef Kubota Wladyka
Haunted by the disappearance of her younger sister two years prior, a former champion boxer (Kali Reis) leaves no stone unturned in her brutal search for answers.

Servants Servants
Drama 2020 81 mins Director: Ivan Ostrochovský
Ivan Ostrochovský’s stark drama about a seminary’s struggles for religious independence under Communist rule is both beautiful and brutal.

Tides Tides
Drama 2017 100 mins Director: Tupaq Felber
Four thirtysomethings find some much-needed time to reconnect in this beautifully observed and subtly insightful debut.

Rojo Rojo
Thriller 2018 105 mins Director: Benjamin Naishtat
Set in a pre-coup d’etat Argentina, successful lawyer Claudio (Darío Grandinetti, Wild Tales) leads a comfortable life – until an altercation in a restaurant and a split-second decision slowly unravel everything he has built up.