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Andrea Arnold's established and much-admired style – intimate and often realised via handheld cameras – is in full effect in this raw and lyrical coming-of-age story from 2024. Barry Keoghan plays Bug, the troubled father of 12-year-old Bailey (nicknamed Bird), played with extraordinary skill and panache by newcomer Nykiya Adams.

Set in a neglected corner of Kent, the social realism of the film's opening segment is joined by a healthy dose of magical realism by the appearance of a mysterious, kilt-wearing man named Bird, played with a full and thick German accent by Frank Rogowski. Freewheeling, untameable and unpredictable, Bird does everything Arnold fans would expect from her movies while making great use of the desolate beauty of Britain's forgotten coastal outposts.