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★★☆☆☆ Existential malaise has long been a tenet of contemplative European cinema, and Turkish filmmaker Muzaffer Özdemir has embraced the tradition in his first feature as director, Home (Yurt, 2011). In this instance, the reflection is seemingly brought on by a mid-life crisis, but soon extends to frustration with the apathy exhibited in the direction of the destruction of once-pristine scenery. Glacially-paced, it's a film perhaps a little too concerned with its style rather than its substance, meaning that although the landscapes and visuals can be admired, there's precious little to enthral an audience beneath surface level.

The aforementioned existential funk is being experienced by architect Dogan (Kanbolat Gorkem Arslan) who suffers a breakdown whilst on a camping trip and is unable to shake the ensuing mental sickness. A doctor suggests that a countryside sabbatical may prove the key to recovery, so the maudlin Dogan arranges a trip home to the land...

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Spring Breakers (18)

(Harmony Korine, 2012, Us) Selena Gomez, James Franco, Gucci Mane. 94 mins

The new American dream/nightmare of the endless beach party is both celebrated and satirised in Korine's woozy Florida tale. The story is fittingly loose – four naive teens turn to criminal means to fund their hedonism – but it's more of an experience: a dubstep-tracked collage of neon, Day-Glo and tanned flesh, all facilitated by Franco's fantastically watchable gangsta rapper.

A Late Quartet (15)

(Yaron Zilberman, 2012, Us) Christopher Walken, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener. 106 mins

A respected New York string quartet is struck by an excess of issues here: terminal illness, infidelity, professional jealousy, you name it. Without the distinguished cast, its highbrow melodramas would seem ludicrous.

The Expatriate (15)

(Philipp Stölzl, 2012, Us/Bel/Can/UK) Aaron Eckhart,...

★★☆☆☆ Best known for his Palme d'Or-winning turn in Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Uzak (Distant, 2002), actor-turned-director Muzaffer Özdemir's debut film Home (Yurt, 2011) is an introspective examination into the sustained cultural shift within modern Turkey, and the issues this raises for its people. Returning from Istanbul to his childhood village in the province of Gumushane, downhearted architect Doğan (Kanbolat Gorkem Arslan) is under doctor's orders to take a brief sabbatical from his high-pressure job. It's the perfect opportunity for Doğan to go back to his roots and hopefully find the origins of his existential funk.

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