The Guardian Weekly - December 2023

22December2023 TheGuardianWeekly 51 Laurence Coly (Guslagie Malanda, often scarcely moving a muscle while giving one ofthe year’smostmesmerisingperformances)is accusedofmurdering her infant daughter. She doesn’t deny the act, but claims sorcery was to blame, sticking calmly to her storyoverdaysoftestimony. The audience, like the jury, can decide for themselves how much they believe her. Diop’s stoic, wholly unsentimental study in empathy invites audiences to consider their own afnities and prejudices regardingthis case–howtheycanbring us closer to, or further from, an unhappy truth. Guy Lodge 6 Godland Godland is predicated on theconstructionofahaven in the wilderness – this time, a church on the 19th-century Icelandic coast.Natureisnocomfort though.There’salotmorefrightening Herzogian immensity and admonishmenthere thanhomeon-the-range cosiness.Nordoes director Hlynur Pálmason let himselfofthehook:givenLucas, the Danish priest sent to build a parish, is a photographer, then art’sworthinmediatingbetween man and nature comes under heavy scrutiny too. Shot with a curt majesty in a boxy 4:3 ratio, to emulate early photography, beauty should be the one consolation. The flm, according to its initial title, was inspired by seven wet-plate photographs found in a box, apparently taken by a reallifeDanishpriest.Black-sand  CALAMITY ARRIVES WITHOUT CEREMONY IN CEREBRAL THRILLER weapon located and brandished with full incriminating splendour.Anatomyof aFallunravels the fantasy.The truthmay come outeventually,buttheonlything that is certain to arrive is the wreckage. Rebecca Liu 7 Saint Omer At this year’s Venice flm festival, Alice Diop’s unblinking stunner was handed the prize for best debut flm – a reward that would have seemed inadequate if it hadn’t shortly afterwards taken the grand prix in the main competition – and inaccurate under any circumstances. Diop’s film is only a debut if you’re happy to disregard documentary as a lesser branch of cinema that somehow doesn’t count. Saint Omer merely extends the clear-eyed gaze and burning social interest ofhernon-fctionworkintonew narrative terrain. The surprise is that Diop’s entry into fction takes the form of a courtroom drama – only to strip it of its expected structures and rhythms, centring disordered interior feeling amid unyielding legal process. The case,drawnfroma real-life 2016 headline-maker inFrance:legally straightforward, perhaps, but psychologically tumultuous. YoungSenegaleseFrenchwoman 2 This forms the basis of Laura Poitras’s compelling documentary about the one person who was to lead the charge against theSacklers:artistandphotographerNanGoldin.Sheherselfhad exhibited work in venues that had taken the Sackler shilling, so when she became addicted to OxyContin the realisation came with an additional shiver ofnausea:unknowinglyshehad playedapartintheir artwashing. The power of the flm resides in showing how Goldin fought frewithfre.Sheusedart against art. And she achieved near total victory: OxyContin is taboo and almost every museum has removed the Sackler name. Yet theflmleavesyouwiththegrim realisation that to hundreds of thousandsofpeople,thedamage has been done. PB 8 Anatomy of a Fall In Justine Triet’s cerebral thriller, the calamity arrives without ceremony. It seems like just another day for a family up in the Alps, flled with workandhomerenovations.The childgoes for a walk,leading the dog through fresh snow. As he arrives back home, there’s the faintest hint of a turn: the dog begins towhine, agitated.Wesee a man’s body lying on the snow, dark crimson blood pooling around the head. There is panic, confusion, and the inevitable question: was he pushed? The only other person in the house at the time was the victim’swife,thenovelistSandra Voyter,playedexpertlybySandra Hüller. When the investigation uncovers details that don’t add up, Sandra turns from witness to prime suspect. She insists she’s innocent. What follows is a taut,unsentimental courtroom dramainwhichthecouple’s longstanding grievances and secrets are aired in the name of justice, and increasingly a source of public titillation. True crime and courtroom theatrics have captivated the public imagination in recent years, dangling a comforting conceit: that people can be pinned down, the perpetrator and motive identifed, murder ! Winter’s tale Anatomy of a Fall ! Court in the act Saint Omer

TheGuardianWeekly 22December2023 52 2023 BEST OF CULTURE Film beaches, fens, volcanic plumes glowering Mordor-like over the horizon – how can we not be as captivated by these elemental vistas as much as Lucas? But as his overland trek wears on, the beauty becomes overpowering, and a sign ofthe inconsequence of his designs. It’s a reminderweneed,given our climate-wrackedtimes.That wet-platephotographs story? It’s aliethedirectormadeup.Neither art or religion or any other manmadeframecancontainnature’s pitilessness, which also rules us. There have been several good recent flms, such as Rams (2020) and Lamb (2021), from ecologically sensitive Iceland about man’s place in creation. But Godland is a great one. Phil Hoad 5 The Boy and the Heron Celebrated Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki cameoutof retirementtodeliver this Alice in Wonderland-esque fantasyaboutayoungboycoming totermswithhismother’sdeath during the second world war, illuminating his grief with dazzlingly surreal visuals that are a joy to behold. Twelve-year-old Mahito (voiced by Soma Santoki) is strugglingtoftinaftermovingto the countryside with his father. When he follows a talking grey heron into an enchanted tower, he’s plunged into a bizarre parallel universe. It turns out his mother might be alive after all, so of he goes in search of her, encountering freakishly giantparakeets, adorablemarshmallow spirits and a girl named Himi, who has the power to manipulate fre, along the way. The Boy and the Heron was partlyinspiredbyMiyazaki’sown childhoodexperienceofwartime evacuationandplays likeahomage to the 82-year-old flm-maker’s impressivebodyofworkwith subtlereferences toStudioGhibli classics likePrincessMononoke, Spirited Away and Grave of the Firefies. It also revisits topics that have obsessed the director throughout his long career includingabsentmotherfgures, thehorrorsof war,mortality and the afterlife, exploring these familiar themes with sensitivity and profound empathy. Ten years ago, Miyazaki proclaimed that the OscarnominatedTheWindRiseswould be his last flm. He ended up changing his mind and went on to make The Boy and the Heron, which again was rumoured to be his swan song. But it seems the director has reneged once more on his retirement plans and is already thinking about his next project. While it may not be time yet to say goodbye tohis gorgeously realisedfights of fancy,that can only be a good thing – The Boy and the Heron shows there’s still potent magic inMiyazaki’s cinematicwizardry. Let’s just hope we won’t have to wait another 10 years. Ann Lee 420 Days in Mariupol Mstyslav Chernov’s horrifying eyewitness documentaryisaboutVladimirPutin’s brutal siegeoftheUkrainianport city,fromFebruary to May 2022, resulting in more than 20,000 deaths.Itis efectivelythedirector’s cut:the gruelling unexpurgatedtextofthisAssociatedPress journalist’soriginalvideoreports from within the city. They were, even in their packaged version, gruellingly tough – and Chernov’s images of mass graves did agreatdeal, evenineditedform, togalvanisewesternopinionand to subdue dissenting thoughts that supportingZelenskiywasn’t worth it. Butthefullmaterialiswrenching:thisflmis reallyabroadcast from hell on earth. Chernov shows in unfinching detail the shatteredbodiesofmen,women and children, and even more unbearably shows the agony of loved ones sobbing over the corpses:ablazeofemotionalpain almostobscene initsdirectness. Chernov and his photographer Evgeniy Maloletka are themselves part of the story. Their subjects are always reacting to their appearance: sometimes they angrily telltheflm-makers to go away. But sometimes, and with almost the same kind of despairingrage,theytellthemto stay,tobeawitness tothehorror. The darkest moments come when the flm shows Ukrainian civilians,inextremis, efectively turning on each other by looting shops – although some looters are shamefacedly induced to give up some of their booty by Chernov and his camera. This is the complicatedpicture thatthe flm gives us that won’t go in the nightly TV news. As we reach the end of the year, 20 Days in Mariupol fnds itself in a diferent geopolitical context. The uprising against Putin by Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group has failed and Prigozhin was killed in a mysterious plane crash. So the poetic justice of imminent defeat that mayhavecolouredthereception ! Holy sea Godland ! Whimsical delight The Boy and the Heron  THERE’S STILL POTENT MAGIC IN MIYAZAKI’S CINEMATIC WIZARDRY

22December2023 TheGuardianWeekly 53 of this flm is gone. And then of course there are the horrendous events of 7 October, in which Hamas launched its onslaught against Israeli civilians that led to Israel’s brutal and continuing counter-strike.Allthesematters have afected the reception of 20 Days In Mariupol as the year nears its end. But they certainly don’t diminish its power and its relevance. PB 3 Killers of the Flower Moon Consideration for the sensitivities of ethnic minorities hasneverbeenmuchofaconcern for Martin Scorsese: a cursory glance at the back catalogue shows he has spent his career alternatelytrashingandridiculing Italian-Americans, Irish-Americans and Jewish-Americans. (YourclassicWasp-Americansget itin the neck in his glossy period literary adaptation The Age of Innocence.)Whichiswhyhislatebreakingpivottounusuallevelsof respectandcollaborationwiththe Osage tribal nation for Killers of theFlowerMoonresultedinsuch an interesting and – for Scorsese at least – radically diferent kind of flm. Scorsese’sapproach–apparently prompted by co-star Leonardo DiCaprio – was to move away from the police procedural line takenbythesourcetextbyDavid Grann and carefully extract a slice of human drama: the story of Mollie Kyle, who survived the Osagemurders,andherhusband, Ernest Burkhart. Their relationship is scrutinised in forensic detail,andinvestedfullywiththe ambivalence both are assumed to feel. In providing two meaty roles forDiCaprioandco-starLily Gladstone–aswellasyetanother essay in human nastiness from RobertDeNiroas rancherWilliam KingHale, who was convictedof oneof some60+suspiciousOsage deaths – Killers of the Flower Moonofersamazinglyrichcharacter drama and the ballast for really heavyweight acting from allthree leads. Scorsese knits it all into a seamlesswhole,deftlybalancing themainstories aswell as (somewhat late in the day) bringing Lydia Tár occupied a hallowed slice of the cultural consciousness – a virtuoso pianist and vaunted maestro. The type of singular and status-signalling cultural fgure who commands theroomataNewYorker talkand basks in the glow of trailblazing achievements while shrugging of the weight of feminism (or the term “maestra”). Her success was, in her view, on artistic terms alone. Tár is a fctional character, played superlatively by in the fatfoot element in the shape of Jesse Plemons’ FBI guy Thomas Bruce White. The crime-detectionthreadcertainly helps to tie the narrative up, but in relegating it to a sub-theme, Scorsese ismakingthepointthat he, and Hollywood, can’t go on the way ithas.Withthis brilliant flmhehasendedthediscussion. Andrew Pulver 2 Tár Before her personal and professional downfall, ! ! Witness to horror 20 Days in Mariupol ! Radical departure Killers of the Flower Moon  AMAZINGLY RICH CHARACTER DRAMA AND EXCEPTIONAL ACTING

TheGuardianWeekly 22December2023 54 2023 BEST OF CULTURE Film PastLives SLOWLY AND QUIETLY THIS YEAR,the flm Past Lives from Korean-Canadian dramatist and director Celine Song, has been working its discreet magic. Pretty much every new audience memberhasbeenturnedintoaconvert, recommending it to a handful more who joined this flm’s growing congregation of fans. This is partly a deeply romantic and sad movie aboutlost love and missed chances.It’s also a kind of reverie aboutalternativeexistences,andwhat-iflifepaths. And this is a more urgent question for frst- and second-generationimmigrant communities inthe US. They may well, as they grow into their 30s and 40s, consider the question: what if I had stayed behind? Who even am I? Greta Lee plays Nora, anelegant young Koreanborn woman who has come to New York City and is now a budding literary star. She is married to a white American: Arthur, played by John Magaro, whoishimself apromisingyoungnovelist.Butthis isarather crowdedmarriage– for themostinnocent reasons. Before Nora met Arthur she had reconnectedvia socialmediawithher former childhood sweetheartwhois stillintheoldcountry:Hae-sung (playedinadulthoodbyTeoYoo).TheirSkype calls had had an urgency, perhaps even a passion that neither could quite admit. And for Nora, switching out of English into Korean means an almost physical change. Yet just as they were about to bring things to a crunchandarrange forHae-sungtocomeover and meetupwithNora, shebackedaway,perhaps fearing thatit was regressive. Song suggests that she is fatefullyunwillingtoletherexcitingnewAmerican identity-careerget suckedbackintothepast.Soby the time Hae-sung fnally gets to New York many years later, itis to see her while he is on vacation. Nora is entirely committed to her new relationship.But she isdeeplytouchedtoseeHaesung nonetheless, and their meeting has a new depth in their shared knowledge of what might have been. And Song mischievously, even rather darkly, shows us that, as writers, Nora and Arthur can’thelpseeingwhat a compellingcharacterHaesungis:thehumblemanwithoutNora’sglamorous newpublic identityandaspirations.Hehasakindof nobilitythatmakeshimgreater thaneitherofthem. BothNoraandHae-sungareawareoftheromantic KoreanconceptofIn-yun:providence,fateandthe reunitingof soulswhokneweachother inpastlives. This airy concept has a concrete new reality in the digital21stcentury.Theirpastlivesweretheirchildhoods,whichmightinothererashavebeenforgotten, but which now have a vivid reality in a world of instant data retrieval. Other flm-makers might makeironyorcomedyorpsycho-suspenseoutofthe ideaofhookingupwithyouroldcrushes.NotSong. For this movie, it is the stuf of the most heartfelt love,the most profound self-questioning. Past Lives takes its place among a number of fascinatingly diverse Asian movies about evaluatingyour identityinawesterncontext:LuluWang’s bittersweet comedy The Farewell (2019), Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s multiverse fantasy Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) and DavyChou’sKoreanadopteedramaReturntoSeoul (2022). But Past Lives is greater than all of them, because of its inspired, unforced simplicity and ease.Themost complex emotions spring fromthe most uncomplicated flmic language. Revisitingthismovienowatthe endoftheyear, Ithink whatmakes it sopowerfulis itsportrayal of Nora and Hae-sung’s childhood. These scenes are not, as they might be in a diferent drama, a mere prologue or just glancingly important as a curtainraiser. These are their past lives and they live on into the present • Peter Bradshaw a career-best Cate Blanchett, but Todd Field’s flm so specifcally captures the trappings of highbrow celebrity, and so sublimely embeds in her cocooned world, that some viewers have not unreasonably mistaken her for a real person. Tár is a featofworld-building, especially for one that so closely resembles our recent timeline. For every year that Field took away from flm-making – this is hisfrstfeaturesince2006’sLittle Children–heseems tohavecome up witha topic that wouldderail a lesser flm. It shouldn’t work, but the flm succeeds by being a relentless character study rendered undeniable by Blanchett’s truly unmissableperformance.Field’s deft handling of Tár’s unravelling is one of the flm’s primary enjoyments. Though, in a flm this meticulously crafted, there aremany:Tár’sbespokesuitsand imposing minimalist wardrobe by renowned costume designer Bina Daigeler; production designer Marco Bittner Rosser’s incantationof chillyandbrutalist Berlin. There’s the unnerving score by Icelandic musician and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, and the magnificent sight of Blanchett, baton in hand, looming above the camera and on the precipice of thundering orchestral sound. But the flm’s chief achievement is its intellectualism, one that assumes the audience’s abilitytokeepup.It’suncomfortabletositwiththefullcomplexity of a human being, including this talented, self-absorbed, blinkered, vituperative one undone by her own emotional cruelty. Youmaynotfeelforher, but you will certainly think about it all. Adrian Horton ! Baton charge Cate Blanchett in Tár  A REVERIE ABOUT ALTERNATIVE EXISTENCES AND WHAT-IF LIFE PATHS

22December2023 TheGuardianWeekly 2023 55 BEST OF CULTURE 10 Olivia Rodrigo Guts Olivia Rodrigo imagines punk as it seemed when you were a kid: loud, angry, melodic – the kind of music that Lindsay Lohan played in Freaky Friday. Rodrigo’s frecracker second album,Guts,draws frombeloved pop-rock both classic and contemporary, but it feels most indebted to this Hollywood version of punk, which somehow seemed snarlier and snarkier thananythingthat existedinthe real world. Unlike her one-time mentor TaylorSwift, romance isnotlifeor-death in Rodrigo’s world, but losing a friend, or losing your sense of self, might be. Guys, on the other hand, are just grist to the mill: Get Him Back!, Guts’s galvanising peak, is destined to close Rodrigo’s live show for as long as she lives. It’s Guts to a T: toxic, messy and a total headrush. Shaad D’Souza 9 Amaarae Fountain Baby When the GhanaianAmerican singer, songwriter and producer Amaarae emerged internationally from west Africa’s alté scene in 2020, she told Pitchfork: “I want to be the quintessentialAfricanprincessof pop.” This year, ahead ofthe releaseofFountainBaby,her ! Gut feeling Olivia Rodrigo  GUTS FEELS INDEBTED TO A SNARLY HOLLYWOOD VERSION OF PUNK 5 MUTOMBO ! Pop wellspring Amaarae Frompolitical rallyingcries tojoyoushedonism, themusicthatmadewaves

TheGuardianWeekly 22December2023 56 2023 BEST OF CULTUREAlbums secondrecord, shehadupgraded herambitions, stating:“Fountain Baby is a pop album above all else.It shouldnotbepigeonholed solely as an ‘Afrobeats’ project.” Aspromised,FountainBabyis a lavish and playful album with a borderless vision shaped by Amaarae’s upbringing between Accra and Atlanta: yes, there are the sleek percussive elements of Afrobeats, along with the euphoric boundlessness of alté, but Amaarae’s experimentation also takes in punk, R&B, famenco, melodic rap, g-funk, soft rock, alltopped of with her sugar-sweet voice. The abundance of Fountain Babyisanactofgenerosity, strappinginthelistener toaccompany Amaaraeonhergloriouslyconfdent rompinpursuitofpleasure. Tara Joshi 8 Blur The Ballad of Darren Prior to the release of The Ballad of Darren, Damon Albarn described Blur’s ninth album as “a record that sort of delves into whatit’s like to be 55”. But it seems more universal thanthat,drenchedinthehorror of realising that time has passed and continues to pass. There’s mourning for the years you’ve already lived and the feelings you’velongsincefelt,andanxiety for the years and feelings yet to come. It seems to say that life is longuntilit’snot,thatloveis safe untilit’snot,thattheworldiseasy to exist in until it’s not: realisations that dawn again and again even in your younger years. Blur have alwaysbeencapableofbalancingtender introspectionwith lairypoptunesandTheBalladof Darren, swooningandseasoned, is one oftheir very best. It must be hard to be a band that has been so beloved. You want to think that the work you are doing now, in your 50s, is your best, while thousands of people remain in thrall to the songs you wrote when you were 25 – one of which was a joke that got out of hand. After some missteps along the way, Blur fnd something of their old selves in a new space and time on The Ballad of Darren, an album that adds to the lore without ever taking anything from it. Maybe this is what middle age is all about: acceptingthepainfulpast,eyeing the inevitable end of everything and striding out into the future regardless. Kate Solomon 7 Yaeji With a Hammer A hammer can break and it can mend. On the cover of her debutalbumYaejiwieldsherown mallet. The Korean-American artist’s face is calm, butthe cute smirkdrawnontothetoolhas an airofplayfulmenace.Is shegoing to use it to destroy or create? A glance over her shoulder is an invitation for us to follow her and fnd out. With a Hammer is Yaeji’s debutfull-lengthalbum,butthe 30-year-old singer-producer-DJ spent her 20s becoming a rising star of New York’s underground club scene. Along the way, she occasionally spilled over into the mainstream – with her party anthem Raingurl or her cover of Drake’s Passionfruit. But With a Hammer marks a renovation of her musical identity. Growing up between the US and South Korea, Yaeji has said she felt isolated in both countries; not quite ftting into either culture. With a Hammer was created during the pandemic, when anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 77% in the US, and Yaeji has spoken at length about how she reckoned with her painful history during that time. During themaking ofWith a Hammer, she said she kept a real hammer close to hand in the studio, and its weighty presence is feltonanalbumthatboth defends and attacks. Lyrically the songs explode with feeling, but Yaeji’s productionis controlledandoftenpared back. Submerge FM opens the album with a fute that trills like  BLUR CAN BALANCE TENDER REFLECTION WITH LAIRY POP TUNES ! Grit pop Blur at Wembley ! Hammer time Yaeji

22December2023 TheGuardianWeekly 57 viral, Mitski saw her mordant, nuanced introspection reduced to“sadgirl”popandcame tofeel dehumanisedbytheextremeelementsofher fandom.LaurelHell was the last releaseonher record contract,andattheendofthetour it seemedas thoughMitskiwould retreatfrom public life for good. At 32, however, it seemed Mitski sawawaytochange.This summer, she announced that she had not only renegotiated her deal, but her relationship with her audience. The admission heralded a surprise new album, The Land Is InhospitableandSoAreWe,thatwas completely unlike anything Mitski had made before. The Land … was as intimate and penetrating as a dark night. It was Mitski’s own quiet crossroad blues, turningher tendernegotiations between the cold certainty of isolation and the warm risk of connection into spooked, hymnal allegories. for mending. And then she is ready to swing again. Katie Goh 6 Lana Del Rey Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd Intoxicating love, triumphant self-destruction, abject abandonment, simmering-to-roiling melancholia: this is the tonal palette Lana Del Rey has spent the past 12 years fashioning into aheadysonic calling card.Popis still thrilled by reinvention, but for the musician born Elizabeth Grant consistency is crucial: her inner darkness is always rendered in languid, sumptuously beautiful ballads littered with strange, specifc detail and steeped in the musty beauty of golden age Hollywood, as well as thegrittyromanceofeveryday Americana. Songs are occasionally jolted into the 21st century by sharply fickering trap beats and always by her voice, a pufy sonic pout with a slight slur – in the past she has christened the cumulative style “narcoswing”. On her lovely and perturbing ninthalbum,DidYouKnowThat There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, Del Rey continues to map out this turbulent, symbolstrewnemotionallandscapewith disturbing ferocity. On Ocean Blvd, Del Rey’s inbuiltambiguityseepsdeepinto the music. Instead of the smattering of pop songs – strangely unsettling, but catchy as well – thatmadehernameinthe2010s, shenowdealsalmostexclusively in impressionistic material that doesn’tinstantlyhitthepleasure centre. These tracks reward repeated listening. It pays dividends to invest in her world, an articulation of American darkness,offemalepain,ofthequest for temporary transcendence. DelRey’smusichas always been partlyabout cheap,emptythrills, but this richly imagistic, captivatingly cryptic album is never one itself. Rachel Aroesti 5 Mitski The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We TheleadsingleofMitski’sprevious album, 2022’s Laurel Hell, took a bleakviewofher futureinmusic. “I used to think I’d be done by 20,” she sang on Working for the Knife.“Nowat29,theroadahead appears thesame/Thoughmaybe at 30, I’ll see a way to change.” It was theJapanese-Americansongwriter’s latesttreatiseonher conficted relationship to her niche but intense fame. After several of her songs unexpectedly went  THE LAND… WAS MITSKI’S OWN QUIET CROSSROAD BLUES birdsong, before a steady drum beat kicks in and Yaeji whispers as though confessing secrets. On With a Hammer, Yaeji transforms a painful history into a creative tool, and on the title track, she releases the tensionthathasbeenaccumulating across the album. Healing takes time, and Yaeji understands the power of music that holds space 4 ! Dark Americana Lana Del Rey DASOM HAN; TOM PALLANT; KRISTY SPAROW/GETTY; EBRU YILDIZ ! Surprise return Mitski

TheGuardianWeekly 22December2023 58 Mitski’swritingiscaptivatingly economical and enigmatic and her melodies sidle hypnotically aroundthegentlemanlyarrangements, occasionally blossoming into devotional refrains that amplify the album’s already considerablemagnetism.Bothin its self-possessed pace and preoccupations,thealbumTheLand … most evokes is Hejira, Joni Mitchell’s liminal musing on the pain and payof of connection, to her lovers and her public (also made in her 32nd year). It’s no smallcomparison.ButlikeHejira, TheLand…feels likeatalismanto inspire searching and softening, and an understated masterpiece that yields its revelations in its own time. Laura Snapes 4JessieWare That! Feels Good! Following the underwhelming adult contemporary safety of her third record, 2017’s Glasshouse, Jessie Ware took stock of her career and blew everything up. She secured new management and went into the studio intent on enjoying herself. The result was her lockdown album, 2020’s What’s Your Pleasure?, a sophisticated disco record that revived the singer’s career. That! Feels Good!, her exceptional ffth album, is couched in the same rapturous hedonism and propelled by breathless ecstasy,Wareinvitingyoutostep into your pleasure. Ware’s voice has always been hermost signifcantassetandshe controls it deftly on That! Feels Good! On tracks such as Free Yourself, Pearls and the whirlingChic-indebtedstrutterFreak MeNow, sherevs thingsupwhen required,exploitingallaspectsof her impressive range from soaring theatricality to smouldering seductress. Warereallylets ripontheLatin disco of Begin Again, giving the most assuredvocalperformance of her career towards the song’s climax. “Give me something good that’s even better than it seems,” she demands over tumbling pianos, before lamenting the mundanity and dull tedium of everyday life on the chorus: “Is this my life?” she wonders. “Beginning or end? Can we start again?” Ifhittingtheresetbutton results insomething as carefree, fun and pleasurable as That! Feels Good!, then Jessie Ware might just be on to something. Alim Kheraj 3 Caroline Polachek Desire, I Want to Turn Into You This album begins with a sizzle reel of what Caroline Polachek can do with her voice. Floating serenely on a high thermal of coos, it dips down in pitch and speeds towards the earth, crackingasPolachekpushes itintothe red.ShepullsupwithaCeltic folk ululation and heads back into the sky again, higher than ever, reachingwhistle register.After a fnal soulful fourish, the drums kick in and she begins merely talking: “Welcometomyisland.” Throughout her fourth solo album, she’s technicallyimmaculate,butnever showingof.The meaningofDesire,IWanttoTurn Into You itself is carried in how thesevocallines searchhighand low, babbling inexcitedmelody, yearninghardtoreachtopnotes, or occasionally speaking in a carefulmonotone:this isadrama about the all-consuming nature of desire, played out across the very topography of Polachek’s perfect voice. The production (chiefy by Polachek and Danny L Harle) lays pop elements at strange, oblique angles to one another. There are kitsch juxtapositions everywhere – 80s orchestral hits set against UK garage beats, DidoguestingalongsideGrimes – thatmight scanas ironic,but are clearly ardently sincere. This is perhaps Polachek’s lane:beingthebardfor ageneration of digitally savvy, cultural cherry-pickers forwhomironyis so dull, even hateful, compared withlovingsomethingintensely. While others fuss and grouch on the poolside, Polachek dives into life, thrilling in the rush of cold,thebubblesonher skinand the subsequent clarity of mind. Ben Beaumont-Thomas 2 Young Fathers Heavy Heavy Young Fathers have long existed in a space of their own devising, making music that’s genuinelyimpossible tolabel.In the nine years since their debut album won the Mercury prize, people have tried pretty much everything on for size, from “alternative hip hop” to “neosoul”,onlytodiscover thatnone ofthem ft. It almost goes without saying that this is a bold strategy in a world increasingly driven by genre-basedplaylists andif-youlike-that-try-this algorithmsbut, ! Letting rip Jessie Ware ! Vocal acrobat Caroline Polachek 2023 BEST OF CULTUREAlbums

22December2023 TheGuardianWeekly 59 Lankum FalseLankum THE FIRST MINUTE ofLankum’s fourth album might lull you into thinking it’s simply a beautiful work of trad folk. Don’tbe fooled.TheDublinfour-piece openFalseLankumwithsingerandinstrumentalist RadiePeat’s crystal-clearvoicebeamingout a cappella on single Go Dig My Grave, but they quickly stagger into expansive territory. Yes, in one sense they perform what you could call folk. But this is more a stunning collectionofIrishtrad– anda few originals –brokenupintosectionsbythree“fugue” interludes. It defes genre while yanking classics into the 21st century. Lankumhavebeenbuildinguptothis soundfor years. When they formed more than a decade ago as Lynched, named after founding sibling members Ian and Daragh Lynch, they hewed closer to trad’s roots. A 2015 Jools Holland performance of two songs from their album Cold Old Fire seems positivelychipper comparedwithhowtheysound today (and False Lankum’s 2019 predecessor The Livelong Day was even heavier). Where initially woodwind and jaunty harmonies prevailed, Lankum have since embraced a mixture of light andshade,pullingyoufrompluckedstrings tosudden cacophonies. The band started working more closely with producer and unofcial ffth member John“Spud”MurphyonTheLivelongDay,andhave creditedhimwithsincedrawingoutwhattheycall the “soundinourheads” –unsettling,layeredand mesmerising as it may be. Almost exactly halfway through Netta Perseus (written by Daragh), the bottom drops out of a deceptively sweet pairing of vocals and acoustic guitar, chucking you into a thrum of percussive booms and keening thriller-flm viola. It’s hard to pinpoint all the instruments creating the dirge, evenfor themusicians who createdit.Instrumental track Master Crowley’s is inspired by Donegalborn Hugh Gillespie’s 1937 fddle performance of a medley known as Master Crowley’s Reel. By the time Lankum are done with their nearly sixminute version, they’ve sped up the tempo and transformedits traditionalfddlearrangementwith concertinas and hard-to-pin-down percussion. Speaking to the Guardian this year, band member CormacMacDiarmadapointedout a sectionofthe song “where there’s a waspy type of sound? I have no idea whatthatis,” he said. “No idea.” While that sonic overwhelm is captivating and rewardsendless listens,FalseLankumisn’t allhairblown-back intensity. Sonically, Lord Abore and MaryFlynn– featuringMacDiarmada’svocaldebut, alongside Peat – is tender and delicate. Of course, this being Lankum, it’s also the Irish version of a Scottish child ballad about a mother who poisons her young son because she can’t stand his young girlfriend.Grimstuf, sure,but settoMacDiarmada and Peat’s lilting voices, it’s a bittersweet respite from the album’s heavier moments. Similarly,the stripped-back Clear Away in the Morning foats alongwhilesettingthealbum’snauticaltheme:the bandrecordedFalseLankuminaMartellotowerof Ireland’seasterncoast, seeingtheseaeachmorning. In a year of braggadocio rap, highly personal popandTikTok-fuelledhits,FalseLankumhacked outits own path: an undeniable work of scale and dynamic builds, with few songs ending sounding as they started. That variety was intentional, and ends up being incredibly efective. As Peat put it to the Irish Times: “Things work best in contrast becauseitmakesbothparts standout.If something is the same for twohours,yourbrainstopshearing it.” There’s no chance of that happening here: the staggering beauty of False Lankum stays with you longafter its runtimeconcludes•TshepoMokoena gatekeepersnotwithstanding, it seems to be working for them. Heavy Heavy is an album packed with ideas that probably shouldn’t work in tandem, but somehow do. Pop hooks meld with warpspeed beats and soulful vocals; warm, euphoric melodies break through production that fzzes and seethes; wild experimentationis crammedintotheconfnes ofthree-minutesongs;industrial noise and scrambled hip-hop samples coexist with piano ballads. A hefty dose of the music is inspired by band members AlloysiousMassaquoi andKayus Bankole’s African roots and the latter’s visits to Ethiopia and Ghana in the years after they made2018’sCocoaSugar.Allthis happens in barely half an hour – in thaat sense at least, Heavy Heavy is a model of economy; 30 minutes of music marked by thethrillingandincreasinglyrare sense thatyou’re inthepresence of something that’s unique and completely modern. On paper it might look like a mess, or at least exhausting information overload. But it invitesdancing,evenas thelyrics leantowards topics beftting the album’s title– racism,policebrutality,goldmining’s efectonthe environment in Africa. Powerful, uncategorisable, occasionally inexplicable, Heavy Heavy is the perfect advert for the virtues of going your own way. Alexis Petridis ! Heavy hitters Young Fathers SHIRLAINE FORREST/REDFERNS; 2023 MERCURY PRIZE/FREENOW/PA; GARY CALTON

TheGuardianWeekly 22December2023 60 2023 BEST OF CULTURE The beige sofas and brutally lacquered hairstyles of The Newsreader (ABC/BBC/Roku) bely a colourful, multi-layered drama setin a 1980s Australian TV newsroom. Helen Norville (Anna Torv) and Dale Jennings (Sam Reid) are the two emotionally intertwined news anchors who are just about holding ittogether on screen, as things take a distinctly messier turn of it. Somebody Somewhere (HBO/Sky) is a beautiful comedy-drama setin smalltown middle America. Its star Bridget Everett plays a 40-something woman who has returned to her hometown of Manhattan, Kansas (from the other Manhattan),to care for her dying sister. Butthe show refuses to follow predictable redemption arcs in favour of something much more honest and afectionate. Graham Snowdon, editor The third and fnal series of TopBoy (Netfix) came to a poignantly nihilistic end as the rivalry between childhood bestfriends Dushane (Ashley Walters) and Sully (Kane Robinson) spiralled further from the vortex of Hackney’s Summerhouse estate.Brilliantly acted, written and conceived to create empathy amid violence. If Colin from Accounts (BBC) was one ofthe fruits ofthe UK’s post-Brexittrade deal with Australia,then it was a welcome beneft. Reallife partners Harriet Dyer as Ashley and Patrick Brammall as Gordon write and star as the odd couple broughttogether by a collision with Colin,the titular dog whose disability cements and complicates a perfect sitcom set-up. Isobel Montgomery, deputy editor “Taking adultthemes, and exploring them in a childish way, is how I deal with things,” Mawaan Rizwan told the Observer ahead of the launch of Juice (BBC). And so his sitcom delved into his millennial career and relationship angst, sprinkling in cartoonish surrealism to make a compellingly original series. TheChange (Channel 4/SBS), written by and starring Bridget Christie,follows Linda as she reaches a pivot point on turning 50. Claiming back some ofthe invisible hours she’s devoted to her family, Linda strikes of on a solo road trip to a rural childhood haunt. This unique, tender show takes in notjust the menopause, but also the environment, grief, gender identity and folklore – and has a superb soundtrack too. Clare Horton, assistant editor At frst, The Last of Us (HBO/ Sky) held little allure, with its zombie video game origins, but any doubts disappeared within minutes ofthe frst episode starting. The performances of Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are stunning, as they try to stay alive on a fraughttrip through an America laid waste by a pandemic caused by a fungal infection. Another series to shine brightly was The Gold (BBC/ Paramount+), based on 1983’s Brink’s-Mat robbery, when a gang stole gold bullion worth millions of pounds in a raid near Heathrow airport. The gang’s biggest problem is how to make the gold disappear without attracting attention, with Hugh Bonneville’s DCI Boyce hot on their tail. Anthony Naughton, assistant editor In Good Omens 2 (Amazon) David Tennant and Michael Sheen returned as Crowley and Aziraphale, an angel and demon respectively who have chosen a cosy stalemate on Earth over their duty to set in motion the Apocalypse. Written by Neil Gaiman and John Finnemore,the plot might not have been as expansive as the frst series butthis smaller world was beautifully shot with a rich cast and a warm-hearted exploration of friendship. Shane Meadows’ frst period drama The Gallows Pole (BBC) contained everything you’d expect – class confict, fnancial desperation and black humour. Based on Benjamin Myers’ book,the story follows a gang of northern textile workers, led by Michael Socha,forced to turn their hands to counterfeiting. Itis fascinating to watch Meadows’ familiar cast and improvised dialogue bring such life to the 18th century. Neil Willis, production editor Growing up atthe height of Spicemania, in a house full of Manchester United fans,Ifound footage from the Beckham (Netfix) documentary series revived vivid childhood memories, butfrom a new perspective.It gave insight into the maddening media intrusion that came with fame atthattime and the unwavering devotion needed to be the best. Season two of The Bear (Disney+) somehow surpassed the frst. Brilliant butinternally tortured head-chef Carmy and his colleagues proved that setting up a fne dining restaurant could be just as explosive as working in the failing sandwich shop of series one. Butthe characters also sufer personal sacrifce to reach culinary sublimity. Emily El Nusairi, deputy production editor TheGuardianWeekly teamrevealour small-screenpicks of theyear,fromTop Boy’spoignantly nihilisticfinaletoa secondhelpingofThe Bear’skitchenchaos Somebody Somewhere Top Boy The Change The Gold Good Omens 2 The Bear Juice

22December2023 TheGuardianWeekly Diversions 61 1 Marine biologists made which alarming discovery about starfsh? a) Their genome contains no link to other animals b) They are immortal c) Their entire body is, in fact, a head d) They are impervious to nuclear radiation 2 Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, claimed his best man duties for Prince William were hindered by which unfortunate injury? a) An infected scorpion bite on his bottom b) An infamed nipple c) Infamed testicles d) A frostbitten penis 3 Which secondhand items did a charity shop in south Wales ask people not to donate? a) Pornography b) Firearms c) Sex toys d) Cat litter 4 Why did Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson object to a waxwork of him in Paris? a) It was at least 30cm shorter than his 195cm height b) It seemed Caucasian, rather than his dual Samoan/AfricanAmerican ethnicity c) His tattoos were on the wrong limbs and backwards d) As a follower of Polynesian Animism, he is opposed to efgies 5 Barbie was the highestgrossing flm worldwide, with Oppenheimer in third. What came second? a) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 b) Fast X c) Super Mario Bros Movie d) The Little Mermaid 6 Which is the most recent record set by Taylor Swift in her stellar 2023? a) Most No 1 albums by a woman in history b) The frst and second bestselling vinyl records since 1991 c) First concerttour to gross $1bn d) Most streamed country album in a day on Spotify 7 Spanish duke Fernando Fitz-James Stuart was given which legal order? a) Cease using the DUKE name for his clothing brand, pending a legal challenge from the US university b) Shorten his daughter’s 25-word name c) Stop demanding an invite to King Charles’s coronation d) Cease calling himself Quiz of the year Barbie stormedtheboxoffice,Prince Harry toldallandanelite chessdispute tookamurky turn…test yourknowledge of someof 2023’squirkiestnews His Royal Highness on ofcial paperwork 8 Spain won this year’s Women’s World Cup. But which player won the Golden Boot? a) Hinata Miyazawa b) Olga Carmona c) Kadidiatou Diani d) Amanda Ilestedt 9 The Oscar for Best Picture went to Everything Everywhere All At Once. Which other notable achievement did this flm manage? a) The most awarded flm of alltime, with 266 awards out of 405 nominations b) Its soundtrack is Macau’s best-selling album ever c) The verse-jumping theory posited in the flm was deemed possible – if unproven – by scientists d) It’s the highest-grossing English language flm with all non-white leads 10 Collins Dictionary designated which acronym its “most notable word of 2023”? a) NFT b) IQ c) ULEZ d) AI 11 Which of the following was 2023 not a designated “Year of”? a) The UN’s International Year of Dialogue as a Guarantee of Peace b) The EU’s Year of Skills c) The Commonwealth’s Year of Youth d) Canada’s Year of The Moose 12Adisputebetweenchess playersMagnusCarlsen andHans Niemann was settled.The furorehad gainedprominence after the latter facedunfounded claims thathehadcheated using whichoddmethod? a) Communing with a psychic b) Anal beads connected to a remote computer c) Seducing a referee d) Passing wind to put his opponent of 13 For what did Elon Musk make it into the Guinness Book of Records? a) The world’s most divorced man b) Single bigest loss of net worth in history c) Most successful hair transplant ever d) The emeralds in his father’s mine were judged the purest ever 14 Which item garnered the highest price at auction in 2023? a) A two-cornered hat owned by Napoleon b) A pair ofjeans worn by Kurt Cobain c) Freddie Mercury’s silver moustache comb d) An LA Lakers jersey belonging to Wilt Chamberlain ads ng ted al s s Chamberlain s d asian, giv a) C na bra cha univ b) Shor 25-wo c) Stop d invite t corona d) Cease ca Questions set by Seamas and Dara O’Reilly & Hardy annuals Taylor Swift (above), Dwayne Johnson (below, left) and the humble starfish NATASHA MOUSTACHE/ GETTY/TAS RIGHTS MANAGEMENT; ALLSTAR/ SONY; KAMELEON007/ GETTY * Questions extracted from the Observer Magazine Answers on page 62 te dge 1 p a s g t c u

TheGuardianWeekly 22December2023 62 Diversions TheGuardianWeekly 22December2023 C OU N TRY DI A RY BI SHOP AU C K L A N D County Durham, England, UK CI N E M A C ON N ECT Killian Fox C H E S S Leonard Barden Michael Adams, at 52 the oldest competitor, won the 13th London Classic and its £15,000 ($19,000) frst prize this month. The youngest player, 14-yearold Shreyas Royal, scored his second grandmaster result and will aim for his third and fnal norm (ofthree needed for the title) atthe traditional Caplin Hastings New Year congress, which starts on 28 December. Adams became the frst English winner of the Classic, which has previously been won by the world champions 1 Won by Bradford that year, what did local jeweller Fattorini make in 1911? 2 What was once defned as the length ofthree grains of barley? 3 Who was the subject of the 1978 documentary To Mrs Brown, a Daughter? 4 Whatis the world’s largest unfnished Catholic church? 5 How did Jacob Chansley achieve notoriety on 6 January 2021? 6 The Bitter Lakes are part of which waterway? 7 Which mammals have the thickestfur? 1 Wordpool Find the correct defnition: ACCEND a) throw in the towel b) go up c) ignite d) to soften Ts to Ds 2 Word Centre Identify this word from its centre: ***LOWS*** Magnus Carlsen, Vlad Kramnik and Vishy Anand. Adams, an eight-time British champion, scored an unbeaten 6/9 to crown a vintage year during which the former world No 4 won the British and English titles plus the world over-50 senior championship. He said: “It’s probably my best ever result. Other major tournaments that I won were when I was in my prime, and it’s a completely diferent challenge when you’re playing people much younger than yourself.” Royal, meanwhile, who began his international career at seven,turned in a performance in London that created an impressive career surge – despite being the lowest rated by around 200 points in the 10-player feld. This high stile, beside Coundon beck, would be a challenge for anyone with ageing hips and dodgy knees. After the recent frst snow of winter, a combination of ice and mud made its steps doubly hazardous, so thank you to whoever had the foresightto install a stout pole beside it. I hauled myself up, pausing to admire the top ofthe post, a rough-hewn hemisphere worn smooth by the grip of countless ramblers. Collectively,they’ve created an accidental work of art. I’ve experienced a similar kind offellowship with unknown walkers in parts of Weardale. Near Wolsingham,there is a rickety old gate that opens with an iron latch, forged by a blacksmith in the distant past, closing with a satisfying snick. Winter sun highlights a pattern in the metal surface, created by hammer blows, but atthe top, which curls like a shepherd’s crook,they have been worn smooth by the hands of passersby who have pulled on the latch. Dale footpaths used to be full of gates with handmade iron fttings, everyday minor work for village blacksmiths. As this footpath furniture falls into disrepair, when wooden gates and gateposts crumble, it’s replaced by factory-made, galvanised metal substitutes – but even these sometimes have character. One such, on a path across the fanks of Chapelfell, is closed by a spring-loaded boltthat shoots home into a hollow,tubular post. When a south-westerly wind blows across the bolt hole,the post becomes an organ pipe. A mournful sound, rising and falling with the gusts and lulls, drifts across the fell, oddly in tune with calls of golden plover and curlews that will return there to nest in spring. Phil Gates sr e ws nA n wor Besi uoL 3. hcnI 2. puC AF 1zi uQ . ailí maF adar gaS 4.)ybabebuttsettsrif( .t oirl oti paCehtt a na mahS nonAQ5 .sr ett oaeS 7.l anaCzeuS 6 .sni oc dl oG9. yhpar got ohP 8 .r ey Dff oeGybskoobf ost cej buS 01 deyal P 21.sepyt ehcra nai gnuJ 11 neh wsr eb muN31. mlif no noel opa N ;sr ett el r uof;sr ett el eer ht:t uo nettir w dnaseut atsl a mi nA41.sr ett el evif s pagtsegnoL 51. dnalt ocS ni er ut pl ucs aknal sa M.sel gnis KU1oNnee wt eb . SNOI P MAHC 3. PI HS WOLLEF 2. )c 1 , TEKSI RB, ERBI F 5. NOI TCARTSI D4 l anr et EtcennoCa meni C. SEGARAG , dni Msselt opS ehtf oeni hsnuS kr oY we N, ehcodcenyS dna noit at padA . na mf uaKeilrahCyb nettir wll a er e w e W. c 3. d 2. c 1 r aey ehtf ozi uQ . detti mr ep ni a mersr eht oeht e muser p si hT. d 11. d 01. a 9. a 8. b 7. c 6. c 5. b 4 . d 41. b 31. b 21.raey yr evesi a b 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 c d e f g h 6exf)sni wosl a! 5f B 1(! 6exB 1 8983 )yl kci uqesol osl asevo mreht o( ! +8hR4 8gK+1hR3 8hxK! +8hR2 . eta m7hQ6 8gK+1hQ5 8hxK 3898 Alexander Fier v Robert Vidal, Brazil v Andorra, BatumiOlympiad 2018.White tomove and win. QU I Z Thomas Eaton P U Z Z L E S Chris Maslanka 8 Julia Margaret Cameron was a pioneer of which artform? What links: 9 Aureus; ducat; forin; guinea; noble; unicorn? 10 DH Lawrence; USS George HW Bush; Stalker; Where Eagles Dare? 11 Shadow; persona; anima/animus; self? 12 Albert Dieudonné; Marlon Brando; Rod Steiger; Joaquin Phoenix? 13 1, 2, 6 and 10; 0, 4, 5 and 9; 3, 7, 8, 40, 50 and 60? 14 Greyfriars Bobby; Towser the cat; Winkie the pigeon; Kelpies? 15 The Beatles (54 years); Kate Bush (44 years); Tom Jones (42 years)? 3 Dropouts Identify this word where letters have been replaced by asterisks: C*A*P*O*S 4 E pluribus Rearrange TONIC TRIADS to make a single word. 5 Cryptic Lie about broadband type (5) Joint betto contain risk (7) Fish for ages where cars are kept(7) © CMM2023 ILLUSTRATION: CLIFFORD HARPER Name the films and the person who connectsthem. Notes andQueries The long-running seriesthatinvites readersto send in questions and answers on anything and everything

22December2023 TheGuardianWeekly 63 16 Shop arranged essentialthough not very patientservice (8) 19 Henry VIII’s position of influence (6) 21 I’m ready to avenge the conservatives(5) 22 Special momentfor you and me announced (4) Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box containsthe numbers 1 to 9. Last week’s solution 6 Polecatfur(5) 7 Undertaker’s cover-up? (6) 9 Lambast – faultin me (anag)(9) 13 Clover(unluckily?)(7) 14 Trace (7) 15 Gretel’s brother(6) 16 Getinvolved in another’s affairs (6) 18 Catastrophic situation (5) 20 Bald or bad? (5) Across 1 Huntforfood (6) 4 Wolfs down (6) 8 Noble gas, Rn (5) 9 Waste (away)(7) 10 Stare at(7) 11 Indian prime minister, 1947- 1964 (5) 12 Taking into custody (9) 17 Pointy-leaved succulent,such as one used to make tequila (5) 19 Inform (7) 21 Use itto see who’s calling (7) 22 Shy and retiring (5) 23 In conclusion (6) 24 Battery power(6) Down 1 Split(in two)(6) 2 Jane Asher or Damian Lewis, for instance (7) 3 Strong cannabis(5) 5 Hilly wine-growing region of central Tuscany (7) Solution No 16,718 P U N T R O O F R A C K A U R O L E S E T S F A I R P L A Y S R R T T Y S P H I L O S O P H Y O E L R R C O R A N K L E D I S O W N T T I M G N E A N T I T H E S I S D D G R T P I I N E X P E R T W I N D S A I O R E C O R O N A R Y L E A D C H A P E R O N M I S L A Y O L A U A T N F E C U N D T R I B U N A L C I M L M E C O R K S C R E W A B A S E R A G H L T C O U P L E R E L I S H H P I L N E E X C I S E W I N G I T S O E T C I S T O U T T H R O W B A C K R R T A P L P A R A D I G M T R O U P E T G N E E C A H E R E B Y S T R I K I N G Across 1 Cast ultimately drowned out by quiet beat(6) 5 Suspect had row about attachment(8) 9 Can book startto produce leads? (8) 10 Want curtains covering entrance to room (6) 11 Punishes my refusal about accepting sanctimonious creature (4,8) 13 Somebody impregnated by leader of Conservativesin the past(4) 14 Old part of bible was originally banned in foreign lands(8) 17 We do it up,somehow producing 12d (5,3) 18 Whatleadsto court officials backing line that shouldn’t be crossed (4) 20 Lie about half of unmarried women on offer(12) 23 Focus on pitch and contract(6) 24 Measure feeling of dread associated with memory that cannot be erased (8) 25 Human beings agree at an intellectual level(8) 26 Makes a point about entering argument with different perspective (6) Down 2 Firm conned about contracts essentially (4) 3 English university announced sportin differentlocation (9) 4 Start of Irish National led by champion horse (6) 5 Treatmentfor adult with ‘proven hysteria’? (8,7) 6 Gas energy helping to avoid type of electricity generation (8) 7 #smartandstylish (5) 8 Curse yearin which writers brought up manipulative treatment(10) 12 Completely take out a nail in the ground (10) 15 US sportsman’sflying visit? (9) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Solution No 29,245 Quick crossword The Weekly cryptic # All solutio ns p u blish e d n e xt w e e k By Jack Sudoku Medium No 29,251 No 16,724 Guardian Puzzles&Crosswords Access over 15,000 puzzles on our app. Download from the App Store or Google Play. Read more:theguardian.com/puzzles-app