In the last 13 days I’ve sat in 3 different venues, in 9 different screens, and watched 30 films at Edinburgh International Film Festival. It has been a great experience, especially the experience of conducting my first industry interview, with director Jeff Baena. Most of the films have been great, some have been mediocre and … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: June 2014
Coherence.
I finished off my time at Edinburgh International Film Festival with Coherence. A creepy science fiction chiller that begins at a friendly dinner party and turns into something much more unnerving, Coherence was a great way to finish what has been a remarkable festival. The film uses shaky cameras and hand-held equipment to create a similar appearance to … Continue reading
Miss Zombie.
Set against the bleak backdrop of a family home, Miss Zombie contributes a great deal to the popular zombie genre. The family home is well looked after but if you look a little closely, the floor is peeling and the patio is overgrown and dirty. The cracks are starting to show on the outside, reflecting what is … Continue reading
Still Life.
What happens after we die is beyond our knowledge and control. Yet, our behaviour in this world can determine the way in which we leave it. What and who we leave behind is forever un-knowable and it is the sadness of leaving nothing behind us that forms the centre of Uberto Pasolini’s Still Life. Most of … Continue reading
In Order of Disappearance.
Set against the exquisite whiteness of Norway, In Order of Disappearance is a blood-bath of fun and fury. The white canvas doesn’t stay white for too long. Soon enough it is splattered with the vibrant red blood of many angry men. On the same night that he is awarded and recognised for his contributions to his community, … Continue reading
The Infinite Man.
Time travel is always a problematic and ambitious subject to attempt. So often these films resort to either glossing over the unexplainable, or embrace them whole-heartedly. The Infinite Man does neither. It balances the complexities with the acceptance of its own confusion in a way that keeps the audience enthralled whilst they ponder the situation for themselves. … Continue reading
My Accomplice.
Lacking in all direction and chemistry, My Accomplice is a perfect example of a director getting thoroughly carried away in their own work. This feeble and poorly judged romantic-comedy is crucially lacking in both romance and comedy. There is barely any plot to speak of and the whole affair is dangerously self indulgent and lazy. Two strangers meet … Continue reading
Korso.
Markus is talented. He is confident in his talents as a basketball player and plans to make a new life for himself in New York. This is a story of imprisonment. Markus wants nothing more than to escape from his home town in Finland but what he will come to discover is just how difficult … Continue reading
Journey to the West.
Made up of what must be less than 15 shots, Journey to the West was a majestic and joyous change from the other films I’ve seen at Edinburgh Film Festival. The film follows a Buddhist monk as he ventures across the city of Marseille, moving at the slowest and smoothest of speeds. Each shot lasts several minutes … Continue reading
Tony Benn: Will and Testament.
When Tony Benn died two months ago I was told by many of his greatness. His death brought with it not only mourning for a great man but a grieving for the politics that Britain once had. Too young to remember politics before Blair’s new labour, I am somewhat ignorant as to the way Britain … Continue reading
