Day Eleven - "Childish, I know, but I felt I deserved a sulk"

Featured review of the day (from Best of the Fest): Mary and Max

Coming soon: Wide Open Spaces, Unmade Beds, Kicks, My Last Five Girlfriends, The Maiden Heist

Day Ten - "On a clear day you can see Val Doonican"

Featured review of the day: Adventureland

Coming soon: A Boy Called Dad, The Maid, Crimson Wing, Crying With Laughter

Day Nine - "Doctor Zerlang sure knows where it's at..."

Featured review of the day: The Hurt Locker

Coming soon: Stella, The Trip, Terribly Happy

Day Eight - "For greater safety, please avoid the English language"

Featured review of the day: Fish Tank

Coming soon: Pontypool, Romeo and Juliet vs The Living Dead, The Wild Angels, Roger Corman In Person, Spread

Day Seven - "I feel a fucking Rocky moment coming on here..."

Featured review of the day: Moon

Coming soon: Boogie Woogie, For the Love of Movies, Le Donk

Day Six - "You're putting me in a very idiosyncratic spot here"

Featured review of the day: Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1

Coming soon: The Missing Person, The Girlfriend Experience, AntiChrist, The September Issue

Day Five - "Something just hit me. I think we might be morons..."

Featured review of the day: Rudo & Cursi

Coming soon: Mad, Bad and Sad, Humpday

Day Four - "I love it when you play doctor with me"

First of all, apologies for falling behind with the blog reviews already. There is a big catch-up binge coming, honest. In the meantime...

Featured review of the day: Mesrine: Killer Instinct


Coming soon: Fragments, Big Things

Day Three - "I can't believe they left Princess Di behind..."

Featured review of the day: Sin Nombre

Coming soon: My Year Without Sex, Turn it Loose, Jerichow

Day Two - “ As far back as I can remember, I wanted to be a lawyer.”

Featured review of the day: The Private Lives of Pippa Lee


Modern Love Is Automatic

Low-budget black comedy about a terminally apathetic nurse (Melodie Sisk) who becomes a dominatrix.

Directed by Zach Clark, Modern Love Is Automatic plays like a low-budget version of Belle de Jour with a dash of Russ Meyer. Melodie Sisk (who is, let's be clear about this, smoking hot) plays Lorraine, a terminally apathetic nurse who even reacts to walking in on her cheating boyfriend with a disinterested stare. Dumping the boyfriend, she continues to ignore co-workers and potentially interested new doctors alike, until an opportunity for some S&M sex work suggests itself and she begins a potentially liberating sideline as a dominatrix. Meanwhile, Lorraine's super-perky new roommate (Maggie Ross), fresh from graduating top of her modelling class, struggles to deal with the seedy realities of her chosen profession and also fails to notice that her boyfriend Mitch (Carlos Bustamante) is becoming increasingly obsessed with Lorraine. Despite its low budget and its occasionally dodgy production values (which means that it's unfortunately unlikely to receive a theatrical release), I really enjoyed this and found myself thinking more and more about it as the day went on. Sisk is simply sensational, despite having minimal dialogue and presenting the same blank-faced stare throughout the majority of the film. Of course, this means that when she finally takes even the slightest step towards a normal human reaction (such as silently gripping the hands of a distraught blonde colleague), it's surprisingly moving. On a similar note, I'm tempted not to reveal the film's best scene (so look away now if you're spoiler-averse), but it concludes with a beautifully directed and superbly acted karaoke scene that's both heart-breaking and uplifting at the same time. The film's also shot through with jet-black humour (X's job as a mattress-saleswoman is as funny as it is depressing) and Clark uses a neat device of using want ads as occasional onscreen captions. Also, Lorraine's latex catsuit will stay with me for a very long time. Speaking of which, the programme warns of sexually explicit imagery, but that's not really the case – there's no nudity and the S&M imagery (including a rapid-fire montage that should be popular on DVD) didn't seem to merit the warning, unless you're very easily offended. Anyway, I was initially going with three stars, but having slept on it and thought about it, I'm upgrading to four. Worth seeking out. I'll also be keeping a close eye on Sisk's career in future, as she's something of a cult actress in the making.


Black Dynamite

Note-perfect Blaxploitation pastiche, starring Michael Jai White as a superbad Shaft-alike sticking it to The Man in revenge for the murder of his brother.

Directed by Scott Saunders, Black Dynamite stars Michael Jai White (who co-wrote the script) as superbad Shaft-alike Black Dynamite, who takes to the streets and sticks it to The Man in revenge for the murder of his younger brother. The jokes come thick and fast and the attention to detail is so good that if you didn't know better, you'd swear this was a recently unearthed 1970s film. Clearly Saunders loves him some 1970s Blaxploitation – the funk score is perfect and the fight scenes (complete with wildly over-the-top sound effects) are fabulous. It's also packed with brilliantly quotable lines (“Now who the HELL interruptin' my kung fu?”) and the absurdly ripped White is superb as Black Dynamite – hopefully he'll be back for Black Dynamite 2. However, that said, the film drags horribly in the middle section where the plot gets hopelessly confused and the jokes all start to repeat themselves. I sat with a row full of fellow film reviewers and we all laughed uproariously for the first 30 minutes or so, then sat in mute silence for another 40 minutes before the film rallied for an admittedly hilarious finale. Favourite exchange: “We didn't tell you about your brother, because we didn't want you to cause rivers of blood in the streets” / “So just tell me who did it and I'll only make a little puddle”. Three stars.

Coming soon:

Fish Tank

British drama from Red Road director Andrea Arnold, starring Katie Jarvis as an angry young teenager whose life changes when her mother (Kierston Wareing) brings home a new boyfriend (Michael Fassbender).

This is actually going to be the featured review on Day Eight, so I'll keep this relatively short, but this is currently my Film of the Festival so far, in joint first place with Mary and Max. Newcomer Katie Jarvis stars as 15 year-old Mia, who's warring with the girls on her estate (she delivers one of them a vicious headbutt in the opening five minutes so you know not to mess with her) and doesn't get on with either her constantly partying mother Joanne (Kierston Wareing) or her bratty, foul-mouthed younger sister, Tyler (Rebecca Griffiths). Her only passion is dancing, which she practices in secret in an empty flat on the top floor, although in a spot of early SYMBOLISM she's also slightly obsessed with freeing a hungry-looking horse she encounters tethered to a lump of concrete on a patch of wasteland. However, things begin to change when her mother brings home charming, charismatic new boyfriend, Connor (Michael Fassbender). Connor's likeable presence actually begins to draw the family closer together, but is he everything that he seems? This is a stunningly well directed film, with scenes so beautiful that it's almost painful to watch them. Arnold's style recalls the Dardennes Brothers' films, in that we spend the entire movie following one character around, semi-documentary style, except that Arnold's camera is subjective, reflecting Mia's inner life – for example, the scene where Connor picks up a pretending-to-be-asleep Mia and puts her to bed is filmed with tight close-ups and with the action slowed down (telling us everything we need to know about how Mia feels about Connor at that point) and then she has her arm over her face, so the camera only half sees as he gently undresses her for bed. This scene is also a neat encapsulation of the entire film: Connor removes Mia's shoes and then there's a tense moment where he slides off her trousers and you suddenly doubt his intentions...only for him to quietly fold her trousers, cover her with a blanket and tip-toe out of the room. As for Katie Jarvis, she ought to be a shoo-in for every acting award going – it's easy to see why she was the sensation of Cannes this year, and why Hollywood have already signed her up. Aside from being a great dancer (her little routines are a joy to watch and Arnold films them against the bright blue paint of the abandoned flat, giving the scenes a happy, colourful feel), she's tough, funny, and, at times, genuinely heart-breaking to watch. There's also strong support from the ubiquitous Fassbender (giving an equally extraordinary, complex performance – like Mia, we like him and want to trust him, though unlike Mia, we're never entirely sure if we can) and from Wareing, while Griffiths steals almost every scene she's in by coming out with some brilliant lines (“I like you – I'll kill you last”) and Harry Treadaway shines in a low-key role as Mia's “pikey” sort-of boyfriend. Arnold includes several wonderful scenes, but highlights include: the entire day-trip sequence, but particularly the fishing scene and Joanne interrupting Mia showing Connor her dancing skills; Mia visiting Connor at work; the audition sequence; and a heart-stopping sequence towards the end of the film that it would be churlish to spoil any further. Hmmm. Okay, so that wasn't as relatively short as I'd hoped, but that only goes to show how wonderful a film it was. Frankly, it's a masterpiece and, I would think, a shoo-in for the Michael Powell award. Five stars.


High Life

Comedy about a group of mostly ex-con junkies planning a heist.

Directed by Gary Yates, High Life is set in 1983 and stars Timothy Olyphant as Dick, a hopeless junkie ex-con who gets fired from his job when his ex-cellmate Bug (Stephen Eric McIntyre) visits him on his first day out of prison. For Bug, the 80s present something of a culture shock: there's weird music (New Wave), everyone's doing different drugs (coke is in, LSD is out) and banks have these new-fangled cash machines that he doesn't quite understand. However, Bug's cash machine-based confusion gives Dick an idea for a heist that could solve all their cash flow problems in one fell swoop. In the meantime, Dick sets about recruiting jittery ex-con Donnie (chameleonic British actor Joe Anderson) and smooth-talking, really, really good-looking fellow drug addict Billy (Rossif Sutherland, brother of Kiefer), who's not an ex-con, but that shouldn't be a problem. Should it? Needless to say, with all four characters such hopeless junkies, the heist doesn't go entirely as planned... I enjoyed this very much. Timothy Olyphant's always been one of my favourite actors (although I STILL haven't seen seasons 2 and 3 of Deadwood) and he's on good form as Dick, even if, as the relative straight man, he doesn't have much to do beyond a series of exasperated reaction shots towards the end. As for the supporting cast, McIntyre's Bug is a genuinely terrifying creation: psychotic, unpredictable, treacherous and yet also kind of pathetic. Anderson is good too, but Rossif Sutherland almost steals the film as Billy (he bears an uncanny resemblance to Billy Zane, so the name might not be coincidence), particularly in the post-heist scenes. The script was loosely based on a two-act play (which took place in Dick's apartment and then the car outside the bank – the joke being that they're such bickering fuck-ups that they never even get out of the car), but Yates does a good job of expanding the story and taking it in several delightfully unexpected directions. The dialogue crackles with great lines such as “Just because you hit someone and they die, doesn't mean you killed them” and “Look at you! Like a pink Chuck Norris!” and there are several lovely throwaway gags too, such as a cut to Dick's film society screenings in prison where they're all watching Polanski's The Tenant (“What the fuck is this shit?”), or Donnie expounding on his method of stealing old ladies' purses and returning them afterwards. There's also a brilliant sight gag that's slightly spoiled by the film's publicity stills (see above), though it's still funny even if you know it's coming. Anyway, this was very enjoyable and a good addition to the ranks of blackly comic heist movies such as The Ladykillers (an acknowledged influence) and Palookaville. Four stars. Also, weirdly, it used the exact same New Order song (Age of Consent - I had to ask which song it was in the Q&A) as Modern Love Is Automatic this morning.


Easier With Practice

Drama starring Brian Geraghty as a writer who becomes involved in a strange, entirely phone-based relationship with a woman he's never met.

Absolutely brilliant and my third favourite film of the festival so far. Written and directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Easier With Practice stars Brian Geraghty as Davy Mitchell, a writer on a promotional tour, with his asshole brother Sean (Kel O'Neill) along for the ride. One night, Davy receives a seemingly random call in his motel room, from a total stranger calling herself Nicole (voiced by Kathryn Aselton), who talks him into an intense bout of phone sex that sparks off a bizarre, erotic but ultimately meaningful relationship. As the tour continues, Davy and Nicole talk to each other every night, sharing their innermost feelings while also continuing their phone sex encounters; both admit that in some way they prefer phone relationships to real relationships. However, Nicole refuses to give Davy her phone number, telling him that she's got a boyfriend, a situation that eventually leads to them fighting, whereupon Nicole stops calling. When his book tour ends, Davy is drawn into a possible relationship with Samantha (Marguerite Moreau), an attractive ex-work colleague he once had a one-night stand with, but he finds that he can't get Nicole out of his head and determines to persuade her to meet him if she ever calls again. This is a superbly written, beautifully directed film with a wonderful central performance from Brian Geraghty (who's also here with The Hurt Locker). It's based on an autobiographical magazine article called “What are you wearing?”by Davy Rothbart, but I'd advise you not to google the article till you've seen the film. There are some brilliant scenes, from the quite hard-to-watch opening phone sex sequence (to the two idiots standing right in front of me at the crucial moment – thanks a lot, you fucking morons), to a superb montage sequence that indicates time passing on the book tour and an excruciating and extremely tense game of “Two truths and a lie”. The dialogue's superb too – lines I've written down include, “I'd hardly call myself an intellectual, sitting here jerking off in a station wagon in the parking lot of a New Mexico motel” and “A conscious asshole is hardly an asshole”. There are also some great sight gags, such as Davy's car unfortunately breaking down next to a massive piece of graffiti that reads “Eat My Asshole” in block capitals. There's also strong support from Moreau and from O'Neill (who's incredibly obnoxious and kind of weird), as well as Jeannette Brox as Sean's what-does-she-see-in-him girlfriend Sarah. However, what really stands out is Geraghty's deeply moving performance and an extraordinarily generous, completely unexpected ending that packs a powerful emotional punch. Highly recommended. Four stars.

Day One - “Do you promise never to develop a thing for seahorses?”

Featured review of the day: Sam Mendes' Away We Go (Opening Night Gala).


Mary and Max

Australian stop-motion animation about Mary, a little girl in 1970s Australia, who becomes penpals with middle-aged, overweight New Yorker Max Horovitz.

I confess, I didn't have particularly high hopes for this, because I was worried it would be like some of the atrocious European animated films I've sat through in the last year – atrocities like Free Jimmy, Terkel in Trouble or The Ugly Duckling and Me. Happily, it turned out to be what I'm sure will be one of the best films of the festival. Written and directed by Adam Elliot (whose Oscar-winning short Harvie Krumpet I will now be seeking out), Mary and Max is filmed entirely in stop-motion animation, only the characters are rather more grotesque than we're used to seeing in mainstream animated movies, even by the standards of Henry Sellick's films. Beautifully narrated by Barry Humphries, the film begins in 1976 with 8 year-old Australian schoolgirl Mary (voiced by Bethany Whitmore and, later, Toni Collette) deciding, on a whim to write to someone in America to find out whether babies really do come from the bottoms of beer glasses, like her recently-deceased grandfather told her. So she picks a name at random from the phone book and ends up becoming pen-pals with middle-aged, overweight New Yorker Max Horovitz (Philip Seymour Hoffman, sounding uncannily like Dustin Hoffman), who is eventually diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome. They write to each other over a period of twenty years, bonding initially over their shared love of chocolate and a children's cartoon called The Noblets. The script is really wonderful and Humphries' narration is so perfect that I would happily listen to the entire thing being read on the radio. Needless to say, it's packed full of great lines and visual gags – I particularly liked all the scenes involving Mary's pet rooster, Ethel.The animation is wonderful throughout and Elliot uses colour in interesting ways – the Australia is sort of sun-bleached brown, while New York is entirely black and white, except for red lipstick and the various objects that Mary sends Harvey through the post, like the red pom-pom he wears on his head (see picture above). (This idea of happiness bringing colour to drab black and white lives is also brilliantly used in the upcoming film Kisses, which I half expected to be in the EIFF). Other highlights include: Max giving Mary advice on dealing with bullies; Max explaining his various Aspergers-related run-ins with the law ("Fortunately, I forgot to tell them that I was a member of the Communist Party"); and Mary's romance with Damien Papadopolos (Eric Bana), the Greek boy next door. Also, if Elliot ever needs funds for his next film, he ought to seriously consider selling copies of his adorable plasticine models of pugs. Anyway, this was a delight from start to finish – a superbly written, beautifully animated film that's both darkly funny and deeply moving. Five stars. No sign of a UK distributor yet though – hopefully someone will pick it up soon.


Away We Go

Indie comedy / drama directed by Sam Mendes, starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph as a thirty-something couple who take a road trip in order to decide where they should raise their imminent child.

Away We Go is the featured ViewEdinburgh review for Day One (see link to review above), but owing to its unusual scheduling (Are Opening Night film press screenings usually only a few hours before the film?), it was also the second film I saw today. I don't have a huge amount to add to what I wrote in the review, but I definitely think it's a better Opening Night Film than last year's. It's very un-Mendes-like too, in the sense that if you had to guess who directed it, you wouldn't pick him. (For the record, I'm a huge fan of American Beauty and Revolutionary Road, but less keen on Road to Perdition and Jarhead). Great role for Krasinski too - if the beard was a deliberate attempt to distance himself from The Office's Jim, then it really worked. There are a few things that will stay with me from this film, but I particularly liked: the scene where Allison Janney moves in for an inappropriate snog and then thinks better of it - most directors would film this in close-up and go for a big laugh, but Mendes makes it weird and interesting by having Janney's neglected 13-year-old daughter being chatted up by two sleazy guys in a truck in the background; Burt's phone voice and pretty much every scene with Burt on the phone but specifically the scene where Verona's sister tells her how lucky she is; the hilarious stroller scene ("You won't have that much fun again till you discover ORAL PLEASURE!"), which is so good it's worth mentioning twice. Four stars.


Pardon My French

French comedy starring Chiara Mastroianni as a blocked writer who develops a friendship with her young female stalker (Agathe Bonitzer).

Or “Un Chat Un Chat”, original title fans. To be honest, this didn't work for me at all and I may have voted with my eyes once or twice. Chiara Mastroianni (who looks so much like her father that it's actually quite disturbing) stars as Celimene, a blocked novelist who's very dissatisfied with her life, to the point where she keeps telling people to call her by different names. She also has a sleep-cake-making habit that's becoming a bit of a problem. She divides her time between looking after her ultra-smart young son and hanging out with her best friend (Sophie Guillemin, who I was delighted to see on screen again, as she hasn't been in a UK-released film in years) and also strikes up a friendship with her friendly female stalker, a young woman named Anais (Agathe Bonitzer). This annoyed me on several levels. First of all, Celimene is almost impossible to like – she's selfish, humourless, neglectful and just not very interesting – it doesn't help that Mastroianni's performance seems very lifeless throughout. That makes it impossible to care about whether or not she gets back with her ex or, indeed, about any of her relationships. There's also nothing to the story – I only saw the film a couple of hours ago and I'm struggling to remember anything that could conceivably be described as a plot. The programme says “a wonderful comic turn by Mastroianni”, but if she gave anything resembling a wonderful comic turn, it must have happened while my eyes were closed. First outright stinker of the Festival so far. One star.

Opening Night Party

Lots of fun, as usual. Teviot Row House is a superb venue (same as last year) and there was live music by Alexi Murdoch, whose music is featured heavily in Away We Go. In fact, it turned out John Krasinski (see below) was a huge fan of Murdoch's music and had suggested him to Mendes for the soundtrack. We also had a nice chat about The Office. Also chatted to Brian Geraghty (who was losing his voice) and the producer of Mary and Max.

Day Zero - "Then you show up like Mister Death himself..."

Little Soldier

Danish drama about a female soldier who returns from the war and takes a job as a driver for her father's call girl business.

Nothing like a dose of Scandinavian miserablism to kick the Festival off in style. I really enjoyed this. Trine Dyrholm stars as Lotte, a Danish soldier who returns home after the war and takes a job as a driver for her father's (Finn Nielsen) call girl business. Her most regular client is Lily (Lorna Brown), a Nigerian woman who's also her father's current girlfriend. Lily's goal seems clear: she sends money home to her 9 year-old daughter every week and she'll only work till she's paid off her debt to the “madam” that brought her to Europe. In the meantime, she considers herself lucky to be the boss's girlfriend. Despite a somewhat prickly start, the two women forge a gradual friendship, but when Lotte tries to help Lily out of her situation, she doesn't get the reaction she expects. The three central performances are superb, particularly Dyrholm, whose tough, hard-drinking exterior is masking a deep pain that is only hinted at. The ensuing relationships in the film are genuinely fascinating, not just between Lotte and Lily but also between Lotte and her father and also her next-door neighbour. Director Annette K Olesen lets the relationships play out at a slow place that reflects Lotte and Lily's reluctance to open up to anyone, so that even a small thing like the two women kicking a Coke can around seems like a huge step forward. A superbly acted, sharply written and emotionally engaging drama. Four stars.


Elkland

Blackly comic Swedish drama in which a man returns home for his father's funeral and finds sibling rivalries re-emerging with the brother he left behind.

Make that two doses of Scandinavian miserablism. Directed by the delightfully named Per Hanefjord, Elkland is a Swedish comedy (it says here) starring Jimmy Lindstrom as Henrik, who returns to his remote small town home after an absence of several years, in order to attend his father's funeral. In fact, the coffin (which, in the film's funniest scene, turns out to be too small) arrives at the same time as he does – they're both dropped off, separately, at a crossroads, where they're eventually picked up by Henrik's younger brother Ronnie (Orjan Landstrom). Things quickly get much darker: it turns out that Ronnie has hidden their father's body (because that's what he wanted) rather than taking it to the morgue prior to the funeral; their mother is also on her death bed and immediately asks Henrik to kill her (because it wouldn't be fair to ask Ronnie); Henrik's ex-girlfriend (and possibly ex-fiancee), Liv (Anna Azcarate) turns out to be his mother's nurse; and on top of that, Ronnie overhears his mother's deathbed euthanasia request and it awakens old sibling rivalries. There are several good moments – the sequence where they're moving the body around could have been a short called “Dead Santa” - and the scene that gives the film its title is also very sweet. I liked the Christmas tree story too. However, the film ends rather abruptly, as if they'd written a slightly more emotional finale and then just decided against it. Enjoyable enough, but didn't really add up to much. Three stars.


The Hurt Locker

Drama directed by Kathryn Bigelow, about a US bomb disposal unit in post-war Iraq.


This will actually be Day Nine's featured review, so I'll keep this short, but I really enjoyed this. Jeremy Renner's been one of my favourite actors ever since I saw him in Twelve and Holding and Neo Ned at previous Edinburghs. It's a shame those films either didn't get released (Neo Ned) or had only blink-and-you'll-miss-it theatrical releases (Twelve and Holding played at a Wimbledon cinema for one week in London) because otherwise, I'm convinced he'd be a much bigger star. I think of him as the new Sam Rockwell, not that there's anything wrong with the current Sam Rockwell. Anyway, Bigelow orchestrates some terrifically tense bomb disposal scenes (Renner plays a fearless bomb disposal expert who seems to have learned the art of bomb disposal from watching the Lethal Weapon movies) as well as a thoroughly gripping (and scary) sniper shoot-out sequence. It's my firm belief that every thriller needs a good "Oh fuuuuuuuuuuck..." moment and The Hurt Locker has one about every 20 minutes or so. Strong performances from Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty too (who, after 28 days of Renner-induced stress are seriously contemplating "accidentally" killing him) and there are also a series of brilliant cameos from Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse and, in a bit of a "What the fuck?!?" moment (for me, anyway), Lost's Evangeline Lily. Four stars. (Oh and I really had to resist the urge to shout "WAAALLLLL-EEEEE!" during the opening disposa-bot scenes...)


Big River Man

Documentary about eccentric Slovenian Martin Strel and his attempt to swim the length of the Amazon


Directed by John Maringouin and narrated by the subject's son Borut (no relation to Borat), Big River Man follows the extraordinary story of eccentric Slovenian Martin Strel, who has made it his life's ambition to swim the world's rivers in order to draw attention to world pollution. Having already swum the Danube, the Mississippi and the Yangtze, the film joins Martin as he prepares to swim the Amazon, all 4000+ kilometres of it. Incredibly, it takes almost 70 days, during which Martin essentially goes insane. He's not the only one - their American navigator Matt (who got the job because he volunteered, not because he knew anything about navigation) cracks up right alongside him and has a severe attack of the Timothy Treadwells, repeating sentences like "He's like the last superhero in the world, man" and "It's five minutes to midnight, man..." over and over again. (There's a weird bit where Martin and Matt both disappear overnight - we never find out what happened but Martin is found naked on a beach stroking a tree and neither of them are every quite the same again). This is a film of which Werner Herzog would most definitely approve (I would kill to know if he's seen it) - in fact, one might almost call it Herzogian in its study of obsession and insanity. It's frankly astonishing that Martin is allowed to continue - his face being fried by sunburn early on is bad enough, but by Day 50 it's a miracle he's still alive. There are, not surprisingly, some extraordinary scenes and you also get some moving details that shed light on the root of Martin's obsession (the story of his first endurance swim speaks volumes). Other highlights include: the revelation that Borut "plays the part" of Martin for all radio interviews; Borut inventing the "white mask method" of endurance swimming (solving the sunburn problem and making headlines worldwide); Martin being named "The Fish Man" by the people of Brazil (he attracts HUGE crowds); and the completely surreal final scenes, where Martin apparently enters a "fourth dimensional state", collapses in a hotel room and will only be visited by a priest who's also a puppeteer. A strange, moving and unforgettable film. Four stars.

Edinburgh Film Festival 2009

The Annual Apology

First of all, the annual apology for the huge rush job on the last four days of last year's blog, but -hey!- at least I finished it this year. Sort of, anyway. I promise I will go back and fill in the quotes at some point, but I left my notebook in London so I can't remember any of them right now. I also don't have my records for how many films I saw in the end, but I've a feeling it was around 42. Again, I'll check when I get back to London.

The Story So Far

Anyway, I've been here since Sunday evening and apart from being an Annual Special Guest on Duncan's team at the monthly FilmHouse Film Quiz (we won and I'll treasure my...er...Corona t-shirt with pride), I've hardly spoken to anyone so far, largely because I spent all day yesterday holed up in the Starbucks on Lothian Road, mainlining coffee and frantically trying to get two week's worth of reviews done (plus reviews of the Edinburgh films I've already seen) before the Festival kicks off on Wednesday. I managed 8 out of 15 reviews and will hopefully be doing the other 7 tonight.

A Few Random Thoughts

1) As is tradition, I spent the four and a half hour train journey going through the programme (the first time I've really looked at it, apart from a cursory glance at the launch) and sorting out my screening schedule. I've highlighted a list of 52 films I really want to see (weirdly, the exact same number as last year) so that's the goal for this year: 52 films in 13 days.

2) I'm staying at the Budget Backpackers hostel again this year and am already the target of karmic revenge. After tormenting fellow journalist and unfortunate dorm-mate Saxon Bullock with my snoring last year, I'm sharing a dorm with other snorers. Still, despite being jolted awake every couple of hours or so, at least I don't feel as guilty that I'm keeping everyone awake. (f you're reading this, foxy Swedish girls from last year, I am once again very sorry indeed).

3) I'm cutting and pasting this from last year, but once again, what the bloody hell is the point of making a big deal about your "Free Wi-Fi" if you're going to block all the FUCKING power outlets? The FilmHouse and the Cameo, I am looking at YOU. Grrr. Actually, there might be a glimmer of hope at the Cameo, as I spotted a load of unblocked power outlets behind a sofa this morning, but further investigation is required. As for the FilmHouse, I remember someone telling me last year that the manager was a tight git and that I shouldn't let him catch me using the power outlets, but that no-one else cared. Just my luck then that the bastard caught me on my first day. I shall have to use stealth in future, although I can foresee several run-ins before the Festival ends. All this means I'm in a weird situation – I've found two quiet places with sockets but no Wi-Fi (Starbucks, the new Nando's near Cineworld) and two places with Wi-Fi but no sockets. There is always the Delegate Centre, I suppose, but it's impossible to get any work done there because you're constantly bumping into people you haven't seen since last year. So the Holy Grail of Free Wi-Fi and available sockets remains unfound. All suggestions gratefully received, etc.

4) No word yet on whether the system for requesting public screening tickets is the same as last year (see last year's blog ( + link)), but I suspect it is. Fingers crossed, anyway.

5) Breaking news on the Videotheque front! Only just found out that the rubbish DVD players have all been replaced by brand spanking new digital system, which means no stressing that someone else is watching the film you want to watch. Also means they'll actually do overnight loans of check discs, which is unheard of.

6) Like last year, I'll be doing a review per day for ViewLondon's sister site ViewEdinburgh.co.uk, but I'll also be posting links to them here, along with potted reviews of basically everything I see while I'm up here. Aiming to manage more than seven days of blogging this year but, well, I say that every year. Still, hope springs eternal and all that.

7) And finally, the same bit of pedantry as last year. In previous years, I've called the first day of press screenings "Day One", but that's confusing when the festival actually starts a day later. Last year, I called the first day of screenings "Day Zero" and no-one died, so I'm doing the same again this year. Next year I won't even bother mentioning it. (Though I should also acknowledge, again, that yes, I stole the idea from the Empire Cannnes blogs).

"Hmmm. When the bloody hell is he going to get around to starting this year's blog?"

Wrapping up EdFilmFest 2008

A few notes about last year's Festival.

The Top Ten Films I saw at the festival were:

1) Let the Right One In
2) Black Balloon
3) Good Dick
4) Red
5) Blood Car
6) Death Defying Acts
7) The Wave
8) Somers Town
9) Summer
10) Better Things

Special mentions to: Strange Girls, Of Time and the City, Wellness, Time Crimes and Tiramisu.

That said, if I included the films I saw before the festival started, the list would also include The Visitor, Man On Wire, Donkey Punch and A Complete History of My Sexual Failures, the first two of which both made it into my Best of 2009 list.

Highlight of the Festival: Hanging out with Alex Orr (director of Blood Car) and Rona Mark (director of Strange Girls). Edinburgh 2009 won't be the same without them.

Disappointment of the Festival: I can't remember now. Um...not getting to meet Keira Knightley?

Party of the Festival: The Donkey Punch party, largely because EVERYONE was there so I got to talk to Shane Meadows, Tom McCarthy, Richard Jenkins, the cast of Donkey Punch and the director of Sexual Failures all without moving from the same spot.

Day Ten

This was my last day and I only had time for one last film, so I went to see Jeanne Moreau's L'Adolescente, which wasn't as good as I'd hoped.

Then I watched my friend Rona Mark's Strange Girls on the train back to London and it turned out to be very much the sort of film you shouldn't watch on the train home to London. I really enjoyed it though. Loved the Psycho references at the beginning, plus the ginger twins were terrific (and terrifying). Four stars and a fitting end to the festival.

Day Nine

Featured review of the day: WALL-E

Faintheart


ViewLondon review of Faintheart


Trail of the Screaming Forehead


All I remember about this was that it was mental, but not as good or as mental as the Frank Henenlotter films it was trying to imitate. I also remember wishing I'd liked it more than I did. Two stars.

Day Eight

Featured review of the day: Elite Squad

Cheating again, but:

Bigga Than Ben

British drama starring Andrei Chadov and Ben Barnes as Spiker and Cobakka, two best friends and self-confessed Moscow scum, who come to London intending to make some fast cash.

ViewLondon review of Bigga Than Ben. I didn't like it much, though. Two stars.





Dangerous Liaisons

The French version, which I'd wanted to see for years and it didn't disappoint. I'm a huge fan of the Stephen Frears version - I'd seen the play, read the book, bought the soundtrack, had the stills, the theatrical poster and the video shop poster, so this was basically completing the set. Anyway, it was excellent and one of the highlights of the festival, for me.


Transsiberian


ViewEdinburgh review of Transsiberian

One of the few reviewed Edinburgh films not to get a UK theatrical release (it went straight to DVD), which is a shame, because I'm a huge fan of director Brad Anderson and am also one of the few people I know to have seen ALL his films (including brilliant is-he-isn't-he time-travel romcom Happy Accidents, starring Vincent D'Onofrio and Marisa Tomei). Enjoyed this a lot, but then I'm a sucker for any film featuring a) trains and b) snow and this had both, in copious abundance.


Wellness

American indie drama about a middle-aged salesman.


This was a thoroughly depressing experience that played like a real-life Death of a Salesman. Jeff Clark plays a salesman who's staked his life savings in order to get a stake in a company selling a new cure-all "Wellness" pill. Essentially, it's a Pyramid Scheme, but the salesman never realises, which makes the ensuing film all the more excruciating to watch. That said, the film really stays with you and Jeff Clark is absolutely superb. Four stars. Should be shown to anyone who thinks a Pyramid Scheme is a really good idea.


Let the Right One In


ViewLondon review of Let the Right One In

Day Seven

Featured review of the day: Man On Wire


The Order of Myths

Documentary about Mobile, Alabama's dual Mardi Gras celebrations - one for whites and one for blacks.

Okay, well, first things first, I'm frantically writing these reviews before the 2009 festival begins, so forgive me if I'm hazy on the details. I thought this was an excellent film and I'm sad that it doesn't look like it'll be getting a theatrical release in the UK. Directed by Margaret Brown (who I met in the FilmHouse - she was lovely), the film details the build-up to the parallel events organized by the Caucasians' Mobile Carnival Association (MCA) and the African-Americans' Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association (MAMBGA), both of which involve crowning a king and queen, holding parties, and staging elaborate parades on the same day. However, there are massive differences - the white king and queen essentially inherit their positions due to their lineage, whereas the black king and queen (both schoolteachers) are chosen by their communities. The rather depressing fact is that the dual events constitute a sort of accepted racism (or at least segregation), although one of the pleasures of the film involves white queen Helan Meaher (pictured) having her eyes opened (perhaps as a result of the film, though this is never made clear) and the scene where the black king and queen are invited to attend the white celebration FOR THE FIRST TIME can be seen as something of a step forward. (It would be interesting to know if that was repeated the following year, without the cameras around). Other highlights: Black queen Stephanie realising that Meaher's family probably owned the slave ships that brought her people to America in the first place. Three stars. I also met Meaher (bumped into her on the way to the FilmHouse after seeing a different film) and had one of those weird moments where I thought she was someone I knew, till I realised.

A Film With Me In It

Black comedy starring Dylan Moran.


I'm afraid I remember next to nothing about this one except a) it wasn't that funny, b) it was quite dark and nasty in places and c) I voted with my eyes (i.e. fell asleep) at least once. Directed by Mark Doherty (who also stars), it's basically about a down-on-his-luck actor having A Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day and he's eventually surrounded by dead bodies and only has his disabled brother David (played by Doherty's actual brother David) and his drunken best friend Pearce (Dylan Moran) to help him. I do remember being quite impressed by the darkness of the ending and there were one or two laugh-out-loud moments, but I'm mystified by the glowing reviews this has received elsewhere. Two stars.



Okay, this is kind of cheating, but time constraints have forced me into it...

Surprise Film: The Rocker

My ViewLondon review of The Rocker