Day 3

Today was the sort of 9 to 5 job people must dream about because I spent the whole day watching good films, only punctuated by brisk walks between the two different cinemas. The day was off to a bit of a harrowing start with A Mighty Heart. That is not to say the movie was bad, quite the contrary, it was a brilliantly acted film shot with graphic realism by Michael Winterbottom and it was that realism that was the hardest part to take. Even knowing the outcome of the story of Daniel Pearl’s kidnapping in Pakistan didn’t lessen the overall impact. Shot in a documentary/news style with lots of handheld camera suited the way the story unfolded. It also perfectly captured the atmosphere of Pakistan, even if most of it was shot in India. In this sixtieth year since the Partition it is a reminder that there is not really any difference between the two countries apart from their religious beliefs.


The film doesn’t really go into any of the fundamentals of fundamentalism that led to the kidnapping but instead works more as a standard police procedural of the investigation. In fact, it doesn’t seem to have any particular political bias in it at all. Where a Hollywood film could quite easily take an extreme anti-terrorist stance and pump it full of sentimentality, Winterbottom simply sticks with the facts, as presented in the source material. Where it does excel is in Angelina Jolie’s role as the wife. Although she already has a Supporting Actress Oscar, she could quite easily be a contender for Lead Actress with this role. With her high profile celebrity status, a rather public coupling with Brad Pitt, and not to mention Lara Croft, it is quite easy to forget she is a very good actress. She was able to play subdued where necessary and pour on the emotion when it was needed and all done with an incredibly convincing French accent. Irffan Khan (seen recently in The Namesake) as the police captain was also excellent.

This is definitely a film to see, just not early in the morning.

A Mighty Heart is showing on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 ahead of a general release on September 21


After that reality shock it was time to escape into a bit of fantasy in the form of Day Watch, the sequel to the hit Russian movie Night Watch. This film has been a long time coming to western screens, having been out in Russia for two years but fans of the first film won’t be disappointed. At the end of the first film Anton, a Light Other operative for the Day Watch (the good guys), loses his son to the Dark Others (the bad guys), and it looks like the fragile truce is set to fall apart and the apocalypse is on its way. It does help if you have seen the first film although it is briefly summarised at the beginning. I saw a dubbed version of the film earlier in the year and when the introduction started in English I was preparing to leave, but thankfully it went into subtitled Russian when the film proper started. I am happy to watch dubbed films on occasions, especially anime, but I was particularly interested to see if Fox had put the same effort in the subtitling as they did with Day Watch, unfortunately they haven’t. There are still some nice touches like those in the original film but they are fairly sparse. Luckily the film itself is as much of a visual treat and the story is equally as absorbing and although it seems to be resolved at the end of the film there is still a third episode to come.

Day Watch is showing at the Cameo on Saturday 18 at 23:45 and at the Filmhouse on Saturday 25 at 21:30 ahead of a general release.


As entertaining as it is Day Watch is still a rather dark and intense film so I opted for something much lighter for my next film: Ratatouille, the latest film from Pixar. I must say that I am a big fan of Pixar films although I do await each new release with some trepidation in case they finally lose their magic winning streak. When Cars came out I was dubious but was actually pleasantly surprised and although it was no match for The Incredibles is was still miles ahead of most of the other CG animation around. But a story about a French rat that wants to be a chef!! I was almost convinced this was going to be the one finally did it, even with Brad Bird directing, but my faith has remained intact. It is a charming and funny film that manages to maintain the stylised characterisation of 2D animation with the gloss of 3D that has become the studios trademark, particularly with the Parisian scenery. What is particularly impressive is they managed to capture the atmosphere of a restaurant kitchen and the passion for cooking, in a realistic way - and showing that rats aren’t just the dirty vermin they are usually perceived as (they really do make nice pets). This is definitely going to be a family crowd pleaser when its on general release in October but this is a great chance to catch it early. As with all previous Pixar features it is prefaced with a short, and this one about two aliens is hilarious and reminiscent of the classic Warner Brothers cartoons, and is almost worth the admission price in it self.

Ratatouille is showing at Cineworld Fountain Park on Saturday 18 and 25.


Final film for the day was Quentin Tarantino’s contribution to Grindhouse – Death Proof. For some reason, undoubtedly financial, the UK is not going to get the double bill that it was originally planned to show as. Tarantino’s film has received a lot of bad press, and word of mouth, which may be another reason why it is showing separately to Robert Rodriguez’s better-received Planet Terror. For me Death Proof was not a disappointment, possibly because I was expecting the worst, in fact I found it highly entertaining. OK it is a slightly self-indulgent homage to the grindhouse exploitation films of the seventies, but it does exactly what it says on the label and is not pretending to be anything else. Or maybe it’s because I’m old enough to remember many of the movies it references, such as Vanishing Point and Dirty Mary and Crazy Larry. For whatever reason the film was fun.

The film itself is almost two films. In the first half, three hot chicks are planning a weekend away in a lakeside cabin but stop at a bar, run by Mr Tarantino, where they meet Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell in Snake Pliskin mode). Mike drives a stunt car, which is where the film gets its title from, because it is made death proof. Let’s say that Mike’s intentions towards the girls is far from honourable.


The second half of the film is set over a year later in a different state, with four different girls who are working on a movie. One of the girls is a stuntperson (Zoe Bell, playing herself) who is really keen to drive a car the same as the one in Vanishing Point. When she finds one for sale near the movie set she decides to take it for a test drive and use it to perform a high-speed stunt, except Stuntman Mike is waiting for them with other plans. This leads to an adrenaline pumping car chase.

Tarantino obviously loves the genre and has recreated it in astonishing detail, complete with scratch faded film, jumps, colour shifts and everything you expect to see on a movie that has been abused by bad projectors. Tarantino has obviously put as much effort into making this film look genuinely bad as Soderburgh did in making The Good German look lush. But it goes beyond just the look. It has all the usual pop-culture referential dialogue that got him noticed in the first place and plenty of visual references that geeks will be able to talk about for hours.

It is very much a blokes film in the sense that it has lots of beautiful women and fast cars, but the women are strong and in the end are not exploited as they were in the original movies of the genre.

Death Proof is showing at Cineworld on Saturday 18 and Monday 20 at 21:30 ahead of general distribution.

Day 2

Day one of the Festival proper and it’s dedicated to locally set film Hallam Foe. It’s the only film showing, apart from the rounds industry screenings. Due to a bit of bad planning and slight stupor from a lack of sleep I only managed to catch the day’s main film, and, thanks to the videotheque, a small screen version of one of the films I missed yesterday. But to the main event…

Hallam Foe, based on the novel by Peter Jinks and directed by David Mackenzie from his own screenplay, is the tale of the titular youth. Withdrawn after the death of his mother he has taken to being a voyeur, not so much as in a perverted way but as a distant, impassive observer of life around him. Although his proclivity may be considered almost psychotic, it is no worse than watching Big Brother on the television and probably even better. And when you consider that we are constantly under surveillance from CCTV cameras, a little personal observation seems quite harmless.

After an argument with his father and stepmother, Hallam leaves their large country home for Edinburgh with a backpack and nowhere to stay. After an early run in with the police Hallam discovers the city’s rooftops from where he sees Kate, a young woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to his mother. Kate runs HR at one of the city’s biggest hotels and Hallam manages to convince to give him a job as a kitchen porter. Despite his shyness he soon starts a close relationship with Kate, while still watching her from afar.


Jamie Bell is stunning in the lead role, proving that Billy Elliot was no fluke. He never overplays the character’s quiet intensity or his swings into strong emotions and evokes nothing but empathy from the audience. The physical agility he showed as Elliot is in full display as he clambers across the city’s roofs. His co-star Sophia Myles, as Kate, complements Bell and shows herself to more than the proper lady she usually portrays with a gutsy performance. The rest of the cast give excellent support but it is really Bell and Myle’s film.

It is obviously going to be a huge hit with the local crowd but this is a strong British film that should attract audiences around the world with its story of human emotions.

Hallam Foe is on general release from August 31.

What is fascinating about Edinburgh is how low-key it is. The opening night red carpet event did not have all the glamour of festivals like Cannes or London. There was even camaraderie among the press and photographers, and a chance to catch up with people from previous years. The PR people even came over and chatted with us as we waited for the stars to arrive instead of running around being officious. This is definitely one of the charms of the Festival that keeps bringing me back.




For those lucky enough to get an invite, there were parties that went on until the early hours of the morning.

Edinburgh Film Festival Day 1

Not a good start for the festival. Staying with a group of comedians means late nights as their working day doesn’t start until eight in the evening and I made the mistake of staying up too long ahead of an early start. For the press and delegates screenings start at nine but those first sessions aren’t usually that well attended. With ten movies to choose from at any one time it can be really difficult selecting a film with such a huge choice. Day one started with The Hottest State, the latest offering from writer/director/actor Ethan Hawke.


This is a love story that starts in Texas then transfers to New York and follows struggling actor William (Mark Webber) as he falls in and out of love with aspiring singer Sarah (Catalina Sandino Moreno). Like Before Sunset, which Hawke co-wrote with Julie Delpy, whose latest film, Two Days in Paris, closes the Festival, this is very much a talky. At almost two hours long it tries to put too much into a story that doesn’t have a lot to tell, which made it fell more like three hours. This is a real pity because the quality of the acting from both the two leads and their supporting actors is superb, as is the dialogue, which captures a very natural way of talking and even injects some moments of humour, although for the most part it fluctuates between joy and angst, but not nearly as well as Delpy’s fine, which has even more humour.

For fans of slow-paced romantic dramas this is an excellent example but for those wanting something a little more upbeat then Two Days in Paris would be a better choice, or Sparkle if you want something British.

The Hottest State is showing at Cameo 1 on Thursday 16 August at 21:30 and 17:10 on Friday 17


For a change of pace the next film I caught was Teeth. Having read the blurb on this film I knew what the conceit was and to a certain extent it did ruin the unfolding of the story, but being in the know also added some extra humour to the scenes. What starts out as a gentle teen comedy about Dawn (Jess Weixler), who is doing everything she can to assert the purity of relationships without sex, soon shifts into black comedy areas. As a variety of young men, including her goth step-brother, rise to the challenge of impressing their manhood upon Dawn they soon discover that there is something more than just chastity that makes her different. Her bite is definitely worse than her bark. Directed by Michell Lichtenstein (son of Roy) it is a film of surprises, and while it is not technically brilliant and the acting isn’t always convincing its originality and humour make up for it. Ginger Snaps is a cult favourite and Teeth is actually better so if it can draw an audience it deserves to get similar recognition.

Teeth is showing on Thursday 16 August at midnight at Cameo 1 and again on Sunday 19 at 21:45 at Filmhouse 1.


Sparkle is a British romantic comedy drama with a great cast and a convoluted story worthy of Bollywood. Sparkle is the stage act of wannabe club singer and single-mum Jill Sparks (Lesley Manville). Her son Sam, a charismatic Shaun Evans, wants to leave Liverpool and move to London and a chance meeting with Vince (Bob Hoskins) gives the opportunity when a flat becomes vacant in his house, but his Mum wants to go with him. Vince also helps Sam get a job as a waiter, and the ever the opportunist Sam meets Sheila (Stockard Channing) who runs her own PR company and before long Sam has a job and is sleeping with the boss (not necessarily in that order). It starts to get complicated when Sam meets young, vivacious Kate (Amanda Ryan) at one of Sheila’s parties. Meanwhile Vince has developed a crush on Jill. Before long all their paths intersect and collide making for what could have easily developed into a farce, but the superb performances from Channing, Hoskins and Evans give it depth that elevate it beyond being just another British rom-com and it will even wring out the odd tear.

Sparkle is showing on Thursday 16 and Friday 17 at 20:00 at Cineworld, Fountain Park.