Short film review archive

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F — 89 results

• Frimas (2021)

  Review preview for Frimas

  The distress that Gonthier-Hyndman evokes is not easily forgotten

  A woman goes to desperate lengths to get an illegal abortion.
• Full Employment (2008)

  Review preview for Full Employment

  A one-joke movie, but it's a good joke

  Short film about the future of employment.
• Furnace Four (2009)

  Review preview for Furnace Four

  This is one of those dystopian fables that affirms the human spirit.

  Two furnace stokers are supposed to be burning all the music in the world. But some things just won't burn.
• Further And Further Away (2021)

  Review preview for Further And Further Away

  Vincent Villa's sound means we can hear the water even when we cannot see it, feel it when we can do both.

  A young Indigenous Bunong woman and her brother spend one last day in their village, before moving to the capital in search of a more prosperous life.
• The Future Is Behind You (2004)

  Review preview for The Future Is Behind You

  While technically accomplished, it's well-trodden territory, and there's a certain familiarity to it all.

  Found footage is used in a fictional story exploring the development of gender identity. Part two of The Suburban Trilogy.
• Film (1965)

  Review preview for Film

  Like much of Beckett's work, the concept is at once nose-bleedingly high and intellectual, and yet, in execution, it becomes a lot more simple and humanistic.

  A man tries to escape the scrutiny of others... and himself.
• Film (1979)

  Review preview for Film

  There is an altogether more 'British' music hall feel about proceedings.

  Remake of the Samuel Beckett screenplay of a man trying to escape the perception of others.
• Film/Notfilm (2017)

  Review preview for Film/Notfilm

  Both versions of Samuel Beckett's film and Ross Lipman's essay film.

  Samuel Beckett's film and Ross Lipman's documentary about it.
• Fini (2010)

  Review preview for Fini

  A nice little piece, characterful if not compelling.

  An elderly man whose short term memory has been eroded by Alzheimer's disease goes on a series of adventures in the course of one dark night.
• Fire (2007)

  Review preview for Fire

  A delightful film.

  The original oblivious firestarter.
• Fire In The Eye (2007)

  Review preview for Fire In The Eye

  In the monochrome strobing there may be some challenge beyond the ability to endure tedium, but it is well hidden.

  Lightning strikes and misses the mark.
• First Place (2008)

  Review preview for First Place

  Earnest, fun, but not quite right; a Tokyo cream tea.

  A champion relentlessly insisting on 'being a champion' whilst the universe couldn't care less.
• The First Time It Hits (2005)

  A quick fix of black-and-white imagery.
• The Fisherman's Daughter (2011)

  Review preview for The Fisherman's Daughter

  Moody, meditative, and of tremendous quality.

  Concerned by local gossip, a father follows his daughter one night and discovers a tragic secret.
• Fish Eye (2005)

  A carp waits for Christmas.
• Fixing Luka (2012)

  Review preview for Fixing Luka

  Judith Johnstone's design and model making are tremendous.

  The animated story of a small girl trying to figure out how her brother works.
• Flag Mountain (2010)

  Review preview for Flag Mountain

  It's good, even stripped of one of its two elements, and it might be very good.

  An introduction to the city of Nicosia, torn between Greek Cypriot and Turkish influences.
• Flamingo (2016)

  Review preview for Flamingo

  Ferguson's cinematic sense trusts in audiences - that they will see what isn't there and react all the more strongly.

  An aspiring dancer develops an odd relationship with an obscene phone caller. Together they discover an impassioned interest in self-amputation.
• Flicker (2005)

  Review preview for Flicker

  It has an experimental grace.

  Experimental black and white film recalling early cinema.
• Flighty (2007)

  Review preview for Flighty

  Highly recommended.

  Speed dating for butterflies.
• Flow Country (2017)

  Review preview for Flow Country

  Shot on monochrome 16mm, the land itself is evoked by compelling sound work, by artifacts of processing and the shooting itself.

  Flow Country takes the viewer on an apocalyptic journey through a contested site in the far north of Scotland.
• Flung (2007)

  Review preview for Flung

  Well-made, well-played, and well worth watching.

  A bullied boy seeks a way out.
• The Flyer (2008)

  Review preview for The Flyer

  Anna’s story is a romantic one, but not in an obvious sense. It is bitter sweet, which gives it an edge.

  A Polish girl works all hours to make love come true.
• Fly On The Window (2009)

  Review preview for Fly On The Window

  Though it's light on plot it's more about how things are seen rather than what.

  A moody animation from the perspective of a fly observing someone's home.
• Food Fight (2006)

  Review preview for Food Fight

  A little too reductive and juvenile.

  It's war and the chips are down.
• Forever Love (2006)

  Review preview for Forever Love

  For this short to work would require an emotional depth of acting which just isn’t on show here.

  One man copes with lost love.
• For You I Will Fight (2010)

  Review preview for For You I Will Fight

  Well directed, well judged, subtle in tone and form.

  Escaping from an unhappy love affair, a young woman enlists in the army to try and find meaning in her life.
• Fourteen (2005)

  Review preview for Fourteen

  An accomplished little film.

  The promises of a teenage birthday are not always bright and beautiful.
• Four Tet: My Angel Rocks Back And Forth (2003)

  Review preview for Four Tet: My Angel Rocks Back And Forth

  Surreal and violent.

  A cardboard animated Japanese man sees himself, as a living person, spewing blood.
• Four Weeks Notice (2006)

  Review preview for Four Weeks Notice

  Needs more meat on its bones.

  What would you do if you had to serve notice on a relationship?
• Foxy And Marina (2012)

  Review preview for Foxy And Marina

  While it's well-made, well-acted, it's trying to draw from a well too often tapped.

  A drug addict from the Isle of Skye considers giving up and going home.
• Frankenstein (1910)

  Review preview for Frankenstein

  There's still lots to appreciate here beyond its status as a historical artefact.

  An early reimagining of the Mary Shelley classic in which an ambitious scientist gets more than he bargained for.
• The Freaking Family (2005)

  Review preview for The Freaking Family

  This is a DIY self destruct situation, people. Wipe the blood off the walls.

  A dysfunctional family's response to nuclear attack.
• Friday Nite Rite (2005)

  Review preview for Friday Nite Rite

  The script fails to convince and it is impossible to care about this 'Billy no-mates'

  Short about a man planning his night out - shot guerrilla style in the New York subway.
• From Coats To Capes (2007)

  Review preview for From Coats To Capes

  Uses multiple screens and other technical tricks.

  Documentary on a cutting edge Scottish comic book writer. Showing at the EIFF as part of the Scottish Documentary strand.
• From One Second To The Next (2013)

  Review preview for From One Second To The Next

  Part of Herzog's genius has always been his ability to persuade strangers to tell their stories plainly and directly, with not a hint of self-consciousness, providing unusually intimate access to their lives.

  A campaign film featuring interviews with people affected by car accidents caused by texting.
• From Tehran To London (2012)

  Review preview for From Tehran To London

  It's an intimate, focused look on an unhappy family - but can only tell half of its story.

  An exploration of women's roles in modern Iran, told through the story of a poet.
• Frozen Assets (2003)

  Review preview for Frozen Assets

  Every operatic ingredient is thrown into the pot.

  An operatic chiller.
• Fucking Bunnies (2017)

  Review preview for Fucking Bunnies

  Puolanto and Reinikainen completely sell this scenario by playing it as straight as arrows - something that can't have been easy because of the visual comedy also employed.

  A man struggles to retain his liberal credentials when satanists move in next door.