Edinburgh International Film Festival — A–Z of films

Jeunet has such an imaginative approach to film that he creates an atmosphere of magic.

Zacharias Kunuk's achievement with his mainly untrained actors is astonishing. Even the sexual chemistry works.

Enjoyable and witty, all the more impressive when you discover that it took only 19 days to shoot.

The Pang Brothers lay claim to the throne of those other action thriller maestro siblings, the Wachowskis.

The pornography of violence is a phrase banded about by armchair critics. What does it mean? It means Battle Royale.

The intelligence of the writing and the intensity of Ryan Gosling's performance takes it out of the shock horror budget bin.

Writer-director Yves Caumon notices the small details... and makes them count.

Lucrecia Martel's debut as writer/director captures the many layered character of the Argentinian upper-class so perfectly that explanatory scenes would appear bourgeois in their desire to tidy the place up a bit.

There's no doubt that this is a well-made documentary, but it feels like there's been outside tampering.

At its best early on as it plays the culture clashes.

Abdkalykov's attention to detail, from watching bugs crawl across floors, to the endless blue of the open sky mark out the qualities of a true visual artist.

Weber's discretion smothers gossip and edits anecdote.

Despite, or because of, the appalling nature of these women's lives, the film has a raw edge.

The good humour of all those involved, including the wives, is infectious.

Sadly the main story... is pretty dull, uninspired stuff

Brilliantly funny, rather bizarre.

The film takes standard ingredients of a good horror movie - the sinister setting, the horrible crime, the ghostly presence, the newcomer - and uses a surprisingly gore-free, old-fashioned way of scaring the audience.

Suture, have avoided every cliche of film noir.

An exhilarating insight into a moment in Californian history when some underprivileged kids broke the rules and did things on skateboards that had never been seen before.

A great deal more than an end-of-shoot wrap party.

toppard and director Michael Apted weave a web of intrigue, suspicion and, for God's sake, romance into what might have been as incomprehensible as a computer hacker's notebook.

Beautiful in its simplicity and utterly moving.

Reboux and Mesquida bring a natural intelligence to demanding roles.

Worth a look for those with interested in the history of exploitation cinema.

The dialogue-driven, yet simplistic structure means the film appears too long for its subject.

There is a word for this. Icky.

A powerful piece of drama, which is all too close to real life.

Buscemi gives one of his finest performances.

As a documentary, the film has to be rated a failure. As an exercise in storytelling, it is more successful.

A tense exploration of relationships and human frailty, helped enormously by Beatrice Thiriet's wonderfully evocative score.

It is a triumph of the imagination over a plot that is not really a plot, more an emotional car crash.

Remarkably assured debut feature.

A valuable document in the the history of Israel and Palestine.

Not an essential film by any means, but possibly a welcome distraction from more self-consciously serious fare.

This unpretentious, entertaining little comedy of culture clashes marks a solid feature debut for British writer/director Joel Hopkins

This is a film that sidesteps convention. There is no ending, no beginning. There is the journey.

Writer-directors Neil Hunter and Tom Hunsinger... have made a film which successfully manages to dramatise the subtleties of modern relationships

Beautifully choreographed and exceptionally well acted.

The film is intelligent and honest, without being, in any way, entertaining.

By picking such a fantastic heroine, all director Udelson needs to do is let the cameras roll, which is pretty much what she does.

This is one of Herzog's best documentaries, possibly because his subject matter strays close to the boundaries of fiction.

Severely patience-trying.

A good, solid British comedy.

The acting is superb, breathing life and vitality into the script, which still betrays its theatrical origins.

Some picturesque moments in the film hint at good ideas.

Even the Coen Bros cannot stimulate interest in a guy who has switched the lights off inside his head.

None of the events hold the slightest iota of interest.

The young actors, making their first movie, take risks beyond the call of duty.

Fine acting, camera work free of frills and a plot that will keep you guessing.

Lewis handles the documentary with a lightness of touch.

A film of astonishing maturity and compassion.

Simplicity can be an art form. Wang Chao, with his debut film, takes it to the extreme. He makes no concessions to the audience.

Engaging and likeable.

Goldman spins a moving story and allows the audience to empathise with the characters.

Illuminating documentary transcends our preconceived vision of the Holy Land and its inhabitants, revealing the human complexities beneath.

Startlingly original.

A harrowing and unnerving experience.

Riedelsheimer's camerawork and editing is supremely confident and richly perfect.

An honest and open account, which leaves us to draw our own conclusions.

Phillippe Faucon deals with its potentially difficult subject seriously, honestly and even handedly.

Davis's skill comes, not just from choosing wonderful subjects, but by becoming accepted into this strange extended family.

A very well crafted fly-on-the-wall style documentary.

Deserves your attention, marking its director and lead as talents to watch.

Nauseatingly saccharine.

Solondz's humour remains dark. His dialogue is always brilliant.

A pleasant, low-key, quietly romantic piece.

On the strength of this film, writer/director Robert Schwentke is a talent to watch.

It is nice just to sit back and let the day-glo colours wash over you, marvelling at the high-spirited energy.

The kind of movie that would have been banned 20 years ago.

The slow pacing isn't helped when sequences like the one that opens the film... go on for so long they almost become self-parodies.

If nastiness was a flower, Trouble Every Day would be a bunch.

Sokurov's drama has a haunting quality and moments of poetry found in the simplest of shots.

Well made and with an incredibly powerful central performance.

A unique cinematic experience.

A model of economical film-making and story-telling.

If there are people out there who are nervous of going to see subtitled films, this is the perfect introduction.