Edinburgh International Film Festival — A–Z of films

It's crud like this that gives foreign language films a bad reputation with the average moviegoer.

This is a most interesting film, examining attitudes to love and marriage.

A thought-provoking glimpse into a much bigger neverending story.

If [Al Gore] was a school-teacher, no-one would have ever skipped class.

When a documentary is as entertaining as Air Guitar Nation, you have to ask if you really need it to have redeeming social value or to advance the art form in any way. And, to be honest, the answer has to be no.

Tense and twisty, this is what thrillers should be about.

Harry and Luke Treadaway frankly took my breath away.

Cargo gets scuppered by its serpentine story, which is more confusing than compelling.

John Malkovich at his most endearingly camp.

The acting is poor... comedy feels forced and unrequited.

The simplicity of the location, with its gentle green hills and thin woodland, makes it feel as if it could be anywhere, yet Romero positions his camera so as to generate maximum tension from it.

Careful facts started seeping down my neck until I was almost in a state of shock.

Like most portmanteau films, Destricted is a fitfully rewarding and frequently frustrating affair.

The elements involved in creating this movie were well thought out and planned perfectly (just like the driver’s getaways).

Its only fault is that it may be too violent for some viewers.

This is Simone van Dusseldorp's first film and she is courageous in her use of close ups, as if trying to inhabit the emotional heart of this strong-willed girl, sensitively played by Melody Klaver.

Highly polished mainstream comedy that will keep you sniggering delightedly all the way through your bible class.

Could be called a love story, but it is not so easily pigeonholed.

What is his dream? To beat the World Hour Record. What’s that? You bicycle solo round an indoor track for 60 minutes. Is this cinematically rewarding, or understandable? No.

This Spanish serial killer is a twisted combination of all of Hollywood's greatest psychos - clever, cold, calculating and seriously sick in the head.

A sassy classic with heart.

Funny, scary and races along at a fierce pace.

Not a film I can recommend unless you appreciate a challenge.

A fascinating film for anyone interested in China or progressive documentary filmmaking.

While it might be fun to laugh at carefully crafted slapstick for half an hour, it's hard for it to maintain its momentum for the duration of a feature.

Despite his restrictions, Gröning finds light and shade, contrasting the natural – more chaotic world – with the regimented life within the cloister.

Has a quiet, stark beauty and a fragility of construction.

Richly atmospheric and often deeply disturbing, Jindabyne is a superb example of well-crafted drama, cinema taking on real issues without ever losing its narrative edge.

Pity and then guilt are the two dominant emotions that this film elicits.

A reasonably polished film considering the minuscule budget.

KZ is well balanced, and thought provoking, if at times a bit dry.

I enjoyed this film for its bittersweet realness and comedic situations.

A breath of fresh air for the British film industry.

Writer Michael Arndt has cleverly captured the bribery and corruption which lie at the heart of most families.

Verbally, physically and emotionally brutal. You'll come out melted like ice cream.

An assured sophomore effort.

If you like the Pixies even a little bit, this is a rare opportunity to experience them at their best.

Has much more depth than is immediately apparent.

It is the many-layered complexities of loyalty and necessity that make Luxury Car such an interesting film.

A coming of age drama with a novel twist.

Lovely and thought-provoking.

This year's selection is emminently missable.

Rarely will you see a collection of music videos so widely varied and yet of such consistently high quality.

The subject probably lends itself to a better short than feature film.

In addition to his fine acting performance as Lawrence, Bujalski has also penned a witty script and turns in some accomplished directing in his sophmore effort.

Powerful and moving.

Succeeds in grabbing your attention but doesn't really deliver what it seems to promise.

The production design is fascinatingly intricate - the endless dimly lit corridors of the girls' flat are beutifully grubby and claustrophobic - and the music is aptly menacing.

While the ending is not too difficult to guess, the subtleties reverberate beyond the simplistic plot.

A beautifully filmed, chilling, lost classic.

A gloriously enjoyable light comedy.

This conceit lacks the one ingredient essential - charm - and has a protagonist who isn't very nice.

Even if almost all of Johnny's journey into darkness takes place on foot, only his first steps are truly pedestrian.

Both Catherine Frot and Deborah Francois deliver excellent performances... the tension between the two visibly crackles.

Konrad Niewolski recreates the sensation of paranoia that crawls inside your mind, disturbing the stability of plot devices.

The editing is choppy in parts, but the main problem is the story, which has little context or overall point.

One of those festival oddities that will attract TV distributors around the world.

There is much to admire in the film, but at the same time you wish that it could have built on some of the recent updatings of the genre.

Niles and White capture the fear in the faces of the band members - but also their energetic fortitude and willingness to move on from their past suffering.

This film reveals so much to us - the lack of secular influences, the dominance of the church, the passion of the faithful, the strength of their young people.

The Right Of The Weakest makes no concessions to the usual demands of cinematic narrative - people don't feel anger or remorse or love when they ought to - they just behave like people.

A deceptively polished work.

At times hilarious, at others stomach-churning and always exceptionally weird, Sheitan is destined to become a cult hit.

Realistic fly-on-the-wall performances prevent Sherrybaby from descending into a sentimental hard luck story.

As a full-length no-brainer it just about qualifies for a low attention span afternoon.

Visually stunning to watch and impeccably styled.

Rickman is at his best.

The film feels real, and of the moment.

The cool, detached, yet paranoid tone is impressively held, both through visual design and music, until around halfway through.

Part mystery, part psychological drama, and, towards the end, a harrowing thriller of unexpected intensity.

From gentle, idyllic beginnings, Summer '04 builds into edge-of-the-seat tension.

An exquisite film from one of the great up-and-coming Chinese directors.

You might as well buy a ticket to fairyland, because the plot dives into a vat of boiled rhubarb.

The shocks are delivered on time, and the clever ending (with a twist on the title for those that can be bothered) is what the film will be remembered for.

A film that needs to be seen and, more importantly, acted upon.

Powerful mise-en-scene and static camera shots emphasise this bleak, uncaring environment.

At first captivating, the endless litany of inconsequential detail and forced humour soon begins to wear.

If you want to die living, watch Tuning. It will make you cry.

The performances from the central three child actors are refreshingly good.

The kind of debut feature that encourages you to believe that cinema does have a future.

The pictures are a purer form of cinema verite with subdued colour and an eye that sees but does not pry.

Visually awesome, panoramic, brilliantly acted and bursting with beautiful poetry and imagery.

Tension is skilfully built into a story that is part documentary, part drama, and casting real gymnasts adds to the feeling of authenticity.

The self-obsession he finds so enthralling is simply irritating, his delivery rarely varies from a monotone drawl, and he lacks any shred of what might be called charisma.

Ndiaye's use of location conveys a fierce impression of a night city alive with danger and excitement.

Wristcutters isn’t a story of despair but of hope, moving on, and, yes, love.

A wake up call for anyone in any industry with a culture of long hours.

By isolating the footballer from the general run of play, an ordinary league match becomes a study of one man's craft.