Edinburgh International Film Festival · 2006
The EIFF organisers say: "Dedicated to groundbreaking new films from established international directors. Be the first to see another great, from a great."
21 films · 20 reviews
(Country: Spain; Year: 2004; Director: Mariano Barroso; Writer: Mariano Barroso, Alejandro Hernandez, Tom Abrans; Stars: Eduard Fernández, Ariadna Gil, Jorge Perugorría, José Luis Gómez, Samuel Claxton)
Scottish Premiere
(Country: South Korea; Year: 2005; Director: Hur Jin-ho; Writer: Hur Jin-ho, Lee Won-sik, Seo You-min, Shin Joon-ho; Stars: Bae Yong-jun, Son Ye-jin, Lim Sang-hyo, Kim Kwang-il)
UK Premiere
The acting is poor... comedy feels forced and unrequited.
(Country: France; Year: 2006; Director: Emmanuel Mouret; Writer: Emmanuel Mouret; Stars: Emmanuel Mouret, Frédérique Bel, Fanny Valette, Dany Brillant, Ariane Ascaride, Claire Breniaux, Clément Delmas, Magali Leroy, Jérôme Flaum, Frédéric Niedermayer, Hans Joachim Kruse)
UK Premiere
(Country: Argentina, Italy, Spain, France; Year: 2006; Director: Daniel Burman; Writer: Daniel Burman; Stars: Daniel Hendler, Arturo Goetz, Eloy Burman, Julieta Díaz, Adriana Aizemberg, Jean Pierre Reguerraz, Dmitry Rodnoy, Luis Albornoz, Darío Lagos, Damián Dreizik, Gerardo del Águila)
UK Premiere
Funny, scary and races along at a fierce pace.
(Country: South Korea; Year: 2006; Director: Bong Joon Ho; Writer: Baek Chul-hyun, Bong Joon Ho, Ha Won-jun; Stars: Song Kang-ho, Byeon Hie-bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Du-na, Ko Ah-sung)
UK Premiere
(Country: Brazil; Year: 2005; Director: Andrucha Waddington; Writer: Elena Soares; Stars: Fernando Montenegro, Fernanda Torres, Ruy Guerra, Seu Jorge, Luiz Melodia)
UK Premiere
Has a quiet, stark beauty and a fragility of construction.
(Country: Iran; Year: 2006; Director: Rafi Pitts; Writer: Rafi Pitts; Stars: Ashem Abdi, Mitra Hajjar, Ali Nicksaulat, Said Orkani, Zahara Jafari, Naser Madahi, Safari Ghassemi)
UK Premiere
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.
(Country: Australia; Year: 2006; Director: Ray Lawrence; Writer: Raymond Carver, Beatrix Christian; Stars: Laura Linney, Gabriel Byrne, Chris Haywood, Deborra-Lee Furness, John Howard, Leah Purcell, Eva Lazzero, Sean Rees-Wemyss, Alice Garner, Simon Stone, Betty Lucas, Max Cullen, Mala Ghedia, Tatea Reilly, Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, Stelios Yiakmis) , Official site , Trailer
UK Premiere
I enjoyed this film for its bittersweet realness and comedic situations.
(Country: Slovenia; Year: 2005; Director: Damjam Kozole; Writer: Damjam Kozole; Stars: Peter Musevski, Nastasa Barabara Gracner, Primoz Petkovsek, Marjuta Slamie)
UK Premiere
It is the many-layered complexities of loyalty and necessity that make Luxury Car such an interesting film.
(Country: France, China; Year: 2006; Director: Chao Wang; Writer: Chao Wang; Stars: Tian Yuan, Wu You Cai, Li Yi Qing, Huang He, Cao Cheng)
UK Premiere
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.
(Country: Denmark, Sweden, Norway; Year: 2005; Director: Pål Sletaune; Writer: Pål Sletaune; Stars: Kristoffer Joner, Cecilie Mosli, Julia Schacht, Anna Bache-Wiig, Michael Nyqvist, Oysein Martinsen)
UK Premiere
This conceit lacks the one ingredient essential - charm - and has a protagonist who isn't very nice.
(Country: France; Year: 2006; Director: Philippe le Guay; Writer: Olivier Dazat, Philippe le Guay; Stars: Benoit Poelvoorde, Bernard Bloch, Anne Consigny, Constance Dolle, Anne Le Ny)
UK Premiere
Both Catherine Frot and Deborah Francois deliver excellent performances... the tension between the two visibly crackles.
(Country: France; Year: 2006; Director: Denis Dercourt; Writer: Denis Dercourt, Jacques Sotty; Stars: Catherine Frot, Deborah Francois, Pascal Greggory, Xavier De Guillebon, Christine Citti, Clotilde Mollet)
International Premiere
Konrad Niewolski recreates the sensation of paranoia that crawls inside your mind, disturbing the stability of plot devices.
(Country: Poland; Year: 2006; Director: Konrad Niewolski; Writer: Igor Brejdygant; Stars: Andrzej Chyra, Magdalena Cielecka, Robert Gonera, Adam Ferency, Henryk Talar, Grzegorz Warchol)
European Premiere
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.
(Country: France; Year: 2006; Director: Lucas Belvaux; Writer: Lucas Belvaux; Stars: Eric Cavaca, Natacha Regnier, Lucas Belvaux, Patrick Descamps, Claude Semal, Elie Belvaux)
UK Premiere
Visually stunning to watch and impeccably styled.
(Country: Portugal; Year: 2006; Director: Fernando Vendrell; Writer: Carla Baptista, based on the novel by Henrique Galvao; Stars: Daniela Costa, Franciso Nascimento, Manuel Wiborg, Fernanda Lapa, Nuria Madruga)
International Premiere
An exquisite film from one of the great up-and-coming Chinese directors.
(Country: China; Year: 2006; Director: Ye Lou; Writer: Ye Lou; Stars: Xueyun Bai, Lin Cui, Long Duan, Xiaodong Guo, Lei Hao, Ling Hu)
UK Premiere
Powerful mise-en-scene and static camera shots emphasise this bleak, uncaring environment.
(Country: Russia, France, Tajikistan, Germany, Switzerland; Year: 2006; Director: Jamshed Usmonov; Writer: Jamshed Usmonov; Stars: Khurshed Golibekov, Dinara Drukarova, Maruf Pulodzoda)
UK Premiere
If you want to die living, watch Tuning. It will make you cry.
(Country: Slovenia; Year: 2005; Director: Igor Sterk; Writer: Igor Sterk, Sinisa Dragin; Stars: Natasa Burger, Tomi Janezic, Polona Juh, Peter Musevski, Andraz Polic)
UK Premiere
Visually awesome, panoramic, brilliantly acted and bursting with beautiful poetry and imagery.
(Country: Canada, India; Year: 2005; Director: Deepa Mehta; Writer: Deepa Mehta; Stars: Lisa Ray, Sarala, Buddhi Wickrama, Rinsly Weerarathne, Iranganie Serasinghe, Hermantha Gamage, Ronica Sajnani, Manorama, Rishma Malik, Seema Biswas, Vidula Javalgekar)
UK Premiere
Tension is skilfully built into a story that is part documentary, part drama, and casting real gymnasts adds to the feeling of authenticity.
(Country: Hungary; Year: 2006; Director: Szabolcs Hajdu; Writer: Szabolcs Hajdu; Stars: Orion Radies, Silas Radies, Zoltán Miklós Hajdu, Gheorghe Dinica, Kyle Shewfelt, Andor Lukáts, Oana Pellea)
UK Premiere
59th New York Film Festival early bird highlights Futura, Jane By Charlotte, James Baldwin: From Another Place and The Velvet Underground
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