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Edinburgh International Film Festival · 2007

Edinburgh International Film Festival 2007

British Gala

The Festival organisers describe the British Gala films as: "The very best in homegrown cinema, from high-end studio product to raw low-budget work." This is the pool from which the Michael Powell award is generally selected.

Programme

11 films · 11 reviews

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And When Did You Last See Your Father?

Review preview for And When Did You Last See Your Father?

The boy discovers his father’s failings as he grows up and is hurt by them. His mother has always known, but she is of an older generation where wives were expected to suffer in silence.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 3 out of 5
Memories of living with a popular dad.

(Country: UK/Ireland; Year: 2007; Director: Anand Tucker; Writer: David Nicholls, based on the book by Blake Morrison; Stars: Jim Broadbent, Colin Firth, Juliet Stevenson, Matthew Beard, Gina McKee, Sarah Lancashire, Claire Skinner, Elaine Cassidy)

Full review

Control

Review preview for Control

Only 15 minutes into this instant classic I thought ‘this is a bloody masterpiece’.

Dylan Matthew · 5 out of 5
The short, anguished life of Joy Division's lead singer.

(Country: UK; Year: 2006; Director: Anton Corbijn; Writer: Matt Greenhalgh, based on the book Touching From A Distance by Deborah Curtis; Stars: Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Alexandra Maria Lara, Toby Kebbell, Craig Parkinson, Joe Anderson, James Anthony Pearson) , Official site , Trailer

Full review

Extraordinary Rendition

Review preview for Extraordinary Rendition

As a work of fiction focusing on human rights, as a protest film, it is first rate. But as cinema entertainment it may well be swamped by similar themed films using larger budgets.

Chris · 3 out of 5
An insight into the life of a man who is kidnapped and subjected to extraordinary rendition.

(Country: UK; Year: 2007; Director: James Threapleton; Writer: James Threapleton; Stars: Omar Berdouni, Andy Serkis, Ania Sowinski, Jimmy Yuill, Hugh Ross)

Full review

My Life As A Bus Stop

Review preview for My Life As A Bus Stop

Once the initial idiosyncrasies have been absorbed, the film becomes repetitious and some contrast would have been welcome.

Chris · 2 out of 5
Five friends attempt to make a movie together, but they each have very different ideas about what they want.

(Country: UK; Year: 2007; Director: Duncan Finnigan, Wilma Finnigan; Writer: Duncan Finnigan, Wilma Finnigan; Stars: John Stewart, Angela Coates, Duncan Finnigan, Eleanor Capaldi, Marc Watson)

Full review

Saxon

Review preview for Saxon

The best reason to see this might be to witness raw talent rearing its head on a non-existent budget.

Chris · 2.5 out of 5
A man in desperate trouble with loan sharks is persuaded to undertake a dangerous investigation.

(Country: UK; Year: 2007; Director: Greg Loftin; Writer: Greg Loftin; Stars: Sean Harris, Sarah Matravers, Michelle Connolly, Henry Kelly, Tony O'Leary) , Official site

Full review

Sparkle

Review preview for Sparkle

Despite the pantomime nature of the story, a collection of engaging performances really draws the viewer in.

Max Crawford · 3.5 out of 5
A young man and his mother move from Liverpool to London to pursue their dreams.

(Country: UK; Year: 2007; Director: Tom Hunsinger, Neil Hunter; Writer: Tom Hunsinger, Neil Hunter; Stars: Stockard Channing, Shaun Evans, Anthony Head, Bob Hoskins, Lesley Manville, Amanda Ryan, John Shrapnel, Peter Gordon) , Official site

Full review

Special People

Review preview for Special People

By keeping the central theme simple, Edgar and his team are free to explore the nature of the relationships and the characters in the classroom alongside bigger themes such as attitudes to disability from within the community and without.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A film-maker faces comic consequences when he tries to make something 'real' with a group of disabled teens.

(Country: UK; Year: 2007; Director: Justin Edgar; Writer: Justin Edgar; Stars: Dominic Coleman, Robyn Frampton, Sasha Hardway, David Proud, Jason Maza)

Full review See: Interview with Justin Edgar about Special People and the BBFC

Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle

Review preview for Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle

This is a crisply professional production, beautifully shot. The landscapes of Scotland are breathtakingly presented.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
A young man visiting his dying grandfather finds himself once again entangled in the stories he was told as a child.

(Country: UK; Year: 2007; Director: Simon Miller; Writer: Joanne Cockwell, Iain Finlay MacLeod; Stars: Aonghas Padruig Caimbeul, Padruig Moireasdan, Crisdean Domhnallach, Winnie Brook Young, Dolina MacLennan, Coll Domhnallach, Daibhidh Walker, Vidal Sancho)

Full review

Sugarhouse

Review preview for Sugarhouse

It's refreshing to see a British film that aims for the freewheeling, semi-improvised feel of Scorsese's Mean Streets.

Jeff Robson · 3 out of 5
A white collar worker meets a petty crook to buy some illegal merchandise, which happens to have been stolen from the neighbourhood psycho.

(Country: UK; Year: 2007; Director: Gary Love; Writer: Dominic Leyton; Stars: Steven Mackintosh, Ashley Walters, Andy Serkis, Tolga Safer, Teddy Nygh, Adam Deacon, Tracey Whitwell) , Official site

Full review See: Q&A with director Gary Love about Sugarhouse

The Waiting Room

Review preview for The Waiting Room

It’s sweetly done, well-observed and nicely acted, but I did find I was asking myself the whole way through ‘why is it that so many British films feel as though they are ‘made for TV’?’

Moominkat · 3 out of 5
Londoners' love lives explored in will-they/won't-they romance.

(Country: UK; Year: 2007; Director: Roger Goldby; Writer: Roger Goldby; Stars: Anne-Marie Duff, Ralf Little, Rupert Graves, Frank Finlay, Zoe Telford) , Official site , Trailer

Full review

WAZ

Review preview for WAZ

Shankland dispenses with subplots almost as quickly as bodies, but his debut rattles along at a nice, taut pace.

Richard Mellor · 2.5 out of 5
A detective caught in a battle of wits with a killer is forced to pay for his past failings.

(Country: UK, US; Year: 2007; Director: Tom Shankland; Writer: Clive Bradley; Stars: Stellan Skarsgård, Melissa George, Selma Blair, Ashley Walters, John Sharian) , Official site

Full review