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Edinburgh International Film Festival · 2010

Edinburgh International Film Festival 2010

Director's Showcase

Programme

19 films · 16 reviews

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22 Bullets (L'immortel)

Review preview for 22 Bullets

Jean Reno is unflappably cool. There's not much more to it.

Scott Macdonald · 3 out of 5
Jean Reno stars as a retired gangster out for revenge for a brutal assassination attempt.

(Country: France; Year: 2010; Director: Richard Berry; Writer: Eric Assous, Richard Berry, Alexandre de La Patellière, Mathieu Delaporte, Franz-Olivier Giesbert; Stars: Jean Reno, Kad Merad, Gabriella Wright, Richard Berry, Marina Foïs, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Claude Gensac, Fani Kolarova, Venantino Venantini, Fanny Delaporte, Denis Braccini, Carlo Brandt, Moussa Maaskri, Joey Starr, Jessica Forde) , Official site

Full review

UK Premiere

Caterpillar (Kyatapirâ)

Review preview for Caterpillar

Although couched in the realities of conflict, Wakamatsu is equally, if not more, concerned with the little horrors caused by organised, countrywide violence.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Drama about a World War II veteran, left crippled and entirely dependent on his wife.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2010; Director: Kôji Wakamatsu; Writer: Hisako Kurosawa, Masao Adachi; Stars: Shinobu Terajima, Keigo Kasuya, Emi Masuda, Sabu Kawahara, Maki Ishikawa, Gô Jibiki, Arata, Katsuyuki Shinohara, Daisuke Iijima, Ichirô Ogura, Sanshirô Kobayashi, Mariko Terada, Ken Furusawa, Shima Ônishi)

Full review

UK Premiere

The Days of Desire (A vágyakozás napjai)

Hungarian drama about a mute teenager's falling in love, and the tensions in her life as a result.

(Country: Hungary; Year: 2010; Director: József Pacskovszky; Writer: József Pacskovszky; Stars: Catherine Wilkening, Orsolya Schefcsik, Zsolt László, Ákos Orosz, Teréz Rudolf, Mária Dobra)

UK Premiere

Family Tree (L'arbre et la forêt)

Review preview for Family Tree

The pacing of co-directors Olivier Duscastel and Jacques Martineau is restrained and deliberate, possibly because the larger subject they are dealing with is a weighty one that they clearly feel passionate about.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Family skeletons are unearthed by a father's refusal to attend the funeral of his first-born son.

(Country: France; Year: 2010; Director: Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau; Writer: Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau; Stars: Guy Marchand, Françoise Fabian, Sabrina Seyvecou, Yannick Renier, François Négret, Catherine Mouchet, Sandrine Dumas, Pierre-Loup Rajot, Nicole Maufrais, Serge Maufrais, Léa Henry, Maxim Henry, Julia Housard de la Potterie, Eric Larzat)

Full review

UK Premiere

Henry of Navarre (Henri 4)

Review preview for Henry of Navarre

The film is as rich in imagery as it is diverse in character.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 4.5 out of 5
French historical epic about the ascent of King Henry IV

(Country: Germany, France, Czech Republic, Spain; Year: 2010; Director: Jo Baier; Writer: Jo Baier, based on the novel by Heinrich Mann; Stars: Julien Boisselier, Hannelore Hoger, Armelle Deutsch, Chloe Stefani, Ulrich Noethen, Roger Casamajor, Gabriela Maria Schmeide, Wotan Wilke Mohring, Frank Kessler, Devid Striesow, Kristo Ferkic, Fritz Marquardt) , Official site

Full review

UK Premiere

Hotel Atlântico

Review preview for Hotel Atlântico

The movie is almost like a Kafka novel; there seems no earthly rhyme and reason, but there are some resonating themes and a sense of the surreal.

James Benefield · 3 out of 5
Brazenly weird road movie about a TV soap actor's odyssey.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2009; Director: Suzana Amaral; Writer: Suzana Amaral, João Gilberto Noll; Stars: Júlio Andrade, Gero Camilo, Emerson Danesi, Renato Dobal, André Frateschi, Luis Guilherme, Helena Ignez, Lorena Lobato, Marcia Martins, João Miguel, Jiddú Pinheiro, Mariana Ximenes)

Full review

UK Premiere

The Hunter (Shekarchi)

Review preview for The Hunter

The biggest problem with the film is not its snail's saunter, but rather the minimalist way Pitts approaches the scripting.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
A man hit by tragedy takes matters into his own hands.

(Country: Iran, Germany; Year: 2010; Director: Rafi Pitts; Writer: Rafi Pitts; Stars: Rafi Pitts, Mitra Hajjar, Ali Nicksaulat, Manoochehr Rahimi, Ebrahim Safarpour, Hassan Ghalenoi, Malek Jahan Khazai, Ismaïl Amani, Ali Mazinani, Amir Ayoubi, Ossta Shah Tir, Hossein Nickbakht, Naser Madahi, Gholamreza Rajabzadeh, Mansour Dowlatmand)

Full review

UK Premiere

Kawasaki's Rose (Kawasakiho ruze)

Review preview for Kawasaki's Rose

If the past is another country, exploring it can be a dangerous endeavour, affecting more people than you know.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
Family drama about decades-old betrayal to the communist secret police.

(Country: Czech Republic; Year: 2009; Director: Jan Hrebejk; Writer: Petr Jarchovský; Stars: Lenka Vlasáková, Milan Mikulcík, Martin Huba, Daniela Kolárová, Antonin Kratochvil, Anna Simonová, Petra Hrebícková, Ladislav Chudík, Ladislav Smocek, Vladimir Kulhavy)

Full review

UK Premiere

Lola

Review preview for Lola

Lola Sepa will always be for me now a real character I have seen, not a fiction.

Chris · 4.5 out of 5
Two Philippine grandmothers struggle with the aftermath of a murder.

(Country: France, Philippines; Year: 2009; Director: Brillante Mendoza; Writer: David Andriole, Linda Casimiro; Stars: Anita Linda, Rustica Carpio, Tanya Gomez, Jhong Hilario, Ketchup Eusebio, Benjie Filomeno, Bobby Jerome Go, Christian Slater, Camille Solari, Geraldine Tan)

Full review

UK Premiere

Lucky Luke

Comedy starring Jean Dujardin as the hero of the title. Based on the Belgian/French comic strips of the same name.

(Country: France, Argentina; Year: 2009; Director: James Huth; Writer: René Goscinny, James Huth, Morris, Sonja Shillito; Stars: Melvil Poupaud, Jean Dujardin, Sylvie Testud, Alexandra Lamy, Michaël Youn, Daniel Prévost, Jean-François Balmer, Bruno Salomone, Carlos Kaspar, Sergio Feldmann, Rafael Lavin, Claudio Brusca, Yann Sarfati) , Official site

UK Premiere

The Man Next Door (El hombre de al lado)

Review preview for The Man Next Door

From the two-tone credit sequence to the jaunty camera angles, this is visually striking stuff.

James Benefield · 3.5 out of 5
An architectural battle of wits.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2009; Director: Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat; Writer: Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat; Stars: Rafael Spregelburd, Daniel Aráoz, Eugenia Alonso, Inés Budassi, Lorenza Acuña, Eugenio Scopel, Rubén Guzmán, Debora Zanolli, Bárbara Hang, Enrique Gagliesi)

Full review

European Premiere

My Words, My Lies - My Love (Lila, Lila)

Romantic comedy about a hapless writer who becomes a literary superstar overnight.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2009; Director: Alain Gsponer; Writer: Alex Buresch, Martin Suter; Stars: Daniel Brühl, Hannah Herzsprung, Henry Hübchen, Kirsten Block, Peter Schneider, Henriette Müller, Simon Eckert, Alexander Khuon, Godehard Giese, Richard Sammel, Stefan Ruppe, Ulrich Voß, Torsten Michaelis, Oliver Bröcker, Marie Gruber)

UK Premiere

Putty Hill

Review preview for Putty Hill

In synthesising drama with a documentary degree of verity it hopes that events as depicted will create story without ensuring that there is one to show.

Andrew Robertson · 2 out of 5
A troubled family is united by bereavement.

(Country: US; Year: 2010; Director: Matthew Porterfield; Writer: Jordan Mintzer, Matthew Porterfield; Stars: Cody Ray, Sky Ferreira, Zoe Vance, Dustin Ray, James Siebor Jr.)

Full review

The Red Machine

Review preview for The Red Machine

Every actor has a chance to shine, and none fails to take it.

Andrew Robertson · 4.5 out of 5
A young thief is persuaded to help a US government agency steal a Japanese encryption device on the eve of war.

(Country: US; Year: 2009; Director: Stephanie Argy, Alec Boehm; Writer: Stephanie Argy, Alec Boehm; Stars: Lee Perkins, Donal Thoms-Cappello, Meg Brogan, Mo Byrnes, Eddie Lee, Madoka)

Full review

R: Hit First, Hit Hardest (R)

Review preview for R: Hit First, Hit Hardest

A triumph of naturalistic storytelling, of symbolism, aided by tremendous technical work.

Andrew Robertson · 4.5 out of 5
Sentenced for an unexplained stabbing, a young man enters a violent prison.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2010; Director: Tobias Lindholm, Michael Noer; Writer: Tobias Lindholm, Michael Noer; Stars: Johan Philip Asbæk, Dulfi Al-Jabouri, Roland Møller, Jacob Gredsted, Kim Winther, Omar Shargawi, Sune Nørgaard)

Full review

The Secret In Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos, The Secret Of Their Eyes)

Review preview for The Secret In Their Eyes

This is a strong story, encompassing romance, thriller aspects, comedy and even political intrigue, zipping back and forward in time but always carrying you with it to a conclusion that is thoroughly satisfying on all counts.

Amber Wilkinson · 5 out of 5
A man looks back at a crime that happened a quarter of a century previously.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2009; Director: Juan José Campanella; Writer: Juan José Campanella, Eduardo Sacheri; Stars: Ricardo Darín, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago, Javier Godino, Guillermo Francella, José Luis Gioia, Mario Alarcón, Mariano Argento, Fernando Pardo, Maximiliano Trento, David Di Napoli)

Full review See: Juan José Campanella interview about The Secret In Their Eyes (El Secreto De Sus Ojos)

UK Premiere

Silent Voices (Silent Voice, Qu'un Seul Tienne Et Les Autres Suivront)

Review preview for Silent Voices

Lea Fehner bites off more than she can chew.

James Benefield · 2 out of 5
A prison in Marseille forms the centrepiece of a series of interlocking stories.

(Country: France; Year: 2009; Director: Léa Fehner; Writer: Léa Fehner, Catherine Paille; Stars: Farida Rahouadj, Reda Kateb, Pauline Etienne, Marc Barbé, Vincent Rottiers, Julien Lucas, Delphine Chuillot)

Full review

Snowman's Land

Review preview for Snowman's Land

The set up is good, but the pay off is less successful.

James Benefield · 2.5 out of 5
When a contract killer on the run takes what looks like an easy job in the mountains, things go from bad to worse.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2010; Director: Tomasz Thomson; Writer: Tomasz Thomson; Stars: Jürgen Rißmann, Thomas Wodianka, Reiner Schöne, Eva-Katrin Hermann, Waléra Kanischtscheff)

Full review

Whisky With Vodka (Whisky mit Wodka)

Review preview for Whisky With Vodka

It's the sense of claustrophobia, and the tension emanating from it, which are key to the film's success.

James Benefield · 3.5 out of 5
Dry comedy about the drunken antics of a past-his-prime star, which threaten to derail his latest movie.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2009; Director: Andreas Dresen; Writer: Wolfgang Kohlhaase; Stars: Henry Hübchen, Corinna Harfouch, Sylvester Groth, Markus Hering, Valery Tscheplanowa, Peter Kurth, Karina Plachetka, Matthias Walter, Kai Börner, Thomas Putensen, Peter Pauli, Frank Auerbach, Tilo Prückner, Falk Willy Wild, Fritz Marquardt)

Full review

UK Premiere