Edinburgh International Film Festival — A–Z of films

As stark as its empty landscapes, as measured as the tread of the strangers along the poplar avenue, as compelling as the panic that grows in the village ahead of them.

A cast of talented actors and a superabundance of musical acts and a genuine sense of fun.

Fedor Bonarchuk blends blockbuster stylings with a cultural critique which, he has said, he considers to have present day relevance far beyond Russia's borders.

The director makes judicious use of old family photos and voice-over along with some strong nature photography that anchors the documentary in terms of place.

The puzzles here are of the sort intended to be enjoyed for their twists and turns rather than their resolution.

Baugh and his co-writer Brendan Mullin have a good feel for how they can push the absurdity of the situation without turning the whole thing into farce.

It has good moments - some of which are so blatant as to seem traced - but even for a sequel this feels like it is treading ground that's so well travelled that genre features are named landmarks.

An accomplished portrait that presents something much more human than we're used to in this context.

A film that is economically hilarious in the precision of its lines and humour, a wordless comic gem.

With dazzling visual effects and stunning sets, Brazil is a film that you should see on the biggest screen possible.

The sheer craftsmanship, through script, story, song, and unadulterated uplifting emotion is nearly peerless.

As an artist, she certainly gets my vote.

Quinn cleverly mixes the natural playfulness of the animal with more sinister inclination.

His wife proves much more interesting than him.

Let's hope that Pixar hasn't run out of gas.

It has a kick in its heel and a nice surprise at the end

Silverstone immerses herself in the character of Cher.

That aerial sequence is as thrilling as anything in Top Gun.

Confident not only in establishing its rules but also in exploring them with economy and verve.

There is both strong control of craft and a simple but effective idea at work.

As Tunnock's teacake tomfoolery turns to something more adult, more anxiety inducing, those involved demonstrate their craft and skill.

Chris Shepherd... reflects history's distorted mirror particularly well.

It's an unfairness to the quality of her supporting cost to mention how good Beecham is again and again, but life isn't fair.

Watchable, even occasionally thrilling, but The Dark Mile does not shine.

The director talks about a "sense of play" in the press notes but are the audience really playing if they don't know the rules ahead of time?

Bertrand Tavernier’s 1980 curio Death Watch remains a chilly and enigmatic film, one which is hard to love but not hard to admire.

López knows how to look and how to encourage us to see the parallels between these situations.

Swayze toned down his abilities as a dancer to play Castle, but still looks riveting.

This is cinema that is not necessarily safe.

You'll laugh, and wince, and laugh again.

Its strong emotional hub keeps you with the film, even as it flirts with tourist board-style promotional material.

The style allows for a sense of movement, which Hobbs often exploits for its witty details.

Undeniably watchable.

Throughout the film, there's a feeling that the writers are picking their way gingerly through a minefield of possible problems, thereby failing to commit fully to the character of Steven Morrissey.

We don't just see this teenager grow up, we are buffeted and tossed by the experience.

The technique keeps the children uppermost in our minds.

The documentary's greatest strength lies in the way Reynolds allows the scientific to mix with the philosophical and the deeply emotional.

Laloux has woven a dense tapestry of allegorical resonances that link the theological to the political to the anthropological.

A film like this is a costume designer's dream.

Just because you signal to an audience that you're purposefully making them watch paint dry does not make the experience of it any less tedious.

Like the fog in August of its title, the horrors of Wessel's film don't come in a rush, but insinuate themselves gradually in what, initially, appears to be a comparatively benign setting before leaving you chilled to the bone.

Hobbs exploits the machine's motion - from left to right of a page - as a way of bolstering the sense of movement.

This is black comedy at its best, subtle, confident in deadpan, as bleak and dry as a sun-scorched siding.

Debut feature director Francis Lee grew up on a Yorkshire farm and it shows in every inch of this film.

The scrappy nature of their adventures would be better suited to a short TV series.

The film stays true to its title by never letting the music play second fiddle.

A treat to watch.

Statements of fact cannot quite describe the film because it is something beyond text.

Robinson makes careful use of movement and perspective to keep us guessing whether the boil is real or a product of Bagley's disordered imagination.

Taika Waititi knows growing up isn't child's play but he also respects childhood as a place of adventure, where spontaneity rules and the possibilities are only limited by imagination.

Bent copper. Check. A liking for the charlie. Check. Shady gangsters operating out of shady strip clubs. Check.

The idea that a family would face the war crime equivalent of lions, tigers and bears in the space of a few hours barges through the boundaries of belief.

Stay with it, allow it to draw you in and in the end you will have your reward.

This play - and this production - belongs to Brutus, however, played by Harriet Walter with a distilled ferocity that brings some of Ian McKellen's best Shakespearean work to mind.

The heart of the film is a performance from Harry Gilby, in a feature debut - ably managing to convey not only the struggles but the strengths of young Charlie in the face of any number of vicissitudes.

The film has adventure at its heart and excitement in its pocket.

Serious acting, but it becomes something other, something smaller than its stage.

What Power does differently is to deny us the usual sources of comfort.

A journey you have never travelled before

The piecemeal nature of Giovanni Boccaccio’s source material only adds to the sketch show feel, with as many moments missing the mark as hitting it.

There are many scenes delightful to young children which older viewers will find shallow and gimmicky, whilst the younger ones will be left puzzled and bored by the strange romance between Sarah and her enemy.

Quietly builds a testimony to the stoicism all of the 250,000 civilians who, at that time, remained trapped in the city.

Huston's performances are astounding.

Riedelsheimer also has an artist's eye and approach, so this is less a recording of Goldsworthy than a dialogue between his work and that of the filmmaker.

There are comparisons drawn that are powerful, political, provoking.

Nearly 30 years later and John Mackenzie’s classic is still the yard-stick for any new entry into the genre.

An inventive and carefully worked short that has strength in being left open for you to draw your own conclusions.

Edgar keeps things 'real', with the violence brutal but believable and with psychological underpinnings that are more complex than the average gangland thriller.

There is the air of a dysfunctional family agreeing to get together for Auntie Sheila’s wedding.

The performances under Walsh's direction capture the fine splinters of motivation and the mystery that we all are to each other.

The most enjoyable aspects of Maya Dardel lie away from its pseudy centre.

Rather than pick apart rituals... Weinstein simply lets us see them in action as part of the natural fabric of his life

The acting here is of high quality, with Frot shading just enough warmth and melancholy into Claire to stop her becoming a total wet blanket... Deneuve, throwing caution to the wind

Mamma Mia! is a roller coaster of emotion, careering colourfully from the blue waters of the Adriatic.

If you were a fan of Blur, Oasis or Radiohead, there is much here to like and relate to.

Packing a late-stage twist which unbalances everything that has gone before, Mona Lisa is a thriller that will really keep you guessing.

Structurally sophisticated, it plays with chronology of action and simultaneity of circumstance to create and build tension and strength and moments of wondrous beauty.

Even though Newton is a stickler, there's an appealing purity to his views and he remains likeable almost despite himself.

Falls into the unfortunate category of documentaries that say more about the person making it than the intended subject.

Bong keeps it all on the move with immense visual flair, innumerable chases and excellent effects.

Gritty, throbbing with mood and featuring plenty of Connery’s unique brogue.

Though it finds humour, and may even be poking fun on occasion, it never feels disrespectful.

Muldowney takes things seriously, with cinematographer Tom Comerford using the lowering skies and boggy heaviness to his advantage

The textures of this film are lovely, from the grains of snow that we see blow into footprints, to the distinctive coats of the two bears, that ruffle in the wind and with movement.

Bennett's script gently mocks his characters, while also maintaining a level of understanding.

A powerful study of loneliness, the film hinges on Lawrence's understated but profoundly sympathetic performance.

It's an amazing piece of work from writer/director Eitan Anner.

Whatever expectations are carried in are brought to a stop, hard.

If late punk era filmmaking was all about style over substance, Alex Cox's seminal work has buckets of both.

Orlando Bloom is stunning, a performance of looks and grunts and things unsaid and, gradually, of speaking.

Densely packed with information, this is a film that continually finds new things to say and new ways to say them.

This is a powerful film that not only resonates with the recent cycle of films concerning rebellious girls, but with films made by indigerous peoples.

In this deck of cards with Jokers there are wild moments, enough variety that whatever faces Karolina there is something there in black and red to conjure with.

Some films need to be watched alone. This is one of them.

Singin' in the Rain remains one of the most enduring, effervescent and exuberant of films.

It's a simple story but well told, with excellent technique.

Sweet Virginia is a simple story told very, very well.

A charming documentary about a still ongoing chapter in not-quite-popular music.

Miyake takes a thorough approach to her subject, showing both the fan-side and the opinion of those who make money from the industry, all the while probing at the psychological drivers fuelling the craze.

Although much of Laaksonen's work was hardcore, Karukoski doesn't seek to 'shock' audiences with outrageousness, instead gracefully zoning in on the man and his life to celebrate his both his bravery and his art.

Peter Ferdinando is excellent as the titular character.

There's an immediacy to the narration and a sorrow stitched into the filmmaking.

With their Day-Glo colours, singing and attitude to hugging, this is probably one of the few animations that will simultaneously appeal to the very young, any parents nostalgic for rave culture and grandparents who tuned in and dropped out.

James Cameron's masterpiece. A lean, brooding, violent and unforgettable experience from a director hungry for success.

That Good Night is a fitting tribute to a great actor, but it is not as smooth a swansong as one would hope.

The idea and the shapes are simple - a cube, a circle, textured backgrounds - but the overall effect is quite meditative.

Nothing else has captured quite so succinctly the dynamics of the information revolution or its impact on what it means to be human.

Jennifer Garner is very good, conveying through her facial expressions what many of the actors around her feel compelled to try and communicate as if they were in a silent film.

The colours, like that coat, only serve to show Kyra in even paler relief, her invisibility coming to offer a welcoming cloak as she hatches a plan to avoid destitution.

Richard E Grant's performance is a masterpiece in comic acting.

The closer this film gets to documentary, the better it becomes.