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Edinburgh International Film Festival · 2018

Edinburgh International Film Festival 2018

European Perspectives

Programme

17 films · 10 reviews

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3/4 (Three-Quarters)

Review preview for 3/4

Scenes don't run fully to their end or don't quite start at the beginning, the drama often whisked somewhere else as we're about to reach what more mainstream films would consider the small moments of climax.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
The lives of a father and his two children.

(Country: Bulgaria; Year: 2017; Director: Ilian Metev; Writer: Betina Ip, Ilian Metev; Stars: Mila Mihova, Nikolay Mashalov, Todor Veltchev, Simona Genkova, Kaloyan Georgiev, Alexander Kurtenkov)

Full review

UK premiere

The Apparition (L'Apparition)

Review preview for The Apparition

The greatest strength of The Apparation is how ably and confidently it projects not just uncertainty, but the nebulous possibility of it.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
A journalist investigates a woman's claims to have seen the Virgin Mary.

(Country: France; Year: 2018; Director: Xavier Giannoli; Writer: Jacques Fieschi, Xavier Giannoli, Marcia Romano; Stars: Vincent Lindon, Galatéa Bellugi, Patrick d'Assumçao, Anatole Taubman, Elina Löwensohn, Claude Lévèque, Gérard Dessalles, Bruno Georis, Alicia Hava, Candice Bouchet, Marie-Hélène Aubert, Aurore Broutin, Geoffroy De La Taille, Sandrine Ferraro, Cidney Khosta)

Full review

UK premiere

C'est La Vie! (Le sens de la fête)

Review preview for C'est La Vie!

So much is going on that Nakache and Toledano are able to slyly set-up jokes in such a way that we barely notice them, so that when they pay off their impact is greater.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
A night of surprises unfolds at a wedding party in a chateau.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano; Writer: Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano; Stars: Jean-Pierre Bacri, Eye Haidara, Gilles Lellouche, Suzanne Clément, Jean-Paul Rouve, Judith Chemla, Kévin Azaïs, Vincent Macaigne, Yves Heck, Hélène Vincent, Jackee Toto, Louis Quinn, Anthony Darche)

Full review See: Eye Haïdara on C'est La Vie, comedy, the #MeToo movement and fighting racial stereotypes

UK premiere

Charlie And Hannah's Grand Night Out (Charlie En Hannah Gaan Uit)

Two friends have a night out on the tiles.

(Year: 2017; Director: Bert Scholiers; Writer: Bert Scholiers; Stars: Evelien Bosmans, Daphne Wellens, Patrick Vervueren, Frances Lefebure, Steef de Bot, Sigrid ten Napel, Jeroen Van Dyck, Sam Bogaerts, Astrid Haerens, Anne-Marie Loop, Titus De Voogdt, Guido Op de Beeck, Yela de Koning, Eric De Kuyper, Liesbet Goedemé)

UK premiere

Diving

A couple try to mend their tempestuous relationship.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Mélanie Laurent; Writer: Christophe Deslandes, Julien Lambroschini, Mélanie Laurent, Christophe Ono-dit-Biot; Stars: Gilles Lellouche, María Valverde, Ibrahim Ahmed, Marie Denarnaud, Noémie Merlant, Albert Delpy, Thomas Solivérès, Christophe Vandevelde, Tiffany Thoyer-Rozat, Morgan Perez, Ahmed Almaqbali, Nadra Saif al Sharji, Albert Bordes, Bartholomé Bordes, Peter Chabolle)

UK premiere

Dumped (Larguees)

Two mismatched sisters take their mother on holiday.

(Country: France; Year: 2018; Director: Eloïse Lang; Writer: Mette Heeno, Hella Joof, Eloïse Lang; Stars: Miou-Miou, Camille Cottin, Camille Chamoux, Johan Heldenbergh, Thomas Scimeca, Olivia Côte, Youssef Hajdi, Sylvain Quimène, Elliot Daurat, Vincent Furic, Miou-Miou, Camille Cottin, Camille Chamoux, Johan Heldenbergh, Thomas Scimeca)

International premiere

Mug (Twarz)

Review preview for Mug

Szumowska isn't aiming for subtly here and runs the risks of some of the townsfolk's attitudes slipping into broad brush character but the pathos at the film's heart for Jacek off-sets the problem.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Jacek enjoys his existence as a cool misfit in his Polish backwater. After a terrible accident on the site where the world’s largest statue of Jesus is being constructed, he is celebrated as a national hero and martyr.

(Country: Poland; Year: 2018; Director: Malgorzata Szumowska; Writer: Michal Englert, Malgorzata Szumowska; Stars: Mateusz Kosciukiewicz, Agnieszka Podsiadlik, Malgorzata Gorol, Roman Gancarczyk, Dariusz Chojnacki, Robert Talarczyk, Anna Tomaszewska, Martyna Krzysztofik, Iwona Bielska, Tadeusz Bragiel, Pawel Browczuk, Katarzyna Chlebny, Juliusz Chrzastowski, Wojciech Citak, Krzysztof Ciureja)

Full review

UK premiere

Never Leave Me

Two young Syrians cope with their traumatic past through friendship.

(Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey; Year: 2017; Director: Aida Begic; Writer: Aida Begic; Stars: Carol Abboud, Motaz Faez Basha, Isa Demlakhi, Feyyaz Duman, Nisreen Faour, Ossama Mahmud Himeli, Ahmad Husrom, Tuka Na'al, Firas Taybeh, Mehmet Usta, Carol Abboud, Motaz Faez Basha, Isa Demlakhi, Feyyaz Duman, Nisreen Faour)

UK premiere

The Return

Docufiction following Danish-Korean adoptees as they go back to their native land looking for their birth parents.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2018; Director: Malene Choi; Writer: Sissel Dalsgaard Thomsen; Stars: Thomas Hwan, Karoline Sofie Lee, Thomas Hwan, Karoline Sofie Lee)

UK premiere

The Secret Of Marrowbone (El secreto de Marrowbone, Marrowbone)

Review preview for The Secret Of Marrowbone

Sergio G Sánchez has lofty ambitions, involving guilt, coming of age and a whisper of the supernatural - but without the emergency brake he is usually offered by whichever director he is working with to rein him in.

Amber Wilkinson · 2 out of 5
A young man and his four younger siblings, who have kept secret the death of their beloved mother in order to remain together, are plagued by a sinister presence.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2017; Director: Sergio G Sánchez; Writer: Sergio G Sánchez; Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Mia Goth, George MacKay, Kyle Soller, Robert Nairne, Matthew Stagg, Nicola Harrison, Laura Brook)

Full review

UK premiere

Several Conversations About A Very Tall Girl (Cateva conversatii despre o fata foarte inalta)

Two girls begin to chat about another girl, a former lover of both. As they grow closer, the gap between them widens, as one them is looking for answers and love while safely closeted.

(Country: Romania; Year: 2018; Director: Bogdan Theodor Olteanu; Stars: Karin Budrugeac, Ana Covalciuc, Nicoleta Hâncu, Carol Ionescu, Ana Ivan, Silvana Mihai, Denisse Moise, Florentina Nastase, Karin Budrugeac, Ana Covalciuc, Nicoleta Hâncu, Carol Ionescu, Ana Ivan, Silvana Mihai, Denisse Moise)

UK premiere

Thick Lashes Of Lauri Mantyvaara (Lauri Mäntyvaaran tuuheet ripset)

Review preview for Thick Lashes Of Lauri Mantyvaara

Hauru's film is deliberately messy, satirising everything from the sacred treatment of hockey stars to yoghurt sponsorship.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Two Finnish best friends head into a hormone storm.

(Country: Finland; Year: 2017; Director: Hannaleena Hauru; Writer: Hannaleena Hauru; Stars: Inka Haapamäki, Rosa Honkonen, Tiitus Rantala, Santeri Helinheimo Mäntylä, Peter Kanerva, Samuel Vauramo, Janni Hussi, Viktor Vansen, Helena Valkee, Lumi Aunio, Ida Anttila, Sanni Halkivaha, Bea Hietala, Aiju Holppi, Sami Huhtala)

Full review

UK premiere

Those Who Are Fine (Dene wos guet geit)

Review preview for Those Who Are Fine

Taut, tense, perhaps less constructed than engineered.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
A call centre worker begins to work a scam on the elderly.

(Country: Switzerland; Year: 2017; Director: Cyril Schäublin; Stars: Sarah Stauffer, Nikolai Bosshardt, Fidel Morf, Sarah Stauffer, Nikolai Bosshardt, Fidel Morf)

Full review

UK premiere

Tulipani: Love Honour And A Bicycle

A young woman on a whimsical journey to Puglia discovers her past.

(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2017; Director: Mike van Diem; Writer: Peter van Wijk, Mike van Diem, Peter van Wijk; Stars: Ksenia Solo, Giancarlo Giannini, Gijs Naber, Donatella Finocchiaro, Giorgio Pasotti, Lidia Vitale, Anneke Sluiters, Michele Venitucci, Peter Schindelhauer, Luciano Marinelli, Gianni Pezzolla, Pietro Naglieri, Elena Cantarone, Ippolito Chiariello, Antonello Loiacono)

UK premiere

What Will People Say

Review preview for What Will People Say

Iram Haq's second feature has its own dynamic and a powerful authenticity that avoids ex-colonial prejudice.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
Sixteen-year-old Nisha lives a double life.

(Country: Norway, Germany, Sweden; Year: 2017; Director: Iram Haq; Writer: Iram Haq; Stars: Maria Mozhdah, Adil Hussain, Ekavali Khanna, Rohit Saraf, Ali Arfan, Sheeba Chaddha, Lalit Parimoo, Nokokure Dahl, Isak Lie Harr, Maria Bock, Sara Khorami, Jannat Zubair Rahmani, Freddy Singh, Trine Wiggen, Maria Mozhdah)

Full review

UK premiere

Woman Up! (Numéro une, Number One)

Review preview for Woman Up!

There's a certain degree of decompression in its storytelling, and a willingness to jump in time and space, and though the two are strong there's a weird sense that these are the highlights and story beats of a much longer television drama.

Andrew Robertson · 3.5 out of 5
An ambitious woman treads a dangerous path as she attempts to crash the corporate boys’ club.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Tonie Marshall; Writer: Raphaëlle Bacqué, Marion Doussot, Tonie Marshall; Stars: Emmanuelle Devos, Suzanne Clément, Richard Berry)

Full review

UK premiere

Zagros

Review preview for Zagros

Kalifa smartly draws Zagros so that he is not merely painted as a monster.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A Kurdish shepherd is consumed by jealousy after he follows his wife to Belgium.

(Country: Belgium; Year: 2017; Director: Sahim Omar Kalifa; Writer: Sahim Omar Kalifa, Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem; Stars: Maaike Neuville, Feyyaz Duman, Halima Ilter, Suat Usta, Yusuf Çetin, Aziz Çapkurt, Karl Ferlin, Steve Van Nuffel, Daria Hachem Mohamet Gulli, Leyla Batgi, Elvan Kocer, Ezdam Parilti, Munip Seven, Serkaut Mustafa, Brader Musiki)

Full review

UK premiere