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Edinburgh International Film Festival · 2019

Edinburgh International Film Festival 2019

European Perspectives

Programme

28 films · 9 reviews

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Aleksi

A graduate who has returned to her family home becomes involved in relationships with a trio fo very different men.

(Country: Croatia, Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro; Year: 2018; Director: Barbara Vekaric; Writer: Barbara Vekaric, Barbara Vekaric, Barbara Vekaric; Stars: Tihana Lazovic, Goran Markovic, Leon Lucev, Sebastian Cavazza, Jason Mann, Neda Arneric, Lidija Bacic, Angela Bulum, Nadia Cvitanovic, Antonio Franic, Svetlana Gutic, Tvrtko Hopek, Natasa Janjic, Romano Nikolic, Tena Pataky)

UK premiere

Alice

Review preview for Alice

The script is sharp, witty and not afraid to ask awkward questions.

Jane Fae · 4 out of 5
Alice, a happy and perfect wife and mother has her life turned upside down when she discovers her husband is living a secret life.

(Country: Australia, France; Year: 2019; Director: Josephine Mackerras; Writer: Josephine Mackerras; Stars: David Coburn, Chloé Boreham, Martin Swabey, Etienne Guillou-Kervern)

Full review

UK premiere

Aniara

Review preview for Aniara

Although little of this is new, it's delivered with poise and grace, aided by finely tuned performances.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Science-fiction drama about a passenger spaceship lost in the void.

(Country: Sweden, Denmark; Year: 2018; Director: Pella Kagerman, Hugo Lilja; Writer: Pella Kagerman, Hugo Lilja, Harry Martinson; Stars: Emelie Jonsson, Bianca Cruzeiro, Arvin Kananian, Anneli Martini, Jennie Silfverhjelm, Emma Broomé, Jamil Drissi, Leon Jiber, Peter Carlberg, Juan Rodríguez, David Nzinga, Dakota Trancher Williams, Otis Castillo Ålhed, Dante Westergårdh, Elin Lilleman Eriksson)

Full review

UK premiere

Aren't You Happy (Das melancholische Mädchen)

A girl roams through the city looking for a place to sleep, but between yoga studios, art galleries and the beds of strangers there is no space for her.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2019; Director: Susanne Heinrich; Writer: Susanne Heinrich; Stars: Marie Rathscheck, Nicolai Borger, Malte Bündgen, Dax Constantine, Monika Freinberger, Julian Fricker, Yann Grouhel, Lorna Ishema, Christine Kostropetsch, Felix Mayr, Markus Nechleba, Nicolo Pasetti, Pero Radicic, Monika Wiedemer, Marie Rathscheck)

UK premiere

Asterix: The Secret Of The Magic Potion (Asterix: The Secret De La Potion Magique)

Review preview for Asterix: The Secret Of The Magic Potion

It is good to see the women taking charge, though this happens sufficiently often in Asterix that it is close to becoming a trope in itself.

Jane Fae · 3.5 out of 5
The village druid enlists the help of Asterix and Obelix to find a young druid to share his secrets with.

(Country: France; Year: 2018; Director: Alexandre Astier, Louis Clichy; Writer: René Goscinny, Albert Uderzo, Alexandre Astier; Stars: English dub voiced by, Ken Kramer, C Ernst Harth, John Innes, Fleur Delahunty, Andrew Cownden, Michael Shepherd, Saffron Henderson)

Full review

UK premiere

Aurora

Aurora, a commitment-phobic party animal, meets Iranian Darian one night at a hot-dog stand in Lapland. Darian is running from death and Aurora is running from love.

(Country: Finland; Director: Miia Tervo; Writer: Miia Tervo; Stars: Oona Airola, Hannu-Pekka Björkman, Amir Escandari)

UK premiere

The Best Of Dorien B

A busy vet with a good life finds problems with her family make her consider what's best for her.

(Country: Belgium; Year: 2019; Director: Anke Blondé; Writer: Anke Blondé, Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem, Anke Blondé, Bert Van Dael, Sanne Nuyens, Geert Verbanck, Ellen Schoenaerts; Stars: Dirk van Dijck, Katelijne Verbeke, Robrecht Vanden Thoren, Peter De Graef, Jelle De Beule, Kim Snauwaert, Wine Dierickx, Isabelle van Hecke, Kristien De Proost, Willem Loobuyck, Lander Minne, Dirk van Dijck, Katelijne Verbeke, Robrecht Vanden Thoren, Peter De Graef)

UK premiere

Cronofobia

A lonely man tries to connect with a woman who is struggling with a complicated form of grief.

(Country: Switzerland; Year: 2018; Director: Francesco Rizzi; Writer: Daniela Gambaro, Francesco Rizzi; Stars: Vinicio Marchioni, Sabine Timoteo, Leonardo Nigro, Giorgia Salari, Jun Ichikawa, Andrea Bruschi, Alberto Ruano, Jean-Pierre Gos, Monica Budde, Lorenzo Pedrotti, Carla Cassola, Adele Raes, Jasmin Mattei, Joachim Aeschlimann, Nils Habermacher)

UK premiere

The Deposit (Tryggd)

A journalist finds her invitation to migrants to live in her house turns into a power struggle.

(Country: Iceland; Year: 2019; Director: Ásthildur Kjartansdóttir; Writer: Ásthildur Kjartansdóttir; Stars: Elma Lísa Gunnarsdóttir, Enid Mbabazi, Raffaella Brizuela Sigurðardóttir, Claire Harpa Kristinsdóttir, Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, Sólveig Guðmundsdóttir, Elma Lísa Gunnarsdóttir, Enid Mbabazi, Raffaella Brizuela Sigurðardóttir, Claire Harpa Kristinsdóttir, Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson, Sólveig Guðmundsdóttir)

UK premiere

Emma Peeters

Emma Peeters will soon be 35 and has yet to accomplish something. After years of hardship in Paris in trying to become an actress, an idea strikes her fancy: ending her life in a week’s time, on her birthday. In the process Emma meets Alex Bodart, a fanciful funeral home employee who will help her in her reckless endeavor.

(Country: Belgium; Year: 2018; Director: Nicole Palo; Writer: Nicole Palo; Stars: Andréa Ferréol, Monia Chokri, Fabrice Adde, Stéphanie Crayencour, Jean-Henri Compère, Hervé Piron, Aran Bertetto, Anne Sylvain, Romain David, Jean-Noël Delfanne, Andréa Ferréol, Monia Chokri, Fabrice Adde, Stéphanie Crayencour, Jean-Henri Compère)

UK premiere

The Emperor Of Paris (L'Empereur De Paris)

Historical action thriller about a criminal who escapes from a penal colony.

(Country: France; Year: 2018; Director: Jean-François Richet; Writer: Éric Besnard, Éric Besnard, Éric Besnard, Jean-François Richet, Jean-François Richet; Stars: Olga Kurylenko, Vincent Cassel, August Diehl, Freya Mavor, Denis Ménochet, Denis Lavant, Fabrice Luchini, William Sciortino, John Sehil, James Thierrée, Patrick Chesnais, Antoine Basler, Michèle Clément, François Girard, Vincent Schmitt)

UK premiere

End Of Sentence

Review preview for End Of Sentence

All praise to the acting here, as each star deliver characters with depth and meaning, without the encumbrance of lengthy self-exposition.

Jane Fae · 4 out of 5
A widower embarks on a journey to fulfil his wife's wish to have her ashes scattered in Ireland, taking his estranged son along for the trip.

(Country: Iceland, Ireland, United States; Year: 2019; Director: Elfar Adalsteins; Writer: Michael Armbruster; Stars: John Hawkes, Logan Lerman, Sarah Bolger, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Andrea Irvine, Christopher Allen, Sean Mahon, David Grant Wright, Shaw Jones, Zylan Brooks, Claire Mullan, Robert Kiernan, Kevin Tribble, Kyle Hancock, Aoibhin Murphy)

Full review See: John Hawkes and Elfar Adalsteins on making End Of Sentence

World premiere

A Girl From Mogadishu

Review preview for A Girl From Mogadishu

A story brought dazzlingly to life by the talents of its veteran cast and crew

Andrew Robertson · 3.5 out of 5
The true story of Ifrah Ahmed, who fled war-torn Somalia in 2006 and became a campaigner against gender based violence and female genital mutilation.

(Country: Ireland, Belgium; Year: 2019; Director: Mary McGuckian; Writer: Mary McGuckian; Stars: Aja Naomi King, Barkhad Abdi, Martha Canga Antonio, Luke Spencer Roberts, Orla Brady, Maryam Mursal, Stanley Townsend, Pauline McLynn, Hamse Abdi, Hussein Abdi, Mahamed Warsame Abdirabi, Ifrah Ahmed, Mohamed Abdillahi Bahdon, Samira Benali, Ayantu Boulanger)

Full review

International premiere

God Exists Her Name Is Petrunya (Gospod postoi, imeto i' e Petrunija)

Satire charts what happens when a woman catches a holy cross in a contest that is usually the province of men.

(Country: Republic of Macedonia, Belgium, France, Croatia, Slovenia; Year: 2019; Director: Teona Strugar Mitevska; Writer: Teona Strugar Mitevska, Elma Tataragic; Stars: Zorica Nusheva, Labina Mitevska, Stefan Vujisic, Suad Begovski, Simeon Moni Damevski, Violeta Sapkovska, Petar Mircevski, Andrijana Kolevska, Nikola Kumev, Bajrush Mjaku, Xhevdet Jashari, Vladimir Tuliev, Ilija Volcheski, Igor Todorov, Nenad Angelkovic)

UK premiere

Happier Times, Grump (Ilosia aikoja, Mielensaphaphoittaja)

Sequel to The Grump, sees the gloomy OAP preparing to die.

(Country: Finland; Year: 2018; Director: Tiina Lymi; Writer: Tuomas Kyrö, Juha Lehtola, Tiina Lymi, Tuomas Kyrö; Stars: Heikki Kinnunen, Satu Tuuli Karhu, Elina Knihtilä, Jani Volanen, Iikka Forss, Mari Perankoski, Sulevi Peltola, Janne Reinikainen, Lotta Kaihua, Petra Frey, Sari Siikander, Kaisa Hela, Tommi Korpela, Henrik Arvidsson, Jari Hämäläinen)

UK premiere

Her Job (I Doulia Tis)

When a timid housewife gets a job as a cleaner, he discovers a new sense of independence.

(Country: Greece, France, Serbia; Year: 2018; Director: Nikos Labôt; Writer: Katerina Kleitsioti, Nikos Labôt; Stars: Marisha Triantafyllidou, Dimitris Imellos, Maria Filini, Eleni Karagiorgi, Konstantinos Gogoulos, Eirini Asimakopoulou, Danae Primali, Dimitra Vlagopoulou, Orfeas Aggelopoulos, Georgia Tsagaraki, Areti Seidaridou, Ioanna Mavrea, Nikol Drizi, Youla Boudali, Spyros Kribalis)

UK premiere

How To Fake A War

When a sudden outbreak of peace threatens a rock star's charity concert, he tries to create a fake war story.

(Country: UK; Year: 2019; Director: Rudolph Herzog; Writer: Tim Price, Raid Sabbah; Stars: Katherine Parkinson, Lily Newmark, Jay Pharoah, Ali Cook, Daryl McCormack, Samuel Vargu, Katherine Parkinson, Lily Newmark, Jay Pharoah, Ali Cook, Daryl McCormack, Samuel Vargu)

UK premiere

The Mystery Of Henri Pick (Le Mystere Henri Pick)

A TV critic who loses his job over the discovery of a manuscript, turns detective to discover the truth about it.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2019; Director: Rémi Bezançon; Writer: Rémi Bezançon, David Foenkinos, Vanessa Portal; Stars: Fabrice Luchini, Camille Cottin, Alice Isaaz, Bastien Bouillon, Josiane Stoléru, Astrid Whettnall, Marc Fraize, Hanna Schygulla, Marie-Christine Orry, Vincent Winterhalter, Florence Muller, Philypa Phoenix, Lyès Salem, Tristan Carné, Annie Mercier)

UK premiere

Never Look Away (Werk Ohne Autor)

Review preview for Never Look Away

The blurring of fictionalisation is just one of the layers that encourages contemplation almost deep enough to justify the film's expansive canvas.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
A tormented young German artist who has fled to the west becomes convinced he has met the love of his life.

(Country: Germany, Italy; Year: 2018; Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck; Writer: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck; Stars: Tom Schilling, Sebastian Koch, Paula Beer, Saskia Rosendahl, Oliver Masucci, Cai Cohrs, Ina Weisse, Evgeniy Sidikhin, Mark Zak, Ulrike C. Tscharre, Bastian Trost, Hans-Uwe Bauer, Hanno Koffler, David Schütter, Franz Pätzold)

Full review See: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck ‪in conversation on‬ his editor Patricia Rommel, the use of Händel in Never Look Away (Werk Ohne Autor), his family, and a Milan Kundera essay , Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck ‪in conversation on‬ Germany's Oscar submission Never Look Away (Werk Ohne Autor)

UK premiere

Ruben Brandt, Collector

A psychotherapist suffers violent nightmares inspired by legendary works of art. Four of his patients, expert thieves, offer to steal the works.

(Country: Hungary; Year: 2018; Director: Milorad Krstic; Writer: Milorad Krstic, Radmila Roczkov; Stars: Paul Bellantoni, Gabriella Hámori, Iván Kamarás, Zalán Makranczi, Paul Bellantoni, Gabriella Hámori, Iván Kamarás, Zalán Makranczi)

UK premiere

She's Missing

A young woman heads across the desert to find a missing friend.

(Country: Ireland, US, UK; Year: 2019; Director: Alexandra McGuinness; Writer: Alexandra McGuinness; Stars: Lucy Fry, Eiza González, Christian Camargo, Josh Hartnett, Blake Berris, Sheila Vand, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Christopher Jordan Wallace, Adrian Acosta, Jerry G. Angelo, Russ Dillen, Clebert Garcia, Alicia Gerrard, Fiona Hardingham, Doris Hargrave)

International premiere

Sons Of Denmark (Danmarks Sonner)

Drama looks at the impact of radicalisation in society on two young men.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2019; Director: Ulaa Salim; Writer: Ulaa Salim; Stars: Imad Abul-Foul, Ari Alexander, Ivan Alan Ali, Rasmus Bjerg, Asil Mohamad Habib, Morten Holst, Elliott Crosset Hove, Ali Hussein, Olaf Johannessen, Mohammed Ismail Mohammed, Özlem Saglanmak, Zaki Youssef, Imad Abul-Foul, Ari Alexander, Ivan Alan Ali)

UK premiere

Synonyms

Review preview for Synonyms

The film is held together less by the tale than by tensions.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Tragicomedy about Yoav, a young Israeli determined to wipe out his origins and become French.

(Country: France, Germany, Israel; Year: 2019; Director: Nadav Lapid; Writer: Nadav Lapid; Stars: Tom Mercier, Quentin Dolmaire, Louise Chevillotte, Jonathan Boudina, Gaël Raes, Chris Zastera, John Sehil, Tom Mercier, Quentin Dolmaire, Louise Chevillotte, Jonathan Boudina, Gaël Raes, Chris Zastera, John Sehil)

Full review

UK premiere

Thirty (Dreissig)

A group of friends celebrate Övünç’s birthday. The scene shifts from day to night as they wander the streets and bars of Neukölln. A raging lust for life. Longing for that special something to finally come to pass which has so eluded them during the day.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2019; Director: Simona Kostova; Writer: Simona Kostova; Stars: Henner Borchers, Övünç Güvenisik, Pascal Houdus, Raha Emami Khansari, Kara Schröder, Henner Borchers, Övünç Güvenisik, Pascal Houdus, Raha Emami Khansari, Kara Schröder)

UK premiere

The Tobacconist

Review preview for The Tobacconist

This is Freud as we rarely see him, human and approachable and a bit baffled by the idea of having a young fan.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A young man befriends Sigmund Freud.

(Country: Austria, Germany; Year: 2018; Director: Nikolaus Leytner; Writer: Klaus Richter, Nikolaus Leytner, Robert Seethaler; Stars: Simon Morzé, Bruno Ganz, Johannes Krisch, Emma Drogunova, David Altman, Christoph Bittenauer, Gerti Drassl, Karoline Eichhorn, Michael Fitz, Regina Fritsch, Tom Hanslmaier, Erni Mangold, Thomas Mraz, Vicky Nikolaevskaja, Tobias Ofenbauer)

Full review

UK premiere

Volcano

Review preview for Volcano

There is strangeness here but of an intriguing rather than repellent sort.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A man goes on a series of absurdist adventures after becoming lost in the Ukranian steppe.

(Country: Germany, Ukraine; Year: 2018; Director: Roman Bondarchuk; Writer: Dar'ya Averchenko, Roman Bondarchuk, Alla Tyutyunnik; Stars: Viktor Zhdanov, Serhiy Stepansky, Viktor Zhdanov, Serhiy Stepansky)

Full review

UK premiere

We Have Always Lived In The Castle

Gothic mystery about an isolated family whose lives are challenged by the arrival of their mysterious cousin.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Stacie Passon; Writer: Mark Kruger, Shirley Jackson; Stars: Taissa Farmiga, Alexandra Daddario, Crispin Glover, Sebastian Stan, Patrick Joseph Byrnes, Una Carroll, Peter Coonan, Joanne Crawford, Bosco Hogan, Stephen Hogan, Paula Malcomson, Anna Nugent, Peter O'Meara, Liz O'Sullivan, Taissa Farmiga)

European premiere

X&Y

Playful art piece that sees actors deconstruct themselves and their roles.

(Country: Sweden, Denmark; Year: 2018; Director: Anna Odell; Writer: Jakob Beckman, Anna Odell; Stars: Jan Abramson, Jens Albinus, Anders Axelsson, Josephine Bauer, Max Claesson, Trine Dyrholm, Peter Engman, Sofie Gråbøl, Peter Kanerva, Thure Lindhardt, Anna Odell, Mikael Persbrandt, Per Ragnar, Shanti Roney, Emmeli Stjärnfeldt)

UK premiere