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Edinburgh International Film Festival · 2021

Edinburgh International Film Festival 2021

Fest In The City

Programme

27 films · 22 reviews

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Amelie (Le Fabuleux Destin D'Amelie Poulain, Amelie from Montmartre)

Review preview for Amelie

Jeunet has such an imaginative approach to film that he creates an atmosphere of magic.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
A girl with an eccentric, repressed childhood grows up attracted to the odd detail in everyday life and to the strangest people.

(Country: France; Year: 2001; Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet; Writer: Guillaume Laurant, Jean-Pierre Jeunet; Stars: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Serge Merlin, Jamel Debbouze, Urbain Cancellier, Dominique Pinon, Yolande Moreau, Isabelle Nanty)

Full review

Bend It Like Beckham

Review preview for Bend It Like Beckham

Bend It Like Beckham understands the rules of feelgood and will do well for that reason.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 3 out of 5
An 18-year-old football-mad girl defies her parents' wishes to conform by pursuing her dream to play footie like David Beckham.

(Country: UK; Year: 2002; Director: Gurinder Chadha; Writer: Paul Mayeda Berges, Guljit Bindra, Gurinder Chadha; Stars: Parminder K Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anupam Kher, Juliet Stevenson, Frank Harper, Kulvinder Ghir, Archie Panjabi, Shaznay Lewis)

Full review

Bridget Jones's Diary

Review preview for Bridget Jones's Diary

The ending is a pastiche of the worst kind of Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks wet hanky job and a sop to the American market.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 2.5 out of 5
Overweight middle-class secretary has trouble with men and other appetites in London. Re-released for its 25th anniversary.

(Country: UK; Year: 2000; Director: Sharon Maguire; Writer: Andrew Davies, Richard Curtis, , based on the novel by Helen Fielding; Stars: Renee Zellweger, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Gemma Jones, Jim Broadbent)

Full review

Casablanca

Review preview for Casablanca

Essentially a love story, Casablanca is darker than a camel's eyeball.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
A reunion between former lovers forces a bar owner to make an impossible choice amid the incivility of war.

(Country: US; Year: 1942; Director: Michael Curtiz; Writer: Julius Epstein, Philip Epstein, Howard Koch, based on the play Everybody Comes To Rick's by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison; Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Paul Henreid, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Conrad Veidt, Dooley Wilson, Marcel Dalio)

Full review

Clueless

Review preview for Clueless

Silverstone immerses herself in the character of Cher.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A rich high school student tries to give a fellow student a makeover but finds herself falling in love.

(Country: US; Year: 1995; Director: Amy Heckerling; Writer: Amy Heckerling; Stars: Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy, Paul Rudd, Donald Faison, Elisa Donovan, Breckin Meyer, Jeremy Sisto, Dan Hedaya, Aida Linares, Wallace Shawn, Twink Caplan, Justin Walker, Sabastian Rashidi, Herb Hall)

Full review

E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial

Review preview for E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial

It showcases Spielberg's gifts for light comedy, spectacle, and fairy tale celuloid sorcery.

Scott Macdonald · 5 out of 5
Spielberg's beloved classic about a stranded and lonely alien.

(Country: US; Year: 1982; Director: Steven Spielberg; Writer: Melissa Mathison; Stars: Dee Wallace, Henry Thomas, Peter Coyote, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, K. C. Martel, Sean Frye, Tom Howell, Erika Eleniak, David M. O'Dell, Richard Swingler, Frank Toth)

Full review

Fast Times At Ridgemont High

Coming-of-age comedy.

(Country: US; Year: 1982; Director: Amy Heckerling; Writer: Cameron Crowe; Stars: Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Robert Romanus, Brian Backer, Phoebe Cates, Ray Walston, Scott Thomson, Vincent Schiavelli, Amanda Wyss, D.W. Brown, Forest Whitaker, Kelli Maroney, Tom Nolan, Blair Tefkin)

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Review preview for Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a laugh-out-loud fest that makes you wonder how can kids be so intelligent and so stupid at the same time.

Gabriella Trybalska · 4.5 out of 5
A teen plots a day off school.

(Country: US; Year: 1986; Director: John Hughes; Writer: John Hughes; Stars: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Kristy Swanson, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones, Jennifer Grey, Charlie Sheen, Cindy Pickett, Lyman Ward)

Full review See: Article about the Brat Pack, John Hughes and teenagers in the movies.

Frozen

Review preview for Frozen

The animation is breathtaking and the characters are funny, charming and occasionally scary.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 4.5 out of 5
The beauty and danger of ice exposed in an animated musical tale of royal siblings and treachery behind the throne.

(Country: US; Year: 2013; Director: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee; Writer: Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Shane Morris, based on the story by Hans Christian Andersen; Stars: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Santino Fontana, Alan Tudyk, Ciarán Hinds, Chris Williams, Stephen J. Anderson, Maia Wilson, Edie McClurg, Robert Pine, Maurice LaMarche, Livvy Stubenrauch, Eva Bella)

Full review

The Goonies

Review preview for The Goonies

Donner's era-defining adventure is at once lighthearted, serious, scary and lots of fun.

Stephen Carty · 4.5 out of 5
A pirate treasure map leads a group of kids on an adventure.

(Country: US; Year: 1985; Director: Richard Donner; Writer: Steven Spielberg, Chris Columbus; Stars: Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Ke Huy Quan, John Matuszak, Robert Davi, Joe Pantoliano, Anne Ramsey, Lupe Ontiveros, Mary Ellen Trainor, Keith Walker, Curtis Hanson)

Full review

Grease

Review preview for Grease

The plot is thin... but the highly choreographed songs make up for it big-style.

Gabriella Trybalska · 3.5 out of 5
Cult musical about the romance between a naive Aussie and school stud. Singalong version back in cinemas for Valentine's Day.

(Country: US; Year: 1978; Director: Randal Kleiser; Writer: Bronte Woodard and Allan Carr, based on the musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey; Stars: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway, Michael Tucci, Didi Conn, Kelly Ward, Barry Pearl, Frankie Avalon, Sid Caesar, Jamie Donnelly, Dinah Manoff, Eve Arden)

Full review

Hairspray

Review preview for Hairspray

Hairspray is a sincere, thoroughly entertaining romp; bursting with boundless energy, inventive choreography and performances that quite simply delight.

Scott Macdonald · 4.5 out of 5
A big-budget remake of the John Waters classic, with a teenage hair hopper rebel becoming a star even without a dainty figure.

(Country: US; Year: 2007; Director: Adam Shankman; Writer: Leslie Dixon, based on the screenplay by John Waters.; Stars: Nikki Blonsky, Amanda Bynes, John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, James Marsden, Queen Latifah, Zac Efron, Brittany Snow)

Full review

Hunt For The Wilderpeople

Review preview for Hunt For The Wilderpeople

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.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
A kid and his foster uncle run off into the New Zealand bush.

(Country: New Zealand; Year: 2016; Director: Taika Waititi; Writer: Taika Waititi, based on the novel by Barry Crump; Stars: Julian Dennison, Rachel House, Rima Te Wiata, Oscar Kightley, Rhys Darby, Cohen Holloway, Mike Minogue, Stan Walker, Sam Neill)

Full review

A League Of Their Own

Story of a women's baseball team formed while the men were at way during the Second World WAr.

(Country: US; Year: 1992; Director: Penny Marshall; Writer: Kim Wilson, Kelly Candaele, Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel; Stars: Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Madonna, Rosie O'Donnell, Megan Cavanagh, Tracy Reiner, Bitty Schram, Ann Cusack, Anne Ramsay, Freddie Simpson, Renée Coleman, Robin Knight, Patti Pelton, Kelli Simpkins)

Lessons Of The Hour

A poetic meditation on the life and times of the visionary African American orator, philosopher, intellectual, and self-liberated freedom-fighter, Frederick Douglass.

(Country: UK; Year: 2019; Director: Isaac Julien; Stars: Ray Fearon, Cara Horgan, Joan Iyiola, Mikael Olsson, Sharlene Whyte, Ray Fearon, Cara Horgan, Joan Iyiola, Mikael Olsson, Sharlene Whyte)

Mamma Mia!

Review preview for Mamma Mia!

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

Chris · 3.5 out of 5
When her daughter wants to get married, Donna has to explain that any one of three men could be her father.

(Country: UK, US, Germany; Year: 2008; Director: Phyllida Lloyd; Writer: Catherine Johnson; Stars: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Julie Walters, Amanda Seyfried, Nancy Baldwin, Rachel McDowell, Colin Davis) , Official site , Trailer

Full review See: Profile of Meryl Streep

Moulin Rouge!

Modern romantic musical based around the mythology of a famous Parisian nightclub in 1900. On re-release.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2001; Director: Baz Luhrmann; Writer: Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce; Stars: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo, Jim Broadbent, Richard Roxburgh, Garry McDonald, Jacek Koman)

Full review

Murder On The Orient Express

Hercule Poirot steps in to solve a mysterious crime on the famous train.

(Country: UK; Year: 1974; Director: Sidney Lumet; Stars: Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Vanessa Redgave)

Restless Natives

Review preview for Restless Natives

The first half an hour of this rattles along with plenty of good humour, injected with further energy by the Big Country soundtrack, which is as dyed in the wool Scottish as a fine Highland kilt.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
Two friends start holding up tour buses.

(Country: UK; Year: 1985; Director: Michael Hoffman; Writer: Ninian Dunnett; Stars: Vincent Friell, Joe Mullaney, Teri Lally, Ned Beatty, Robert Urquhart, Bernard Hill, Mel Smith, Bryan Forbes, Nanette Newman, Ann Scott-Jones, Rachel Boyd, Iain McColl, Dave Anderson, Eiji Kusuhara, Ed Bishop)

Full review

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Review preview for The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Possibly the best musical ever written.

Gabriella Trybalska · 5 out of 5
Gothic horror meets rock musical.

(Country: GB; Year: 1975; Director: Jim Sharman; Writer: Jim Sharman, Richard O'Brien; Stars: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Little Nell, Richard O'Brien, Patricia Quinn, Jonathan Adams, Peter Hinwood, Meat Loaf)

Full review

Sleepless In Seattle

A recently-widowed man's son calls a radio talk show to try to find his dad some romance.

(Country: US; Year: 1993; Director: Nora Ephron; Writer: Jeff Arch, Nora Ephron, David S. Ward, Jeff Arch; Stars: Tom Hanks, Ross Malinger, Rita Wilson, Victor Garber, Tom Riis Farrell, Carey Lowell, Meg Ryan, Bill Pullman, Le Clanché du Rand, Kevin O'Morrison, David Hyde Pierce, Valerie Wright, Frances Conroy, Tom Tammi, Calvin Trillin)

See: Nora Ephron obituary

Singin' In The Rain

Review preview for Singin' In The Rain

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

Chris · 5 out of 5
A silent film idol romances a Hollywood starlet in this much-loved classic.

(Country: US; Year: 1952; Director: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly; Writer: Adolph Green, Betty Comden; Stars: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell, Cyd Charisse, Douglas Fowley, Rita Moreno, Dawn Addams, John Albright, Betty Allen)

Full review See: Dance Film Festival introduction: celebrating dance in film

Star Wars: Episode 4 - A New Hope (Star Wars)

Review preview for Star Wars: Episode 4 - A New Hope

Few can deny the great storytelling of Lucas' true first episode of his space-opera.

Scott Macdonald · 5 out of 5
Cult space opera.

(Country: USA; Year: 1977; Director: George Lucas; Writer: George Lucas; Stars: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, David Prowse, Alec Guinness, Peter Cushing, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker)

Full review

Star Wars: Episode 5 - The Empire Strikes Back (The Empire Strikes Back)

Review preview for Star Wars: Episode 5 - The Empire Strikes Back

It is a spectacular, brilliantly realised piece of moviemaking

Scott Macdonald · 5 out of 5
Superior sequel, to Lucas's space hit.

(Country: USA; Year: 1980; Director: Irvin Kershner; Writer: Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan; Stars: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, David Prowse, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz, Alec Guinness, Julian Glover, Michael Sheard)

Full review

Star Wars: Episode 6 - Return Of The Jedi (Return Of The Jedi)

Review preview for Star Wars: Episode 6 - Return Of The Jedi

The best-looking and orchestrated space battle ever committed to film.

Scott Macdonald · 3 out of 5
Finale to the space saga.

(Country: US; Year: 1983; Director: Richard Marquand; Writer: Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas; Stars: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, David Prowse, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz, Alec Guinness)

Full review

Superman: The Movie (Superman)

Review preview for Superman: The Movie

Remains unbeaten in terms of influence and iconic moments.

Stephen Carty · 4.5 out of 5
Classic comic book adaptation about an orphaned alien who becomes humanity's saviour.

(Country: UK, USA; Year: 1978; Director: Richard Donner; Writer: Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman, Robert Benton, Tom Mankiewicz; Stars: Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Glenn Ford, Trevor Howard, Margot Kidder, Jack O'Halloran, Valerie Perrine)

Full review

The Wizard Of Oz

Review preview for The Wizard Of Oz

The Wizard Of Oz has something fresh and intangibly pure for me every time I see it.

Scott Macdonald · 5 out of 5
Swept away to a magical land, young Dorothy sets out to find the wizard who can help her get home, meeting some unusual friends along the way. Out on IMAX reissue.

(Country: US; Year: 1939; Director: Victor Fleming; Writer: Noel Langley, based on the book by L Frank Baum; Stars: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, Charley Grapewin, Pat Walshe, Clara Blandick)

Full review See: The Restoration of Oz