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Glasgow Film Festival · 2011

Glasgow Film Festival 2011

It's a Wonderful World

The very best international independent cinema. This wide-ranging strand covers many different subjects and styles, from small, intimate and thoughtful dramas to explosive action pieces. Many filmmakers whose work is appearing here will be hoping to get a big break by securing UK distribution, so if you like what you see, let us know and we'll pass the word on. Of course, not all of them will make it, so this may be your only chance to catch some little-known, brilliant work.

Programme

14 films · 12 reviews

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Balibo (The Balibo Conspiracy)

Review preview for Balibo

Despite its structural instability, Connolly still manages to find plenty of poignancy and to gather an emotional head of steam.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
As Indonesia prepares to invade the tiny nation of East Timor, five Australian based journalists go missing, a month later a veteran correspondent follows them, determined to find out the truth.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2009; Director: Robert Connolly; Writer: Robert Connolly, David Williamson; Stars: Anthony LaPaglia, Oscar Isaac, Nathan Phillips, Gyton Grantley, Damon Gameau, Tom Wright, Paul Sonkkila, Mark Leonard Winter, Mark Winter) , Official site

Full review

Carancho

Review preview for Carancho

There is a full-throttle, head-long feel to Trapero's film that sends it careering along.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
An ambulance-chasing lawyer forms a relationship with a young doctor.

(Country: Argentina, Chile, France, South Korea; Year: 2010; Director: Pablo Trapero; Writer: Alejandro Fadel, Martín Mauregui, Santiago Mitre, Pablo Trapero; Stars: Ricardo Darín, Martina Gusman, Carlos Weber, José Luis Arias, Loren Acuña, Gabriel Almirón, José Manuel Espeche) , Official site , Trailer

Full review See: San Sebastian Film Festival: Day Three

Cold Fish (Coldfish,Tsumetai nettaigyo)

Review preview for Cold Fish

At times the tone gets hysterical and there are moments of utter ridiculousness, but there are smart layers of black satire underlying the proceedings and any extreme material ends up helping emphasise the journey into murderous insanity the film takes us

Owen Van Spall · 4 out of 5
An innocent tropical fish salesman gets caught up in a series of murders in this violent and extremely gory thriller.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2010; Director: Sion Sono; Writer: Sion Sono, Yoshiki Takahashi; Stars: Denden, Megumi Kagurazaka, Tetsu Watanabe, Asuka Kurosawa, Taro Suwa)

Full review

Confessions (Kokuhaku)

Review preview for Confessions

So while a difficult, challenging experience - both emotionally and cerebrally - this is a masterful, endlessly intriguing piece.

James Benefield · 4 out of 5
A teacher who thinks two of her pupils are responsible for the death of her daughter takes revenge.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2010; Director: Tetsuya Nakashima; Writer: Tetsuya Nakashima, based on the book by Kanae Minato.; Stars: Takako Matsu, Masaki Okada, Yoshino Kimura)

Full review

Confessions Of A Dog (Pochi No Kokuhaku)

Two police officers face difficult choices during an internal corruption investigation relating to the world of organised crime.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2006; Director: Gen Takahashi; Writer: Gen Takahashi; Stars: Shun Sugata, Harumi Inoue, Jun'ichi Kawamoto)

Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame (Di Renjie)

Review preview for Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame

Sammo Hung provides the action sequences, there are model shots and good old fashioned matte painting and the costumes - oh, my, the costumes.

Andrew Robertson · 4.5 out of 5
When spontaneous combustion claims the lives of several members of her court, an empress calls on the brilliant and inventive Detective Dee to solve the mystery.

(Country: China, Hong Kong; Year: 2010; Director: Hark Tsui; Writer: Kuo-fu Chen, Jialu Zhang; Stars: Andy Lau, Carina Lau, Bingbing Li, Tony Leung Ka Fai)

Full review

How I Ended This Summer (Kak Ya Provel Etim Letom, How I Ended The Summer)

Review preview for How I Ended This Summer

A work of chilling beauty, whose sparse, unforgiving landscapes can accommodate all manner of allegorical readings.

Anton Bitel · 4 out of 5
A youngster on a remote Arctic research station engages in a series of deadly deceptions.

(Country: Russia; Year: 2010; Director: Aleksei Popogrebsky; Writer: Aleksei Popogrebsky; Stars: Grigoriy Dobrygin, Sergei Puskepalis)

Full review See: Interview with Aleksei Popogrebsky about How I Ended This Summer

Incendies

Review preview for Incendies

Though providing food for thought regarding the nature of conflict and how easy it is to tear a community apart, Villeneuve's heavy-handed approach to metaphor will not be for everyone.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A mother's past sends her twin children on a Middle Eastern odyssey.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2010; Director: Denis Villeneuve; Writer: Denis Villeneuve with the collaboration of Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne, based on a stage play by Wajdi Mouawad; Stars: Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Rémy Girard, Abdelghafour Elaaziz, Allen Altman, Mohamed Majd, Nabil Sawalha, Baya Belal, Bader Alami, Karim Babin, Yousef Shweihat) , Official site

Full review

Life, Above All (Chanda's Secret)

Review preview for Life, Above All

Director Oliver Shmitz does a good job of balancing the immediate, visible tragedy of the characters we follow with a wider, national problem.

James Benefield · 3.5 out of 5
A 12-year-old girl struggles to protect her family as her stepfather descends into alcoholism and her mother becomes increasingly ill, in a small town full of prejudice and hostility.

(Country: South Africa, Germany; Year: 2010; Director: Oliver Schmitz; Writer: Dennis Foon, based on the book Chanda's Secrets by Allan Stratton.; Stars: Khomotso Manyaka, Lerato Mvelase, Harriet Manamela)

Full review

Of Love And Other Demons (Del Amor Y Otros Demonios)

Review preview for Of Love And Other Demons

There are many difficult questions hidden below the surface of this seemingly straightforward love story, and Hidalgo seems adept at finding them

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
An adolescent girl thought to be possessed after becoming infected with rabies is placed in the care of a priest who falls passionately in love with her.

(Country: Costa Rica, Colombia; Year: 2009; Director: Hilda Hidalgo; Writer: Hilda Hidalgo, based on the book by Gabriel García Márquez.; Stars: Pablo Derqui, Eliza Triana, Jordi Dauder)

Full review

The Piano In A Factory

Review preview for The Piano In A Factory

Despite its central character's self-centeredness and tendency to sulk, this is a charming, lighthearted film which in places is laugh-out-loud funny.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
When his daughter says she will live with whichever of her divorcing parents can give her a piano, a former steelworker enlists his old colleagues and workplace facilities to make one.

(Country: China; Year: 2010; Director: Zhang Meng, Jae-young Kwak; Writer: Zhang Meng; Stars: Wang Qian-Yuan, Hailu Qin, Shin-Yeong Jang)

Full review

Poetry (Shi)

Review preview for Poetry

Veteran actress Yun Jeong-hie, who came out of a 15-year retirement to take on the role of Mija brings a fragile beauty and strength to the part, lending her character an air of inscrutability that is intriguing rather than frustrating.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A grandmother discovers poetry and begins to reassess the world around her.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2010; Director: Lee Chang-dong; Writer: Lee Chang-dong; Stars: Yoon Jeong-hee, Ahn Nae-sang, Lee Da-wit, Kim Yong-taek)

Full review

A Screaming Man

A father betrays his son in war-torn Chad.

(Country: France, Belgium, Chad; Year: 2010; Director: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun; Writer: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun; Stars: Youssouf Djaoro, Dioucounda Koma, Emile Abossolo M'bo, Hadje Fatime N'Goua, Marius Yelolo, Djénéba Koné, Heling Li, Rémadji Adèle Ngaradoumbaye, John Mbaiedoum, Sylvain Mbaikoubou, Abdou Boukar, Fatimé Nguenabaye, Gérard Ganda Mayoumbila, Mahamat Choukou, Tourgoudi Oumar)

Viva Riva!

Review preview for Viva Riva!

One of the most exciting contributions to the genre for years.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A Kinshasa hustler hatches a scheme to steal a lucrative stash of petrol, but his lust for the wife of a notorious crime boss might bring more trouble than he's prepared for.

(Country: Democratic Republic Of The Congo; Year: 2010; Director: Djo Tunda Wa Munga; Writer: Djo Tunda Wa Munga; Stars: Patsha Bay, Manie Malone, Hoji Fortuna, Diplome Amekindra)

Full review