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Glasgow Film Festival · 2012

Glasgow Film Festival 2012

European Cinema

A wide-ranging selection from among the best new European works, including popular favourites from the festival circuit and some being shown to the public for the first time.

Programme

17 films · 10 reviews

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Babycall (The Monitor)

Review preview for Babycall

Like Rear Window if James Stewart's character had doubted himself, the film becomes a tangle of paranoid possibilities.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A mother moves with her young son to escape a violent husband, but something creepy is going on at her new address.

(Country: Spain, Norway; Year: 2011; Director: Pål Sletaune; Writer: Pål Sletaune; Stars: Noomi Rapace, Kristoffer Joner, Henrik Rafaelsen, Vetle Qvenild Werring)

Full review

Breathing (Atmen)

Review preview for Breathing

Unfortunately, the strong performances and engaging visuals come together to form a film that ultimately seems to lack direction.

Lindis Kipp · 3.5 out of 5
A troubled young man on day release from prison takes a job in a morgue and is inspired to go looking for the mother who abandoned him as a baby.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2011; Director: Karl Markovics; Writer: Karl Markovics; Stars: Thomas Schubert, Karin Lischka, Gerhard Liebmann, Georg Friedrich, Stefan Matousch) , Official site

Full review

Extraterrestrial (Extraterrestre)

Review preview for Extraterrestrial

Alien invasion aficionados would do well to avoid but if you're a fan of the comedy of discomfort with a slacker vibe and a hint of romance, Extraterrestrial certainly has charms.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A love triangle simmers under the threat of an alien invasion.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2011; Director: Nacho Vigalondo; Writer: Nacho Vigalondo; Stars: Michelle Jenner, Carlos Areces, Julián Villagrán, Raúl Cimas, Miguel Noguera)

Full review See: Interview with Nacho Vigalondo about Extraterrestrial and Windows , San Sebastian Film Festival: Wild Bill, Le Havre, Los Marziano, Rampart, Extraterrestrial

Elles

A researcher working with young sex workers comes to question the advantages she has enjoyed in life.

(Country: France/Poland/Germany; Year: 2011; Director: Malgorzata Szumowska; Writer: Tine Byrckel, Malgorzata Szumowska; Stars: Juliette Binoche, Joanna Kulig, Anaïs Demoustier)

Goodbye First Love (Un amour de jeunesse)

Review preview for Goodbye First Love

Perceptions make this film such a pleasure to watch. Everything feels believable, real, and thought through.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
The emotional journey of a teenager is traced when her boyfriend leaves to travel the world.

(Country: France, Germany; Year: 2011; Director: Mia Hansen-Løve; Writer: Mia Hansen-Løve; Stars: Lola Créton, Sebastian Urzendowsky, Magne-Håvard Brekke, Valérie Bonneton, Serge Renko, Özay Fecht, Max Ricat, Louis Dunbar, Philippe Paimblanc, Patrice Movermann, Arnaud Azoulay, Amélie Robin, Justine Dhouilly, Charlotte Faivre, François Buot)

Full review See: New York Film Festival: Photo Gallery Five

The Jewel

Review preview for The Jewel

Italy is the classical home of the diabolical morality tale, and beneath all the sophisticated modern trappings that's exactly what we have here.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A gripping conspiracy thriller story about the rise and fall of a major Italian food company, due to mismanagement, dodgy financial deals, shady politics and embezzlement.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2011; Director: Andrea Molaioli; Writer: Andrea Molaioli, Ludovica Rampoldi, Gabriele Romagnoli; Stars: Toni Servillo, Remo Girone, Sarah Felberbaum)

Full review

Michael

Review preview for Michael

Quietly, in the background, details become almost too horrible to watch.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A look at the day to day life of an unremarkable man who is keeping a ten year old boy prisoner in his basement.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2011; Director: Markus Schleinzer; Writer: Markus Schleinzer; Stars: Michael Fuith, David Rauchenberger)

Full review

The Monk (Le Moine)

Review preview for The Monk

Structured like a Greek tragedy, steeped in Gothic gloom, this is a bold and dramatic tale but also a sly one.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
The tragedy of a devoted servant of God whose very righteousness leads him on the path to damnation.

(Country: Spain, France; Year: 2011; Director: Dominik Moll; Writer: Dominik Moll, based on the story by Matthew Lewis; Stars: Vincent Cassel, Deborah François, Sergi López, Geraldine Chaplin)

Full review

Nobody Else But You

A crime novelist becomes intrigued by the death of a starlet who believed herself to be the reincarnation of Marilyn Monroe - and comes to suspect that she may have been right.

(Country: France; Year: 2011; Director: Gérald Hustache- Mathieu; Stars: Jean Paul Rouve, Sophie Quinton, Guillaume Gouix)

Omar Killed Me

The true story of a young man who was prosecuted for murder in a trial infused with racism after a woman was found dead beside the bloody words 'Omar killed me'.

(Country: France; Year: 2011; Director: Roschdy Zem; Stars: Sami Bouajila, Denis Podalydès, Maurice Bénichou)

Sleepless Night (Nuit Blanche)

A police officer's son is held hostage by a cocaine dealer who demands the return of drugs the officer stole.

(Country: France/Belgium/Luxembourg; Year: 2011; Director: Frédéric Jardin; Writer: Frederic Jardin, Nicolas Saada; Stars: Tomer Sisley, Joey Starr, Julien Boissellier)

SuperClásico

A man who has hit rock bottom becomes determined to win back the love of his ex wife, dragging their son along for the ride, but learns some lessons along the way.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2011; Director: Ole Christian Madsen; Writer: Anders Frithiof August, Ole Christian Madsen; Stars: Anders W Berthelsen, Paprika Steen, Sebastián Estevanez)

Terraferma

Powerful drama of a Sicilian fishing family on the island of Linosa, whose lives are disrupted by the arrival of African refugees, who they save from drowning.

(Country: Italy, France; Year: 2011; Director: Emanuele Crialese; Writer: Emanuelle Crialese, Vittorio Moroni; Stars: Donatella Finocchiaro, Beppe Fiorello, Mimmo Cuticchio)

Time To Spare (Alle Tijd)

Review preview for Time To Spare

This is far more than a lighthearted romp.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A fortysomething man is bereft when the little sister he has raised leaves home, but nothing ever turns out the way you expect.

(Country: The Netherlands; Year: 2011; Director: Job Gosschalk; Writer: Job Gosschalk; Stars: Paul de Leeuw, Karina Smulders, Lineke Rijxman, Teun Luijkx, Alwin Pulinckx, Christopher Parren)

Full review

Tilt

Review preview for Tilt

Has all the appeal you'd expect from a lesson on late 20th century Bulgarian history.

Jennie Kermode · 2 out of 5
Tilt is a love story set against the backdrop of the changing political and social environment in Europe in the late 80s and early 90s. Can this love survive the challenges of emigration, a violent homeland and an immoral social atmosphere?

(Country: Bulgaria; Year: 2011; Director: Viktor Chouchkov Jr; Writer: Viktor Chouchkov Jr, Borislav Chouchkov; Stars: Yavor Baharov, Radina Kardzhilova, Georgi Staikov)

Full review

Volcano

A grumpy retired janitor finds redemption when circumstances require him to become a carer.

(Country: Denmark, Iceland; Year: 2011; Director: Rnar Rnarsson; Writer: Rnar Rnarsson; Stars: Thedr Jlusson, Margrt Helga Jhannsdttir, Elma Lsa Gunnarsdttir, Thorsteinn Bachmann)

Wrinkles (Arrugas)

Review preview for Wrinkles

A thought-provoking consideration of ageing from the perspective of the elderly that is, perhaps ironically, hard to forget.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
An Alzheimer's sufferer finds a new place in the world after entering an old folk's home.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2011; Director: Ignacio Ferreras; Writer: Ángel de la Cruz, Ignacio Ferreras; Stars: Tacho González, Álvaro Guevara, Mabel Rivera)

Full review