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Glasgow Film Festival · 2012

Glasgow Film Festival 2012

Galas

Glittering gala premieres of some of the year's most exciting films. The red carpet will be out and there will be special guests in attendance. Book early if you plan to attend as these events sell out fast!

Programme

11 films · 10 reviews

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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Review preview for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

As comfy and cosily British as a nice cup of tea and a biscuit.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Retiring to India and the promised comforts of a luxury hotel, a group of elderly Britons get less than they bargained for and more than they could have dreamed of.

(Country: UK; Year: 2011; Director: John Madden; Writer: Ol Parker, based on the book by Deborah Moggach.; Stars: Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Dev Patel)

Full review

Blackthorn

Review preview for Blackthorn

Like many an Old West prospector's treasure, while Mateo Gil's movie has a good- looking gloss its substance is more fool's gold that fortune.

Amber Wilkinson · 2.5 out of 5
What would have happened to Butch Cassidy if he hadn't died in Bolivia?

(Country: Spain; Year: 2011; Director: Mateo Gil; Writer: Miguel Barros; Stars: Sam Shepard, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Stephen Rea, Dominique McElligott, Eduardo Noriega, Padraic Delaney, Magaly Solier, Cristian Mercado, Fernando Gamarra, Luis Bredow, Daniel Aguirre, Maria Luque) , Official site

Full review

Black Gold

An epic tale following a clash of dynasties from which a great leader will emerge.

(Country: France, Italy, Qatar; Year: 2011; Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud; Writer: Jean-Jacques Annaud, Menno Meyjes, based on the book The Great Thirst by Hans Reusch.; Stars: Tahar Rahim, Antonio Banderas, Mark Strong)

Headhunters (Hodejegerne)

Review preview for Headhunters

It is the black comedy that is the real surprise, rescuing Headhunters from both Norwegian dourness and Tinseltown blandness.

Anton Bitel · 3.5 out of 5
Adaptation of Jo Nesbo's bestselling Norwegian thriller about a headhunter who moonlilghts as a thief.

(Country: Norway; Year: 2011; Director: Morten Tyldum; Writer: Lars Gudmestad, Ulf Ryberg, based on the novel by Jo Nesbø; Stars: Aksel Hennie, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Synnøve Macody Lund, Julie R. Ølgaard)

Full review

Le Havre

Review preview for Le Havre

Director Aki Kaurismäki's latest is a humanist hug of a fable, which concludes that while big miracles may happen, it's the everyday 'miracles' people create for one another that really count.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
A middle-aged shoe-shiner helps a young migrant.

(Country: Finland, France, Germany; Year: 2011; Director: Aki Kaurismäki; Writer: Aki Kaurismäki; Stars: André Wilms, Kati Outinen, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Blondin Miguel, Elina Salo, Evelyne Didi, Quoc Dung Nguyen, Laïka, François Monnié, Roberto Piazza, Pierre Étaix, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Laika)

Full review

In Darkness

Review preview for In Darkness

Agnieszka Holland understands that what really makes an impression is the internal experience of such extreme situations.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A self-centred, anti-Semitic, Catholic sewer worker shelters Jews from the Nazis, at first for money but gradually because he comes to care about them as a human being.

(Country: Poland/Canada/Germany; Year: 2011; Director: Agnieszka Holland; Writer: David F Shamoon, based on the book by Robert Marshall.; Stars: Robert Wieckiewicz, Bennu Fürmann) , Official site , Trailer

Full review

Jeff, Who Lives At Home

Review preview for Jeff, Who Lives At Home

This is a change of pace for Segel and it allows him to showcase the full breadth of his talent, creating a very full-on character who, beneath his bluster, has a surprising amount of depth.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Jeff believes that all things are interconnected and everything happens for a reason. Perhaps he's right.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass; Writer: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass; Stars: Jason Segel, Judy Greer, Susan Sarandon, Ed Helms, Rae Dawn Chong, Katie Aselton, J.D. Evermore, Joe Chrest, Lance E. Nichols, Tammi Arender, Deneen Tyler, Steve Zissis, Jay Amor, John Neisler, Ernest James)

Full review

Surprise Movie

The Kid With A Bike (Le gamin au vélo)

Review preview for The Kid With A Bike

In a world where everyone seems so lost, The Kid With A Bike will help you find your humanity again.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
A young boy searches for his father and his bike.

(Country: Belgium, France, Italy; Year: 2011; Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne; Writer: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne; Stars: Thomas Doret, Ccile de France, Jrmie Renier, Fabrizio Rongione) , Official site

Full review See: New York Film Festival Diary - On cinematic and fairytale influences. , New York Film Festival: Photo Gallery Two

Salmon Fishing In The Yemen

Review preview for Salmon Fishing In The Yemen

Blunt and McGregor do what they can but they, like their characters, are swimming upstream in a river of syrup to a soundtrack that came from the drawer marked Now That's What I Call Celtic.

Amber Wilkinson · 2 out of 5
When an idealistic sheikh persuades a fisheries expert to try and introduce salmon to the Yemen, the expert soon finds himself himself out of his depth, but love blossoms along the way.

(Country: UK; Year: 2011; Director: Lasse Halström; Writer: Simon Beaufoy, based on the novel by Paul Torday; Stars: Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, Kristin Scott Thomas, Amr Waked, Rachael Stirling, Tom Mison, Conleth Hill, Catherine Steadman, Tom Beard, Nayef Rashed, Waleed Akhtar, Jill Baker)

Full review

This Must Be The Place

Review preview for This Must Be The Place

Funny, moving and endlessly surprising.

Anton Bitel · 4 out of 5
An oddball retired rock star takes a roadtrip across America inspired by his dead father.

(Country: Italy, France, Ireland; Year: 2011; Director: Paolo Sorrentino; Writer: Paolo Sorrentino, Umberto Contarello, from a story by Paolo Sorrentino; Stars: Sean Penn, Frances Mc Dormand, Judd Hirsch, Eve Hewson, Kerry Condon, Harry Dean Stanton, Joyce Van Patten, David Byrne, Olwen Fouéré, Shea Whigham, Liron Levo, Heinz Lieven, Simon Delaney)

Full review

Your Sister's Sister

Review preview for Your Sister's Sister

What you get out of Your Sister's Sister is likely to depend quite a bit on the audience you see it with.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A tightly focused comedy drama exploring the bonds between siblings, best friends and lovers.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Lynn Shelton; Writer: Lynn Shelton; Stars: Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mark Duplass)

Full review See: Q&A with Lynn Shelton about Your Sister's Sister , Glasgow Film Festival 2012 diary article