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Glasgow Film Festival · 2017

Glasgow Film Festival 2017

Pioneer

Programme

20 films · 11 reviews

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Aquarius

Review preview for Aquarius

The closer the glance at the specifics, the more universal the plight becomes.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
A retired music critic is the last resident of a building targeted by developers - she becomes engaged in a cold war of sorts with the company.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2016; Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho; Writer: Kleber Mendonça Filho; Stars: Sonia Braga, Jeff Rosick, Irandhir Santos, Maeve Jinkings, Julia Bernat, Carla Ribas, Fernando Teixeira, Rubens Santos, Humberto Carrão, Bárbara Colen)

Full review See: Sônia Braga in conversation on the magic of Aquarius and director Kleber Mendonça Filho , Kleber Mendonça Filho in conversation on Aquarius

Across The Waters (Fuglene Over Sundet)

The story of how Danish Jews escaped the Nazis by crossing into Sweden.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2016; Director: Nicolo Donato; Writer: Per Daumiller, Nicolo Donato; Stars: David Dencik, Danica Curcic, Jakob Cedergren)

Clash (Eshtebak)

Drama set in a crowded police truck holding pro and anti-Muslim Brotherhood members in the wake of a 2013 protest.

(Year: 2016; Director: Mohamed Diab; Writer: Khaled Diab, Mohamed Diab; Stars: Nelly Karim, Mohamed El Sebaii)

A Dark Song

Review preview for A Dark Song

Walker's performance as a woman mentally imprisoned by the strength of her own feelings is painful to watch, in a good way.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A grieving mother sets out to contact her dead child.

(Country: Ireland, UK; Year: 2016; Director: Liam Gavin; Writer: Liam Gavin; Stars: Catherine Walker, Steve Oram, Mark Huberman, Susan Loughnane)

Full review

Free In Deed

When a single mother brings her young boy to church for healing, this lonely pentecostal minister is forced to confront the seemingly incurable illness of the child… and his own demons.

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Jake Mahaffy; Writer: Jake Mahaffy; Stars: Kathy Smith, Edwina Findley Dickerson, David Harewood, Porsha Ferguson, Alex Coker, Jan Falk, Jon W. Sparks, Helen Bowman, Geoff Falk, Preston Shannon)

See: Venice 2015: Jake Mahaffy talks about faith, authenticity and empathy in Free In Deed

The Giant (Jätten)

Review preview for The Giant

The film moves deftly between humour and poignancy, generating a strong emotional response in its quieter moments.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
Rikard is a 30-year-old man, severely deformed and suffering from autism, haunted by the loss of his mother. From time to time, he escapes from reality into an imaginary world where he is a 50m tall giant.

(Country: Sweden, Denmark; Year: 2016; Director: Johannes Nyholm; Writer: Johannes Nyholm; Stars: Christian Andrén, Johan Kylén, Anna Bjelkerud, Linda Faith, Moa Malan, Niclas Fransson, Gun Larsson, Bengt Carlsson, Stina Rangmar, Stina Elinderson, Pia Edlund, Leif Edlund, Bo Melin, Martin McFaul, Martin Högdahl)

Full review

The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki (Hymyilävi Mies)

Review preview for The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki

Kuosmanen constantly shifts perspective, asking us to view the situation from a different angle - and another place of emotional truth.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Finland, 1962. Boxer Olli Mäki is 26 years old and in love. Expected to win a bout against an American, but he would rather be with his girlfriend than train.

(Country: Finland; Year: 2016; Director: Juho Kuosmanen; Writer: Juho Kuosmanen, Mikko Myllylahti; Stars: Eero Milonoff, Joonas Saartamo, Oona Airola, Jarkko Lahti, Marko Wilskman, Juha Mäkinen, Tuomo Kemppainen, John Bosco Jr.)

Full review See: Karlovy Vary Festival report

Hello, My Name Is Doris

A self help seminar inspires a sixtysomething woman to romantically pursue her younger co-worker.

(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Michael Showalter; Writer: Laura Terruso, Michael Showalter; Stars: Sally Field, Max Greenfield, Tyne Daly, Kumail Nanjiani)

Halfway

Review preview for Halfway

Aaron's performance is beautifully judged: quiet, unobtrusive but absorbing.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A recently released convict finds himself trapped between his urban criminal past and his new life on probation as the only black man in a conservative white Wisconsin farming town.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Ben Caird; Writer: Ben Caird; Stars: Jeffrey DeMunn, Amy Pietz, Quinton Aaron)

Full review

In The Radiant City

Review preview for In The Radiant City

The carefully constructed atmosphere in Lambert's film doesn't allow viewers much breathing space.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A man resurns to his estranged family at a challenging time.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Rachel Lambert; Writer: Nathan Gregorski, Rachel Lambert; Stars: Michael Abbott Jr, Marin Ireland, Madisen Beaty)

Full review

Katie Says Goodbye

A teenager in a small Midwestern town tries to finance her escape through sex work.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Wayne Roberts; Writer: Wayne Roberts; Stars: Mary Steenburgen, Mireille Enos, Olivia Cooke, Jim Belushi, Keir Gilchrist)

Lipstick Under My Burkha

Review preview for Lipstick Under My Burkha

Shrivastava balances the stories well and the skilled ensemble cast means that things always remain interesting, with no one story stealing attention from the others.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Four women search for freedom in small town India.

(Country: India; Year: 2016; Director: Alankrita Shrivastava; Writer: Gazal Dhaliwal, Alankrita Shrivastava; Stars: Shashank Arora, Plabita Borthakur, Sonal Jha)

Full review

Love And Fury

Two young writers fall in love in Eighties Helsinki.

(Country: Finland; Year: 2016; Director: Alli Haapasalo; Writer: Alli Haapasalo, based on the book by Anja Snellman; Stars: Laura Birn, Lauri Tilkanen, Santeri Helinheimo Mäntylä)

Marija

Review preview for Marija

Margarita Breitkreiz gives a formidable performance.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A young cleaning women, suddenly unemployed, is willing to do anything to fulfil her dream of owning her own hairdressing salon.

(Country: Germany, Switzerland; Year: 2016; Director: Michael Koch; Writer: Juliane Grossheim, Michael Koch; Stars: Margarita Breitkreiz, Georg Friedrich, Olga Dinnikova, Sahin Eryilmaz )

Full review

Mimosas

Review preview for Mimosas

Mauro Herce's cinematography is stunning and merges perfectly with the soundscape created by Emilio García Rivas.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Faust meets Arabic myth in the Moroccan desert.

(Country: France, Spain, Morocco; Year: 2016; Director: Oliver Laxe; Writer: Oliver Laxe, Santiago Fillol ; Stars: Abdelatif Hwidar, Ilham Oujri, Shakib Ben Omar, Ahmed Hammoud, Hamid Farjad, Said Agli, Margarita Albores, Laaziza Ikram, Moe Mohamed Oummad, Ahmed El Othmani)

Full review See: Interview with Oliver Laxe about Mimosas

Tomato Red

It's not our talents that shape our lives, it's our expectations.

(Country: Ireland, Canada; Year: 2016; Director: Juanita Wilson; Writer: Juanita Wilson; Stars: Julia Garner, Jake Weary, Anna Friel, Nick Roux)

Transpecos

For three Border Patrol agents working a remote desert checkpoint, the contents of one car will reveal an insidious plot within their own ranks. The next 24 hours will take them on a treacherous journey that could cost them their lives.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Greg Kwedar; Writer: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar; Stars: Johnny Simmons, Gabriel Luna, Clifton Collins Jr, David Acord, Oscar Avila)

Without Name

A land surveyor has an encounter with the uncanny.

(Country: Ireland; Year: 2016; Director: Lorcan Finnegan; Writer: Garret Shanley; Stars: Alan McKenna, Niamh Algar, James Browne, Olga Wehrly, Morgan C. Jones, Brendan Conroy, Bryan Quinn, Paul Ward, Donncha Crowley, Brandon Maher, Helen Roche, Alan McNally)

Zoology (Zoologiya)

Review preview for Zoology

This modern fairytale has its dark side, but it’s not as grim as something the Brothers Grimm would have concocted.

Luke Shaw · 3.5 out of 5
A quiet, middle-aged zoo employee wakes up to discover that she has grown a tail.

(Country: Russia, France, Germany; Year: 2016; Director: Ivan I Tverdovsky; Writer: Ivan I Tverdovskiy; Stars: Masha Tokareva, Natalya Pavlenkova, Aleksandr Gorchilin, Dmitriy Groshev, Anna Astashkina, Irina Chipizhenko, Zhanetta Demikhova, Yulia Pimkina, Anastasiya Baklanova, Katya Alexandrina, Ella Sanko, Nelly Vasilyeva, Valentina Popova, Ludmila Shestakova, Yuriy Vnukov)

Full review