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Glasgow Film Festival · 2020

Glasgow Film Festival 2020

Window on the World

Programme

31 films · 16 reviews

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And The Birds Rained Down (Il pleuvait des oiseaux)

Review preview for And The Birds Rained Down

Every time we are away from the older generation, they're sorely missed and the action drags without their presence.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
Three elderly hermits live deep in the woods, cut off from the rest of the world. While wildfires threaten the region, their quiet life is about to be shaken by the arrival of two women.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2019; Director: Louise Archambault; Writer: Louise Archambault, based on the novel by Jocelyne Saucier; Stars: Kenneth Welsh, Andrée Lachapelle, Gilbert Sicotte, Kenneth Welsh, Andrée Lachapelle, Gilbert Sicotte)

Full review

Atlantis

Review preview for Atlantis

A film full of despair and tortured masculinity.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
In a near-future war-torn Ukraine a man with PTSD takes a volunteer job exhuming the dead.

(Country: Ukraine; Year: 2019; Director: Valentyn Vasyanovych; Writer: Valentyn Vasyanovych; Stars: Andriy Rymaruk, Liudmyla Bileka, Vasyl Antoniak)

Full review

The August Virgin (La Virgen de Agosto)

Chronicle of lives in Madrid. The story unfolds during the city’s August festivals, when a person’s inner turmoil can be soothed by fleeting encounters and unexpected adventures.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2019; Director: Jonás Trueba; Writer: Itsaso Arana; Stars: Vito Sanz, Joe Manjón, Isabelle Stoffel, Itsaso Arana, Mikele Urroz, Luis Alberto Heras)

Bacurau (Nighthawk)

Review preview for Bacurau

Creates a unique and eerily grounded suspense that transcends genre.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
Villagers sold as human prey defend themselves from hunters using a psychotropic drug.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2019; Director: Juliano Dornelles, Kleber Mendonça Filho; Writer: Juliano Dornelles, Kleber Mendonça Filho; Stars: Udo Kier, Sônia Braga, Jonny Mars, Chris Doubek, Bárbara Colen, Alli Willow, Thomas Aquino, Silvero Pereira, Márcio Fecher, Val Junior, Karine Teles, Suzy Lopes, Brian Townes, Antonio Saboia)

Full review See: Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles in conversation on Udo Kier, Alli Willow and the horses as a “marker that this is a Western” for Bacurau , Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles in conversation on futuristic settings of Mad Max and Blade Runner and a Chinatown connection to the politics of water in Bacurau , Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles in conversation on Bacurau , Sônia Braga in conversation on Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles' Bacurau and The Paris Theatre

Balloon (Qiqui)

A Tibetan family's peaceful life is stirred up by a condom.

(Country: China; Year: 2019; Director: Pema Tseden; Stars: Sonan Wangmo, Jinpa, Yangshik Tso)

Beyond The Horizon (Le Milieu De L'Horizon)

Summer 76, there's a heatwave and the Swiss countryside is drying out at top speed. In this stifling environment, Gus who is thirteen years old and son of a farmer sees both his family environment and his innocence relentlessly breaking. He's living the end of a world.

(Country: Switzerland, Belgium; Year: 2019; Director: Delphine Lehericey; Writer: Roland Buti, Joanne Giger, Joanne Giger, Delphine Lehericey; Stars: Clémence Poésy, Laetitia Casta, Fred Hotier, Patrick Descamps, Thibaut Evrard, Michaël Bier, Luc Bruchez, Guillaume Lemarre, Lisa Harder, Clémence Poésy, Laetitia Casta, Fred Hotier, Patrick Descamps, Thibaut Evrard, Michaël Bier)

Cook, F**k, Kill (Kokka, kepi, killi)

Absurdist drama about a man who is obsessed with sex and cooking... and is also a perpetrator of domestic violence.

(Country: Czech Republic, Slovakia; Year: 2019; Director: Mira Fornay; Writer: Mira Fornay; Stars: Jaroslav Plesl, Petra Fornayová, Regina Rázlová, Jan Alexander, Jazmína Cigánková)

Dirt Music

A woman in a loveless relationship falls for a poacher who has been taking fish from her husband's patch of water.

(Country: Australia, UK; Year: 2019; Director: Gregor Jordan; Writer: Jack Thorne, based on the book by Tim Winton; Stars: Kelly Macdonald, Garrett Hedlund, David Wenham)

Disco

Review preview for Disco

The jarring juxtaposition of sparkly, sexualised Seventies choreography and fire-and-brimstone Catholicism is absolutely key to a film that explores the mismatch between devout religious beliefs and modernity.

Anton Bitel · 3.5 out of 5
The stepdaughter of a charismatic pastor begins to question her faith

(Country: Norway; Year: 2019; Director: Jorunn Myklebust Syversen; Writer: Jorunn Myklebust Syversen; Stars: Josefine Frida Pettersen, Espen Reboli Bjerke, Nicolai Cleve Broch, Andreas Preus Efskin, Øyvind Gulli, Fredericke Rustad Hellerud, Andrea Bræin Hovig, Espen Klouman Høiner, Kjærsti Odden Skjeldal, Josefine Frida Pettersen, Espen Reboli Bjerke, Nicolai Cleve Broch, Andreas Preus Efskin, Øyvind Gulli, Fredericke Rustad Hellerud)

Full review

Dolly Kitty And Those Twinkling Stars (Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare)

Two Indian women navigate the complexities of life in New Delhi.

(Country: India; Year: 2019; Director: Alankrita Shrivastava; Stars: Kumar Amlendu, Minim Dey, Bhumi Pednekar)

Exit Plan (Selvmordsturisten, Suicide Tourist)

Review preview for Exit Plan

Coster-Waldau is a superb lead, distant in the way one would expect of a man going through such a difficult experience, yet compelling.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Insurance agent Max is in the midst of an existential crisis. Whilst investigating the claim made by a suspected widow he chances upon the secretive Hotel Aurora, a luxury resort which specialises in suicide.

(Country: Denmark, Norway, Germany; Year: 2019; Director: Jonas Alexander Arnby; Writer: Rasmus Birch; Stars: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Tuva Novotny, Robert Aramayo, Kate Ashfield, Jan Bijvoet)

Full review

Heroic Losers (La Odisea De Los Giles)

Inhabitants from a town in the Buenos Aires region decide to place all their savings in a bank to create an agricultural cooperative which, they believe, will change their fate. When it turns out to be a scam, they react in the face of the injustice.

(Country: Argentina, Spain; Year: 2019; Director: Sebastián Borensztein; Writer: Sebastián Borensztein, Eduardo Sacheri, Eduardo Sacheri; Stars: Ricardo Darín, Luis Brandoni, Chino Darín, Verónica Llinás, Daniel Aráoz, Carlos Belloso, Marco Antonio Caponi, Rita Cortese, Andrés Parra, Federico Berón, Luciano Cazaux, Alejandro Gigena, Guillermo Jacubowicz, José María Marcos, Ailín Zaninovich)

Initials S.G. (Iniciales SG)

Review preview for Initials S.G.

This is a gem of a role and Peretti allows himself to be fully absorbed by it.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
An ageing Argentine Serge Gainsbourg wannabe struggles with a career he can't seem to get on track, an affair he doesn't want, and a crime he didn't mean to commit.

(Country: Argentina, Lebanon, US; Year: 2019; Director: Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia; Writer: Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia; Stars: Julianne Nicholson, Diego Peretti, Julianne Nicholson, Diego Peretti)

Full review

The Invisible Life of Eruidice Gusmao (A Vida Invisel De Euridice Gusmao)

Rio de Janeiro in the 1940s, the life of Guida and Euridice Gusmão, raised to be invisible in the eyes of the Brazilian society of that time, like all the other women of that generation.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2019; Director: Karim Aïnouz; Writer: Murilo Hauser, based on the book by Martha Batalha; Stars: Fernanda Montenegro, Carol Duarte, Gregório Duvivier)

Kontora

A schoolgirl who lives with her father searches for treasure courtesy of her grandad's diary but could a homeless man who wanders into town help her rebuild her relationship with her dad.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2019; Director: Anshul Chauhan; Writer: Anshul Chauhan; Stars: Seira Kojima, Wan Marui, Takuzo Shimizu, Taichi Yamada, Hidemasa Mase, Seira Kojima, Wan Marui, Takuzo Shimizu, Taichi Yamada, Hidemasa Mase)

Lhamo And Skalbe

A couple are prevented from getting married by their past.

(Country: China; Year: 2019; Director: Sonthar Gyal; Writer: Sonthar Gyal; Stars: Sechok Gyal, De Ji, Xi Liao, Sechok Gyal, De Ji, Xi Liao)

Lillian

Stranded in New York as a porn actress, Lillian decides to return to her homeland, Russia... on foot.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2019; Director: Andreas Howarth; Writer: Andreas Howarth; Stars: Patrycja Planik)

Marona's Fantastic Tale (L'Extraordinaire Voyage De Marona)

Review preview for Marona's Fantastic Tale

Mother and son team Anca and Anghel Damian have created something special here by telling the story wholly from the dog's perspective.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
After an accident, a little dog remembers all the different masters she's had successively and loved unconditionally.

(Country: France, Romania, Belgium; Year: 2019; Director: Anca Damian; Writer: Anghel Damian; Stars: Lizzie Brocheré, Bruno Salomone, Thierry Hancisse, Nathalie Boutefeu, Shirelle Mai-Yvart, Maïra Schmitt)

Full review

Martin Eden

Review preview for Martin Eden

Luca Marinelli is excellent in the lead, balancing intensity with intelligence, convincing at every stage of Martin's journey.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
A man struggles to better his circumstances, motivated by his love for a woman from a bourgeois family.

(Country: Italy, France, Germany; Year: 2019; Director: Pietro Marcello; Writer: Maurizio Braucci, Pietro Marcello, based on the novel by Jack London; Stars: Luca Marinelli, Carlo Cecchi, Jessica Cressy, Vincenzo Nemolato, Marco Leonardi, Denise Sardisco, Carmen Pommella, Autilia Ranieri, Savino Paparella, Elisabetta Valgoi, Pietro Ragusa, Giustiniano Alpi, Dario Iubatti, Anna Patierno, Vincenza Modica)

Full review See: Pietro Marcello in conversation on his film Martin Eden and Jack London’s novel

Moffie

Review preview for Moffie

Brummer is the perfect choice to play Nick.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Drama following a conscript through his military service in the South African Defence Force in the 1980s.

(Country: South Africa, UK; Year: 2019; Director: Oliver Hermanus; Writer: Oliver Hermanus, Jack Sidey; Stars: Matt Ashwell, Kai Luke Brummer, Ryan de Villiers, Hilton Pelser, Shaun Chad Smit, Stefan Vermaak, Matthew Vey, Matt Ashwell, Kai Luke Brummer, Ryan de Villiers, Hilton Pelser, Shaun Chad Smit, Stefan Vermaak, Matthew Vey)

Full review

Olympic Dreams

Review preview for Olympic Dreams

Olympic Dreams brings warmth to these snowy vistas and finds a special kind of joy that might be impossible without the loneliness surrounding it.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
When a young woman discovers that her lifelong dream of participating in the Olympics doesn’t match up to reality, she finds herself adrift amongst the crowds. That is until she befriends a volunteer dentist, forging a bond which forces them both to rethink their courses in life.

(Country: US, South Korea; Year: 2019; Director: Jeremy Teicher; Stars: Nick Kroll, Alexi Pappas)

Full review

Our Lady Of The Nile (Notre Dame Du Nil)

In the Rwanda of 1973, a Belgian-run Catholic boarding school prides itself on being an ‘institute for the elite’. Prejudice still flourishes among these privileged girls as anti-Tutsi sentiments are fanned into bitter conflict.

(Country: France, Belgium, Rwanda; Year: 2019; Director: Atiq Rahimi; Stars: Amanda Mugabezaki, Albina Kirenga, Malaika Uwamahoro)

Our Mothers (Nuestras Madres)

Guatemala, 2013. The country is riveted by the trial of the military officers who started the civil warErnesto, a young anthropologist, thinks he has found a lead that will allow him to find his father, a guerillero who disappeared during the war.

(Country: Guatemala, Belgium, France; Year: 2019; Director: César Díaz; Stars: Armando Espitia, Emma Dib, Aurelia Caal, Julio Serrano Echeverría, Victor Moreira)

Out In The Open (Intemperie)

Amid the barren landscapes of Andalusia in 1946, abuses of power are part of everyday life. A boy escapes the clutches of a ruthless foreman who will stop at nothing to secure his return. Running for his life, he meets a war veteran and the two become allies.

(Country: Spain, Portugal; Year: 2019; Director: Benito Zambrano; Stars: Luis Tosar, Luis Callejo, Jaime Lopez)

The Painted Bird

Review preview for The Painted Bird

Smutný gives us faces that will stories even when they're still, the weight of long experience etched into every line.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
A lone Jewish boy has to fend for himself in Nazi-occupied eastern Europe.

(Country: Czech Republic, Ukraine, Slovakia; Year: 2019; Director: Václav Marhoul; Writer: Jerzy Kosinski, Václav Marhoul, Václav Marhoul; Stars: Stellan Skarsgård, Harvey Keitel, Barry Pepper, Julian Sands, Udo Kier, Aleksey Kravchenko, Tim Kalkhof, Jitka Cvancarová, Pavel Kríz, Petr Vanek, Lech Dyblik, Petr Kotlar, Radim Fiala, Milan Simácek, Filip Kankovský)

Full review

The Perfect Candidate

Review preview for The Perfect Candidate

The film generates a feel-good vibe even if beneath the pleasant froth lies a rather predictable polemic against the patriarchy.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A young female Saudi doctor decides to run for election.

(Country: Saudi Arabia, Germany; Year: 2019; Director: Haifaa Al-Mansour; Writer: Haifaa Al-Mansour, Brad Niemann; Stars: Mila Al Zahrani, Nora Al Awadh, Dae Al Hilali, Mila Al Zahrani, Nora Al Awadh, Dae Al Hilali)

Full review

Radioactive

Review preview for Radioactive

A further challenge is the credibility of the chemistry - it's in two senses that a flame flickers between the Curies, and in both it convinces.

Andrew Robertson · 3.5 out of 5
The story of Marie Curie and her discoveries in physics.

(Country: UK; Year: 2019; Director: Marjane Satrapi; Writer: Jack Thorne, based on the graphic novel by Lauren Redniss; Stars: Rosamund Pike, Sam Riley, Anya Taylor-Joy)

Full review

The Sleepwalkers (Los sonámbulos)

Review preview for The Sleepwalkers

Nothing here is as peaceful as the various characters are trying to make it seem.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A mother and her daughter are pushed to their emotional limit during a family celebration.

(Country: Argentina, Uruguay; Year: 2019; Director: Paula Hernández; Writer: Paula Hernández; Stars: Érica Rivas, Ornella D'elía, Marilú Marini, Luis Ziembrowski, Daniel Hendler, Valeria Lois, Rafael Federman)

Full review

Three Summers

Review preview for Three Summers

Madá’s entrepreneurial spirit and take-no-prisoners attitude make her an entertaining central character but Kogut doesn’t lose sight of the ugliness underlying the situation.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A housekeeper takes care of a luxury holiday home for a wealthy family. She tries to branch out on her own by starting a snack bar, but when a financial scandal engulfs the family, she is left to look after the grand patriarch with only the other house staff for company.

(Country: Brazil, France; Year: 2019; Director: Sandra Kogut; Writer: Iana Cossoy Paro, Sandra Kogut; Stars: Regina Casé, Rogério Fróes, Otavio Müller)

Full review

Twelve Thousand (Douze Milles)

When Frank loses his means of employment, he fears that he will also lose Maroussia. He vows to go in search of work and not return until he can match the 12,000 Euros of annual income that she earns from child minding.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Nadège Trebal; Writer: Nadège Trebal; Stars: Arieh Worthalter, Nadège Trebal, Liv Henneguier)

Valley Of Souls

Review preview for Valley Of Souls

Though the scenery is vast and beguiling, Gille keeps his camera close, keeps the story small and personal.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A Colombian fisherman returns from a long fishing night to discover that his village has been ransacked by paramilitary forces, with his two sons abducted. Painfully aware that they wouldn’t have survived, he sets off on a journey down the endless Colombian rivers in the search for their bodies.

(Country: Colombia; Year: 2019; Director: Nicolás Rincón Gille; Writer: Nicolás Rincón Gille)

Full review