Eye For Film >> Festivals >> London >> 2008 >> Film On The Square
Described by the organisers as: "The most anticipated new titles from around the world, in the heart of the West End."
View other London Film Festival Films by strand: Cinema Europa, Experimenta, French Revolutions, Galas And Special Screenings, New British Cinema, Short Cuts And Animation, Treasures from the Archives, World Cinema
The Good, The Bad, The Weird and Anvil! The Story Of Anvil
24 City (Er Si Si Cheng Ji, Er shi si cheng ji (24 city))
(Country: China, Hong Kong, Japan; Year: 2008; Director: Jia Zhang-Ke; Writer: Jia Zhang-Ke, Zhai Yongming; Stars: Jianbin Chen, Joan Chen, Liping Lu, Zhao Tao)
Blend of fiction and documentary looks at a Chinese munitions plant scheduled for conversion into luxury apartments.
Showing with Cry Me A River
Adoration
(Country: Canada; Year: 2008; Director: Atom Egoyan; Writer: Atom Egoyan; Stars: Scott Speedman, Rachel Blanchard, Kenneth Welsh, Devon Bostick, Aaron Poole, Dominic Cuzzocrea, Katie Boland, Noam Jenkins, Arsinée Khanjian, Geraldine O'Rawe, Duane Murray)
An orphaned boy reimagines the mysterious death of his parents as a terrorist atrocity.
Anvil! The Story Of Anvil (Anvil! The True Story Of Anvil)
(Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Sacha Gervasi; Stars: Steve 'Lips' Kudlow, Robb Reiner, Ivan Hurd, Tiziana Arrigoni, Chris 'CT' Tsangerides, Glenn Gyorfy, Kevin Goocher, Lee Ulrich, Slash, Tom Araya, Scott Ian, Malcolm Dome, Lemmy, Gary Greenblatt, Toby Kudlow, Droid Reiner, Ginny Kudlow, Michael Schenker, JJ French, Fraser Hill, Jane Reiner), Official Site
Documentary tracks the attempts of rock band Anvil to 'make it' 20 years after their were first hailed as the "demi-gods of Canadian metal".
Achilles And The Tortoise (Achilles To Kame)
(Country: Japan; Year: 2008; Director: Takeshi Kitano; Writer: Takeshi Kitano; Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Kanako Higuchi, Kumiko Aso, Aya Enjôji, Masatô Ibu, Akira Nakao, Nao Omori, Ren Osugi, Eri Tokunaga, Mariko Tsutsui, Yûrei Yanagi)
A creative's attempts to attain his goals... and his constant failure.
American Teen
(Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Nanette Burstein; Writer: Nanette Burstein), Official Site, Trailer
The kids are not all right.
Wendy And Lucy and Frozen River
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Der Baader Meinhof Komplex)
(Country: Germany; Year: 2008; Director: Uli Edel; Writer: Stefan Aust, Bernd Eichinger; Stars: Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek, Bruno Ganz, Simon Licht, Jan Josef Liefers, Alexandra Maria Lara, Heino Ferch, Nadja Uhl, Hannah Herzsprung), Official Site, Trailer
As protests against the West German government of the late 1960s become increasingly violent, a group of young left-wingers decide to take direct action.
Ballast
(Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Lance Hammer; Writer: Lance Hammer; Stars: Michael J Smith Sr, Jim Myron Ross, Tarra Riggs, Johnny McPhail), Official Site
An emotionally frayed family find their lives torn apart in a small Mississippi Delta town.
A Christmas Tale (Un conte de Noël)
(Country: France; Year: 2008; Director: Arnaud Desplechin; Writer: Emmanuel Bourdieu, Arnaud Desplechin; Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Mathieu Amalric, Anne Consigny, Melvil Poupaud, Jean-Paul Roussillon, Emile Berling, Emmanuelle Devos)
Ensemble drama about a family brought together - and, possibility on course to be torn apart - by the illness of their matriarch.
Dean Spanley
(Country: New Zealand, UK; Year: 2008; Director: Toa Fraser; Writer: Lord Dunsany, Alan Sharp; Stars: Jeremy Northam, Sam Neill, Bryan Brown, Peter O'Toole, Charlotte Graham, Judy Parfitt, Jenna Pollard, Eva Sayer, Dudley Sutton), Official Site, Trailer
A dean recounts tales of his past life... as a dog.
Frozen River
(Country: US; Year: 2007; Director: Courtney Hunt; Writer: Courtney Hunt; Stars: Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott, Michael O'Keefe, Mark Boone Junior, James Reilly, Jay Klaitz, John Canoe, Dylan Carusona, Michael Skye, Gargi Shinde, Rajesh Bose, Azin Jahanbakhsh, Jack Phillips, James Phillips), Official Site, Trailer
Two women enter an uneasy partnership to smuggle illegal immigrants from Canada to the US.
Of Time And The City and Three Blind Mice
The Good, The Bad, The Weird (Joheunnom nabbeunnom isanghannom)
(Country: South Korea; Year: 2008; Director: Kim Ji-Woon; Writer: Kim Ji-Woon, Kim Min-Suk; Stars: Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, Jung Woo-sung, Kim Pan-joo, Ryu Seung-soo, Ryu Chang-sook, Deligeer, Yoon Jae-moon, Sohn Byung-ho, Kim Gwang-il, Ma Dong-suk, Lee Chung-ah), Official Site, Trailer
Manchurian homage to Sergio Leone sees unlikely protagonists vie over a treasure map.
Hamlet 2
(Country: USA; Year: 2008; Director: Andrew Fleming; Writer: Pam Brady, Andrew Fleming; Stars: Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, Joseph Julian Soria, Skylar Astin, Phoebe Strole, Melonie Diaz, Arnie Pantoja, Michael Esparza, Natalie Amenula, Marshall Bell)
In this rambunctious comedy, a high school drama teacher injects love and passion for theatre into his students by creating a musical sequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Heart Of Fire (Feuerherz)
(Country: Germany, Italy, Austria, France; Year: 2008; Director: Luigi Falorni; Writer: Luigi Falorni, Gabriele Kister, Senait Mehari; Stars: Letekidan Micael, Solomie Micael, Seble Tilahun, Daniel Seyoum, Mekdes Wegene, Samuel Semere)
The story of a young girl who is passed to the Eritrean Liberation Front.
Il Divo
(Country: Italy, France; Year: 2008; Director: Paolo Sorrentino; Writer: Paolo Sorrentino; Stars: Toni Servillo, Anna Bonaiuto, Piera Degli Esposti, Paolo Graziosi, Giulio Bosetti, Flavio Bucci, Carlo Buccirosso, Giorgio Colangeli, Alberto Cracco, Lorenzo Gioielli, Gianfelice Imparato), Official Site, Trailer
The life and times of notorious Italian politician Guilio Andreotti.
Incendiary
(Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Sharon Maguire; Writer: Sharon Maguire, based on the novel by Chris Cleave; Stars: Michelle Williams, Ewan McGregor, Matthew Macfadyen, Sidney Johnston, Jonathan Andrews, Ehti Aslam, Sasha Behar, Robin Berry, Gavin Brocker, Nicholas Courtney, Natalie Dormer), Trailer
A London mum tries to cope with the grief of the loss of her family in a terror attack.
A Christmas Tale and Il Divo
Johnny Mad Dog
(Country: France, Belgium, Liberia; Year: 2008; Director: Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire; Writer: Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire; Stars: Christophe Minie, Daisy Victoria Vandy), Trailer
As civil war rages in an unnamed African country, the lives of a boy soldier and a young girl fleeing the fighting become intertwined.
Lake Tahoe
(Country: Mexico; Year: 2008; Director: Fernando Eimbcke; Writer: Fernando Eimbcke, Paula Markovitch; Stars: Diego Cataño, Hector Herrera, Daniela Valentine, Juan Carlos Lara II, Yemil Sefani)
After a teenager crashes his car, he goes in search of help, revealing trauma in his life along the way.
Let's Talk About The Rain (Parlez-moi de la pluie, Let It Rain)
(Country: France; Year: 2008; Director: Agnès Jaoui; Writer: Jean-Pierre Bacri, Agnès Jaoui; Stars: Jean-Pierre Bacri, Jamel Debbouze, Agnès Jaoui, Pascale Arbillot, Guillaume De Tonquedec, Frédéric Pierrot, Mimouna Hadji, Florence Loiret, Laurent Jarroir, Anne Werner, Jean-Claude Baudracco), Trailer
A self-centred politican has to deal with the politics of relationships when she returns to her home town.
Lion's Den (Leonera)
(Country: Argentina, South Korea, Brazil; Year: 2008; Director: Pablo Trapero; Writer: Alejandro Fadel, Martín Mauregui, Santiago Mitre, Pablo Trapero; Stars: Martina Gusman, Elli Medeiros, Rodrigo Santoro, Laura García, Tomás Plotinsky), Official Site
Waking covered in blood in an apartment where one man is dead and another badly injured, with little memory and no alibi, a pregnant woman must learn to deal with imprisonment.
Miracle at St Anna
(Country: US, Italy; Year: 2008; Director: Spike Lee; Writer: James McBride, James McBride; Stars: Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller, Pierfrancesco Favino, Valentina Cervi, Matteo Sciabordi, John Turturro, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Leguizamo)
‘It’s a World War II film – a brutal mystery that deals with historic events and the stark reality of war. But it’s also a lyrical, mystical story of compassion and love.’ Spike Lee
American Teen and Religulous
Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist (Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist)
(Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Peter Sollett; Writer: Lorene Scafaria, based on the novel by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan; Stars: Michael Cera, Kat Dennings, Alexis Dziena, Ari Graynor, Aaron Yoo, Jay Baruchel, Rafi Gavron)
Two young people are thrown together one night, as they search for their favourite band's secret gig.
Of Time And The City
(Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Terence Davies; Writer: Terence Davies), Official Site
A portrait of 20th Century Liverpool.
A Perfect Day (Un Giorno Perfetto)
(Country: Italy; Year: 2008; Director: Ferzan Ozpetek; Writer: Melania Gaia Mazzucco, Sandro Petraglia, Ferzan Ozpetek; Stars: Isabella Ferrari, Valerio Mastandrea, Valerio Binasco, Nicole Grimaudo, Federico Costantini, Monica Guerritore, Angela Finocchiaro, Stefania Sandrelli, Nicole Murgia, Gabriele Paolino, Giulia Salerno)
An Italian politician vies for re-election, while trying to fend off corruption charges and keep his family together.
Quiet Chaos (Caos Calmo)
(Country: Italy, UK; Year: 2008; Director: Antonello Grimaldi; Writer: Nanni Moretti, based on the book by Sandro Veronesi.; Stars: Nanni Moretti, Blu Di Martino, Valeria Golino, Alessandro Gassman, Hippolyte Girardot, Isabella Ferrari), Trailer
A bereaved husband decides to spend each day waiting for his daughter outside her school, discovering a new world in the process.
Rachel Getting Married
(Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Jonathan Demme; Writer: Jenny Lumet; Stars: Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mather Zickel, Bill Irwin, Anna Deavere Smith, Anisa George, Tunde Adebimpe, Debra Winger, Jerome LePage, Beau Sia, Dorian Missick)
A young woman's wedding arrangements are disrupted by the arrival of her demanding, obnoxious, and painfully vulnerable sister.
Tulpan and Johnny Mad Dog
Religulous
(Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Larry Charles; Writer: Bill Maher; Stars: Bill Maher, David Rosen, Kamal Farah, David L Parsons, Shmuel Strauss, Levi Halperin, Aki Nawaz, Jimmy Turkmani, Ferre van Beveren, Fatimah Elatik, Geert Wilders, Reginald Foster, John Westcott, Francis Collins, Dean Hamer, Jeremiah Cummings, George V Coyne, Andrew Newberg, Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, Brian Weiss, Ray Suarez, Yisroel Dovid Weiss, Kathy Maher, Julie Maher, Mark Pryor, Joe Copland, Ken Ham, Steve Burg, Ted Bachman, Bill Gardiner), Trailer
Comedian Bill Maher champions scepticism in an age of rising religious fundamentalism.
The Silence Of Lorna (Le Silence De Lorna)
(Country: Belgium, UK, France, Italy, Germany; Year: 2008; Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne; Writer: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne; Stars: Arta Dobroshi, Olivier Gourmet, Morgan Marinne, Jérémie Renier, Fabrizio Rongione, Alban Ukaj), Official Site, Trailer
A young immigrant in a sham marriage finds herself unexpectedly torn when the gangsters who arranged it want her junkie husband dead.
The Secret Life Of Bees
(Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood; Writer: Gina Prince-Bythewood, based on the novel by Sue Monk Kidd; Stars: Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo, Paul Bettany), Official Site
A young girl, escaping from her tyrannical father in Civil Rights era South Carolina, finds a very different surrogate family.
Sugar
(Year: 2008; Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck; Stars: Algenis Perez Soto)
Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who last teamed up for Half Nelson, chronicle the journey of Dominican baseball star Miguel "Sugar" Santos recruited from his native country to play in the US minor leagues.
Synecdoche, New York
(Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Charlie Kaufman; Writer: Charlie Kaufman; Stars: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Michelle Williams, Emily Watson, Hope Davis, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Paul Sparks, Stanley Krajewski, Christopher Evan Welch), Official Site, Trailer
The story of a theatre director's drive to produce his masterwork.
Ballast and Tyson
Three Blind Mice
(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Matthew Newton; Writer: Matthew Newton; Stars: Ewen Leslie, Toby Schmitz, Matthew Newton, Jacki Weaver, Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwall, Gracie Otto)
Three sailors face up to their future and their past on an eventful night out in Sydney.
Three Monkeys (Üç maymun)
(Country: France, Italy, Turkey; Year: 2008; Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan; Writer: Ebru Ceylan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Ercan Kesal; Stars: Yavuz Bingol, Hatice Aslan, Rifat Sungar, Ercan Kesal, Cafer Köse, Gürkan Aydin)
A magnificently intense, brooding tale of family brought low by a twisted chain of deceits.
Tokyo!
(Country: France, Japan; Year: 2008; Director: Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, Bong Joon-Ho; Writer: Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, Bong Joon Ho; Stars: Ryo Kase, Denis Lavant, Teruyuki Kagawa)
Three off-beat visions of the famous city.
Tulpan
(Country: Germany, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia, Switzerland; Year: 2008; Director: Sergei Dvortsevoy; Writer: Sergei Dvortsevoy, Gennadi Ostrovsky; Stars: Askhat Kuchencherekov, Tolepbergen Baisakalov, Ondas Besikbasov, Samal Esljamova,), Official Site
A man dreams of becoming a shepherd in the Kazakhstan steppe, but is there room for such dreams in the modern world?
Two Lovers (2 Lovers)
(Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: James Gray; Writer: James Gray, Ric Menello; Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw, Isabella Rossellini, Elias Koteas, Moni Moshonov, Julie Budd, Nick Gillie, Carmen M. Herlihy, Samantha Ivers, Anne Joyce), Official Site, Trailer
A man struggles with his emotions as his founds tentative relationships with two women.
The Silence Of Lorna and Let's Talk About The Rain
Tyson
(Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: James Toback; Writer: James Toback; Stars: Mike Tyson), Official Site
Intimate portrait of the heavyweight boxer.
Warlords (Tau ming chong)
(Country: China, Hong Kong; Year: 2007; Director: Peter Chan, Wai Man Yip; Writer: Tin Nam Chun, Junli Guo, Jiping He, Jianxin Huang, Jo Jo Yuet-chun Hui, Oi Wah Lam, Lan Xu, James Yuen; Stars: Jet Li, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Jinglei Xu, Bao-ming Gu, Xiaodong Guo, Yachao Wang, Bo Zhou)
Nineteenth century battle epic about blood brothers who find their bond is tested.
Wendy And Lucy
(Country: USA; Year: 2008; Director: Kelly Reichardt; Writer: Jonathan Raymond, Kelly Reichardt; Stars: Michelle Williams, Will Patton, Will Oldham, John Robinson, Wally Dalton, Larry Fessenden, Brenna Beardsley, Ayanna Berkshire, M. Blash, John Breen, Michael Brophy), Official Site, Trailer
Drama about a young woman's attempts to find her lost dog.
59th New York Film Festival early bird highlights Futura, Jane By Charlotte, James Baldwin: From Another Place and The Velvet Underground
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