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London Film Festival · 2012

London Film Festival 2012

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Programme

14 films · 5 reviews

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Aiyyaa

An eccentric young woman catches the scent of a handsom man and becomes determined to romance him.

(Country: India; Year: 2012; Director: Sachin Kundalkar; Writer: Sachin Kundalkar; Stars: Rani Rani Mukherjee, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Nirmiti Sawant)

Celeste And Jesse Forever

Review preview for Celeste And Jesse Forever

The writing is so sharp and rapid-fire, and the performances so charmingly self-lacerating, that you will be happy to spend time in these characters' company.

Anton Bitel · 3.5 out of 5
Two best friends struggle to come to terms with sharing the perfect divorce.

(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Lee Toland Krieger; Writer: Rashida Jones, Will McCormack; Stars: Emma Roberts, Rashida Jones, Elijah Wood, Ari Graynor, Eric Christian Olsen, Andy Samberg, Chris D'Elia, Chris Messina, Sarah Wright, Rafi Gavron, Janel Parrish, Joel Michaely, Will McCormack, Matthew Del Negro, Jason Antoon)

Full review

Death Of A Man In The Balkans

A composer commits suicide, first setting up a camera to capture the incompetence of the officials who investigate his death.

(Country: Serbia; Year: 2012; Director: Miroslav Momčilović; Writer: Miroslav Momčilović; Stars: Emir Hadžihafizbegović, Radoslav Milenković, Bojan Žirović)

Everybody In Our Family (Toata lumea din familia noastra)

A divorcee who insists on taking his sick daughter on holiday finds the situation spinning rapidly out of control.

(Country: Romania / Netherlands; Year: 2012; Director: Radu Jude; Stars: Serban Pavlu, Sofia Nicolaescu, Mihaela Sîrbu)

Le Grand Soir

A furniture salesman finds escape from his miserable life when his brother re-introduces him to punk.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2012; Director: Benoît Delépine, Gustave Kervern; Writer: Benoît Delépine, Gustave Kervern; Stars: Benoît Poelvoorde, Albert Dupontel, Brigitte Fontaine)

Grassroots

Review preview for Grassroots

Perhaps wisely, Grassroots never really seems especially engaged with ideology.

Anton Bitel · 3 out of 5
A jaded journalist helps his friend stand for the local city council.

(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Stephen Gyllenhaal; Writer: Stephen Gyllenhaal, Justin Rhodes, based on the book by Phil Campbell ; Stars: Jason Biggs, Joel David Moore, Lauren Ambrose, Cobie Smulders, Tom Arnold, Todd Stashwick, Emily Bergl, DC Pierson, Christopher McDonald, Cedric the Entertainer)

Full review

Happy New Year, Grandma!

An elderly woman devises a plan to prevent herself from being put in a retirement home.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2011; Director: Telmo Esnal; Writer: Telmo Esnal, Asier Altuna; Stars: Montserrat Carulla, Kontxu Odriozola, Nagore Aranburu)

In Another Country

Three French women called Anne visit a boring South Korean seaside resort, with sex on their minds.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2012; Director: Hong Sangsoo; Writer: Hong Sangsoo; Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Yu Junsang, Jung Yumi)

Key Of Life

A failed actor looking a for a new life steals the identity of an accident victim only to find himself hunted by the mob. Meanwhile, the accident victim unexpectedly recovers and finds he is as actor.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2012; Director: Kenji Uchida; Stars: Masato Sakai, Teruyuki Kagawa, Ryoko Hirosue)

Love Story

Finding himself besotted with a beautiful stranger, a film director hunts her down and casts her opposite him in a story he hasn't finished writing yet.

(Country: New Zealand, US; Year: 2011; Director: Florian Habicht; Writer: Florian Habicht, Peter O’Donoghue; Stars: Florian Habicht)

Material

Review preview for Material

The film's power comes from Vincent Ebrahim's performance.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A fabric business owner dreams of his son taking over from him one day, but his son has embarked on a secret career as a stand-up comedian.

(Country: South Africa; Year: 2012; Director: Craig Freimond; Writer: Ronnie Apteker, Rosalind Butler, Craig Freimond, Riaad Moosa, Robbie Thorpe; Stars: Riaad Moosa, Vincent Ebrahim, Joey Yusuf Rasdien, Denise Newman, Krijay Govender, Zakeeya Patel, Carishma Basday, Royston Stoffels, Quanita Adams, Afzal Khan, Mel Miller, Nik Rabinowitz, Osman Ali, Rabin Harduth, Mark Bennett)

Full review

Save Your Legs!

Review preview for Save Your Legs!

It could be comedy gold, but the ball is dropped early.

Anton Bitel · 1.5 out of 5
A feeble amateur cricket team blags its way into international competition.

(Country: Australia, India; Year: 2012; Director: Boyd Hicklin; Writer: Brendan Cowell; Stars: Steve Curry, Brendan Cowell, Damon Gameau, Brenton Thwaites, David Lyons)

Full review

Short Stories

Four satirical short stories commenting on modern Russia.

(Country: Russia; Year: 2012; Director: Mikhail Segal; Writer: Mikhail Segal; Stars: Andrei Merzlikin, Igor Ugolnikov, Tamara Mironova)

Sightseers

Review preview for Sightseers

If Malick's lands were bad, then Wheatley's are sad, as small injustices, petty jealousies and perceived slights lead to cold blooded murder and childish revenge.

Neil Mitchell · 4 out of 5
A young couple on a caravan holiday find themselves going on a killing spree.

(Country: UK; Year: 2012; Director: Ben Wheatley; Writer: Alice Lowe, Steve Oram, Alice Jump; Stars: Alice Lowe, Steve Oram, Eileen Davies, Richard Glover)

Full review See: Steve Oram, Ben Wheatley, Alice Lowe interview about Sightseers