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London Film Festival · 2013

London Film Festival 2013

Journey

Programme

27 films · 11 reviews

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Bends

An affluent Hong Kong woman gets to know her mainland chauffeur.

(Country: China; Year: 2013; Director: Flora Lau)

The Chase

Chuck Scott gets a job as chauffeur to tough guy Eddie Roman; but Chuck's involvement with Eddie's fearful wife becomes a nightmare.

(Country: US; Year: 1946; Director: Arthur Ripley; Writer: Philip Yordan, Cornell Woolrich; Stars: Robert Cummings, Michèle Morgan, Steve Cochran, Lloyd Corrigan, Jack Holt, Don Wilson, Alexis Minotis, Nina Koshetz, Yolanda Lacca, James Westerfield, Jimmy Ames, Shirley O'Hara, Peter Lorre, Florence Auer, Bess Flowers)

Cowboy

Chicago hotel clerk Frank Harris dreams of life as a cowboy, and he gets his chance when, jilted by the father of the woman he loves...

(Country: US; Year: 1958; Director: Delmer Daves; Writer: Frank Harris, Dalton Trumbo, Edmund H. North; Stars: Glenn Ford, Jack Lemmon, Anna Kashfi, Brian Donlevy, Dick York, Víctor Manuel Mendoza, Richard Jaeckel, King Donovan, Vaughn Taylor, Donald Randolph, James Westerfield, Eugene Iglesias, Frank DeKova, Russ Bender, John L. Blaustein)

The Do Gooders

Review preview for The Do Gooders

Lebna constantly pokes and prods, arguing that the director too often sees the situation through a white western lens.

Owen Van Spall · 3 out of 5
An acutely personal documentary on the complexly political issue of Western aid programmes in Palestine.

(Country: Occupied Palestinian Territory, UK; Year: 2013; Director: Chloe Ruthven)

Full review

Eliza Lynch: Queen Of Paraguay

Portrait of Irish-born Eliza Lynch, a much maligned figure in South American history.

(Country: Ireland; Year: 2013; Director: Alan Gilsenan; Writer: Alan Gilsenan)

The Eternal Return Of Antonis Paraskevas (I Aionia Epistrofi Tou Antoni Paraskeua)

A faded TV celebrity desperate for attention fakes his own kidnapping and hides out in an abandoned luxury hotel.

(Country: Greece; Year: 2013; Director: Elina Psykou; Stars: Christos Stergioglou, Syllas Tzoumerkas, Theodora Tzimou)

Four Ways To Die In My Hometown

The threat posed by migration to Chinese villages.

(Country: China; Year: 2012; Director: Chunya Chai; Writer: Chunya Chai; Stars: Weixia Gao, Guiqing Yang, Tiansheng Shi, Fanghe Long)

Gare Du Nord

(Country: France, Canada; Year: 2013; Director: Claire Simon; Writer: Shirel Amitay, Olivier Lorelle; Stars: Nicole Garcia, Reda Kateb, François Damiens, Monia Chokri)

Grisgris

A partially paralysed man who dreams of becoming a dancer is drawn into crime after his uncle becomes seriously ill.

(Country: Chad; Year: 2013; Director: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun; Stars: Soulémane Démé, Mariam Monory, Cyril Guei, Anaïs Monory, Marius Yelolo)

Late At Night: Voices Of Ordinary Madness

Review preview for Late At Night: Voices Of Ordinary Madness

Built upon a variety of different perspectives, Guo's politically engaged sort-of documentary is more an episodic tapestry of suggestions than anything like a coherent argument.

Anton Bitel · 3.5 out of 5
A portrait of the frenetic East End of London.

(Country: UK, Switzerland; Year: 2013; Director: Xiaolu Guo; Writer: Ciompi, Xiaolu Guo; Stars: Mark Fisher, Juliette Brooks)

Full review

Lifelong (Hayatboyu)

A tale of lost love and the increasing alienation that blights a middle class couple's relationship.

(Country: Turkey, Germany, Netherlands; Year: 2013; Director: Asli Özge; Stars: Defne Halman, Hakan Cimenser)

L'intrepido

Fable about a man experiencing modern Milan in all its aspects, as he works in a bewildering variety of jobs across the city.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2013; Director: Gianni Amelio; Writer: Gianni Amelio, Davide Lantieri; Stars: Antonio Albanese)

Locke

Review preview for Locke

It's like a suicide. And there's nothing to look at

Angus Wolfe Murray · 2 out of 5
A man drives through the night, listening to mobile phone calls, as his life falls apart.

(Country: US, UK; Year: 2013; Director: Steven Knight; Writer: Steven Knight; Stars: Tom Hardy, voices of Olivia Colman, Ruth Wilson, Andrew Scott, Tom Holland, Ben Daniels, Bill Milner, Alice Lowe, Danny Webb, Lee Ross, Silas Carson, Kirsty Dillon)

Full review

Mother Of George

Review preview for Mother Of George

The joy is in the detail of Dosunmu's film, the nuance of a relationship as richly complex as the African print dresses that Adenike favours.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A husband and wife find their marraige threatened by an inability to conceive.

(Country: US; Year: 2013; Director: Andrew Dosunmu; Writer: Darci Picoult; Stars: Isaach De Bankolé, Danai Gurira, Anthony Okungbowa, Yaya Alafia, Bukky Ajayi)

Full review

My Class (La Mia Classe)

Drama-documentary about a diverse group of immigrants learning Italian in an effort to secure a future in the country.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2013; Director: Daniele Gaglianone; Writer: Gino Clemente, Daniele Gaglianone, Claudia Russo; Stars: Valerio Mastandrea)

Nine Lives

Nine different characters at emotional crossroads, very different yet hauntingly the same. Nine women who find themselves captives of relationships, both past and present with an undeniable connection.

(Country: US; Year: 2005; Director: Rodrigo García; Writer: Rodrigo García; Stars: Elpidia Carrillo, Aomawa Baker, Miguel Sandoval, Mary Pat Dowhy, Andy Umberger, K Callan, Chelsea Rendon, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Isaacs, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Lisa Gay Hamilton)

Nebraska

Review preview for Nebraska

Behind the surface simplicity of a father and son road trip lurks a sharp and bitter-sweet odyssey with a strong sense of satire.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
An alcoholic father and his resentful son travel cross-country together to collect big sweepstake winnings.

(Country: US; Year: 2013; Director: Alexander Payne; Writer: Bob Nelson; Stars: Bruce Dern, Will Forte, June Squibb, Bob Odenkirk, Stacy Keach, Stephen Clayton, Missy Doty, Rance Howard, Kevin Kunkel, Angela McEwan, Devin Ratray, Anthony G. Schmidt, Melinda Simonsen, Ronald Vosta, Mary Louise Wilson)

Full review

Nobody's Daughter Haewon (Nugu-ui Ttal-do Anin Haewon)

Review preview for Nobody's Daughter Haewon

This apparently meandering, unfocused story conceals an acutely observed portrait of a society in flux.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
With her mother about to emigrate and her affair gone stale, Haewon faces a challenging future.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2013; Director: Hong Sang-soo; Writer: Hong Sang-soo; Stars: Jeong Eun-Chae, Lee Sun-kyun, Ye Ji-won, Yoo Joon-sang)

Full review

The Rocket

Review preview for The Rocket

The spirit of childhood skips and giggles through The Rocket even though Kim Mordaunt's debut fiction feature touches on deeply disturbing humanitarian issues.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
A youngster and his family try to forge a new life after being displaced by a dam.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2013; Director: Kim Mordaunt; Writer: Kim Mordaunt; Stars: Sitthiphon Disamoe, Loungnam Kaosainam, Alice Keohavong, Thep Phongam, Sumrit Warin)

Full review

Sacro GRA

Review preview for Sacro GRA

Rosi's panorama manages to circle back, making you love humanity.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
A documentary journey into the lives of people who inhabit the outskirts of Rome.

(Country: Italy, France; Year: 2013; Director: Gianfranco Rosi; Writer: Niccolò Bassetti, Gianfranco Rosi)

Full review See: Interview with Gianfranco Rosi about Sacro GRA

Short Term 12

Review preview for Short Term 12

The film’s simplicity is its strength.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
Story of a counsellor at a foster care centre.

(Country: US; Year: 2013; Director: Destin Cretton; Writer: Destin Cretton; Stars: Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., Kaitlyn Dever, Stephanie Beatriz, Rami Malek, Alex Calloway, Kevin Hernandez, Lydia Du Veaux, Keith Stanfield, Frantz Turner, Diana Maria Riva, Harold Cannon, Silvia Curiel, Melora Walters, Bran'dee Allen)

Full review

Siddharth

A modern-day quest to find his missing son leads a Delhi tailor on a perilous journey into the unknown.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2013; Director: Richie Mehta; Writer: Maureen Dorey, Richie Mehta, Rajesh Tailang; Stars: Rajesh Tailang, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Anurag Arora, Shobha Sharma Jassi, Geeta Agrawal Sharma, Amitabh Srivasta, Mukesh Chhabra, Khushi Mathur, Irfan Khan, N.K. Pant, Naresh Gosain, Nihal Kardam, Aakash Dahiya, Ram Ji Bali, Chetan Sharma)

Sniffer (Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa)

A maverick, booze-addled private detective takes a case in his rural Indian homeland.

(Country: India; Year: 2013; Director: Buddhadeb Dasgupta; Writer: Buddhadeb Dasgupta; Stars: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Pankaj Tripathi, Ananya Chatterjee)

So Much Water (Tanta Agua)

A 14 year old girl on a family holiday is dismayed by the endless rain, but then makes new friends.

(Country: Uruguay, Mexico, Netherlands, Germany; Year: 2012; Director: Ana Guevara Pose, Leticia Jorge Romero; Stars: Malú Chouza, Néstor Guzzini, Joaquín Castiglioni)

Stand Clear Of The Closing Doors

Review preview for Stand Clear Of The Closing Doors

Few portrayals of autism spectrum disorders in film have ever had the authenticity of this.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A boy with Asperger's syndrome goes riding on the New York subway for days as his distraught mother searches for him.

(Country: US; Year: 2013; Director: Sam Fleischner; Writer: Micah Bloomberg, Rose Lichter-Marck)

Full review

Tonnerre

Review preview for Tonnerre

Brac films the small town in great detail, capturing its claustrophobia, and the sometimes tragic destinies of his protagonists.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
A musician enters into an amour fou with a younger woman who is on the rebound.

(Country: France; Year: 2013; Director: Guillaume Brac; Writer: Guillaume Brac, Hélène Ruault; Stars: Vincent Macaigne, Solène Rigot, Bernard Menez)

Full review

The Weight Of Elephants (Das Gewicht Der Elefanten)

The arrival of two new girls in the neighbourhood prompts a lonely boy to step out of his imaginary world and try real life fun and adventure.

(Country: New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden; Year: 2013; Director: Daniel Joseph Borgman; Stars: Demos Murphy, Angelina Cottrell, Matthew Sunderland, Catherine Wilkin)