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London Film Festival · 2016

London Film Festival 2016

Laugh

Programme

14 films · 6 reviews

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Barakh Meets Barakh (Barakah yoqabil Barakah)

A government official embarks on a relationship with a vlogger against the backdrop of constraints of romance in Saudi Arabia.

(Country: Saudi Arabia; Year: 2016; Director: Mahmoud Sabbagh; Writer: Mahmoud Sabbagh; Stars: Hisham Fageeh, Fatima AlBanawi, Sami Hifny, Khairia Nazmi, Abdulmajeed Al-Ruhaidi, Turki Shaikh, Marian Bilal)

Don't Think Twice

Review preview for Don't Think Twice

In places it's very well scripted, astute and incisive, but for most UK viewers it simply won't translate.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Set in the world of New York improv comedy, where the members of a tight-knit troupe are thrown into disarray when one of their ranks lands a coveted spot on a top TV show.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Mike Birbiglia; Writer: Mike Birbiglia; Stars: Keegan-Michael Key, Gillian Jacobs, Mike Birbiglia, Chris Gethard, Kate Micucci, Tami Sagher, Seth Barrish, Erin Darke, Brian Edwards, Elise Edwards, DeWitt Fleming Jr., Sondra James, Brandon Scott Jones, Jordan Kenneth Kamp, Maggie Kemper)

Full review

Down Under

Black comedy, set in the aftermath of race riots.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2016; Director: Abe Forsythe; Writer: Abe Forsythe; Stars: Lincoln Younes, Rahel Romahn, Michael Denkha, Fayssal Bazzi, Alexander England, Damon Herriman, Justin Rosniak, Chris Bunton, Harriet Dyer, David Field, Marshall Napier, Josh McConville, Dylan Young, Christiaan Van Vuuren, Anthony Taufa)

Houston, We Have A Problem!

Review preview for Houston, We Have A Problem!

Even when we are ready to dismiss something presented to us as 'scientific' evidence, we are still ready to swallow a lie if it comes with an emotionally satsifying coating.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
Creating the myth of a space-race power deal.

(Country: Slovenia, Croatia, Germany, Czech Republic, Qatar; Year: 2016; Director: Žiga Virc; Writer: Žiga Virc, Boštjan Virc)

Full review

The Last Laugh

When is comedy not funny? Some would argue, when it’s about the Holocaust. Through interviews and performances featuring people on either side of the issue.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Ferne Pearlstein; Writer: Robert Edwards, Ferne Pearlstein; Stars: Sarah Silverman, David Cross, Mel Brooks, Rob Reiner, Gilbert Gottfried, Carl Reiner, Harry Shearer, Larry Charles, Susie Essman, David Steinberg, Robert Clary, Jeffrey Ross, Judy Gold, Lisa Lampanelli, Hanala Sagal)

Lost In Paris

Slapstick comedy sees a woman face a series of catastrophes after heading to Paris for the first time.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2016; Director: Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon; Writer: Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon; Stars: Fiona Gordon, Dominique Abel, Emmanuelle Riva, Pierre Richard, Emmy Boissard Paumelle, Céline Laurentie, Charlotte Dubery, David Palatino, Frédéric Meert, Guillaume Delvingt, Philippe Martz, Olivier Parenty, Fabrice Milich, Jean Loison, Annabelle Cocollos)

Mascots

Mockumentary about the world of competitive mascots.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Christopher Guest; Writer: Christopher Guest, Jim Piddock; Stars: Jennifer Coolidge, Parker Posey, Sandra Rosko, Zach Woods, Christopher Guest, Jane Lynch, Fred Willard, John Michael Higgins, Tom Bennett, Bob Balaban, Oscar Nuñez, Ed Begley Jr., Sarah Baker, Don Lake, Harry Shearer)

Mindhorn

Review preview for Mindhorn

There are strong, even hilarious, performances throughout.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
A fading actor aims to redeem himself by turning private eye and catching a killer.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Sean Foley; Writer: Julian Barratt, Simon Farnaby; Stars: Essie Davis, Julian Barratt, Alex Wyndham, Alannah Olivia, Robin Morrissey, Jessye Romeo, Alec Nicholls)

Full review

One Week And A Day

In the span of a day, a grieving father steals medicinal marijuana from a hospice, skips work and hangs out with his estranged neighbor's son while his wife tries to get back to her daily routine as she fights off school teachers, stray kittens and dental clinic workers.

(Country: Israel; Year: 2016; Director: Asaph Polonsky; Writer: Asaph Polonsky; Stars: Uri Gavriel, Tomer Kapon, Jenya Dodina, Shai Avivi, Sharon Alexander, Carmit Mesilati Kaplan)

Prevenge

Review preview for Prevenge

Writer-director Alice Lowe takes a blowtorch to the picture postcard image of pregnancy.

Owen Van Spall · 4 out of 5
A pregnant serial killer is out for vengeance.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Alice Lowe; Writer: Alice Lowe; Stars: Jo Hartley, Kate Dickie, Gemma Whelan, Alice Lowe, Tom Davis, Kayvan Novak, Mike Wozniak, Dan Renton Skinner, Tom Meeten, Eileen Davies, Leila Hoffman, Grace Calder, Sara Dee, Della Moon Synnott, Marc Bessant)

Full review

Tickling Giants

Review preview for Tickling Giants

The humour itself is as light as a feather – a symbol used by Andeel in his animation to good effect – but the reaction from the regime(s) is about as subtle as a brick

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Charting Bassem Youssef’s rise as Egypt’s foremost on-screen satirist.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Sara Taksler; Writer: Sara Taksler; Stars: Bassem Youssef, Jon Stewart)

Full review

Toni Erdmann

Review preview for Toni Erdmann

The film really shouldn’t work, but it does.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
A father drops in on his daughter and poses as a stranger to her friends.

(Country: Germany, Austria; Year: 2016; Director: Maren Ade; Writer: Maren Ade; Stars: Peter Simonischek, Sandra Hüller, Lucy Russell, Trystan Pütter, Hadewych Minis, Vlad Ivanov, Ingrid Bisu, John Keogh, Ingo Wimmer, Cosmin Padureanu, Anna Maria Bergold, Radu Banzaru, Alexandru Papadopol, Sava Lolov, Jürg Löw)

Full review See: Maren Ade and Sandra Hüller in conversation on Oscar nominee Toni Erdmann , Maren Ade and Sandra Hüller in conversation on Toni Erdmann

Laugh gala.

Women Who Kill

Morgan and Jean work well together as true crime podcasters because they didn’t work well, at all, as a couple. When Morgan strikes up a new relationship with the mysterious Simone, their shared interest turns into suspicion, paranoia, and fear.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Ingrid Jungermann; Writer: Ingrid Jungermann; Stars: Annette O'Toole, Sheila Vand, Deborah Rush, Grace Rex, Francis Benhamou, Tami Sagher, Shannon Patricia O'Neill, Rodrigo Lopresti, Terence Nance, Ingrid Jungermann, Doug Moe, Ann Carr, Keisha Zollar, Anna Orlova, Ngozi Jane Anyanwu)

The Young Offenders

Two teenagers run into trouble when they try to steal cocaine washed up on an Irish beach.

(Country: Ireland; Year: 2016; Director: Peter Foott; Writer: Peter Foott; Stars: Hilary Rose, Chris Walley, Ciaran Bermingham, Alex Murphy, Dominic MacHale, Pascal Scott, Judy Donovan, Shane Casey, Stephen O'Connor, Michael Sands, Frank Prendergast)