In Contention

Tag: Edinburgh Film Festival

  • Festival frenzy

    You know you’re properly in the swing of a film festival when you have neither the time nor the clarity to actually write about the day’s events. And so it is today: after four back-to-back screenings, one panel discussion and a whole lot of trekking back and forth between the festival’s rather widely dispersed theaters, I haven’t really the presence of mind for anything other than a stiff drink and an early night. And with the festival’s official press party due to kick off in under an hour, it looks like I’ll only be getting the first half of that prescription.

    Of course, there is much that I want to share with you from today’s proceedings, including one superb film that I’m deliberating over giving another four-star review to. (I don’t usually dish those out often.) Meanwhile, this afternoon offered up another film lover’s Sophie’s Choice: attend the in-depth Sam Mendes Q&A, or the festival’s only screening of the exquisitely restored “The Red Shoes?” Actually, my heart had no trouble deciding on the latter, and it proved every bit as nourishing as you’d expect, but I’d have liked to have made both.

    All to be discussed in good time. Stay tuned.

  • EDINBURGH: Away they go

    John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph in Away We GoTuesday dawned gray, gusty and rain-spattered here in Edinburgh – the kind of morning where there’s nothing for it than to bury oneself in the comforting recesses of a dark movie theater – which, handily enough, is all that I had on my agenda for today.

    After formulating a strategy over breakfast as to which films could be caught at a later date, I ended up deciding morning’s viewing with a coin-toss, a concession to fate that happily led to the droll delights of Australian animation “Mary and Max,” before my afternoon was given over to the festival’s rather more glossy opener, “Away We Go.”

    As I write, Sam Mendes and cast members John Krasinski and Maggie Gyllenhaal are treading the red carpet to formally christen this year’s festival. (Not joining them is female lead Maya Rudolph, who, in an irony apparent to anyone who has seen the film, was unable to fly to Edinburgh because she is eight months pregnant.)

    It’s a fitting opener, in the sense that its carefully negotiated balance between indie outsiderness and cozy Hollywood warmth reflects the transitory state of the Edinburgh Film Festival as a whole. Symbolic neatness aside, however, I see no context in which “Away We Go” (**1/2) can’t be regarded as a major disappointment from Sam Mendes.

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  • Play it again

    Once Upon a Time in the WestAs a younger film lover, there are few thrills greater than seeing a title you’ve always loved through the medium of television and DVD (and, at the risk of dating myself, home video) given new life on a cinema screen, the way nature, or the filmmaker at least, originally intended.

    A big-screen reappraisal can heighten already ardent cinephile devotion to a certain title – watching Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” (admittedly in redux form) on a 20-foot screen in an empty theatre remains the single greatest cinemagoing experience of my life, while a pristine new cut of “Once Upon a Time in the West” at last year’s London Film Festival was one of my highlights of 2008.

    Alternatively, the closer scrutiny of a cinema viewing can heighten one’s appreciation for a less-adored title. I had always admired “Barry Lyndon” more than I actively loved it, until a gorgeous restored print at London’s BFI Southbank earlier this year awakened me to the intricate painterliness of its compositions and near-hypnotic stateliness of its pacing. Some films need the immersive quality of the theatrical experience to drive their aesthetic point home.

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  • EDINBURGH: Animated pleasures

    Mary and MaxToday’s Edinburgh talk may have centered on festival opener “Away We Go” (more on that to come), but the day’s real delight was “Mary and Max” (***1/2), an alternately disarming and disconcerting feature debut from claymation maestro Adam Elliot, who won a 2003 Academy Award for his short “Harvey Krumpet,” and carries that film’s decidedly adult-level cuteness into his new effort.

    As “Up” continues accumulating valentines from critics across the board, “Mary and Max” forms some interesting parallel points to Pixar’s mega-hit, with both films employing the gentleness of the animated form to address difficult themes of loneliness and social isolation, and doing so via an unlikely friendship between misfits young and old.

    Of course, the relationship at the core of “Mary and Max,” which details the accidental but long-enduring friendship of correspondence between a neglected 8 year-old girl in Australia and a middle-aged New York man emotionally crippled by Asperger’s Syndrome, will likely raise far more eyebrows than “Up,” which is probably why the film is still seeking a U.S. distributor months after its warm reception at Sundance.

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  • REVIEW: “The Hurt Locker” (****)

    The Hurt Locker(Edinburgh International Film Festival)

    Put in the most glib possible terms, the longstanding industry perception of Kathryn Bigelow is that she’s something of an artistic tomboy: the girl who likes to play in the boys’ sandbox — and play roughly, at that. While true to a large extent, it’s a reputation that is rooted in the belief that genre filmmaking is principally a male preoccupation.

    Never mind that a number of her films — from vampire tale “Near Dark” to female-fronted cop thriller “Blue Steel” (to say nothing of the curious anomaly that was the brooding Elizabeth Hurley drama “The Weight of Water”) — aren’t exactly testosterone-fests; the fact that she frequently foregrounds the physical ahead of the emotional is enough to qualify her as a male-centric storyteller in most viewers’ eyes.

    So it’s somewhat surprising, upon closer inspection, to note that Bigelow has heretofore never made a film explicitly about masculinity. Yes, “Point Break” and her misfiring last feature, “K-19: The Widowmaker,” may have revolved exclusively around men, but the characters in these films were mere facilitators of action, not freestanding psychological subjects. For a woman who purportedly makes movies for men, Bigelow has never seemed particularly interested in the male experience.

    All that has changed spectacularly with “The Hurt Locker,” a formally simple but startlingly layered, savage war film that, in localizing its conflict to the internal battles between three unmoored soldiers, marries her dazzling staging abilities with a newfound level of human interest and compassion.

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  • EDINBURGH: ‘Antichrist’ added to lineup, and first day jitters

    Willem Dafoe in AntichristAfter wrestling with dodgy wireless setups for the better part of the evening, I am happy to tell you that I’m comfortably installed in an Old Town coffee shop with an immaculate connection, so I can fill you in on the day’s doings.

    Outside, it’s one of those balmy Scottish summer evenings with woozy, disconcertingly long daylight hours (the upside of coming in this season) while hordes of kilted, tourist-baiting middle-aged men parade the streets playing popular tunes adapted for the bagpipes (the considerable downside).

    Anyway, I’m even happier to tell you the big festival news of the day. In a major get for a festival that usually deals in more low-key fare, Lars Von Trier’s “Antichrist” has made a last-minute appearance on the programme. Edinburgh likely benefited from the film’s unexpectedly early UK release date of July 24 — otherwise you can bet the London Film Festival’s Sandra Hebron would have been all over it. Score one for the little guys.

    The film will have its public screening next Wednesday, June 24. However, I’ll be seeing it at the press screening on Monday, and will do my level best to have a review for you shortly afterwards. Apologies to the Von Trier haters who thought the distraction of a festival might stem the “Antichrist” talk from my end for a while. I now await Monday with a mixture of breathlessness and extreme nerves.

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  • Edinburgh calling

    EdinburghIn a little over an hour, I’ll be hopping on a (very) early morning train and making the 300 mile journey up north to Edinburgh. Ordinarily, this alone would be cause for excitement — for me, Scotland’s capital, with its curious combination of twisty Medieval quirk, stately academia and cooler-than-thou cultural swagger, is one of the most delightful cities in Europe. On this occasion, however, it boasts an extra drawcard — the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

    It may lack the glamor of Cannes or the breadth of Toronto, but the EIFF has been modestly chugging along since 1947, making it one of the most senior of all international film festivals. It doesn’t necessarily get the glitzy international premieres that the London fest now commands, but it’s an essential date on the calendar for burgeoning UK and international filmmakers. Meanwhile, it supplements its sizable showcase of new talent with a scattering of classic retrospectives as well as new works from more established filmmakers.

    Like its London counterpart, Edinburgh takes a similar “cherry-picking” approach to programming, selecting a number of proven successes from other festivals, as well as international markets. As a result, this year’s festival brings us the UK premieres of Sundance hits such as “Sin Nombre,” “Humpday” and “The Maid,” while the event I am most anticipating is the first post-Cannes screening of Andrea Arnold’s Jury Prize winner, “Fish Tank.”

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  • 6/11 Web Round-up

    Preliminary watercolor for Mars Attacks!, by Tim Burton• Nathaniel Rogers and Katey Rich offer an early rundown of the best of 2009 thus far. [The Film Experience]

    • Breaking down the world premieres at the Edinburgh Film Festival, which yours truly will be covering. [Screen International]

    • Shia LaBeouf calls the “Transformers” sequel “literally the biggest movie ever made.” What a shame I won’t see it. [Daily Telegraph]

    • Tim Burton gets a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art. Freaky sketches included. [New York Times]

    • Anne Thompson asks why nobody will fund movies for mature audiences, gets Clint Eastwood’s thoughts on the matter. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • Patrick Goldstein on the return (kinda) of Alexander Payne. [The Big Picture]

    • Random list of the day: 10 movies that didn’t need girls. (Sorry, but “Wedding Crashers” totally needed Rachel McAdams. Most movies do.) [Cinema Blend]

    • Okay, another list, but I really like this one: the 10 greatest multiple-role performances in history. (Yes, #1 is exactly what you think it is, and rightly so.) [Vulture]

    • Something belated for the “Bolt” fans: a video interview with Rhino the hamster. [The Guardian]

    • Not exactly new, and not exactly movie-related, but have you heard Scarlett Johansson’s duet with Pete Yorn yet? I dig it. [The Break Up Album]

  • 6/1 Web Round-up

    Eminem with Sacha Baron Cohen's hind-quarters at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards• Did you miss Eminem’s close encounter with Sacha Baron Cohen’s bare ass?  Never fear. [The Guardian]

    • Pixar’s “Up” reminds of the lonely sport of cluster ballooning. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Was Universal going for scary or sexy with the “Drag Me to Hell” poster? [The Big Picture]

    • Eric Snider notes the failure of high peaks so far at the 2009 box office, but fails to note the money is just spread out more than usual. [Cinematical]

    • Peter Sciretta digs into “Up” and comes up with a slew of Pixar Easter eggs. [/Film]

    • 10 cool old man protagonists for the “Up” fan. [Spout Blog]

    • Jeffrey Wells: “Terminator Salvation” apologist. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Brooks Barnes manifest a story about ‘The Princess and the Frog” out of thin, questionably resourced air. [New York Times]

    • After accusing the Edinburgh Film Festival to “caving in to anti-Israeli views,” director Gary Sinyor hands back his Charles Chaplin Award. [The Independent]