66th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (5th - 16th October 2022) DAY 12
Every
day (from October 5th to October 16th) I will be selecting the London Film
Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you
are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at
the Festival. Here is
the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read
this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30
minutes before each screening.
BFI review: This new feature-length version expands on the original portrait of a
nation [which groundbreaking director James Benning made in 1975], this time presenting 52 high-definition static shots of every
state plus Washington DC and Puerto Rico. We visit the vast plains of
the Midwest, the great metropolises and archetypal picket-fenced
suburbs. We witness incredible natural beauty juxtaposed with human
achievement in architecture and industry, which together begs the
question: what defines this great nation? Helen de Witt
66th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (5th - 16th October 2022) DAY 11
Every
day (from October 5th to October 16th) I will be selecting the London Film
Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you
are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at
the Festival. Here is
the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read
this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30
minutes before each screening.
This film also screens at BFI Southbank on October 8th and Curzon Soho on October 15th.You can find all the details here.
BFI review: Jean is a woman living a double life: by day she’s a PE teacher, while
at night she frequents a local lesbian bar with her friends and
long-term partner. Adept at keeping her two lives separate, Jean’s world
is rocked with the arrival of a new student who could destroy the
veneer that she has successfully maintained. With a gorgeous,
naturalistic central performance by Rosy McEwan, Blue Jean is an
intimate character study of a woman unsure of how she wants to be – or
is allowed to be – perceived in her own life. It’s an ode to queer
resilience in the not-too-distant past and a timely reminder of the ways
in which queer people are still silenced today. Grace Barber-Plentie
Here (and above) is the director Georgia Oakley discussing the film.
66th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (5th - 16th October 2022) DAY 10
Every
day (from October 5th to October 16th) I will be selecting the London Film
Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you
are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at
the Festival. Here is
the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read
this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30
minutes before each screening.
This film also screens at Odeon Luxe West End on October 15th. Details here.
BFI review: Hand-stitched with loving care, this mature, resonant drama is the latest from Maryam Touzani, writer-director of 2019’s Adam. It’s set in Moroccan town Salé, where Mina (Azabal) runs a small shop selling traditional caftans created by her husband, master tailor Halim (Saleh Bakri). Such an artisanal enterprise is bound to struggle in the modern world, and further complications arise when Halim, secretly gay, finds himself attracted to the shop’s new apprentice Youssef (Ayoub Missioui). The Blue Caftan is an emotionally complex, richly empathetic depiction of a partnership sustained through storms and challenges, with Azabal and Bakri exuding a warm, gently crackling chemistry. Superb performances, sly humour, Virginie Surdej’s glowing photography and a strong throughline of social defiance make this a profoundly satisfying pleasure. Jonathan Romney
66th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (5th - 16th October 2022) DAY 9
Every
day (from October 5th to October 16th) I will be selecting the London Film
Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you
are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at
the Festival. Here is
the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read
this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30
minutes before each screening.
This film also screens at BFI Southbank on October 15th. Details here.
Chicago Reader review: Alternately distressing, instructive, contestable, and fascinating,
Juliet Bashore’s 1986 documentary about a lesbian couple working in the
porn industry—a cynical older woman (Sharon “Mitch” Mitchell), who is a
seasoned porn star, and her lover (known as Tigr), who is an uneasy
newcomer to this world, where drugs play a significant role—offers a
disturbing glimpse of the modification of bodies, feelings, and lives.
The camera’s presence has a shifting role in the film, moving from
seemingly impartial witness of certain events to stimulus and catalyst
for certain others, and this tends to confuse and change one’s
relationship to both the film and its characters. Rarely has the
alienation implicit in the porn business been so tellingly exposed, but
in the process of exposing the film raises a few questions about its own
tactics and complicity. And it isn’t only porn that gets deconstructed;
the central relationship between Mitch and Tigr seems to have been
figuratively and literally taken apart. Jonathan Rosenbaum
66th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (5th - 16th October 2022) DAY 8
Every
day (from October 5th to October 16th) I will be selecting the London Film
Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you
are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at
the Festival. Here is
the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read
this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30
minutes before each screening.
Time Out review: The actor Gary Oldman's debut as writer/director is so uncompromisingly
honest, it makes other portraits of working-class life look like sour
caricature or misplaced idealism. Oldman grew up in south east London,
the setting for this tale of macho violence, drunkenness, drug addiction
and petty crime, and very clearly knows what he's talking about. He's
helped, of course, by stunning performances from his entire cast, most
notably Winstone as the volatile but self-pitying Ray, given to beating
up his long-suffering wife (Kathy Burke) and threatening her irresponsible
junkie brother (Charlie Creed-Miles). There's no sermonising or romanticising
here, just a sad, clear-eyed acknowledgement that domestic abuse and
crime create a vicious circle from which many barely even try to escape.
Shot and scripted in a deceptively casual, bleakly 'realist' style,
it's the closest Britain has produced to a Cassavetes film, and as such,
profoundly humane. Geoff Andrew
66th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (5th - 16th October 2022) DAY 7
Every
day (from October 5th to October 16th) I will be selecting the London Film
Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you
are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at
the Festival. Here is
the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read
this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30
minutes before each screening.
This film also screens at BFI Southbank on Wednesday October 12th. Details here.
BFI review: On a remote island off the Cornish coast, a volunteer environmentalist
records daily observations about a rare flower growing near the cliff
edge. Going about her tasks with meticulous care, the nameless ecologist
lives a life of isolation and repetition, her routine only occasionally
interrupted by a local man who comes to deliver petrol for her antique
power generator. But as changes suddenly appear on the plant she is
studying, the boundaries between reality and fantasy begin to blur,
plunging the volunteer into a nightmarish, metaphysical dreamscape.
Triumphantly delivering on the promise of his extraordinary debut,
Jenkin’s sophomore feature is a fascinatingly abstract, almost
dialogue-free throwback to the British folk horror films of the 1970s –
steeped in cine-literacy yet bracingly singular in its own right. Michael Blyth
Here (and above) is director Mark Jenkin talking about his new film.
66th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (5th - 16th October 2022) DAY 6
Every
day (from October 5th to October 16th) I will be selecting the London Film
Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you
are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at
the Festival. Here is
the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read
this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30
minutes before each screening.
This film also screens at Curzon Soho on Sunday October 16th. Details here.
BFI review: William Dieterle’s inspired studio-era oddity, now beautifully restored, follows
New Hampshire farmer Jabez Stone, who one stormy night succumbs to ‘Mr
Scratch’, the devil of local folkloric legend, who promises him seven
years of riches in exchange for his soul. What’s on the line, though,
isn’t just Jabez’s soul, but the very foundational ideals on which
America is based – ideals personified in the figure of legendary local
politician Daniel Webster. Bernard Herrmann’s unforgettable score would
win him an Oscar, but creative inspiration runs throughout – the
composer was just one among many of the same creative team who had
worked on Citizen Kane, and Dieterle’s fascinating film shares much of
the same sense of exhilarating creative liberation found in Welles’s
masterpiece. James Bell
Here (and above) is director Joe Dante on the film.
66th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (5th - 16th October 2022) DAY 5
Every
day (from October 5th to October 16th) I will be selecting the London Film
Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you
are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at
the Festival. Here is
the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read
this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30
minutes before each screening.
BFI review: Erich Von Stroheim wrote, directed and starred in this ambitious melodrama
about a charlatan who poses as a Russian count and cavalry officer, and
lives by defrauding naive women in luxury hotels. Envisaged by Von
Stroheim as a six-hour Zola-esque saga, with lavish Monte Carlo sets
rebuilt on the California coast, he was obliged by Universal to squeeze
his ambitions into a more conventional feature film format, and the
surviving print was cut further for an ultimately abandoned 1928
re-release. It is this version that has been intelligently restored by
the San Francisco Silent Film Festival and MoMA, who have returned the
original sequencing, tinting and intertitles to give us the best
possible impression of this extraordinary director’s vision, and his
startlingly sleazy performance. Bryony Dixon
66th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (5th - 16th October 2022) DAY 4
Every
day (from October 5th to October 16th) I will be selecting the London Film
Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you
are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at
the Festival. Here is
the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read
this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30
minutes before each screening.
This film also screens at Odeon Luxe West End on Sunday October 9th. Details here.
BFI review: The world is a mysterious place when seen from the perspective of an
animal. EO, a donkey with melancholic eyes and a fondness for carrots,
meets a plethora of good and bad people on his journey through life. He
experiences joy and pain, endures the wheel of fortune randomly turning
his luck into disaster and his despair into unexpected bliss. But not
even for a moment does he lose his innocence. The latest collaboration
between Polish director Skolimowski (The Shout) and his veteran producer
Jeremy Thomas, EO is a distinctive and ultimately poignant work.
Brilliantly shot by Michal Dymek and featuring immersive sound design,
the drama ponders with distinction and eloquence the follies of humanity
while never resorting to sermonising. Interspersed with moments of
bracing surrealism, EO reminds us not only of the need for humility, but
also of Skolimowski’s immense contribution to world cinema. Jason Wood
66th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (5th - 16th October 2022) DAY 3
Every
day (from October 5th to October 16th) I will be selecting the London Film
Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you
are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at
the Festival. Here is
the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read
this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30
minutes before each screening.
BFI review: Thomas Hardiman’s debut feature – shot in bravura long takes by
acclaimed cinematographer Robbie Ryan – immerses us in the bizarre and
highly strung world of high-fashion hair design, in which a cast of
volatile models, designers, hairdressers and security guards bicker,
clash and accuse one another of murder. As this narratively and
chronologically complex story deliciously unfolds, Ryan’s restless,
uncannily stable camera drifts from scene to scene, through a maze of
backstage rooms, waiting areas, theatre spaces and car parks. Taking in
the hilarious histrionics from Hardiman’s strikingly game cast of
actors, as well as the splendour, colour and excess of the extravagant
hairstyles in competition, Medusa Deluxe is a unique and audacious trip
quite unlike anything you’ll experience at the Festival. Paul Ridd
Here (and above) is an interview with the director.
66th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (5th - 16th October 2022) DAY 2
Every
day (from October 5th to October 16th) I will be selecting the London Film
Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you
are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at
the Festival. Here is
the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read
this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30
minutes before each screening.
Today's film also screens at Odeon Luxe West End on October 8th. Details here.
BFI introduction: Anyone familiar with Tarek Saleh’s 2017 political drama The Nile Hilton
Incident will have some idea of what to expect from his latest: a subtle
character piece that hits all the beats of an intense conspiracy
thriller. It starts when Adam (Tawfeek Barhom), the son of a poor
fisherman, receives a scholarship to a prestigious university in Cairo,
the power base of Sunni Islam. His family sees it as a gift from God,
but Adam’s fortune sours when the school’s Grand Imam dies. Fearing a
hardline replacement, the government tasks secret serviceman Colonel
Ibrahim (Fares Fares) with recruiting a spy, which is how Adam finds
himself caught between a rock and hard place in a film that shows how
the politicisation of religion – and vice versa – is the great poison of
our times. Damon Wise
So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the
reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I
am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within
the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the
major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is
little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see
films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London
Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming
months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.
Here then (from October 5th to October 16th) are the films you are likely
to be able to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in
London very soon unless you go the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't
worry if some of the recommended films are sold out as there are always
some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each
screening. Here is the information you need to get those standby tickets and here are all the details on ticket availability.
Today's choice also screens at Curzon Soho on Thursday October 6th. Details here.
Film Comment review: In Directors’ Fortnight, a gentle gust of sheer simplicity: the Tunisian-set Under the Fig Trees,
by Erige Sehiri, which tracks a day out with a group of orchard
workers, basically shooting the breeze under the boughs. What makes it
special, apart from the brilliantly controlled and varied way in which
Sehiri uses this very basic locale, is the nonprofessional cast, ranging
from an eccentric old-timer to a group of teenagers recruited from a
local high school, who radiate charm and life—notably the three Fdilhi
sisters, Ameni, Fide, and Feten. The teenagers chat about who fancies
whom, who’s broken whose heart, the usual high-school stuff—but in the
context of an Islamic culture, it flouts expectations (and of course,
the way headscarves are tied or let loose speaks volumes about the
girls’ desire). In a Cannes of somewhat thin pickings, this quietly
emerged as one of the most flavorful fruits in the orchard. Jonathan Romney
This 35mm presentation (also screened on September 30th) is part of the Pam Grier season at BFI Southbank. Full details here.
BFI introduction: Jimmy Bones (Snoop Dogg) is the neighborhood watchdog and numbers
runner. When corrupt cops murder him and force his associates to
brutalize his corpse, they have no idea of the vengeful spirit Bones and
his lover Pearl (Grier) eventually unleash on the world. Two decades
later, a chain of events brings Bones’ ghost back into the world. Ernest
Dickerson’s chiller is an homage to Blaxploitation horror and finds
Snoop and Grier reveling in their roles as glamorous gangster ghouls.
This presentation is part of the Horroctober season at the Prince Charles. Details here.
Chicago Reader review: George Romero's gory, style-setting 1968 horror film, made for pennies
in Pittsburgh. Its premise—the unburied dead arise and eat the living—is
a powerful combination of the fantastic and the dumbly literal. Over
its short, furious course, the picture violates so many strong
taboos—cannibalism, incest, necrophilia—that it leaves audiences giddy
and hysterical. Romero's sequel, Dawn of the Dead, displays a much-matured technique and greater thematic complexity, but Night retains its raw power.
Dave Kehr
This 35mm presentation is part of the Horroctober season at the Prince Charles. Details here.
Time Out review: 'The phones are dead, the roads are out... we're on our own!' All is not well in Perfection, Nevada, a remote desert town. Itinerant cowpokes Val (Kevin Bacon) and Earl (Fred Ward) are all set to up sticks when they happen across a corpse perched incongruously atop a telegraph pole...and then another, apparently swallowed up by the earth. Huge, carnivorous, worm-like creatures, capable of tunnelling at incredible speeds in response to seismic vibrations, are literally undermining Perfection. With a tip of the hat towards its '50s forefathers, this canny genre entry exploits its novel subterranean threat to the max, the ingenious situations being orchestrated with considerable skill by first-time director Underwood. Bacon and Ward project a wonderful low-key rapport, based initially on jokey ignorance before giving way to terse apprehension. It's great to hear authentic B movie talk again, especially when the cast takes it upon itself to name the monsters, only to come up with 'graboids' by default, and to debate their probable origin: 'One thing's for sure...them ain't local boys'. This is what a monster movie is supposed to be like, and it's terrific. Tom Charity
This film is part of the James Bond weekend at BFI Southbank. Full details here.
My tweet during my Bond-a-thon before No Time To Die read thus:
'... camp innuendo wins out over underwhelming battle denouement. Death pervades with wonderfully psychotic Curt Jurgens villain ... if only the Bach/Moore had really featured a fight to the death not the double entendre. A v lively entry in the series.'
BFI introduction: Bond teams up with Russian KGB agent Anya Amasova in an attempt to prevent global destruction at the hands of a megalomaniacal businessman hell-bent on creating a new world undersea. Pursued around the globe by Jaws, a metal teethed assassin, the spies face a multitude of challenges as well as posing a credible threat to each other. Cited by Roger Moore as his favourite Bond film and becoming one of the most successful films in the series, The Spy Who Loved Me remains a firm fan favourite.
This film is the first of the James Bond weekend at BFI Southbank. Full details here.
The press reviews of the films don't capture the excitement of this
retrospective for Bond fans and I am recommending the Blogalongabond
series by Neil Alcock (aka @theincrediblesuit on Twitter). Here is his take on the first movie in the Bond franchise. Time Out review: The first Bond film, made comparatively cheaply but effectively
establishing a formula for the series - basically a high-tech gloss
repackaging of the old serials - and setting up a box-office bonanza
with its gleeful blend of sex, violence and wit. As memorable as
anything in the series (the arteries hadn't hardened yet) are modest
highlights like Bond's encounter with a tarantula, Honeychile's first
appearance as a nymph from the sea, the perils of Dr No's assault course
of pain.
Here is Bond's first introduction to the film-going public.
This film is part of the BFI Southbank Terror Vision strand.
BFI introduction: Often claimed to be an inspiration on A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream
Warriors, Roger Christian’s psychokinetic phantasmagoria (itself
influenced by the likes of Carrie and Patrick) tells the story of a
young man who is able to transmit his disturbed dreams into the minds of
the people around him. A bracing blend of insidious surrealism and
spectacular set pieces, this singular shocker is cited by Quentin
Tarantino as his favourite film from 1982.
