Sound and Vision

The continuous bond between music and cinema celebrated by the LFF is once again demonstrated in the Sonic section. This year’s highlights include, Nas: Time is Illmatic, an in-depth look on the making of the New York’s rapper hugely influential debut and Björk: Biophilia Live, the latest fascinating multimedia project from the Icelandic goddess. There are equally interesting music-related films though, outside the Sonic section. Whiplash, for example follows the struggles of an ambitious young jazz drummer to make it to the top. What could be another success story is transformed into an electrifying cinematic experience that constantly surpasses your expectations winning both the Grand Jury and the Audience awards at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Then there is The Possibilities Are Endless, a heart-warming documentary about the recovery of Edwyn Collins after suffering a massive stroke. A love letter

to an exceptional songwriter and a lovely human being that must be seen not only by Orange Juice fans.   Read more our film festival recommendations below:

• The Stars
• A Trip Around the World
• The Joy and Pain of Being Young
• This time it’s war

The 57th BFI London Film Festival takes place from 8-19 October. Tickets go on sale 18 September and for more info about the programme go to the BFI website.

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The Joy and Pain of Being Young

Films that deal with the turbulent nature of youth are also perennial in film festivals aiming directly to the viewer’s heart. The best of them also engage our mind. Take for example Girlhood which shares a realistic view of what it means to be a young black female growing up in an underprivileged suburb of Paris, or Dear White People that depicts the lives of four black students at an Ivy League college in Obama’s ‘post-racial’ America.

Dear White People

With a sense of humour that does not conceal the anger of the writer-director Justin Simien in his feature length debut, it brings to mind the explosive beginning of Spike Lee’s career. Equally engrossing is another first feature film, The Tribe that does not only successfully mixes a coming-of –age story with intense sexuality and violence but also contains no spoken dialogue but only sign language since it features a cast of young deaf actors. If we are talking though about provocative depictions of youth sexuality, we must mention Gregg Araki whose whole oeuvre revolves around horny teenagers. White Bird in a Blizzard then, will definitely satisfy the fans of the surrealistic images of the director as for newcomers the chance to watch Eva Green gloriously overacting as an unhinged mother who turns her teenage daughter’s life into chaos when she suddenly disappears should be worth the admission fee alone.

Read more our film festival recommendations below:   

• The Stars
• A Trip Around the World
• Sound and Vision
• This time it’s war

The 57th BFI London Film Festival takes place from 8-19 October. Tickets go on sale 18 September and for more info about the programme go to the BFI website.

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This time it’s war

Trying to find a recurrent theme as you browse through a festival’s programme is a fun little game to play. We discovered this year that a number of films that will be screened take place during a war. A definite highlight amongst those films is ’71 that puts the viewer right into the deadly streets of Belfast in 1971 where a British soldier is accidentally cut adrift  from his unit as the riots break out. Already being championed by critics as one of the best British films of the decade and featuring a magnetic performance by Jack O’ Connell in the leading role, this is a must-watch film. The Battles of Coronel and Falkland Islands is this year’s Archive Gala in commemoration of the centenary of the outbreak of WWI. Restored by the BFI, it is an important film not only for historical reasons (it faithfully reconstructs the two major naval battles of WWI) but also for its artistic value that brings in mind the cinematic brilliance of Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin.

The Imitation Game

Finally, both the opening and the closing films of the festival are related to WWII. The Imitation Game that opens the curtain of this year’s LFF may not, at first glance, have an engrossing plot (British mathematician and cryptanalyst Alan Turing cracks the German Enigma code) but once you learn that Turing, instead of being treated as a hero, was later convicted for the criminal offence of homosexuality (plus the film stars Benedict Cumberbatch and is directed by Morten Tyldum of Headhunters), you will run to get a ticket for the premiere. Fury is definitely not short of thrills either. Following a tank on a deadly mission behind enemy lines during the last months of WWII the film combines the gritty realism of Saving Private Ryan with the intense sense of claustrophobia that characterised the little-seen but hugely praised Lebanon. Add to this the fact that the leading role of the film is played by one of the biggest film stars in the world Brad Pitt and you have the perfect choice for closing a festival.

Read more our film festival recommendations below:   

• The Stars
• A Trip Around the World
• The Joy and Pain of Being Young
• Sound and Vision

The 57th BFI London Film Festival takes place from 8-19 October. Tickets go on sale 18 September and for more info about the programme go to the BFI website.

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A Trip Around the World 

One of the many joys of the LFF is that it opens a window to civilisations foreign to us, offering the very best in world cinema. This year, African Metropolis takes us to a trip in Africa to examine urban life in Abidjan, Cairo, Dakar, Johannesburg, Lagos and Nairobi through six short films that emphasise the joys of life without shying away from showing us the perils of the poverty trap. There is only beauty in Walking Under Water, the film debut of Eliza Kubarska that follows the Badjao tribe in Southeast Asia who live in perfect harmony with the sea, spending their days diving and fishing in the magical waters off Borneo. Their harmony is disrupted by the increasing number of tourist resorts in the area.

Walking Under Water

The disturbance of peacefulness is also the subject of Timbuktu that depicts with a fascinating emotional power the negative impact that the temporary occupation of northern Timbuktu by Islamic extremists in 2012 had on the citizen’s everyday life. The film is filled with unforgettable images like a football team who, after learning that they cannot longer play their favourite sport, continue practising with an imaginary ball. Compared to all those films, Leviathan is a story about the corrupted establishment of Kola Peninsula, a small town near the Barents Sea.  It may seem like a more conventional piece of work but the fact that it is directed by the great Andrey Zvyaginstev (The Return) should be enough to persuade us that this will be another masterpiece that showcases the unparalleled power of simplicity.

Read more our film festival recommendations below:   

• The Stars
• The Joy and Pain of Being Young
• Sound and Vision
• This time it’s war

The 57th BFI London Film Festival takes place from 8-19 October. Tickets go on sale 18 September and for more info about the programme go to the BFI website.

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The Stars

One of the main attractions of any major film festival is the opportunity for film lovers to be amongst the first to watch the latest works of some of the biggest Hollywood names. The LFF though, never goes for the easy choice, opting instead for films that challenge our perceptions of major stars. Take for example Camp X-Ray that puts Kristen Stewart, who rose to fame as the annoyingly passive Bella Swan in the Twilight saga, in the notorious Guantanamo Bay as a soldier who is determined to prove her worth in a system that favours machismo and is stained with sexism.

Camp X-Ray

Reese Witherspoon, undergoes a similarly bold transformation in Jean-Marc Vallée’s (Dallas Buyers Club) new film Wild, the true story of Cheryl Strayed, a young woman who after a dramatic incident in her life, decided to undertake an exhausting 1,100-mile hike across the Pacific Crest Trail. Emotionally and (often) physically bare, Witherspoon gives an outstanding performance that may very well earn her her second Academy Award. Another safe bet, come Oscar time, is Foxcatcher. It’s an intriguing true story: two brothers, who have lost their parents at a very early age, become wrestling world champions and look for a father figure in their multi-millionaire benefactor, with devastating results. The film’s director Bennett Miller has never put a foot wrong (his previous films, Capote and Moneyball were both nominated for various Academy Awards, and he recently won the Best Director award at Cannes) and an all-star cast includes Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo in the roles of the two brothers.  More excitingly it also features Steven Carell, as the wealthy and eccentric benefactor, promising to make  Foxcatcher one of the year’s best films.

Read more our film festival recommendations below:   

• A Trip Around the World
• The Joy and Pain of Being Young
• Sound and Vision
• This time it’s war

The 57th BFI London Film Festival takes place from 8-19 October. Tickets go on sale 18 September and for more info about the programme go to the BFI website.

The post A guide to the 58th BFI London Film Festival: Camp X-Ray and Foxcatcher appeared first on The Cultural Exposé.

The plot revolves around a trip from Montana to Nebraska that David Grant makes with his father Woody, a forgetful old boozer who believes that he has won a million dollars in a lottery and wants to collect the money in person from the company’s office. The first part of the film may feel a little bit slow as David repeatedly tries to persuade his father that the whole thing is a hoax before finally succumbing to his wish and thinking that a trip with his old man will be a good way to spend some time together. However, from the moment they decide to make a pit- stop at the town that Woody grew up in, the film reveals its rich emotional core. As we meet Woody’s estranged family and his old friends and foes we, along with David, get an illuminating look at his father’s past and start to realise how he became the man that he is now. In the meantime, aided by a beautifully written script by Bob Nelson and the wonderful black-and-white cinematography of Payne regular Phedon Papamichael, Payne once again shows his knack for making us care for regular folks and laugh with them not at them, painting a portrait of the small-town Midwest that brings in mind the warmth of Frank Capra and the wit of Preston Sturges.

 
It would be fair to say though that the emotional power of the film mainly comes from the terrific performances of the two main leads. Veteran actor Bruce Dern shines in a role that deservedly gave him the Best Actor Award in Cannes and will hopefully earn him an Oscar too. Meanwhile,  Will Forte, who is more famous for roles in madcap comedies like 30 Rock feels totally at ease in a more dramatic role. In fact their chemistry is so good that by the end of the film you will feel that rare knot in your heart. If you are looking for a film to watch with your old man (regardless if he may have a drinking problem or not) Nebraska is the perfect choice. (Words: Apostolos Kostoulas)

 
Nebraska was screened at the 57th BFI London Film Festival and will be released nationwide on December 6th.

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Intriguingly, Farhadi seems confident enough to welcome comparisons with his crowning achievement by building once again a family drama around a divorce. This time we follow Ahmad (Ali Mosaaffa) as he returns to Paris to finalise the end of his marriage to estranged wife Marie (The Artist’s Bérénice Bejo). During his stay at Marie’s house, he meets her new boyfriend Samir (A Prophet’s Tahar Rahim) and  spends some time with her children, including the sulky teenage daughter Lucie (Pauline Burlet) who clearly shows her contempt for Samir.  Tt becomes clear that old wounds are still open and that it is not easy for anyone to move onto the next stage of their lives. Revealing more about the plot would lead us to an unwanted spoilers territory.
Just like in his previous film A Separation, The Past has a script with so many twists and turns that makes you think you are watching a detective story rather than a family drama. By creating an impeccable web of lies, emotive decisions and their devastating consequences, Farhadi reminds us his unmatched skill in building a climax from everyday actions. If only he paid the same attention to his characters who lack the complexity of those in his previous film, making it hard for the audience to connect with them. Ultimately then The Past is a film that stimulates your mind but does not capture your heart, but leaving you  with the hope that Farhadi’s future will still be bright. (Words: Apostolos Kostoulas)
The Past was part of the 57th BFI London Film Festival programme.  It opens in UK cinemas on

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The film’s major strength is the realism with which it depicts those turbulent teenage years. The screenwriting duo of Scott Neustadter and Michael H Webber ( 500 Days of Summer) has written a script that opts for sincerity rather than quirkiness and easy laughs, giving us characters that talk refreshingly  like normal teenagers. The two young actors are both excellent in the roles, deservingly receiving a Special Jury Prize for acting at Sundance. This should be the breakthrough role for Miles Teller who makes us care about an immature hard-partying high-school senior who seems to have no plans for his future and earns our wholehearted sympathy when he finds out the difficult way that he cannot always live for the moment. As for Shailene Woodley, who first caught our eyes as the rebellious daughter of George Clooney in The Descendants, she excels in a very different role, oozing sweetness and vulnerability.
In fact Woodley is so good that you wish that the film could spend a little more time with her character’s journey towards self-confidence instead of focusing primarily on the male character’s hopes and fears (500 Days of Summer can also be criticised for paying more attention to the male than the female character). This is however a minor quibble for a film that reminds us that despite what hollow stylistic exercises like Spring Breakers and The Bling Ring shout about, teenagers are complicated people who are starting to realise how messy life can be and try their best to cope with it. (Words: Apostolos Kostoulas)
The Spectacular Now will have its UK premiere at the 57th BFI London Film Festival tonight.  It shows at selected UK cinemas later this month. 

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Day 1, Wednesday October 9th 

While many Hollywood stars (Sandra Bullock, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Carey Mulligan, Daniel Radcliffe to name but a few) will grace the red carpet with their glamorous presence, the spotlight of this year’s festival will fall on Tom Hanks whose two latest films  – Saving Mr Banks and Captain Phillips – have been chosen for the opening and closing night galas. It is fair to say that the two-time Academy Award winner has been unlucky with his recent film choices, Captain Phillips  though is set to be his great comeback. With an intriguing plot based on the 2009 hijacking of a US container ship by a crew of Somali Pirates and director Paul Greengrass –  who offered us the sublime United 93 the last time he dealt with a real-life hostage crisis – the film has all the potential to become the rarest of gems: a thinking man’s high- stakes thriller.

DAY 5, Sunday October 13th

Who could resist a double-bill of the latest films of two of the most exciting British directors working at the moment? Richard Ayoade made his breakthrough in the cult TV series The IT Crowd but since then he has not only directed impressive music videos but also made a well-regarded film debut with Submarine. His second film outing though as a writer-director, The Double is even more ambitious as he transfers Fyodor Dostoevsky’s classic novella to modern day America.

Jonathan Glazer has also made his name by shooting some of the most unique commercials and music videos ever and with just two films (Sexy Beast and Birth) he has created his own characteristic visual style. His latest film, Under the Skin stars Scarlett Johansson in the sexiest role of her career, as an alien creature who uses her sexuality to prey upon hitchhikers is Scotland. With Glazer once again paying more interest in creating a surrealistic atmosphere than following a conventional plot this will probably be not everyone’s cup of tea but it will definitely be an entirely distinctive film.

Click HERE  for Part 2 of our  guide to the 57th BFI London Film Festival

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Hôtel du Nord

The Paris Seen By…. season is a compilation of an eclectic list of films shot by French, European and American directors that highlight the impeccable romanticism of the French capital which has given birth to millions of love stories throughout the centuries. Take for example, Marcel Carné’s Hôtel du Nord, a masterpiece of the French poetic realism. It uses the titular hotel on the banks of the Canal St. Martin, whose main occupants are crooks and prostitutes, as the background for two powerful love stories, one concerning a gangster and a prostitute and the other, a young couple who have checked into the hotel to carry out a suicide pact. French Cancan, by the great Jean Renoir, transfers us to a more glamorous locale: in the late 19th-century Montmartre, theatre impresario Henri Danglard (Jean Gabin) turns a lovely young washerwoman called Nini Françoise Arnoul into the star of his new club, Moulin Rouge. The Gallic director shoots this archetypal “rise to stardom” story with his characteristic visual flair, presenting us with an irresistible view of that era’s nightlife.
Another heavyweight of French Cinema, Jean-Luc Godard, gives us a more modern look into the grey Parisian suburbs, with Bande à part, offering a handful of classic scenes like the one where the three main characters run through the Louvre. That scene is referenced in Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Dreamers, a love letter to Paris in the sixties with an incredibly photogenic cast that includes Eva Green and and Louis Garrel.

Midnight in Paris

The winning formula of Paris + beautiful stars had already been applied with great success by Hollywood during its classic era. In Charade for example we have Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn falling in love in the French Capital. Add to this an engaging sense of suspense that brings to mind the best Hitchcock’s offerings and you have a truly enjoyable romantic thriller. Another iconic American film star, Gene Kelly, plays the role of Jerry Mulligan a former GI who comes to the City of Light to pursue his artistic aspirations and finds love in the shape of Leslie Caron in An American in Paris. It’s arguably the best musical ever made with the glorious music of George Gershwin reminding us what love is all about.
The essence of love and romance is also at the heart of two more recent films. Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris – undoubtedly his best film in years- uses the plot device of time travelling in an intriguing way ( in Paris after midnight you can be transferred to the 1920s and the 1980s and socialise with Zelda Fitzgerald, Picasso and Dali) posing the question whether romance is dead in the age we live in. Finally, for those of you who prefer your film couples to express their love for each other through interesting conversations – rather than being all googly eyed  – you must do yourself a favour and follow the romantic story of Jesse and Celine. Before Sunset is the middle part of the critically acclaimed trilogy that follows the lovely couple of Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy as they stroll along the Seine and share some fascinating discussions about love, hopes and reality.
Enjoy then a season of escapist love stories in the most romantic city of the world and remind yourself whenever you are feeling blue the immortal words of Bogie: “We’ll always have Paris”. (Words: Apostolos Kostoulas)

 
Paris seen by. takes place at Ciné Lumière from 20 June to 20 July. To accompany the screenings an exhibition entitled The Discovery of Paris, Watercolours by British Artists opens at the Wallace Collection on 20 June. For more information go to www.institut-francais.org.uk/cine-lumiere/whats-on/festivals-series/paris-seen-by

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