The changed face of the 65th Edinburgh International Film Festival has meant that a lot of documentaries and other foreign independent films which may never have been introduced to British audiences have been given the chance to shine. If the shift in focus from red carpet events to a less mainstream approach has meant the [...]
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The Internal War (Hell and Back Again, Danfung Dennis, US/UK/Afghanistan, 2011, 88 mins) Despite what you might first assume, red is not the colour of conflict; grey is. Morality, ethics, justness – the truth is, warfare offers very few absolutes. But, throughout man’s entire experience of waging war, there has been one undeniable truth – [...]
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Good Call (The Caller, Matthew Parkhill, Puerto Rico, 2010, 91 min) Amid the documentary heavy line up and plethora of grim, post-apocalyptic material at this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival it was something of a welcome change of pace to see some good old fashioned horror on the line-up, with the European premiere of Matthew [...]
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A Soldier’s Tale (Hell and Back Again, Danfung Dennis, USA, UK, Afghanistan, 2010, 88 min) In 2009 US Marines Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine regiment launched a major assault on a Taliban Stronghold in southern Afghanistan. Joining them on their mission was photojournalist Danfung Dennis who, armed with a self-designed wearable camera and sound [...]
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Nature versus Nurture (Project Nim, James Marsh, UK, 2011, 93 mins) The world has long held a fascination with anthropomorphic primates. From entire planets run by the damned, dirty apes to a skyscraper-scaling God-among-gorillas falling in love in New York, the notion that our not-so-distant cousins could one day achieve humanity has frequently been espoused [...]
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Not just a bad pun? (Perfect Sense, David MacKenzie, UK, 2010, 90 mins) Perfect Sense presents itself as a major event at the festival, reuniting director David MacKenzie and star Ewan McGregor – last seen together in the former’s dazzling debut Young Adam, which premiered at Edinburgh in 2003. It rapidly became apparent this is [...]
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Expletives and Ethics (Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure, Matthew Bate, Australia, 2011, 89 mins) At one time or another, everyone has had those neighbours – the kind that have midweek parties at Spinal Tap-esque volumes, arguments that can shake windows and bypass brick walls, and, worst of all, are entirely unconcerned with the [...]
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Very hush-hush (Page Eight, David Hare, UK, 2011, 100 mins) The world of secret intelligence is one of private encounters behind closed doors: very hush-hush. There is something inherently dramaturgical about such scenarios, whose language games unfold in the absence of extras and their entire hubbub. This works to David Hare’s advantage: prolific he may [...]
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Obsessive compulsion (Bobby Fischer Against the World, Liz Garbus, USA / UK / Iceland, 2010, 92 mins) The decline of Bobby Fischer, one time chess world champion, is a sad tale to tell. And so it is to the credit of director Liz Garbus that her biography of the late great delights primarily in his [...]
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The walls are closing in on Coco… (Fase 7, Nicolás Goldbart, Argentina, 2010, 96 mins) Coco (Daniel Hendler) and Pipi (Jazmin Stuart) are not, despite their names, a pair of Argentinean glove puppets. Rather, they are a young couple living a somnambulistic existence in their new-build city-centre apartment. Phase 7 at first appears to be [...]
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