Don’t look now – but this most glorious of Scottish summers appears to be finally on its way out of the door. Not to worry, as the Filmhouse in Edinburgh and the GFT in Glasgow are offering us a clutch of award-winning and debate-sparking films in the cosy confines of their respective cinemas. Here’s a rundown of what’s in store:
Eric Toledano, Olivier Nakache / France / 2017 / 117 mins
The directorial and screenwriting team behind 2011’s critical hit Intouchables are back with another slice of feel-good French life set against the backdrop of a wedding. With 30 years in the catering business under his belt, Max thinks he’s seen it all and has had just about enough of it. This behind-the-scenes look at his latest venture has other ideas.
Amanda Sthers / France / 2017 / 91 mins
A wealthy American couple arrive in the French capital and attempt to impress the cream of Parisian society by hosting a lavish dinner party. To make up the numbers, they coerce their maid into acting as a hifalutin noblewoman, only to have her run off with one of the guests. Whimsical and offbeat love story meets farce in the second directorial effort from French writer Amanda Sthers.
Spike Lee / USA / 2018 / 135 mins
A black policeman decides to bring down the Ku Klux Klan from the inside out by infiltrating it as one of their members… a story that’s just crazy enough to be true. This real-life tale from 1970s America is given the Spike Lee treatment (teaming up with the boffins behind Get Out) to deliver a comic crime caper with a message that’s unfortunately just as relevant 40 years down the line.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
Desiree Akhavan / USA / 2018 / 91 mins
After a teenage girl is found having sex with another female on prom night, her ultra-religious parents pack her off to God’s Promise, a remote treatment centre which tries to drum the gayness out of her. Notwithstanding the “cures” bestowed on her, the youngster forges friendships with fellow strugglers at the centre. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Fest.
Bart Layton / USA / 2017 / 116 mins
Based on a true story, this crime drama focuses on four young wealthy students from Kentucky who try to make a name for themselves by undertaking one of the most audacious fine art thefts in US history. Unfortunately for them, there may now be a movie about their lives… but their lives are not a movie. Featuring interviews with the real foursome who attempted the crazy escapade.
Marc Turtletaub / USA / 2018 / 103 mins
40-something suburban housewife Agnes has never even dreamt of saying boo to a goose, but after someone gifts her a jigsaw puzzle for her birthday, she discovers a talent she never knew she had and finally thinks outside of the box for the first time. Off to New York in pursuit of bigger challenges, she stumbles across a fellow puzzle aficionado and her life takes an unexpected turn.
Paweł Pawlikowski / Poland, UK, France / 2018 / 84 mins
Set against the eponymous backdrop of the Cold War in 1950s Poland, Germany, France and Yugoslavia, this moving film tells the tale of Wiktor and Zula, two lovers who come from different sides of the track but are destined to move towards their fate together. It’s an impossible love affair in the most impossible of times.
John Carroll Lynch / USA / 2017 / 88 mins
A fitting swansong for the recently departed Harry Dean Stanton, Lucky tells the story of an atheistic war vet who lives an unassuming regimented life in small-town America. As a character study of a man searching for some meaning from his 90 years on the planet, it’s a poignant final performance from one of the best character actors of recent times.
Steve Loveridge / UK, USA / 2018 / 96 mins
Another Sundance award-winner, this profile of acclaimed rapper and singer-songwriter MIA scooped the best documentary gong at this year’s festival. Here, we’re treated to an up-close-and-personal view of the artist, from her days as a Sri Lankan refugee to her status as global pop star and activist.
Lenny Abrahamson / Ireland, UK, France, 2018, 111 mins
From the director of Room and Frank comes this story of a 1940s doctor who has built himself a life of understated respectability in an apparently idyllic countryside. However, after he’s called to the crumbling house of a patient where his mother used to work as a housekeeper, he begins to learn unsettling secrets about both the owners and his own family. Freaky stuff.
Bjorn Runge / Sweden, UK, USA / 2017 / 100 mins
They say that behind every great man is an even greater woman, but they don’t often elaborate upon the amount of hassle those women have to deal with. This drama centres on a devoted wife who has spent four decades sacrificing her own dreams and ambitions to allow her husband’s literary career to flourish. On the eve of his reception of the Nobel Prize for Literature – the pinnacle of said career – she might finally have had enough of his excuses and infidelities.
The Rider
Chloe Zhao / USA / 2017 / 104 mins
After fracturing his skull in a near-fatal injury, a dedicated rodeo rider must face up to the fact that getting back on the horse might not be an option. Rudderless, the young cowboy must now seek a new identity and way of life. Part fiction, part docudrama, this fascinating insight into middle America features several amateur actors playing themselves, including the very individual upon which the story is based in the title role.
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