Still dusting yourself down and shaking the cobwebs out of your headspace after the funk and fugue of the festive season? Well, worry not, as the Edinburgh Filmhouse has laid on a bumper schedule of new releases to ease us all into 2018 in the most enjoyable of settings – a darkened cinema. Here’s a glimpse of what’s in store at the Filmhouse this January.
Aaron Sorkin / USA / 2017 / 140 mins
Truth is certainly sometimes stranger than fiction, and the real-life account of an Olympic skier who became wanted by the FBI after running the world’s highest-stakes poker game is testament to that old adage. A fascinating story told with deft direction and exemplary acting.
Scott Cooper / USA / 2017 127 mins
This brooding Western is set at the end of the 19th century in New Mexico, USA, as a notoriously ruthless army captain (Christian Bale) is charged with escorting an ailing Cheyenne chief (Wes Studi) back to his people in Montana. Expect stunning scenery, simmering violence and plenty of soul-searching introspection.
@ Filmhouse from Fri 5 to Thu 18 Jan
Niles Atallah / Chile, France / 2017 / 90 mins
In 1860, a French lawyer travelled to southern Patagonia, wrote himself a constitution and successfully united the natives under his rule. Or did he? Maybe he failed miserably and returned home. Or maybe he died. Or maybe he was a French spy all along! This collaboration between Chile and France is an experimental examination of the ambiguity of history and memory.
@ Filmhouse from Fri 5 to Thu 11 Jan
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Martin McDonagh / UK, USA / 2017 / 115 mins
A grieving mother (Frances McDormand) loses patience with the bungling local police force who seem incapable or unwilling to find her daughter’s murderer, sparking a feud which quickly escalates out of control. As always with McDonagh films, this one is packed with an excellent cast, dialogue that could take an eye out and the darkest of humour.
Joe Wright / UK / 2017 / 125 mins
Old hand Gary Oldman pulls off an incredible physical transformation and a trademark flawless performance to become Winston Churchill, as the newly-elected Prime Minister must decide to what to do with a problem like Adolf Hitler. Stirring portrait of one of the most revered Britons of our time.
@ Filmhouse from Fri 19 Jan to Thu 1 Feb
Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov / Bulgaria, Greece / 2016 / 101 mins
After finding a discarded swag bag stuffed full of money on the train tracks, a reclusive railway worker (Stefan Denolyubov) soon becomes embroiled in a political game of cat-and-mouse that is far bigger than himself. Typified by realism and carrying a hefty social commentary, this gripping drama captivates throughout.
@ Filmhouse from Fri 19 to Thu 25 Jan
Fiona Gordon, Dominique Abel / France, Belgium / 2017 / 83 mins
They say there’s someone out there for everyone, and this kooky, quirky tale from the Belgian-based directorial duo certainly gives credence to the idea. Gordon herself plays the hapless librarian from Canada who visits Paris on a desperate mission to save her octogenarian aunt from the horrors of an old people’s home, only for irritating but impossible-to-stay-mad-at tramp Dom to befriend them both.
@ Filmhouse from Fri 19 to Thu 25 Jan
Stéphane Brizé / France, Belgium / 2015 / 119 mins
Adapted from the novel by Guy de Maupassant, this fragmented drama chronicles the life of a Normandy noblewoman over a 27-year-period. From the initial optimism of her marriage to the crumbling of her dreams, this is a heartfelt study of human emotion.
@ Filmhouse from Fri 26 Jan to Thu 1 Feb
Kornél Mundruczó / Hungary, Germany, France / 2017 / 129 mins
After a Syrian refugee (Zsombor Jéger) trying to flee from Hungary into Serbia is shot by border police, he suddenly finds himself endowed with mystical new powers. The supernatural meets the cynical in this visually-impactive, thematically-bizarre release from the director of White God.