LFF6: Sunny skies

The stars of Africa United got their moment on the red carpet last night as the film held its UK premiere at the London Film Festival (left to right: Sherrie Silver, Sanyu Joanita Kintu, Roger Nsengiyumva, Eriya Ndayambaje and Yves Dusenge). The glorious sunny weather in London meant that the streets were heaving with people on Sunday, but the cinemas were pretty full as well. Here are some festival highlights from today and tomorrow...

Another Year

dir Mike Leigh; with Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville 10/UK ****

Even for Mike Leigh, this film feels like a rather subdued slice-of-life in which nothing much really happens. But it's impeccably made at every level, with bracingly sharp performances and a ruthlessly honest script... MORE >

Miral

dir Julian Schnabel; with Hiam Abbass, Freida Pinto 10/Isr ***

Inventive camerawork and raw performances bring this powerful true story to vivid life. So it's a shame director Schnabel loses his grip in the final act. It's still an important film, but it lacks the badly needed final gut-punch... MORE >

Loose Cannons

dir Ferzan Ozpetek; with Riccardo Scamarcio, Nicole Grimaudo 10/It ****

Turkish-born Italian filmmaker Ozpetek branches into comedy with this borderline farce about an estabished family struggling to grapple with the issues of the 21st century. It's bright and smart and ultimately surprisingly moving... MORE >

Microphone

dir Ahmad Abdalla; with Khaled Abol Naga, Menna Shalabi 10/Egy ***

Lively and brimming with youthful talent, this Egyptian drama vividly captures the energy of a group of underground artists in Alexandria. The film is a bit long and undisciplined, but it's also well worth seeing as it takes us into the life of three generations of musical and artistic talent and examines how the region is changing and also stuck in its old ways. Even more telling is the way local politics still have such sway over the art world. And while the characters are all likeable and engaging, a more disciplined editor could have shaped the narrative into something more involving.

LFF5: George's girls

At the London Film Festival screening of his new film The American, director Anton Corbijn is flanked by actresses Thekla Reuten and Violante Placido. Fairly glamorous, even if George Clooney couldn't make it. The sunny weather on Sunday might have hindered ticket sales a bit, but crowds still gathered for some high-profile movies both at the NFT on the Southbank and at the Vue in Leicester Square, which seems to have been overwhelmed by the festival to the point where crowd flow is on the tipping point.

The Vue's packed lobby and late starts are exhausting for those of us who are there every day, but the general public is clearly enjoying the hubbub, as well as the chance to rub elbows with the stars. Every public screening I've attended has featured an introduction and Q&A with cast and/or crew, which is pretty cool. Here are some highlights from today and tomorrow...

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

dir-scr Apichatpong Weerasethakul; with Thanapat Saisaymar, Jenjira Pongpas 10/Thai ***

Stunning cinematography goes a long way to making this surreal, difficult film watchable. Although there are moments of vivid honesty and a continual stream of light comedy, the story is fairly impenetrable for Western audiences... MORE >

Tabloid

dir Errol Morris; with Joyce McKinney, Peter Tory 10/US *****

The events expertly, and entertainingly, chronicled in this documentary not only feature an outrageously twisty story, but they make a serious point about our tabloid culture and the monsters it creates. Or encourages. Errol Morris assembles this film with a sublime sense of style and lets the tale emerge as it goes, and where it's going is impossible to predict as it centres on a former beauty queen who became obsessed with a Mormon missionary and followed him to England, where she kidnapped him. Add in kinky sex and cloned dogs and this becomes one of the most jaw-droppingly outrageous, entertaining docs you've ever seen.

Africa United

dir Debs Gardner-Paterson; with Eriya Ndayambaje, Roger Nsengiyumva 10/UK ****

Even when this film begins to feel a little awkward, sheer energy keeps it afloat, both entertaining us with a lively adventure romp and vividly showing us the realities of life in Africa. While sometimes sentimental, it's refreshingly never preachy... MORE >

Happy Few

dir Antony Cordier; with Marina Fois, Elodie Bouchez 10/Fr ***

While keeping the tone completely naturalistic, this French drama takes a challenging look at a controversial subject. Even if breaking taboos seems to be the whole point of the film, it's compellingly shot and acted... MORE >

LFF4: Playing for real

At the London Film Festival yesterday, Hilary Swank was joined by the woman she plays in Conviction, Betty-Anne Waters, as well as her costars Minnie Driver and Sam Rockwell. It was a long day of press interviews, junket events and then the red carpet. It was fascinating to hear Betty-Anne talk about how all three actors did in capturing herself, her brother and her best friend on the big screen - and in some ways hearing her talk about her experiences was just as powerful as the film itself.

I also attended screenings of Waste Land and Amigo yesterday that featured extensive Q&As - with director Lucy Walker and artist Vik Muniz for the first film and writer-director John Sayles for the second. Both were lively and enlightening sessions that touched heavily on the serious themes in the films and how these things affect us all. Here are some comments on films showing at the festival yesterday and today...

The American

dir Anton Corbijn; with George Clooney, Violante Placido 10/It ***

Like its central character, this film is almost painstakingly meticulous in the way it sets up every scene. And while it feels like nothing much is happening, there's a lot going on under the surface, and a real sense of suspense growing deep under the surface. Clooney is excellent as a low-key hitman hiding in an Italian village and opening up only to a priest and a hooker. While Corbijn's striking visual style adds layers of meaning and refuses to ramp events up into an action movie, the story feels a little too constructed and deliberate to really move us.

Waste Land
dir Lucy Walker; with Vik Muniz, Fabio Ghivelder 10/UK ****
This thoroughly involving documentary works on two levels, as a profile of an artist and as an exploration of human waste. It's such a clever film that it's entertaining and challenging at the same time. While profiling Brazilian-born artist Vik Muniz, filmmaker Walker follows him on a major project to involve his subjects in his work and change their life as a result. His project involves creating portraits of workers at Rio de Janiero's dump out of the recycled rubbish they collect, and watching their transformation (and Muniz's) is extremely involving.

Carlos

dir Olivier Assayas; with Edgar Ramirez, Alexander Scheer 10/Fr ****

Edited down from five-and-a-half hours, this nearly three-hour film still feels like an episodic TV series as it covers two decades in the life of the notorious terrorist. But it's expertly made and very well-acted, and some sequences are sharply involving... MORE >

Amigo

dir John Sayles; with Joel Torre, Garret Dillahunt, Chris Cooper 10/Ph ***

Sayles continues his immersive filmmaking by travelling to the Philippines and making a historical drama that takes the style of a Filipino movie. This might be off-putting for Western audiences, but the story is genuinely gripping. It's an early story of American imperialism, set in 1900 when the US forces were trying to win the hearts and minds of Filipinos after unseating Spanish rule. And what happens has eerie resonance through the next century, including Vietnam and Afghanistan. It's great to see these events finally depicted on screen, and the film has moments of real power. But it's a shame that it also feels rather simplistic and schematic.

LFF3: The right ones

Writer-director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) escorted his eerily mature young stars Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road) down the Leicester Square red carpet last night for the London Film Festival premiere of Let Me In. The film has a double challenge at the box office: overcoming vampire fatigue and the fact that it's a remake of the great Let the Right One In. Fortunately, it's a strong film all its own.

Here are some other festival highlights on Friday and Saturday...

Everything Must Go

dir Dan Rush; with Will Ferrell, Rebecca Hall 10/US ****

Based on a Raymond Carver story, this is a slice-of-life film about an extraordinary situation. There isn't much drama, which might put off some moviegoers, but it's a nicely observed film with a terrific performance by Ferrell... MORE >

Blue Valentine

dir Derek Cianfrance; with Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams 10/US ****

This portrait of a strained relationship is often difficult to watch, simply because it feels so real. Fortunately, the screenplay includes plenty of raw humanity, which gives us a chance to laugh and sigh as well... MORE >

Of Gods and Men

dir Xavier Beauvois; with Lambert Wilson, Michael Lonsdale 10/Fr *****

With very little action, this film builds almost unbearable tension by carefully examining some moral questions in a precarious situation that's based on true events. And in the process, it becomes one of the most important films in recent memory... MORE >

Leap Year

dir Michael Rowe; with Monica del Carmen, Gustavo Sanchez Parra 10/Mex ****

From Mexico, this bold and yet subtle film is so bracingly realistic that at times we begin worrying about the central actress. Without ever making things easy for us, it also has a lot to say about modern life in a big city... MORE >

LFF2: Never let me in

Andrew Garfield, Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley hit the red carpet last night for the opening film Never Let Me G0, a fine display of rising-star British talent. Then today we had the first full day of the 54th London Film Festival, with screenings both in Leicester Square and at BFI Southbank. Tonight's big premiere was for Let Me In, attended by director Matt Reeves and stars Chloe Grace Moretz and Kodi-Smit McPhee. Here are some films showing at the festival tomorrow...

The Arbor
dir Clio Barnard; with Manjinder Virk, Neil Dudgeon 10/UK *****

With this bracingly original debut feature, artist Barnard creates one of the most involving and moving documentaries in memory. Stylistically mixing filmmaking approaches, she engulfs us in a fiercely inventive movie experience... MORE >

In Our Name
dir-scr Brian Welsh; with Joanne Froggatt, Mel Raido 10/UK ***
This sharply well-made film explores the troubled experiences of soldiers trying to reintegrate into life back home after a tour of duty. It's harsh and realistic for the most part, but starts to feel a little pushy in the final act. Fortunately, the cast is hugely dedicated to their roles, investing them with authenticity and dark emotional resonance, so even when the story becomes a little too orchestrated, the film still holds our attention. Filmmaker Welsh should be commended for highlighting such a serious issue with such bracing honesty.

Conviction
dir Tony Goldwyn; with Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell 10/US ***

This true story is told with emotion and skill, giving Swank another terrific lead role to sink her skilled teeth into. As a woman desperate to help prove her brother's innocence, she gives us a lot to think about. Rockwell is superb as the shattered convict, and there's fine support from Minnie Driver, Peter Gallagher, Juliette Lewis (best she's been in years), Clea DuVall and Melissa Leo. But even with all of the talent behind and in front of the camera, there's a nagging feeling that this is really a TV movie. Although it's the kind that would sweep the Emmys.

LFF1: Get the party started

The celebrities are returning to that Leicester Square red carpet every night over the next 15 days for the 54th London Film Festival, and it kicked off tonight with the glitzy opening film, Never Let Me Go. Director Mark Romanek, writer Alex Garland and novelist Kazuo Ishiguro were accompanied by cast members Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightly, who had performed for the press earlier in the day.

Of course, as the festival continues, I still have to see normal releases as well, so my viewing schedule is both hectic and eclectic over the next three weeks, with an average of three films a day. I'll be running red carpet photos here every day as well as notes on the films of the day and previews of tomorrow's films. Here's one from tonight and one showing tomorrow to get us going...

Never Let Me Go

dir Mark Romanek; with Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield 10/UK ****

Based on the Kazuo Ishiguro novel, this haunting drama may be set in a parallel reality, but what it has to say about human hopes and societal ambition is deeply relevant. It's also beautifully directed and acted... MORE >

Let Me In

dir Matt Reeves; with Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Grace Moretz 10/US ****

While there was no way this would recapture the magic of the 2008 original Let the Right One In, this remake is a decent film in its own right. Moody and atmospheric, the film subverts expectations by mixing darkly introspective drama with full-on horror... MORE >

Critical Week: Cardiff calling

I'm off to Wales this morning for the 4th Iris Prize Festival, where I'll be serving on the jury. This is a competitive event for short films dealing with issues of gender and sexuality, and there are also several intriguing events on the programme, as well as a few features and of course parties.

As for this past week's films, it's been a busy one since press screenings are underway for the London Film Festival, which starts next week. Star power was in force for The American (George Clooney), Conviction (Hilary Swank), Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (Michael Douglas), Death & Life of Charlie St Cloud (Zac Efron) and Everything Must Go (Will Ferrell). The best of that bunch, surprisingly, was the Will Ferrell movie.

Off the beaten path, we had the rather impenetrable Thai Palme d'Or winner Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, the frantic Hong Kong horror Dream Home, the artful doc Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow. And my two favourite films were Xavier Beauvais' haunting and powerful drama Of Gods and Men and the young Xavier Dolan's bold romantic drama Heartbeats.

Besides the films at Iris, this coming week I'm looking forward to James Franco in Danny Boyle's 127 Hours, Russell Crowe in the thriller remake The Next Three Days and the Mexican thriller We Are What We Are. But first, I have a train to catch...