I have four pieces in the catalogue for Edinburgh International Film Festival this year, one-pagers which attempt to entice customers in while offering hopefully food for thought. I also wrote four fhort blurbs for the free programme, but for reasons I’m unsure of, only one was used. Possibly I’m not a natural blurber. So, in the spirit of frugality which animates my every waking moment as a Scotsman, I recycle them here for your viewing pleasure.
HASSAN’S WAY
A migrant worker attempts the epic journey home – via tractor.
Hassan’s years of working in the fields of Spain have earned him just enough money to buy a tractor, and now he wants to take it home to Morocco with him. But you can’t drive tractors on the motorway, and Hassan isn’t even in the country legally in the first place, which complicates things. This charming, affectionate drama-documentary makes its serious points lightly by way of a restful, scenic odyssey.
CONCRETE CLOUDS
Former lovers attempt to reconnect…
…but they are separated by continents, years, and Thailand’s recent economic collapse. Matt travels back to his homeland from the US after his father’s suicide, and finds a chance to rekindle an old flame. Beautifully shot, this bittersweet romance daringly deploys kitsch elements of commercials and cheesy music videos into its visual language, the better to serve up a fragmented love story for our times.
ANATOMY OF A PAPERCLIP Akira Ikedo, Japan
“Nothing is as funny as unhappiness.” Samuel Beckett.
A lowly paperclip manufacturer is hilariously persecuted at work, in the street, and at home in this quietly desperate black comedy. Poor Togure, a heavyset drone, neck swathed in bandages, has an abusive boss, a meaningless job, and strange foreigners have randomly moved into his flat. At weekends, he is regularly both robbed of all his clothes, and poisoned. Isn’t he a bit like you and me?
In other news — a very enjoyable screening last night of LET US PREY, fun with cast and crew afterwards. Hilarious that a film featuring gruesome deaths by table leg, boot-poliching machine and broken glass gets its most audible reaction via a broken fingernail. People are funny.
shadowplay 