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London Film Festival 2007 Preview…
So you want an insider¹s tip on choosing what to see at the upcoming London Film Festival? You want to be ahead of the game? Check out Helen M Jerome‘s picks of what to move heaven and earth to see, what to avoid and some unexpected treats you hadn¹t considered.
Tip 1: You know there will be big name directors arriving hand in hand with their big budget films for their UK premieres. Some will be fabulous, darling, some will be must-sees, and some will be only so-so, but know this: each and every one of them will coming to a multiplex cinema near you within weeks or even days.
Opening and closing the festival are David Cronenberg¹s Eastern Promises, his graphic, London-based follow-up to A History of Violence, and Wes Anderson¹s journey east in The Darjeeling Limited. Highest profile documentary has to be Michael Moore¹s angry examination of the US healthcare system, Sicko (right).
Also soul searching as they variously deal with current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq are Robert Redford¹s Lions for Lambs, Nick Broomfield¹s Battle for Haditha and Brian De Palma¹s Redacted. And on a lighter, more family-oriented note comes Dreamworks¹ latest animated feature, Beeline, which could be smarter than your average cartoon¹ as it¹s scripted by the maestro, Jerry Seinfeld. But look to Tip 3 to see what you probably won¹t be seeing elsewhere anytime soon.
Tip 2: Go in the daytime, if you can. It¹s easier to get tickets, especially for the main attractions. You know it makes sense!
So, for example, if the opening evening Gala screening of Eastern Promises (right) is booked up, then simply go to the 4pm screening the following day. The tickets are often cheaper too. You can also save money by buying five or ten Weekday Matinee Vouchers at £35/£70 that let you into weekday screenings before 5pm if seats are available but you must buy the vouchers in person.
And it¹s always worth turning up and trying for standby tickets half an hour before each screening – you never know your luck.
Tip 3: Hot tickets are not necessarily the biggest, starriest films (see Tip 1).
Highly recommended are Secret Sunshine (right), from Korea and boasting a riveting central performance from Jeon Do-Yeon; Serbian thriller The Trap; two stylish Italian dramas, Saturno Contro (take a box of tissues and a shoulder to cry on though), and shot-in-one-continuous-take Valzer; Romanian black comedy California Dreamin¹; and Mike Mills¹ revelatory documentary on Japanese depression-sufferers, Does Your Soul Have A Cold?
Also worth checking out are Sean Penn¹s beautiful dramatisation of the true story of doomed young adventurer, Chris McCandles, Into The Wild; Moby Dick prequel Captain Ahab; Tom Kalin¹s Savage Grace; documentary The English Surgeon; Juno, Jason Reitman¹s follow-up to Thank You For Smoking; The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, starring Brad Pitt; Carlos Reygadas¹ Silent Light; broad lads¹ comedy from Spain, Friends of Jesus; and French animation Persepolis.
Tip 4: Okay, it¹s subjective, but give Far North (right) a miss as it¹s beautiful but only comes to life at the end when the miscast Sean Bean gets a bit of a shock.
Harmony Korine is Marmite (you love him or loathe him) and his Mister Lonely looks lovely, stars Diego Luna and Samantha Morton, but feels like the Emperor¹s New Clothes. So don¹t say I didn¹t warn you!
Visit the site at: BFI.org.uk/whatson/LFF or call 020 7928 3232.
Review copyright © Helen M Jerome 2007.
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.