Glasgow Film Festival 2007: The Finale

Let's see, where was I... oh yeah, the rest of the films I saw in Glasgow. Sorry, this is a bit later than promised but hey, reporting on a festival I went to a month ago - that's not bad by my usual untimely standards.

Anyway, after sitting through all the horror on show on Saturday and no, that's not a reference to drunken Glaswegians (sorry, I think I made the same gag last year too), I had a more mainstream Sunday.

Sunday afternoon kicked off with Clint Eastwood's LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, not so much a sequel as a companion piece to his (only slightly) earlier movie FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS. I was curious to see why this film had picked up the Oscar nominations for Clint rather than FLAGS and upon viewing it, I immediately saw why. It's simply a better film.

Concentrating on the same point in history as the earlier film, LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA told of the same events as seen from the Japanese viewpoint. It would seem like a difficult task - not just the technical aspects, or filming it all in Japanese, or covering similar ground to a film that was only just out of the cinemas without repeating itself, but also the task of representing the views of the soldiers who are seen as being "the bad guys" in simple terms.

Eastwood pulls it off with aplomb. The battles are no less harrowing than they were in FLAGS (a film that is alluded to on a couple of occasions without it being required viewing beforehand) but it's the humanity that shines through. The Japanese cast, led by Ken Watanabe, do a grand job of portraying the soldiers with dignity, compassion and numerous other characteristics that older, more simplified movies would deny them.

From Cineworld I popped back along the road to the Glasgow Film Theatre to take in Richard Linklater's adaptation of the best-selling FAST FOOD NATION. The tactic of adapting a non-fiction book into dramatic fiction for the screen is an interesting one but one that doesn't quite pay off. There are too many characters with too many agendas - the message that fast food is a little dodgy comes across, but without any real focal point. On top of this, the harrowing footage of the slaughterhouse floor might be unpleasant enough but I couldn't help thinking that the people who are most likely to be offended by such bloody carnage are the ones who are least likely to be eating such food in the first place.

I finished that evening with BUENOS AIRES 1977, a thriller from Argentina about the mistreatment of political prisoners under the brutal regime in that country during the 1970s. The film concentrates mainly on the horrors that were sanctioned in the name of the Argentinean government but towards the end turns into an edge-of-the-seat thriller about the prisoners' escape attempt.

Based on a true story, this movie got my heart pumping as much as any recent Hollywood thriller and was a standout highlight of the Glasgow Film Festival this year. One can only hope that with this year marking the 25th anniversary of Britain's conflict with Argentina that films such as this one and the equally excellent (but under-released) BLESSED BY FIRE get the high profile they deserve.

If tense character-driven drama in enclosed spaces is your thing then you should probably stick with me, for the next film I saw (after returning from my previously-mentioned trip to Dublin) was TRUE NORTH, a low-budget drama which is predominantly Scottish on the surface but had a fair amount of Irish involvement too.

It's the story of a young Scotsman (SWEET SIXTEEN's Martin Compston) who, in an attempt to provide some financial security for his father, uses their fishing trawler to smuggler some Asian immigrants back to the UK. The drama on board unfolds mainly around the tension between members of the crew (also including Peter Mullan) but at the same time the film isn't afraid to tackle issues.

The successes of the film are many. For one thing, the cast are all excellent and, combined with an intelligent script, make a grand job not only of portraying the characters with all their problems but also in showing why people resort to such actions. While a lot of attention is focused on the plight of the immigrants, and justifiably so, it's easy to forget that the smugglers are human too and not always in it purely for exploitation purposes.

The sequences on the boat are standouts too, thanks to the fact that the film was actually shot at sea - too many films at sea are scuppered straight away by obvious studio sets so it's refreshing to see one done right.

And on top of all the other strengths, there's the ending. It's happy, in a manner of speaking - but you'll get punched in the gut a few times before you get to it.

This was followed by another trip from the GFT across town to the Grosvenor, for a late-night screening of SCOTT WALKER: 30 CENTURY MAN. It's exactly as it sounds - a documentary about Scott Walker, the sixties icon who found fame with the Walker Brothers (Fact: they weren't brothers, and none of them were really called Walker) and then went all weird. His music remains weird today but he's an incredible talent and an interesting guy, and this film is a rare insight into his history, his talent and his thoughts. The earlier portions of the film were more enjoyable to me but that may be because I'm more familiar with his earlier music; the film never stops being interesting though.

On the final day of Glasgow's festival, I took in three more at the GFT. First up was THE SHOOTIST, the final film in their John Wayne retrospective and also his final film.

When a once legendary gunslinger rolls into town to discover he's dying (played by a visibly ailing Wayne) he sets about trying to tidy up his life before he goes. In the boarding house where he stays, a young lad (Ron Howard) discovers who he is and idolises him, much to Wayne's chagrin as he wishes to leave the violent lifestyle behind. Unfortunately most of the town's inhabitants aren't as keen to forget.

It's hardly in the same league as THE SEARCHERS which, incredibly enough, is the only other Wayne film I've seen, but it's a decent western all the same. I'd be lying if I said Wayne put in an excellent performance but he does give the character a degree of warmth and humanity and most of all the sense that he really does know his time is up - not just his own life, but the very ideas he once represented. In that respect, it stands next to (but not quite on a par with) THE SEARCHERS, THE WILD BUNCH and the greatest western ever made, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, as a touching portrait of the death of the gun slinging way of life.

CLASH OF EGOS came next, which I think was a Danish movie but I can't remember and I'm too lazy to look it up. Its original title actually translates as "explosive bomb" which sounds daft but is actually perfect.

When a snobbish arthouse director is facing a serious lawsuit from an average joe with a temper problem, the settlement sees him partnering the lunatic in directorial and scripting duties, giving rise to a hilarious clash between pretentious arthouse sensibilities and a guy who just wants things to fight and explode. Poking fun at both ends of the cinematic spectrum, the film's a delight and comes highly recommended if you're in the mood for a laugh. Of course, the irony is that it will only play in arthouse cinemas here, if at all, but that's beyond my control.

And finally, the closing gala film.

First there was black and white. Then there was colour. Then there was Zhang Yimou. JU DOU, RAISE THE RED LANTERN, HERO, HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, RIDING ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES... the Chinese director never fails to make films look beautiful but as breathtaking as all these are, nothing prepares you for the spectacle that is CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER, getting its UK premiere on closing night of the GFF 2007.

The costumes and sets are so detailed they boggle the mind; the colours so wild and varied and vivid that it's a trick just for the human eye to take them all in; the battle scenes are as majestic as any committed to the screen - it's a visual feast in every sense imaginable.

That's not to say it's style over substance however - the story is a gripping tale of politics and betrayal in the family of a Chinese emperor, and boasts a cast headed by Gong Li and Chow Yun Fat, two megastars of Asian cinema, both of whom turn in terrific performances.

Because of the spectacle, the setting and the majestic and graceful fight scenes, the two Zhang Yimou films it will be compared to most often will be HERO and HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS. They were both excellent - and this movie surpasses them both.

It opens in UK cinemas in a couple of weeks. If you do not see it you are cheating yourself, and you deserve to be mocked openly in the street by small children. Do not let this one pass you by. And if you're only going to see it because I recommended it so highly (unlikely, I know) then feel free to thank me afterwards. Trust me, you'll want to.

I will try to get back to at least posting once a week now. Honest.