Films I've watched for BFF 2012
by elspeth87 | created - 04 Sep 2012 | updated - 24 Dec 2012 | PublicThis is a list of films that I have watched as part of the Programming Committee for the Bath Film Festival. Some will be shown this year, some won't. You'll have to watch this space to find out which ones are which. www.bathfilmfestival.org.uk Bath Film Festival 2012 (14th - 25th November) Programme out on 6th October 2012
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1. Little Nicholas (2009)
Not Rated | 91 min | Comedy, Family
Nicholas has every reason to keep things in life unchanged; however, when he accidentally overhears mum and dad talking about a new baby brother, his world will turn upside down. Will they abandon him to make room for the little stranger?
Director: Laurent Tirard | Stars: Maxime Godart, Vincent Claude, Charles Vaillant, Victor Carles
Votes: 14,116
I can't even begin to describe how much I love this film. It is hilarious. So the story is about a boy who thinks his parents are trying to get rid of him, but the real humour comes from his friends, family, school mates and teachers. In my mind, this is Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but in French and therefore classier, funnier and more aesthetically pleasing. I WILL be watching this again.
2. Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962)
Not Rated | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Cleo, a singer and hypochondriac, becomes increasingly worried that she might have cancer while awaiting test results from her doctor.
Director: Agnès Varda | Stars: Corinne Marchand, Antoine Bourseiller, Dominique Davray, Dorothée Blanck
Votes: 27,322
I don't know why I haven't seen this film before. It is a true masterpiece of french cinema and storytelling. I don't know what more I can say. It shows a slice of life in Paris along side that of an emotional young singer awaiting the results of a medical examination. Watch it for the beauty, for the city, for the girl, for the cinematography, for the emotion; just make sure you watch it.
3. The Door (IV) (2011)
20 min | Short, Drama, Fantasy
A man of incredible wealth and power is haunted by a childhood memory.
Director: Andrew Steggall | Stars: Katie Bignell, Elliot Cowan, Michael Culkin, Charles Dance
Votes: 21
It's a shame this is such a strangly timed film (to short to be a feature, to long to be a short) otherwise we may have shown it in the festival. If you get a chance to watch it anyway, I would highly recommend it. It is quite a surreal film, but beautifully done and a wonderful story.
4. Big Boys Gone Bananas!* (2011)
90 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama
Dole Food Company wages a campaign to prevent a pair of Swedish film-makers from showing their documentary about a lawsuit against the company.
Director: Fredrik Gertten | Stars: Fredrik Gertten, Alex Rivera, Alfonso Allende, Arvid Jurjaks
Votes: 1,061
I'll be honest; when I sat down to watch this film I knew nothing about it accept the title. It is not what I expected, but I loved every second. It shows a side of film-making which is rarely seen on the big screen, and allows an audience the righteous indignation that can be so satisfying. A must-see.
5. Even the Rain (2010)
Not Rated | 103 min | Drama, History
As a director and his crew shoot a controversial film about Christopher Columbus in Cochabamba, Bolivia, local people rise up against plans to privatize the water supply.
Director: Icíar Bollaín | Stars: Gael García Bernal, Luis Tosar, Karra Elejalde, Juan Carlos Aduviri
Votes: 14,228 | Gross: $0.56M
The fact that Gael Garcia Bernal is lovely to listen to and even more lovely to look at has nothing to do with why this is an excellent film. Ok, well, maybe it has something to do with it, but you get my point. This is a fantastic film, with a brilliant commentary on film-making and modern ethics. Beautiful settings, a brief history lesson, humour, indignation and a really heart-warming tale, what more could you ask for? (O, and it has Gael Garcia Bernal in it...)
6. 8 Minutes Idle (2012)
86 min | Comedy
When Dan finds himself kicked out of the family home, he's faced with no option but to secretly move into the call center where he works.
Director: Mark Simon Hewis | Stars: Ophelia Lovibond, Antonia Thomas, Paul Kaye, Jack Ashton
Votes: 687
7. Revenge of the Electric Car (2011)
PG-13 | 90 min | Documentary
Director Chris Paine takes his film crew behind the closed doors of Nissan, GM, and the Silicon Valley start-up Tesla Motors to chronicle the story of the global resurgence of electric cars.
Director: Chris Paine | Stars: Tim Robbins, Dan Neil, Danny DeVito, Ray Wert
Votes: 1,909 | Gross: $0.15M
I know nothing about cars. I mean nothing. I cannot drive and really have no interest in it. The closest I get are dodgems. Despite this, this film is fascinating. I was hooked from beginning to end, perhaps because it is not just about cars, it is about the planet, it is about multi-national companies, it is about politics and it is about human nature. Great film.
8. Bill Cunningham New York (2010)
Not Rated | 84 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A profile of the noted and extraordinarily cheerful veteran New York City fashion photographer.
Director: Richard Press | Stars: Bill Cunningham, Anna Wintour, Michael Kors, Editta Sherman
Votes: 5,670 | Gross: $1.51M
9. Hysteria (2011)
R | 100 min | Biography, Comedy, Romance
The truth of how Mortimer Granville devised the invention of the first vibrator in the name of medical science.
Director: Tanya Wexler | Stars: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hugh Dancy, Jonathan Pryce, Felicity Jones
Votes: 33,191 | Gross: $1.80M
10. La maleta mexicana (2011)
Not Rated | 86 min | Documentary, Drama, History
The story of three lost boxes known as the Mexican Suitcase that were recovered in 2007. The boxes, misplaced in the chaos at the start of WWII, contained many of the Spanish Civil War ... See full summary »
Director: Trisha Ziff | Stars: Ernest Alós, Juan Diego Botto, Sebastian del Amo, Antonio de la Fuente Ferraz
Votes: 274
11. I Am Eleven (2011)
98 min | Documentary, Biography
The lives and thoughts of children from all around the world. It weaves together deeply personal and at times hilarious portraits of what it means to stand on the cusp between childhood and adolescence.
Director: Genevieve Bailey | Stars: Billy, Dagan, Fang, Ginisha
Votes: 278 | Gross: $0.26M
A wonderful documentary which looks through the eyes of eleven year olds from across the planet at the ever confusing world around them. I really love the way this film captures the innocence of the children's view. It is amazing how insightful some of them are, and also how much it says about their parents.
12. One Mile Away (2012)
Not Rated | 91 min | Documentary
This documentary produced by Rare Day and directed by award-winning filmmaker Penny Woolcock charts the attempts by two warring gangs in inner city Birmingham, the Burger Bar Boys (B21) and... See full summary »
Director: Penny Woolcock
Votes: 100
13. Moon Inside You (2009 TV Movie)
75 min | Documentary
Diana is not the only one for whom the monthly period is no fun at all. Headaches, nausea, depression -- why is it so widely accepted that women all over the world should feel so lousy on a... See full summary »
Director: Diana Fabianova
Votes: 82
14. The War You Don't See (2010)
97 min | Documentary, War
Thought-provoking documentary on war propaganda: how governments manipulate the facts and how most media let them get away with it.
Directors: Alan Lowery, John Pilger | Stars: John Pilger, Stuart Ewen, Melvin Goodman, Dan Rather
Votes: 1,527
15. If Not Us, Who? (2011)
124 min | Biography, Drama
West Germany, early 1960s. Star crossed lovers Bern and Gudrun begin a life long affair in the stifling atmosphere of provincial Germany. Setting out to challenge the establishment they ... See full summary »
Director: Andres Veiel | Stars: August Diehl, Lena Lauzemis, Alexander Fehling, Thomas Thieme
Votes: 1,306
I wanted to try to describe this film without using the word fascinating, but I'm not sure that is possible. It is set in post-World War 2 Germany, an era I know little about, and follows the son of a writer of Nazi Propaganda who, to all intensive purposes, believed everything he was writing. Fascinating, right? It starts with a debate about whether something should be dismissed as bad literature because it is propaganda and traces the life of someone who cannot escape the shadow of his father, and is not always sure that he wants to. Well made, and yes, you've guessed it, fascinating.
16. The Forgiveness of Blood (2011)
Not Rated | 109 min | Drama
An Albanian family is torn apart by a murder, resulting in a blood feud that makes eldest son Nik a prime target and forces his sister, eldest daughter Rudina, to leave school in order to take over the family business.
Director: Joshua Marston | Stars: Tristan Halilaj, Sindi Lacej, Refet Abazi, Ilire Vinca Celaj
Votes: 2,063 | Gross: $0.12M
This is a remarkable story about something I knew nothing about (as the best films always are). I love the contrast between the history and heritage which is bound so tightly with the blood feud and the teenage rebellion from their parents ways, in the form of texting and videos. Definitely one I would recommend.
17. Sister (2012)
Unrated | 97 min | Crime, Drama
A drama set at a Swiss ski resort and centered on a boy who supports his sister by stealing from wealthy guests.
Director: Ursula Meier | Stars: Léa Seydoux, Kacey Mottet Klein, Martin Compston, Gillian Anderson
Votes: 7,209
18. The Monk (2011)
R | 101 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Madrid, in the seventeenth century. Abandoned at the doorstep of a monastery, Ambrosio has been brought up by the Capucin Friars. After becoming a friar himself, he becomes an unrivaled ... See full summary »
Director: Dominik Moll | Stars: Vincent Cassel, Sergi López, Jordi Dauder, Joséphine Japy
Votes: 4,129 | Gross: $0.01M
19. The Wrong Box (1966)
Approved | 105 min | Comedy, Crime
In Victorian England, a fortune now depends on which of two brothers outlives the other, or can be made to have seemed to do so.
Director: Bryan Forbes | Stars: John Mills, Michael Caine, Ralph Richardson, Peter Cook
Votes: 4,019
I loved this film. Don't get me wrong it is truly dreadful. Despite the cast, the acting is shoddy, it is farcical and even the humour is off, but I loved it. My favourite scene was definitely ... well I was going to say Peter Sellers with all of his cats, but I'm not sure. There are too many terrible parts to pick just one. Also, as it was filmed in Bath, it is possible to play "I know where that is" with a lot of it. I managed to spot at least 3 Bath locations, and I know that Philip only spotted one. Is this a reason to watch it? Probably not. But just because it is a very poorly made film doesn't mean it can't be fun.
20. Planet of Snail (2011)
Not Rated | 88 min | Documentary, Drama
Young-Chan comes from planet of snail where deaf blind people live slow and quiet lives. When Young-Chan came to Earth, nobody understood his language and he was desperate. Then an angel ... See full summary »
Director: Seung-jun Yi | Stars: Cho Young-Chan, Kim Soon-ho, Choi Jungah
Votes: 377 | Gross: $0.00M
21. Tabu (I) (2012)
Not Rated | 118 min | Drama, Romance
A restless retired woman teams up with her deceased neighbor's maid to seek out a man who has a secret connection to her past life as a farm owner at the foothill of Mount Tabu in Africa.
Director: Miguel Gomes | Stars: Telmo Churro, Miguel Gomes, Hortêncílio Aquina, Américo Mota
Votes: 7,428
22. Stalker (1979)
Not Rated | 162 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
A guide leads two men through an area known as the Zone to find a room that grants wishes.
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky | Stars: Alisa Freyndlikh, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Nikolay Grinko
Votes: 144,835 | Gross: $0.23M
23. Swandown (2012)
98 min | Documentary
Swandown is a travelogue and odyssey of Olympian ambition; a poetic film-diary in which Andrew Kötting and Iain Sinclair pedal a swan-shaped pedalo from the seaside in Hastings to Hackney in London, via the English inland waterways.
Director: Andrew Kotting | Stars: Anonymous Bosch, Philippe Ciompi, Marcia Farquhar, Jem Finer
Votes: 83
I will admit, this is not my kind of film. It is quite slow-paced and the ideas discussed are done in a way which is quite difficult to access. It is, however, full of philosophy, poetry and a very picturesque journey. Not my cup of tea, but it might be yours.
24. Things I Don't Understand (2012)
109 min | Drama
Grad student dealing with eviction in Brooklyn forms a cathartic relationship with a local bartender hiding his own secrets and a terminally ill hospice patient she's interviewing for her thesis on what happens after we die.
Director: David Spaltro | Stars: Molly Ryman, Aaron Mathias, Grace Folsom, Lisa Eichhorn
Votes: 98
25. Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)
R | 86 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Three magazine employees head out on an assignment to interview a guy who placed a classified advertisement seeking a companion for time travel.
Director: Colin Trevorrow | Stars: Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni
Votes: 130,872 | Gross: $4.01M
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