Edinburgh

It was my first time at the Edinburgh Film Festival and so I was looking forward to going, I did have some problems the day before my first day and thought to myself, 'Is it worth it?'. The answer to that was yes.

I got there and it was a beautiful sunny day- so it didn't matter too much if I got lost. I have never been to Edinburgh apart from outside the castle, so it was interesting to see the other parts.

I arrived outside the filmhouse and it was such an amazing atmosphere, I'm not sure what exactly caused it but it was great. I think it was this that made it for me.

I enjoyed every film that I watched- and I'm not just saying that! I was lucky with the ones that I picked.

It was good for me to go, though I don't think I got the full experience out of it. I wasn't staying in Edinburgh so I had to worry about buses and things and so could never stay really long. also I did get a bit confused with how everything worked.
I think to get it's full potential and make contacts etc, you need to know how it all works, and the best way to do that is to keep going and experiencing the festival.

So, considering it was my first time, I think I did not too badly. I tries every day to make sure I got the most that I could, unfortunately, these were only two films a day as a lot of things overlapped.

So, onto the films I saw.

- 'the Maiden Heist'
- 'Le Donk and Scor-say- zee'
- 'The Missing Person'
- 'Breathless'
- 'The Crimson wing'
- 'the Athlete'


'the Maiden Heist'

This film was a lot of fun. The plot was slightly unrealistic, ( three security guards at a museum attempt to steal a piece of art each that has captured their hearts, when the museum administrator sells off the exhibit), but it was still believable.
this believability comes from the obsession that these three men have, as everyone has their own guilty pleasures, these art pieces were theirs.

It was a comedy that was subtly done. It told a story through comedy, rather than trying to make people laugh and building a story around that.

The leads, (Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walkin and William H. Macy) had such great chemistry on screen that you did associate and believe in these three characters. Each actor had their own unique sense of comic timing.

It was well shot, with a smoothness that made the film look effortless.

Overall, it is a film that may be slightly silly, but this makes it fun and very entertaining to watch, and if you don't like the story you will still enjoy watching these three guys on screen.


'Breathless'

This was a Korean gangster film, which dealt with a lot of issues of abuse.

The lead role and director is occupied by Yang Ik- june, who portrays gangster Soon- Hong who's addiction to violence causes his own self-loathing and disdain for people around him. All this changes when he meets his match in school girl Han Yeon- Heui and an unlikely friendship forms. With her help he begins to forgive the people around him and decides to leave the business, only to get into more trouble with Han's brother who takes revenge on Soon-Hong's mistreatment of him.

It is a very powerful piece of cinema that shows gangsters in an unflattering, realistic and bloody light.
It tells the story of how different people are affected by domestic violence and what kind of person they become.
An interesting twist also shows, subtly, why a person may begin the abuse.

It uses handheld shots to convey the beatings and doesn't shy away from the gruesome details, whilst isn't always compelled to keep the camera moving, and is happy to linger on a moment for as long as they like.
These moments make the film so powerful, like a moment suspended in time for everyone to have a good look at.

Yang dominates the film with ease and keeps the audience infatuated with the story that he is telling.

It is a sad and powerful film that shows you ruthless characters which we can also sympathise with and understand.

The last scene is strong in it's message, with the very last, exquisite shot summing up the film perfectly.


'The Crimson Wing'

A Disney Nature film with a great story to tell.

You may think that a documentary about flamingos wouldn't be that interesting, however, the story that these animals go through is very unique and surprising. Also, it doesn't fall into the Disney 'sentimental' cliche, it shows the real story which includes chicks being eaten by storks.

It is very informative as it follows the flamingos life cycle for a year.

It starts with the stunning location of Lake Natron in Northern Tanzania, a lake that is a hard crust of salt for most of the year.
The three months in which it rains is when the flamingos arrive. here they mate and lay their eggs. Once the chicks are old enough to walk 'guardian' flamingos then walk thousands of chicks across the massive lake into a marsh, here is where they grow up, ever moving between lakes, until it is time for them to return to Lake Natron.

With an amazing setting such as this, you can't help but achieve wonderful shots of beautiful landscapes and the millions of pink birds that flock. the cinematography is truly wonderful to watch, making it visually stunning.

The film tells you so much information about these mysterious birds, and is so entertaining that you forget your watching a documentary. It isn't one that spouts facts at you, it takes it's time and shows you the details closely, giving you time to relish the moments.

I'm not a big documentary fan, (mostly cause I get upset when you see animals die), but I can't say enough about this. I was very intrigued by the idea of it that I was going to see it anyway, (even if Andy hadn't told us to see one), but I never expected it to look so fantastic and for there to be so much that we don't know about these birds.

You would expect that a pink bird would interest people and so we would know more about them, but this shows that we don't know anything except for the fact that they are pink.

The lake itself is another story, but here it ties well into the story of the birds. Even though this lake is uninhabitable by anything else, the flamingos go back every year. Here the sun dries out the water so quickly that it leaves massive islands of salt that can then harden into heavy cuffs around the chicks ankles, making it harder for them to leave the lake alive, yet they go back.

It was very informative, which I expected, but words cannot explain how great this film looks, with stunning landscapes and magnificent use of colour, it really is a feast for the eyes.
I would recommend people saw it, cause the story of the flamingos is really one that should be told.


xxx