Film REVIEWS
list.co.uk/film Interview
COUNTDOWN TO CHANGE James Mullighan, the new director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, answers some questions
What’s the master plan for EIFF 2011? To encourage people from all over Edinburgh and beyond to discover the powerful medium of film in new and interesting ways. Our whole team is working hard to put on a show that will inspire audiences of all ages and tastes in its diversity, with a world class programme of global film at its heart.
We are also working on a series of new creative collaborations to offer EIFF audiences new and unique experiences, opening up a vast new landscape of possibility. Is there anything confirmed yet that you can tell us about? We are programming a whole array of films – from blockbusters to documentaries and alternative independent features to animations, music videos, commercial promos, installations and artists’ film and video. There will also be thought-provoking film and discussion events and inventive approaches to using film as a way of exploring the fabric of this beautiful city. What kind of a budget are you working with for this year’s festival?
In this tightened time all arts organisations are suffering from cuts, and as documented last year our budget is smaller than 2010. However what we do have is still large enough to put on a big noisy show that people will enjoy. We’ve heard you will be utilising some unusual venues for screenings and events, can you tell us more please? We love the idea of the festival spreading its wings across the city and are looking at a few venue options which are sure to surprise and delight. EIFF 2011 will also take over Teviot as our new festival heart, it’s a roomy building with bag loads of possibility. It will be a place for industry, press and public to mingle, something we have never had before and also gives us a larger capacity for public audiences to attend some industry events and activities for the first time. Anything else you would like to add? When you are choosing what to come and see at EIFF 2011 don’t look at the programme, look at your free time and come to see whatever is on. We guarantee you will have a great time. (Interview by Paul Dale) ■ Edinburgh International Film Festival runs from Wed 15–Sun 26 Jun. There is a longer version of this interview at list.co.uk
ANIMATION/DRAMA MY DOG TULIP (KOPEGIN TULIP) (PG) 82min ●●●●●
In complete contrast to Marley and Me, that miserable master-and-mutt movie which managed to be both cutesy and mawkish and yet still picture life with a pooch as utterly abhorrent, this animated feature is witty, wistful, honest and insightful in its warts-and-all appraisal of the relationship between one man and his dog. The man in this instance is JR Ackerley (voiced by Christopher Plummer), who was the literary editor of the BBC magazine The Listener and upon whose marvellous 1956 memoir this film is based. The dog is the titular Tulip, an unruly German shepherd who spent 15 happy years with Ackerley beginning in 1946 when her master was 50 years old, ageing, gay and in a lonely place. Filmmakers Paul and Sandra Fierlinger have captured the content and tone of Ackerley’s 1956 book perfectly, from the author’s fascination with his dog’s toilet and sexual habits to his seamless shifts, as narrator, between bemusement and exasperation. And the lovely looking 2D animation (which looks more like Sylvain Chomet than Walt Disney and is the first of its kind to be entirely hand drawn and painted using paperless computer technology, apparently) makes for an inspired visual representation of Ackerley’s concise commentary. Woof! (Miles Fielder) ■ Cameo, Edinburgh from Fri 6 May; GFT, Glasgow from Sun 15 May.
DRAMA LOVE LIKE POISON (UN POISON VIOLENT) (15) 85min ●●●●●
You’d be hard pushed to find a more honest and tender portrayal of early adolescence than first-time director Katell Quillévéré’s coming of age film Love Like Poison.
Anna (Clara Augarde) has come home from boarding school for the holidays to find that her home life, in a small town in Brittany, has been turned on its head. Her parents have separated, her father is absent and her unhappy mother (played by 80s French pop icon Lio) is searching for solace in the company of the local priest. Anna spends her time keeping her elderly grandfather (Michel Galabru) company, as she struggles to clarify her thoughts on her upcoming confirmation and the advances of a local choirboy.
Quillévéré approaches her subject matter with great sensitivity, subtly
juxtaposing Anna’s emerging self-awareness, the questioning of her Catholic faith and her complicated family relationships. It’s a confident depiction of the conflicting emotions of a young teenager, and one that never shies away from showing its more confusing and uncomfortable side. But what really makes the film a success is Augarde’s captivating performance, a natural screen presence; she perfectly embodies a mix of awkwardness, vulnerability and spirit. (Gail Tolley) ■ Filmhouse, Edinburgh and selected release from Fri 13 May.
28 Apr–26 May 2011 THE LIST 53