My GFF Rankings (2024)
I went to the Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) this week. It runs for 10 days and I attended from Saturday 2nd-Tuesday 5th, during which I saw 14 films. Taking out the classics I saw, (because how can I compare Wuthering Heights, Ninotchka, The Godfather Part II, Big Banana Feet, After Hours, Young Frankenstein,to something fresh off the shelf) here’s the rankings of the 8 new films I saw.
- Origin
Directed by Ava DuVernay, Origin is a powerful drama based on Isabel Wilkerson’s book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. It examines her thesis that caste and racism are different elements, and the film also touches on tragic events in the author’s life. The film is powerful, important, and deserves a huge audience. I’m also baffled as to why this isn’t in the Oscar conversation. It’s now out on general release in the UK – go see.
2. Restore Point
Dystopian film set in Europe 2041 where people who had unnatural deaths can be brought back to life, as long as they’ve backed up ie to their restore point. The film follows a detective who investigates the case of a murdered couple where she can only bring back one of them to life. For me this had Minority Report vibes, but also stood out as being wholly original. As of last week it didn’t have a distribution deal in the UK which is utter madness. Fun fact – lead actress Andrea Mohylová was in the Czechia version of Doc Martin named Doktor Martin.
3. Woken
Heavily pregnant girl wakes up on an island with no memory. Everyone around her is shifty as hell. This kinda story is absolutely my jam. Stars Maxine Peake and Erin Kellyman, the latter who you may have seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Willow, or Solo:a Star Wars story. Bonus: Maxine Peake was in attendance AND I got a free tote bag
4. Tummy monster
Scottish Tattoo artist is woken up in the middle of the night to do a tattoo for a visiting US pop star. Tattoo artist asks for a selfie and the whole night descends into a psychological power play between them both. Not everything in this film works for me, but I really appreciated the questions it explored around idols and the power we give them. Apparently based on a real life incident where Justin Beiber asked for a tattoo in the middle of the night and refused to give an autograph. As someone currently trying to get funding for my own work, I’m mega impressed that this film was self funded and shot across 5 days. Tummy Monster also stars one of my favourite Scottish actors, Lorne MacDonald, who does bewilderment so so well. Definitely worth your time.
5. Bleeding Love
Hmm. yeah. I’ve really struggled if I should place this lower or not. A Father and Daughter take a road trip across the US, played by real-life Father and Daughter, Ewan and Clara McGregor. Clara McGregor is one of the producers of the film, and I couldn’t help but note the biographical details that made it into the script. The Father is an ex-alcoholic (Ewan McGregor is an ex-alcoholic), The Father is married for a second time and has a Son (Ewan McGregor is married for a second time and has a Son). Of course art comes from personal experience, but during one scene where Daughter (the characters are referred on IMDB as ‘Father’ and ‘Daughter’) is yelling at her Dad that he was never there for her, I couldn’t help but feel that parts of this film were a McGregor family therapy session. However, Bleeding Love does have some great dark humour, and I will never not want to spent time with Ewan McGregor.
6. The Burning Season
Two young people meet at a lakeside resort one summer, and experience a trauma that affects them both for the rest of their lives. The story is told in reverse, with each section revisiting the same place. It was clever how the passing of time is marked, one couple is shown with a baby at the beginning of the film, moving backwards to their pregnancy, their first kiss, and first meeting. Sadly this film didn’t quite stick the landing with me, as the big secret wasn’t a surprise. But as reverse narratives go, this was a good attempt.
7. Lousy Carter
David Krumholtz plays Lousy Carter, an English teacher/animator who is given six months to live but doesn’t do anything to change his life. I liked this film but didn’t love it. It’s got a very dry sense of humour and an unexpected ending, which I appreciated. And seeing David Krumholtz in things is always brilliant. But I found Lousy Carter slightly frustrating at times, in terms of the characterisation and plot.
8. La Chimera
Josh O’Connor plays Arthur, newly released from prison in Italy and back working with a group of archeologists, who dig up graves and sell the items they find on the black market. This film had an absolutely beautiful ending, but it took an awful long time to get there, which was a real shame. Still, impressive to hear O’Connor speak in Italian for the majority of the film.
The Glasgow Film Festival runs until the 10th March. More information can be found here.