EIFF '25 Days 3 - 5
I've just closed out my final day of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and am feeling immensely glad that I managed to make it to so many wonderful films. Despite battling a rocky cough for a few of those first days, I've managed to keep myself healthy, well-fed and in good spirits throughout.
In comparison to Glasgow earlier this year, I'm finding there have been a lot less genre submissions (a few fabulist pieces, but only one sci-fi and a couple horrors this time), which makes me slightly sad. However the number of movies with queer themes, subtext and major plot-points/characters have been numerous at this event and a little more oddly, a large number of film submissions have also featured cats quite heavily? Cats and queerness are incredibly strong draws in my book!
I also quite quickly realised that I'd managed to book tickets to every single one of the 'In Competition' strand of films, meaning I would get to fully vote on the winner of the Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence. It was actually quite exciting casting ballots for these, and honestly there were a LOT of really strong contenders (none of which came below a solid 3 rating in terms of quality cinema). Y'all know how much I loved 'Low Rider' of course and 'Concessions' was also a contender, but in the end I am still glad that the prize went to 'Mortician' (which admittedly was another of my top-rated contenders from these final few days). The winner was apparently decided late on Wednesday evening, so everyone's already been informed by now (though I'd been waiting all day for an official blog post on the EIFF site to no avail... ended up finding out from an article in the local Edinburgh Reporter).
It's been a sunny week here in the 'Burgh, so my EIFF baseball cap has gotten a fair amount of use - mostly worn coolly back-to-front to protect the tattoo on the nape of my neck from excess sun exposure. Never thought I suited baseball caps as a teen, but honestly they've become oddly comfy headwear. Maybe its just my instinct as half American to be drawn in by a nice arched brim and comfy headband? Though I have never watched a singular sports game of the Ball of Bases in my entire life!
In any case, enough about me and the overall vibes. Y'all probably would like to hear about the movies I saw and what I thought of them? Here ya go, in as much spoiler-free glory as I can muster!
Incredibly well-made movie on sexual guilt, generational trauma and perversity. Ah yes, a film after my own heart, you'd assume? But geez was this movie an uncomfortable watch! It starts rather unflinchingly from the perspective of kink-entrenched gay cam-boy Aaron Eagle as he crows to his fanbase about a $50,000 hook-up he's arranged with a client. We then go to this older client waiting in his house wearing a black ski-mask and presumably preparing to film their encounter. Over the course of the night, real identities are revealed and some incredibly uncomfortable truths unmasked.
I suppose I just never thought I would see something like this on screen; a film dealing both with chosen CNC kink as well as the psychological drivers behind paedophilia/pederasty on the big screen. Told from a queer perspective, but not tying these things strictly to the gay scene (as the experiences described are understandably more universal than that). It somehow manages to handle and discuss these taboos in an incredibly thoughtful way, casting a critical eye on behavioural choices and the harm they cause without the normal snap judgement on such issues. It doesn't condone, but it also doesn't immediately vilify without purpose.
The more I sit with this movie in the aftermath, the more I appreciate it. It's a candid movie, sometimes rather brutally so, but I respect it for that. 4⭐
"Best Boy"
Speaking of films whose aim it was to make the audience uncomfortable; in this a family goes to war with itself in the aftermath of the patriarch's death. Focussed around the family's 'Best Boy' competition, this unconventional catalyst of sibling rivalry pits all three children against each other in vicious tests of balance, toughness, endurance and strength. These tasks have lead to more and more brutal consequences over the years, and the siblings have departed separate ways to live their own lives until brought back together at their father's funeral. Lawrence is the oldest and most enamoured with their father despite suffering the same violent tendencies and alienation from the others. Philip is the middle sibling, female despite her father's expectations, a runaway and recovering alcoholic. Eli is the youngest, a delicate lad and mummy's boy who never moved out from his parent's home. Asked to compete one last time, all three are inexorably drawn back into the foibles of their eccentrically abusive family dynamic, and the stakes grow high as they face off for a final time.
Oooft there are some strong rival/hatred/attraction vibes in this family, and it is both peak toxic masculinity and peak "y'all need therapy... or... I dunno, some radical self-evaluation". The mother is also quite the enigma; both unwilling to stop the competitive rivalry but also trying to find some acceptable level of connection with her tearaway grown children. She's an ultimately tragic but also an almost Lady MacBeth-like figure, which strikes a really odd dissonance.
It's an awkward watch at times, but also very cathartic in the ways they resolve their trauma. Enjoyable if you like really complex family emotions. 4⭐
A rather bleak but overwhelmingly heartfelt story of a friendship that arises between a Muslim mortician, whose job it is to wash and lay to rest the dead, and an Iranian protest singer who is determined to kill herself on her own terms instead of dying at the hand of the Iranian State. Though Mojtaba has spent many years keeping his head down and performing ritualised burials for the Iranian regime in Canada, he always sends over half his paycheck home and barely scrapes by himself whilst supporting his extended family. He meets Jana, a protest singer intent on creating a last set of videos before her well-planned political suicide in protest of the regime that has separated her from her family and homeland. There is such a depth of human connection formed that it is devastating when the inevitable plays out.
This is also a movie by three Iranian creatives in exile themselves, and the fear of repercussions for their art is all too real. It is clear that a number of those living in communities outside of Iran are willing to inform on those in exile, and in fact prevent the showing of works in other countries through behind-the-scenes lobbying.
It was an honour to hear the creator and actors speaking on this fact and realising that they really do put their lives on the line for their art. A well-deserved 5⭐
Fun short movie about a lesbian with chronic ADHD who longs to propose to her longtime girlfriend but the cleaning of their flat toilet looms in her way. Every time she tries to get the task done, she keeps on procrastinating and being drawn into other creative endeavours. When it comes to She takes a sniff of the drain cleaner that she is about to use and goes on an existential trip to discover her direction and drive, and realign her priorities.
This short has a bright and chaotic vibe, but a distinct sense of purpose to bring the protagonist through her trippy ordeal. Doubts are to be overcome, toilets are to be cleaned in a weird sense of euphoria and pledges are to be made. An enjoyable romp with a load of style. 4⭐
A surreal journey through medical trauma, weird gender feels and fear evoked by pronatalism. Rose has grown up thinking she is infertile due to a very traumatising childhood medical procedure. However, when she discovers she has miraculously become pregnant by her influencer boyfriend, his mother is intent on controlling the young couple and taking custody of their child. She journeys to the safety of a metaphysical hotel, where she must face her past and strange incarnations of her inner self. Can she make the decision to terminate the child, ending the generational trauma inflicted by her own mother and taking back control of her body? There is a lot here about womanhood and how young women try to validate themselves in the eyes of their mothers.
It is filmed very viscerally with garish and contrasting colours, but this works well in the fabulist dream-space it creates. I also picked up on subtle queer undertones; perhaps trauma around intersex identity or uncertainty of gender in childhood and the forced trans-medicalism of the modern world. Mixing the gothy witch horror of the early 2000s with a bit of Lynch's 'Fire Walk With Me' and you'll get to the place where this movie comfortably sits.
Throughout it has a consistently strong proponent of self-determination, which I loved. One of those films that is more vibe than a delineated plot; macabre but beautiful. 4⭐
An experiential docudrama journey through time and memory across generations, from the perspective of the director's daughter Eden, who lives with disability. It is a very neurodivergent approach to narrative, from the creation of 'memory blocks' in a factory, through a Dorothy-like parade across the green spaces of Northern Ireland in fantastical garb (costumes of a badger, the green man and a Borrower-like knitter are prominent alongside Eden's space-helmeted Dorothy) to the archival footage of her mother and grandmother in Yemen in the 1970s in family video reels. Narrative is revealed through CGI dream sequences visualising the memory blocks, surreal fish and strange distortion. Throughout, the actors in Eden's troupe check in on each other and discuss the friend groups' personal memories and longings.
At one point, the travelling troupe cross paths with a group of dementia patients out on an excursion, and the nature of memory is explored from two very different perspectives. Though some of the elderly ignored or were not aware of the experience as it happened, others observed a group of individuals having fun or a young girl in a beautiful dress who was kind. Sometimes memory may be only a fleeting impression, but it means vastly different things as time progresses. A truly contemplative and dream-like experience. 3⭐
"Novak"
A sombre study of how conspiracy theory belief can worsen into delusion and cult-like behaviour. Novak is a neuroscientist who once had some valid theories on Electro-Magnetic Fields and was driven out of science due to his willingness to experiment on people. His enthusiasm and gravitas really draws followers to him but steadily his beliefs become wilder and wilder and he starts moving farther and farther from society until his actions become manipulative and coercive. Eventually his ideas become so far-fetched his most loyal followers eventually abandon him.
It is a fascinating movie with a valid motive: to show how even those who think they are immune to conspiracy theories can be drawn in by once plausible ideas. However, it is a little on the slow side and takes a while to get into its flow. I found it quite hard to watch the characters so thoroughly deluding themselves, so ended up losing track of events at points. Just think it was a little long and meandering for my tastes. 2⭐
A perfect little animation about the struggle of coming to terms with a friend or family member committing suicide - and the joint depression/anger this can cause. Our main character goes to dig up his brother Matty to go on one last red wagon ride down 'Death's Peak'. He's clearly going through his own deep melancholy, and it is only through the catharsis of both physically and mentally letting go, whilst putting his own life in danger that our protagonist sees a way through his own darkness.
The rough-style stop motion really helped the story, as it was dark, macabre and really pulled the heartstrings. My favourite short movie of the festival. 5⭐
Possibly the campest thing I've seen this year. A cheeky take on the Frankenstein story which goes all out in being as slapstick gross and gender-fucky as possible.
A lonesome gravedigger lady wants a lover, but is sadly too stinky to attract one. She happens upon a mournful, infertile poet who is brother to a dead opera singer she's just buried. With the aid of a strange perfume concoction, she woos him and and everything is coming up roses until he tragically dies at sea, leaving her only his ripped-off finger. Absolutely barmy shenanigans ensue involving sentient fingers, undecipherable sailors, gay nuns, blind Swedes and splatterpunk levels of gore and goop.
A very theatrical production, by four extremely dedicated theatre kids playing every single role. Pure gross-out humour, but genuinely gave me some good guffaws! 4⭐
"Once You Shall Be One Of Those Who Lived Long Ago"
An honest documentary about the forced relocation of the Malmberget mining community far in the north of Sweden. It charts the various losses they face, both personal and cultural over the 13 year long process. This movie also had me in non-stop tears, as it knew exactly the heartstrings to pull over generational loss of place; abandonment of cultural hubs and the rampant commercialisation of people's once settled lives. As I work in the heritage sector, it's heart-breaking to see an established community full of so many generations memories dismantled so completely - but also an acknowledgement of the lost history of the indigenous Sami herding grounds that were likewise dismantled generations before. It seems to be a town that has faced constant forced renewal of its cultural identity.
The music and cinematography was also stunningly beautiful. In-keeping with that feeling of tempered forgetting, it combines bleak blue-white snow vistas and crumbling rockfaces with the splashes of colour quintessential to life: the brightly painted houses, the poppies and other wildflowers scattered on the bulldozered verges, the forgotten neon signs standing alone at empty crossroads, the clusters of photos in the houses of widows, the accordion collection of the last of the town's performers. It's a documentary about losing a way of life, but also the fortitude of a community to try and construct itself anew. 4⭐
"Put Your Soul On Your Hand & Walk"
Fuck. This is undeniably the most important documentary in the festival, but also the one that will leave you feeling the most raw and broken. I mean, I did know what I was getting into and the organisers did give adequate trigger warnings before, highlighting that there could be no discussion with those who made the film. I heard about Fatma and her entire family's deaths on social media around the time this first released at Cannes, and am grateful that EIFF made it available for its first UK screening. This movie stands as both a testament of hope and also a memorial to the people of Palestine by a young photojournalist in the heart of Gaza City.
Told through video conversations between Iranian filmmaker in exile, Sepidah Farsi and the Gazan photojournalist Fatma Hassouna, every part of this speaks to Palestinian's immense resilience in the face of genocide. From the forced evacuations, to the drumbeat of missile strikes on surrounding homes, through food running out and the photo memorials to loved ones killed, Fatma tries to keep a hopeful smile on her face. Even as she experiences her dreams of a future unravel, spiralling into bouts of depression, she is resolute. Though she wishes to one day travel to see the world, Fatma knows she will always return to Gaza. It is her heart and home, and she feels responsible to document it thoroughly during the occupation.
I hope upon hope more people get to see this movie outside the festival circuit. That it makes it to a more accessible platform. It is incredibly tough viewing, yet the friendship between filmmaker and photojournalist, their struggles and triumphs with language and cultural reference, and just their honest human connection is what carries the film. Essential viewing, especially for anyone who has seen only the sanitised 'official' newsreels and might want some perspective from those surviving through this. 5⭐
"Terence"
The short story of a supermarket security guard with the power to take away others pain, but who faces difficulties in repairing his own family divisions. It's a good little tale, though it admittedly doesn't attempt to resolve a lot by story's end. The character of Terence himself does have a very strong personal arc though, which warrants the focus here. He is clearly a heart of the local black community, but cannot reconnect with his brother after their mum passes away. Perhaps it is blame, or simply jealousy over their mother's belief in Terence's gift.
The short did manage to ground its mystical elements in the modern real world very well. A believable magical realism. 3⭐
"Misper"
Okay, so this movie felt incredibly tailored for my tastes. It was an eerie tale centred around an old Edwardian seaside hotel, oddly absurd in it's awkward humour though centring on the disturbing tale of a missing persons case. The characters are odd in that small-town England way; the layers of once grand history, forgotten lives, haunting and alienation are all very strong. Leonard is a wonderful lead, with his descent into slightly crazed depression reminiscent of the dark humour of "Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself". Altogether, it was the movie I was seeking when watching 'Mr. K' at the Glasgow Film Fest - something that balanced the unsettling nature of dishevelled seaside hotels with a horrific otherworldly foreboding rather than over-sensationalising.
The film's sense of place was also achingly present. Having lived near the marshes of East Anglia for a large chunk of my childhood, the estuary bleakness was all-encompassing and filmed wonderfully. There are certain frames in this film that strike me as quintessentially English version of 'Nighthawks', in its striking use of rich colours and lighting against a very washed-out grey coastal backdrop. There is a cinematic horror feel to it despite it being more of a mystery thriller and deconstruction of True Crime tropes.
For a first feature, this is a wonderfully evocative and sensitive piece. Actually jazzed to see more from this Directing/Writing duo! 5⭐
An elevated and decidedly thoughtful gangster movie set in the aftermath of a money heist gone wrong. It hot-boxes the characters in the middle of the Devon countryside as they lie low for word from their boss. With the rotting cottage falling down around them, tensions continue to rise as everyone increasingly gets on each other's nerves. Take a lot of recognisable genre tropes - the driver, the 'ard lad, the merc and the money man and then have lots of fun dissecting their psyches and pushing them all to breaking point. It inevitably becomes vicious after a point, but it gets their by an oddly philosophical route.
Smart wee film with some good psychological and theological questions. It's due for release on streaming and in some theatres this autumn, so definitely a fascinating film to check out. 4⭐
And that, dear friends, was the last movie of the festival I nabbed tickets for. Apparently there was an Irvine Welsh documentary that closed-out the festival on my 5th night. But much as I appreciate his early books, Welsh doesn't interest me as a person. I've crossed paths with him in a customer service capacity before, and honestly, he is just a bit of an arse all 'round (not to mention his recent loud-mouth complaining about trans folk to try and cast himself as twat-of-the-month... I figure he just enjoys being an edgelord for shits and giggles). Let the grumpy ol' curmudgeon be. He doesn't really need extra publicity, and probably wouldn't want my custom anyway.
As for the EIFF overall? Stupendous, and honestly great fun! There were very few disappointments movie-wise, just a couple that just didn't gel perfectly with me for whatever reason. A whole host of top-tier watches to be honest! Highlights of course being 'Low Rider' as my favourite feature film, 'Death's Peak' my favourite short/animated piece, and 'Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk' as essential viewing.
Hopefully you enjoyed my reviews of these and other fine cinema at the EIFF. Do feel free to drop a comment or subscribe for further media critiques.🎬
