Fremont, Edinburgh International Film Festival

 It's in black and white, slow paced, nothing much happens. But that won't stop you enjoying Fremont.

Donya is a twenty-something Afghan, once a translator for the US Army, who manged to escape from her country, and the likely revenge of the Taliban, on one of the evacuation flights that left before Kabul fell. Now she's living in Fremont, California, in a tiny apartment, with largely Afghan neighbours, and working in a boring job in a Fortune Cookie factory. She can't sleep, she spends her evening watching TV with an old man, and life doesn't appear to hold out much home.

But then she starts to have sessions with Dr Anthony, a psychiatrist who's weirdly obsessed with White Fang, and gets a promotion at the factory so that now she's writing the fortunes to put in the cookies, life hints at the possibility of change. She tries to take some control for herself, but events dictate otherwise, and take her in an unexpected direction.

Anaita Wali Zada plays Donya as the calm, repressed centre of range of characters also trying to find their own answers. She holds in the traumas she has experienced in the war, and holds out this new world that she finds hard to navigate. The filming is intimate, lingering, allowing Zada time to give us hints of Donya's emotions behind the impassivity. The character has a deep strength that has survived much and will find her way to deal with this new environment.

As said above, nothing much happens. Yet the movie manages to give the audience themes of loneliness, displacement, women's right, culture clash, racism and, ultimately, love. The slow pace is a strength in getting to know Donya and understand her situation, and that she will find her own way to a better future.

Very satisfying, and definitely worth a watch.

The Ballad of a Great Disordered Heart, Filmhouse, Edinburgh International Film Festival

 The audience entered to live music from Aidan O'Rourke (fiddle) and Brìghde Chaimbeul (Scottish smallpipes), followed by an EIFF introduction and Aidan talking about the background to the film and the neighbours who has inspired him in lockdown.

He lives in a part of Edinburgh's Old Town which was once known as Little Ireland.  Lockdown, and the break it gave him form the life of a touring musician, allowed him to connect with people around him, especially the Three Margarets, who had lived in the area for many decades and were from the Irish immigrant community that provided the label.  It's a place set right by the main tourist trail, but comprising a warren of closes and courts that outsiders rarely venture into. 

These stories from the past got O'Rourke thinking about his own Irish connections, and what traditional music meant to communities.  The film takes us on his journey, from making those initial connections, through to a small community concert for the neighbours, in one of the sheltered wee courtyards their residences overlooked.  

It's a very intimate film, both in subject matter and in the tightness of the filming, with talking heads filling the frame.  There are some sequences from old Edinburgh, when the Margarets might have been young girls, but mostly it's shot in those closes and courts.  There is graffitti and dirt and untidiness, all a welcoming contrast to the fakeness of the tourist tat that abounds just a short distance away.  Aidan is joined by several musicians, who treat us to solo songs and tunes (with baffled passers by coming in and out of shot...), and come together for the concert.

Lockdown affected us all in different ways, and the changes it brought to O'Rourke are resonant for us all.  If you are interested in how experiences change lives, or the link between traditional music and community, or friendship and creativity, or simply seeing a bit of the city you might not have investigated before, then this is very much worth seeing.  This was a one-off showing, but I'd recommend seeking out a screening or seeing if the film becomes available online.  

Her Job (I Doulia tis), Edinburgh International Film Festival, Omni

Panayiota (Marisha Triantafyllidou) is a downtrodden 30-something housewife, at the beck and call of unemployed husband Kostas (Dimitris Imellos), a brattish teenager and timid young son.  Domestic duties dominate her life, trying to make ends meet despite her husband's gambling.  When she hears that a new shopping centre is hiring cleaners she's quick in signing up, a chance to improve the family's finances and see something of life outside her own four walls.

While the other workers bemoan the pay, the conditions and the management, Panayiota swiftly becomes a model employee, always available for overtime, always willing to cover for others.  To her the drudgery of the represents a freedom, the camaraderie of her fellow cleaners provides a friendship she's never experienced before (in one sequence we see them celebrating her birthday with a cake, only for her to return home to find her family have forgotten), and the demands of her exploitative manager give her a sense of being needed.  Even the job comes to an end she will have been changed by the experience.  As will Kostas, with the new financial balance of power a threat to his concept of masculinity.

Told in a linear realistic style this movie is a commentary on the social turmoil brought on by the financial crisis that has hit Greece, a feminist, middle-aged coming of age tale and a visual paean to self-realisation.  Triantafyllidou is wonderful in portraying Panayiota's slow, steady development, barely capable of a smile early on, shyly emerging from the shadows as the story unfolds, hinting at a potential that has been oppressed by her background.  The job itself doesn't matter - it's the previously unrecognisable possibilities it offers that mean so much.

Low key, sensitive, hopeful, this is well worth a couple of hours of your time.

Alice, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Omni

Alice Ferrand (Emilie Piponnier) lives a happy, middle class family life with husband François Martin Swabey) and young son Jules.

Alice Ferrand's husband has left her with huge debts and the threat of her flat being repossessed within a month.

This we know from a few opening scenes, and it's an impressively quick set up to the storyline.  There's a real sense of sharing her panic as the realisation of her predicament hits home.  Trying to find out where all their money went she uncovers her husband's frequent meetings with high class "escorts".  Which inexorably leads her to the same, lucrative, employment as a means to pay off the debts and keep her, and her son's, home.

The 'career' she embarks on proves to be life changing for Alice, giving her a sense of responsibility, freedom and control she's never had before, and provides a lot of comedy and drama for the audience.  Her first paid-for sexual encounter is hilarious, if eye watering to any men watching.  Helped by fellow-escort Lisa (Chloé Boreham), Alice rebuilds her life and sees a future for herself and Jules she never dreamed of before.  The return of the obnoxiously self-justifying François provides further reasons to break with the past.

At times a bit superficial in it's treatment of the 'escort' culture, there are moments of raw honesty and a sense of how pathetic most of the clients are.  Piponnier is excellent in her portrayal of a woman moving from blind panic to nervous debutante to being in control.  In the end it feels more powerful than the subject matter suggests, with a strong "fuck the patriarchy" message underlying a film that's mostly a joy to watch.

Recommended.

The Mystery of Henri Pick (Le mystère Henri Pick), Edinburgh International Film Festival, Filmhouse

Daphné (Alice Isaaz), a young book editor from Paris, takes her partner Frederic (Bastien Bouillon) to her parents country house in Brittany following the failure of his novel.  He part-blames that failure on famed critic Jean-Michel Rouche (Fabrice Luchini), who ran out of time to review the book on his popular TV show.  In the nearest town lies  the “Library of Refused Books”, a collection of unpublished manuscripts, and Daphné visits, hoping to come across a future bestseller, and she finds "The Last Hours of a Love Story" by Henri Pick. Seeing it's potential, she sets about acquiring the rights.

She finds that Pick has been dead for some years, but his widow Madeleine (Josiane Stoléru) and daughter Joséphine (Camille Cottin) are shocked by the idea that the pizza chef they knew could have been a writer.  This charming backstory adds to the book's appeal and it becomes a bestseller.

Rouche is the fly in this literary ointment, verbally attacking Madeleine on screen, accusing her of lying about the authorship of the novel.  He is sacked from his presenting job, the incident precipitates the breakup of his marriage, and he has a lot of time on his hands, and a grievance to nurse.  He sets out to find the real author and why Pick was chosen as a cover, with the, initially reluctant, help of Joséphine.

It's a lot of fun to watch, often very funny, a gentle detective story with a love interest and plenty of charm.  The writers clearly had a great time coming up with unpublishable titles for the library, "Masturbation and Sushi" being the most memorable.  There's a satirical edge too, highlighting the absurdity of the French literary scene, the overcrowded market and the dubious means used to sell books to a gullible public.  If the solution to the mystery feels like a let down, a little too contrived, it still succeeds in hitting the target of literary pretension.  Great entertainment.

Skin, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Omni

In the opening scene Bryon Widner (Jamie Bell) is about to undergo surgery, the start of a long and painful physical expunging of his past.

Flashback to Widner as a member of a neonazi cult, inducted since he was 14, given a place, a belief system, and reasons to rail against the world.  A marked man, face and much of his body covered in tattoos of far right, race hate symbolism.  He does what he's asked to do, will fight who he's asked to fight.  He has his dog, and he has 'family'.

Then Julie (Danielle Macdonald) turns up in his life.  Having stood up for her kids against another member of the cult they become wary friends, soon passionate lovers.  Julie, as damaged as Bryon, has managed to escape from the fringes of the white supremacists, wants Widner to follow.  But the past, in his head, on his body, and the vengeful and possessive cult leaders, is not so easy to leave behind.  Getting away involves a lot of soul searching, bravery, and the right kind of help, in the shape of Daryle Jenkins (Mike Colter), a black man who helps people like Widner to find a normal life.  Widner will not only lose his tattoos, but a whole world view.  Who will he be at the end of the process?

Bell is an impressive mix of bravado, fear, love and determination in his development into a more thoughtful human being.  There's a strong tension to the narrative, even if there being no doubt that redemption is the end point, because the struggle to reach it is so engrossing, the characters so recognisable.

Based on real events, the film ends with some updates on what's become of the main characters in the decade and a bit since.  It's a useful reminder that this is not a fiction, but a representation of a section of society that is still with us.  The movie is timely reminder of hope, and important, given the regressive changes that the UK has been enduring for the past 3 years.

Recommended.

The Souvenir, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Odeon

I did consider writing this review in just five words, but felt I should try a bit harder.

Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne) is studying film making at art college in southern England in the 80s, and wants to make a feature about the life of a teenager in a poor part of Sunderland, a subject that's clearly far removed from her own experience of life.  She hooks up with Anthony (Tom Burke), a pompous prick from the Foreign Office who turns out to be something even worse.  Will Julie survive the experience, and what will it do the relationship with her mother Rosalind (Tilda Swinton) who suspects there are problems before Julie herself is able to admit to them?

It's hard to care.  You can't fault the acting, but the slow pace and far too many shots of nothing whatsoever happening makes it hard to have any sympathy for the characters.  "I always use the wrong fork on purpose" is meant to be funny, but makes Julie sound like a spoiled brat.  There's a cameo appearance by Richard Ayoade that briefly sparks the viewer's interest, but hopes that he might reappear were in vain.

The movie is getting great crits from many quarters, presumably from people who have a far higher boredom threshold than I can lay claim to.  I still stand by those five words - tedious English middle class wank.

Photograph, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Odeon

Rafi (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is a street photographer in Mumbai, just about making enough to send money back to his family village, sharing a room with four other guys.  His biggest problem is a nagging grandmother (Farrukh Jaffar), not averse to emotional blackmail, who wants to see him married and having kids.  And it seems like everyone around him knows it.

To forestall grandma's plans he invents a girlfriend, sending her a photo of Miloni (Sanya Malhotra), a woman who posed for him in the big square where he plies his trade.  But when the matriarch wants to come to the city to meet this new woman, Rafi is forced to track her down and persuade her to act the part of his fiance.  To complicate matters the girl is part of a middle class family that would look down on the likes of Rafi.

The subsequent relationship evolves gradually, delicately, companionably.  It's nicely shot, at times beautifully lit, with some very funny moments,  but there are gaping holes in the plot at times.  As a romance it's lacking passion, but that's no bad thing here, and I liked the open endedness we are left with.

Enjoyable in a low key way.

The Tobacconist (Der Trafikant), Edinburgh international Film Festival, Omni

With no real options for work in his remote village, teenager Franz (Simon Morzé) is sent off to Vienna by his mother, to work for Otto Trsnjek (Johannes Krisch) in his tobacconist shop.  The youngster sets about learning the business, and getting to know the customers.  Prominent among them is Herr Professor Sigmund Freud (Bruno Ganz) who takes an interest in Franz.  The boy falls in love with the flighty and knowing Anezka (Emma Drogunova), but when the girl keeps vanishing from his life it's the eminent professor he turns to for advice.

This simple coming of age tale is enriched by the political background, for this is 1937 and there is a rising movement in Austria sympathetic to the Nazis, wanting the country to become a part of a Greater Germany.  Trsnjek is vehemently opposed, and continues to serve his customers, be they communists or Jews (like Freud) in the face of threats and intimidation.  When the Anschluss takes place in March 1938, and the Gestapo are suddenly in the city, Franz is forced to take sides and the psychiatrist has a big decision to make.

The movie's biggest failing is it's obsession with symbolism, a tiresome means to link it to Freud himself.  Ganz is a big compensation though, a still, considered centre of a violently changing society.  And the contemporary resonance, especially the licence for bigotry given to ordinary people by the prevailing ideology, is depressingly relevant in a UK fearfully obsessed with "foreigners".

Weaknesses notwithstanding this movie is a powerful reminder of the disturbing ease with which fascism insinuates itself and the parallels with our own times.

Ode to Joy, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Odeon

Charlie (Martin Freeman) is a librarian who suffers from cataplexy, a condition that makes him lose control of his body, and sometimes faint, if he experiences strong emotions, especially happiness.  So he spends his life taking care to avoid joyful situations, tries to think boring thoughts, and occasionally ending up in A&E when he gets a bit too happy.  This also means he has to avoid having a girlfriend.

 Cue the arrival of Francesca (Morena Baccarin), whose boyfriend brings her to the library just so he can break up with her in a place where she won't cause a scene.  Which she does do anyway, to be calmed down by the empathetic Charlie.  They go on a date, but the cataplexy ensures it ends disastrously.  So Charlie comes up with a plan to keep her in his life as a friend, but without risking him being too happy about it.  Could they ever get together as a couple and make it work?

The answer isn't hard to guess because this is movie making by numbers.  A generic Hollywood Romcom that's conventional, predictable and just a bit boring.  Unless that's really your thing I'd give this one a miss.

The Grizzlies, Edinburgh international Film Festival, Odeon

Based on a true story from 2004/05, this is your standard redemptive sports movie with an attention to background that gives it a depth the genre usually lacks.

Russ (Ben Schnetzer) has to spend a year teaching history in a remote Inuit town in northern Canada for a year, before he can get himself a 'proper' job in a 'decent' school.  He's brash, arrogant, preppy and dismissive of the advice he receives from resigned old hand Mike (Will Sasso) and concerned indigenous head teacher Janace (Tantoo Cardinal).  very soon he's lost any interest from the few students that still come to his classes, but is also starting to learn a bit more about the culture and problems of the community he's been placed in, helped by the smart interventions of his brightest pupil, Miranda (Emerald MacDonald).

For Russ the answer is sport, in his case lacrosse which has a thousand year history in North America.  After many trials and tribulations and cultural faux pas he gets a team together, inspires the kids and they get to go to the national championships in Toronto, bringing pride to themselves and their community.  So far so predictable.  What marks The Grizzlies out as a bit special is the treatment of the issues that dominate the lives of the people of the town.  The decline of traditional values, drink and drugs, the high suicide rate (the opening scene shows a young man walk into the wilderness to shoot himself, and there are other suicides during the course of the story), poverty, and a history of broken "white man's promises" combine to help Russ realise he knows nothing and that his team can  teach him far more than he can them.

Schnetzer does a good job in portraying the humbled Russ, but it's the performances of the locally recruited youngsters that stand out, especially the calm and controlled MacDonald.  The film ends with some facts about the subsequent lives of the real people portrayed on screen, with the real Russ staying on in the job for several years, and the The Grizzlies team still playing and forming an important part of the town's activities.  That it's also been well received by the Inuits themselves is as good a recommendation as I can make.

Champions (Campeones), Edinburgh International Film Festival, Filmhouse

Marco (Javier Gutiérrez) is assistant coach at a top pro basketball club.  Until he assaults the head coach during a match, gets drunk and drives into the back of a police car.  the judge gives him a choice.  Prison, or community service.  He opts for the latter and finds himself coach to a 'team' with learning difficulties (or 'retards' in Marco-speak) in an underfunded community centre.  Adding to his misery he's estranged from wife Sonia (Athenia Mata) and living with his ultra-critical mother.

It's not really giving spoilers away to say that Marco is transformed by his experience with his new charges, turns the team into a success and is reunited with Sofia, because this is an unabashedly feelgood film, wearing a gigantic red heart on it's sleeve.  It's emotionally manipulative, heartwarming and redemptive.  Add in the dangers of patronising a social group that endures enough mockery already, and the heavy handed 'message' the film hammers home, and I really shouldn't have liked this film.

But.  It is very, very funny, and for all the right reasons.  The team members, all non-professional actors, are shown as rounded human beings, and Gloria Ramos is simply wonderful as the piss-taking, ever resourceful Collantes.  If anyone is being patronised it's the kind of emotionally constipated macho male that the Marco character represents.  He emerges as the one with the biggest disability to overcome, helped by the wisdom of old community leader Julio and the quiet understanding of the tall, talented and enigmatic  Román.

A huge dollop of Spanish fun.

Strange But True, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Odeon

In the opening scene Philip (Nick Robinson) is running through the woods as best he can with a leg in plaster and one crutch to lean on, panicked and scared, trying to escape an unseen pursuer.

Cut to two days earlier and Philip is lying on the couch, mum Charlene (Amy Ryan) elsewhere in the house, when Melissa (Margaret Qualley) knocks on the door.  She's heavily pregnant, and has come to tell them that the father is Ronnie, Philip's older brother.  But he's been dead for 5 years.

Melissa is virulently dismissive of the claim, but her son remains open minded, intrigued even, and sets out to find out more about the facts behind this strange story.  His investigations, at times verging into supernatural territory, are intertwined with flashbacks to the events surrounding Ronnie's death, and the return of father Richard (Greg Kinnear) from his home in Florida.  The pregnant woman lives alone, looked out for by elderly neighbours Gail (Blythe Danner) and Bill (Brian Cox), and their remote houses are set deep in the woods...

The first part of the movie, as Philip's investigations turn up family secrets, is an exploration of grief and loss and their impact on the  fragility of human relationships.  But the tension of that opening scene is always in the background.  When the (very dark) plot twist arrives, and we find out why Philip is on the run, the drama speeds up, the tension increases, but the resolution does stretch credulity a bit far.  That's partly compensated for by a closing scene that raises more questions than it answers.  There are some truths people prefer not to know.

Tremendous performances and tight editing carry this one off, and it's and enjoyable and occasionally thought provoking watch.  Recommended.

Venezia, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Omni

Sofia (Paula Lussi) lies sobbing on a hotel bed.  She goes out, accompanied by a policeman, looking sad and bewildered.  Is she under arrest?  Being protected?  The real explanation is every bit as dramatic, but this is no thriller.  Venezia is a thoughtful exploration of loss, grief and culture shock set against a winter Venice that's a pale imitation of the tourist traps that are it's usual image.

In walking the streets to await events, and try to make sense of the situation she finds herself in, Sofia watches the ordinary life of the city, tries, half heartedly, to do the touristy things she came to do, and has encounters with locals and visitors that provide temporary distractions from what's happened.  There are no rules when it comes to coping with tragedy.

A minimalist soundtrack enhances the atmosphere, minimalist subtitling lets us experience Sofia's confusion about her surroundings (she's from Argentina).  Slow paced, slow burning, this is a film that stays with you afterwards, provoking further thoughts on the nature of what you've seen.  Lussi is excellent in portraying the rudderless vulnerability and emotional turmoil of a woman thrown into an unexpected trauma, trying to maintain a connection to real life.

Highly recommended.

Liberte : A Call to Spy, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Odeon

The story begins in London, 1941, with the Special Operations Executive trying to find ways to infiltrate agents into France where they can work to disrupt the German occupation.  Vera Atkins (Stana Katic) persuades her boss, Maurice Buckmaster (Linus Roache), she can recruit women who will be able to do the job as effectively as men, and it's two of her recruits that the film concentrates on.

Virginia Hall (Sarah Megan Thomas) is an American with a wooden leg, Noor Inayat Khan (Radhika Apte) a Sufi pacifist.  Both will spend time in France, working with the Resistance, and dodging the Gestapo, with Hall excelling as an organiser, Khan as a wireless operator.  There's plenty of tension, lots of action, and a picture of how confusing and terrifying their lives were emerges.  While the anti semitism in Vichy territory comes as no surprise, it also pervades the British organisation, with Atkins struggling to get the recognition she deserved.

Based on a true story, the film ends with text showing what became of the real life characters, 13 of the 39 female spies dropped in France being killed in action.  This is a decent enough attempt to reflect their achievements, although presented somewhat confusingly, with scene piled upon scene making the individual storylines hard to follow.  But there's tension aplenty in both France and London, and some honesty in showing how incompetent the SOE could be at times.  Katic is excellent as the stressed and discriminated against Atkins, while Thomas delivers a properly flawed and human hero.

For all it's defects it's an enjoyable movie and one that deserves a wider viewing for bringing attention to these brave women.

Cronofobia, Edinburgh international Film Festival, Omni

Teasing introductory scenes draw the audience swiftly into a mystery that is never wholly dispelled.  What is Michael (Vinicio Marchioni) up to, what motivates his spying on others?  Is he a detective, or a stalker, or a serial killer?  His interest in the lonely looking Anna (Sabine Timoteo) leads them into contact, she unsuspecting at first, later aware that there's more to her new acquaintance than first appearances give clue to.

The resulting relationship twists and turns through secrets and lies and loneliness.  When Michael's real purpose is revealed the answer might be more mundane than those earlier suggestions, but no less sinister.  Both are characters stuck in a past they can't move on from, unable to move on from previous incidents.

Beautifully shot, slow paced, full of silences that speak to us, and an excellent soundtrack, Cronofobia -the fear of the passing of time - is a slow burner, fascinating throughout, a strange mix of thriller, mystery and romance.  Clever stuff and totally absorbing.

Emma Peeters, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Omni

Far from being your typical Romcom, this joint Belgian/Canadian production set in Paris is imaginative and quirky.  When the eponymous struggling actress (Monia Chokri) realises she's never going to 'make it', and her 35th birthday, the expiry date for actresses, is just days away, she resolves to bring the situation to an end.  Literally.

Emma starts looking into suicide methods (ideally entirely painless and mess free of course) and organising her death.  Which includes arranging her funeral.  But she doesn't bank on eccentric undertaker Alex (Fabrice Adde) falling in love with her.  His attentions, initially unwelcome, add to the confusion and comedy, not least with the hearse lovemobile.

The director, Nicole Palo, describes it as 'a feelgood movie about feeling bad', and that's as good a summary as any.  In addition to the subject matter she lifts the movie out of the ordinary by employing a mix of styles, reflecting Emma's filmic expectations, so there's a passage shot as an old silent movie, another as a musical, adding to the charmingly odd feel of the film.  Both leads are excellent, especially the wide eyed Chokri, and good to see Jim Morrison making a return appearance in Père Lachaise!  Jim the cat is a bit of a star too.

It's not without flaws, and resorts to the occasional cliché, but Emma Peeters is that rare thing, a romantic comedy that surprises.  Great fun and highly recommended.

In a Foreign Land (En tierra extraña), Edinburgh International Film Festival, Filmhouse

A documentary looking into the reasons why the Spanish community in Edinburgh increased so rapidly after the 2008 financial crash.  It interweaves interviews with 20 or so emigrants to Scotland, mostly thirty-somethings, with footage of a photographic project which they and others took part in.  A third strand features excerpts from a monologue on the Madrid stage by actor Alberto san Juan, giving a history of the post-Franco Spanish state from a left wing perspective.

Putting these elements together paints a powerful picture of the failure of Spain's governments to deal with the crisis in a way that benefits ordinary citizens, the resulting migration to seek work, and why the pernicious influence of fascism is still alive and kicking in national institutions. Most of the interviewees express their wish to be back home if they could, but here they can earn more for relatively low level work - cleaning, waiting, fast food server - than they can in the professions they are fully qualified for. And most say they have been made welcome in their new home, with only one having experienced any bigotry on account of their nationality.  It's a sad, funny, empowering and empathetic experience to be drawn into.  

Although the interviews are only seven years old, and the film itself released in 2014, it already feels like a portrait of a distant past.  Since then a big ugly elephant has found it's way into the room, dramatically, and negatively, affecting the lives of all EU27 citizens living in the UK.  The same movie being made today would have a very different feel to it...

The Fall of the American Empire (La chute de l'empire américain), Edinburgh International Film Festival, Omni

Pierre-Paul (Alexandre Landry) considers himself an intellectual, too intelligent for the needs of capitalist society, and that's why he's a parcel delivery van driver and almost friendless.  When he finds himself on the scene of a failed armed robbery and two holdalls stuffed with banknotes almost fall at his feet, it takes only a few seconds for him to take the bags and stash them away.  But, unworldly as he is, he has little idea what he's going to do with them.

Resolving this problem leads him into an unlikely alliance, working with a recently released fraudster (Rémy Girard), an international financier (Pierre Curtzi), and falling in love with the city's most expensive prostitute (Maripier Morin), while trying to fend off the attentions of a police duo who know he did something, but aren't quite sure how.  Part thriller, part comedy, part love story, it can be easily enjoyed as a crime romp.  But director Denys Arcand, true to past form, includes a healthy dose of social commentary.  Homelessness, racial prejudice, police complicity in neoliberalism, the ease with which the wealthy evade paying their taxes, philosophy all get an airing, and there are some lovely 'Robin Hood' moments of kindness.

Fun, but with depth.  Recommended.

And With a Smile, The Revolution! (Avec un sourire, la révolution!), Edinburgh International Film Festival, Omni

A Quebecois take on the 2017 Catalan independence referendum.  Director Alexandre Chartrand and his team spent several months in Barcelona in the lead up to the historic vote on 1 October, and the resulting footage is a testament to the passion and peacefulness of the Indy movement.

A flashback to 1976, shortly after the death of the dictator Franco, showed Catalan singer/songwriter Lluis Llach returning to his country to lead a huge crowd in his anti fascist anthem La Staca (The Stake).  Forty one years later he is a member of the Catalan Parliament and a leading voice in the independence movement.  Interviews with Lllach and other leading members of the movement are mixed in with the parliamentary vote to hold the referendum,  footage of the vast pro Indy street demonstrations, the careful preparations being made by Catalan government ministers, and the reactionary tone of the right wing Prime Minister Rajoy in Madrid.  Against the Indy message of peace, democracy, inclusiveness and welcome the centralist, unionist announcements reflect shadows of their Francoist past.

The film builds up the tension as the day of the referendum nears, Spanish threats becoming ever more aggressive, the Catalans finding ways to evade their attentions.  Thousands of national police and policed from other regions, along with the brutal riot police of the Guardia Civil, were brought in to try and stop the ballot from taking place.  Catalans responded with peaceful civil disobedience.  Ballot boxes were hidden away until needed, ballot papers were held by private citizens until the day (nullifying the police raids on printers, newspapers and others).

The day itself is shown in greater detail.  Polling stations occupied by citizens overnight to prevent their closure, peaceful barriers against police intervention, the sense of fear and resolution when police in full riot gear showed up, the joy of voters at finally having a chance to have their say.  And harrowing evidence of police brutality in their efforts to try and subvert the democratic process.  Despite all Madrid's efforts (they did manage to close down about 400 polling stations and confiscate votes that had been legitimately cast, and around 1000 people were injured on the day) a result was announced, an overwhelming Sí to independence.  Chartrand shows us the signing of the declaration by Catalan PM Carles Puigdemont, the celebrations in Catalan streets, and the threats of the Spanish government.  But by the time those threats were enacted he had returned to Montreal, and the details of those imprisoned and exiled, are a sad endnote to the story as it can be told to date.  In a talk after the screening he was able to provide us more details of the trials, and those awaiting potentially lengthy prison sentences for their part in enacting democracy.

Moving, frightening, inspiring, passionate, this is an important film, and essential viewing for anyone wanting to learn more about popular democracy, self determination, and the abuse of state power.  The parallels to Scotland are clear (and to Quebec, the movie having heavy backing from the province) and it's hard, as an Indy supporter here, not feel jealous of the Catalan movement's ability to claim the streets.  We share with them a popular base, democratic intent, peacefulness, inclusivity and those smiles mentioned in the title.  When confronted with police line ups the demonstrators offered them flowers.  There are lessons to be learned from this film.

Highly recommended, and I hope it gets a wide circulation in this country.