By Bettina Gracias
I saw over twenty films in this year’s London Film Festival, some days I felt inspired, others blasted and it’s interesting to note, now that it’s all over, which films have stayed in my mind and which I have completely forgotten about. For me the festival encompasses three types of film: the charming international independents that one only gets to see at film festivals, the hard-hitting political films about war and migrants and the big blockbusters that make you want to run to the bookmakers to put a bet on who will be next year’s Oscar winners before they go out on general release.
DJ Ahmet
The film that I was utterly charmed by and has stayed with me most fondly is DJ Ahmet. To me it is the Lunana of 2025, a film that I will recommend to everyone to see to be heart-warmed and, not surprisingly, it won the audience award at Cannes. Directed by Georgi M Unkovski, the film is set in the beautiful rolling hills and forests of North Madedonia. It tells a tale of the conflict between tradition and modernization in a charming, funny and unexpected way. Arif Jakup is gloriously charming as Ahmet and Agush Agusher is gorgeous as his younger brother who hasn’t spoken since their mother died.
Singing Wings
The film that I found most extraordinary was Singing Wings. Set in a Kurdish mountain village, Hemen Khaledi’s film introduces us to a seemingly idyllic place where the storks choses to nest in the winter. Khadijeh, a 78 year old woman, with 11 daughters and a disabled husband, tries to nurse a stork that has broken her wing back to health so that she can fly away with her mate when it’s time to migrate. Described as a documentary, the film feels more like a feature, giving the audience a taste of a totally different, and rare, traditional way of life. The story of the stork, although real, is also a metaphor for human migration as one of her daughters, much to the father’s dismay, is trying to join her husband who has managed to illegally make it to the UK. The film is deeply touching and unique.
H is For Hawk
Adapted from the book by Helen Macdonald, H is For Hawk is a British film about a Cambridge academic, Helen, who channels her grief at the loss of her father into training a goshawk. Claire Foy is excellent as she leads us on her journey from quirky history lecturer to a rejection of all human interaction. On a deeper level, the film makes us question the fine line between grief and depression and what is ‘normal’ and ‘acceptable’ when we connect with creatures others than our own kind. Directed by Philippa Lowthrope, Denise Gough is wonderful as Helen’s down to earth Australian best friend.
Blue Moon
Despite the magnificent cast Blue Moon feels like a monologue that will almost certainly get Ethan Hawke nominated for an Oscar for his incredible performance as Larry. Brilliantly scripted, I suspect that the screenwriter, Robert Kaplow will also be nominated for best screenplay. Set on the opening night of the hugely successful musical, Oklahoma, the film focusses on Lorenz Hart (Larry) both revealing and trying to hide his bitterness at the fact that after working together on 28 musicals and writing over 500 songs together, the first time that Richard Rogers collaborates with another composer, Hammerstein, it is lauded as his best work ever and his greatest success. We both love and feel uncomfortable by Larry’s behaviour as he desperately tries to put on a brave face for his ‘friend’s’ greatest success.
Springsteen: Deliver me from Nowhere
Springsteen: Deliver me from Nowhere screamed Oscar on every level and I loved it. Despite not being a Springsteen fan, I really enjoyed this film which focusses on a small part of the megastar’s life. Jeremy Allen-White skillfully and convincingly plays The Boss at a time when he is exploring his darker side. Springsteen exposed his demons and vulnerabilities in a series of folk songs, reminiscent of Dillon, which were not appreciated by his record company who wanted him to stick to his heavy rock numbers like Born in the USA. Springsteen himself was there during shooting and has endorsed and supported the film completely. Written and directed by Scott Cooper, Jeremy Strong is excellent as Springsteen’s manager and Stephen Graham is superbly convincing as his alcoholic father.
The President’s Cake
Set in Iraq during the leadup to Sadam Husssein’s birthday, The President’s Cake, gives us a taste of what it must have been like to live under his regime, especially for a poor, struggling family. The central characters live in an area of Iraq called the marshes on river boat houses, the children learn to row to school at a young age and seem quite independent. The film beautifully balances humour with tension as 9 year old Lamia travels to the city to buy the ingredients to bake a birthday cake in honour of the dictator. As first time director, Hasan Hadi has created an engrossing debut, with incredible performances by the children Baneen Ahmad Nayyef and Sajad Mohamad Qasem and an excelled portrayal of the grandmother by Waheed Thabet Khreibat. The film won the Camera d’Or at Cannes and has been selected as the Iraqi entry for the Best International Feature Film at next year’s Academy Awards.
Left-Handed Girl
Left-Handed Girl is a charming, funny film from Taiwan showing a family of women struggling to make ends meet in Taipei. It’s unexpected plot also reveals the hard transition from tradition to modern life in a uniquely quirky way. Shih-Ching Tsou’s wonderful debut, co-written with Sean Baker is available on Netflix.
I saw a lot of good films in the festival but I have chosen to review those that have stayed in my mind. It was impossible to see everything but I was told that It Was Just an Accident, which has a general release, was excellent and was also recommended Two Prosecutors, The Voice of Hind Rajab was described to me as brilliant but extremely harrowing and Landmarks, a documentary about the murder of indigenous leader Javier Chocobar, won the award for best film at the London Film Festival this year.
