THE BEST OF THE REST
Of course, Edinburgh is about more than British and American movies - here we take a look at some top titles from the rest of the world, as well as a few British and American flicks that we couldn't quite squeeze into the first two categories.


Timur Bekmambetov's follow-up to his masterful Night Watch - a film which came out of left field from Russia and gave Hollywood a run for its money - is possibly even less accessible than its predecessor. Day Watch cuts straight into the universe, grabbing its audience by the lapels and forcing us to remind ourselves of the story so far.

It's also decidedly more heartfelt than Night Watch; Khabensky's Anton wrestling with a son who's deserted him for the Day Watch and his responsibilities to his unit. The line Anton walks is blurrier than anything to come out of the big American studios, and it's refreshing to see a little ambiguity.

Jeannette Catsoulis says it best in the New York Times. Day Watch "dazzles and confuses with equal determination."



When A Mighty Heart was first announced the reaction seemed to be shock - Angelina Jolie as a black woman? But it's the story here that has the power, and her fine performance ensures nothing else matters.

Still, it's an odd project to see Michael Winterbottom direct. Considering he's recently crafted films as varied as Road to Guantanamo, A Cock and Bull Story and, erm, 9 Songs we should be long past the point of surprise when it comes to the projects he works on, and yet who could have foreseen him direct Angelina Jolie in a film produced by Brad Pitt?

Nevertheless, it wowed critics in Cannes and sent doubters - both from camps Jolie-isn't-black and Winterbottom-doesn't-do-Jolie - running. It's a Winterbottom film through-and-through and the smart turns of the supporting cast - including Dan Futterman and Irfan Khan - make an impressive film even more impressive.



Allan Moyle's Weirdsville imagines a scenario that defines the term, "bad day." When Royce and Dexter find the latter's dead girlfriend following an overdose, it's a simple trip to a seedy basement to bury the evidence. Only a group of satan-worshipping ne'er-do-wells happen to be doing their own ill deeds at the same time. And when the girlfriend can't stay dead it seems like nothing is going to go their way.

What follows is nothing short of riotous as the pair of hapless losers beg, steal and borrow their way to morning. Moyle, whose last big hit was 1995's Empire Records serves up a devilishly intriguing black comedy that keeps you on tenterhooks 'til the end. Weirdsville may well be another cult classic in the making.

Wes Bentley and Scott Speedman are brilliant as Royce and Dexter, while support from some cultists, a dead girlfriend, a bunch of drug dealers and a midget security guard keep them on their toes throughout.



It's rather fitting that actress Julie Delpy's feature film debut would be Two Days in Paris. You can imagine the financiers meetings as she explained that it was about a couple, a French girl and an American boy, and their brief stay in the City of Love. The dollar signs in their eyes are as clear as day.

And it's with a brilliantly witty sense of irony that we behold the end result. If Before Sunset is one of the most romantic movies ever set in the French capital, its female lead has gone on to deliver one of the most unromantic. The culture clash is the source of much comedy between Delpy and the brilliantly on-form Adam Goldberg, but if Sunset is about how communication can reignite a relationship, Days is about how misreading it can be disastrous.

It's not very often a journalist will imply that watching a film is like witnessing a car crash powerless to do anything and mean that as a compliment, but in this case it's definitely fitting. Two Days in Paris marks Delpy as a director to watch and its sharp wit will leave it resonating with anyone who's ever found even the slightest fault in their partner.



Jeffrey Blitz first examined kids under the stress of hormones and intellectual competition in documentary form with Spellbound. With Rocket Science he this time spins a fictional yarn, but it nevertheless still manages to capture the real emotional minefield that is adolescence.

Hal Heffner's stutter is incurable by any therapist-recommended treatment, but when he meets Ginny Ryerson and she introduces him to the world of high school debating, he finds a project to immerse himself in; one that, he's sure, will rid him of his impediment. But when Ginny starts playing truant from their meetings and the stress of his parents' divorce begins to take its toll he wanders whether getting even is preferable to getting mad. Enlisting the help of former debating champion Ben Wekselbaum, he becomes determined to beat his former tutor at her own game.

Reece Thompson's nuanced performance as Hal betrays a talent beyond his age and Anna Kendrick's Ginny is as beguiling as she is infuriating. It's these two key performances that cement the emotional core of a film that succeeds through subtlety without ever having to hold back from its comedy. It's certainly not the first quirky American indie to release, and its quirk threatens to alienate audiences who believe they're tired of that sort of thing. Rocket Science matches its quirk with real emotional truth and that's enough to separate it from the herd.