Scaling the Heights
ALLAN HUNTER reports from location on a Gaelic film-making venture on the Isle of Skye.
ON THE SURFACE, Scottish filmmaking appears to be flourishing. The gritty drama ‘Red Road’ was a major […]

Beating the Odds
ALLAN HUNTER catches up with Skye-born film-maker DOUGLAS MACKINNON ahead of the scheduled premiere of The Flying Scotsman as opening film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
DOUGLAS […]

ALLAN HUNTER catches up with Fraserburgh film-maker Scott Graham ahead of a Cannes screening THERE MAY be competition from all corners of the globe, but Cannes remains the most important Film Festival in the world. Having a film selected for Cannes is a guarantee that your name will be noticed and your work is appreciated. Scottish […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies JAMES CAMERON never does anything by halves. Twelve years ago when he released Titanic, everyone was predicting disaster, and yet the film became the biggest money-spinner in film history. Cameron has been off the radar for a good part of the past dozen years, but returns to reclaim his crown as the […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies JIM JARMUSCH has been making quirky, hand-crafted independent features for almost thirty years. Devoted fans will recognise many of his signature touches in The Limits Of Control . It is an inscrutable tale infused with deadpan humour where the ice-cool central character and the beauty of the Spanish locations are far…[Read more]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies SOMETIMES a single superb performance can elevate an entire film. Me & Orson Welles is a delightful true story from one of the golden periods of American theatre. It tells of a starstruck teenage in 1930s New York given his first lucky break in what would become a landmark production of Shakespeare’s Julius […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies SERAPHINE Louis has gained a posthumous reputation as one of the best painters in the Modern Primitive school. Her work is reminiscent of Van Gogh, and is marked by vibrant colours and intricate patterns. Her life was no less intense and forms the basis of Seraphine, a handsome period drama with an […]

12A, Selected Nationwide Release from 20 November 2009 STEPHEN POLIAKOFF has a well-deserved reputation as one of our finest television dramatists. His best work explores the dark secrets hidden at the heart of family life and the endlessly repeated lessons of our past history. A new Poliakoff television work is an event. Glorious 39 is his first […]

15, Selected nationwide release MICHAEL HANEKE is a director who deals in haunting ambiguity. Nothing is ever clearly defined in his films. The viewer is invited to become a detective, seeking to unravel the mysteries at the heart of Haneke’s brooding, enigmatic stories. It is an approach that pays dividends in The White Ribbon , a rich study […]

THE PIANO has been a tough act to follow for New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion. It is sixteen years since the haunting intensity of that Oscar-winning tale and none of Campion’s subsequent films, from The Portrait Of A Lady to In The Cut , have managed to match its artistry or depth of emotion. Until now. Bright Star tells of the […]

A BREEZY adaptation of the Lynn Barber memoir recounting her precocious adolescence in the suburban England of the 1960s, An Education has all the virtues†we have come to expect from a handsomely mounted British production, from the keen-eyed period details to a reliable cast of scene-stealers that includes Emma Thompson, Alfred Molina and R…[Read more]

ANIMATED films have become such hi-tech, cutting-edge extravaganzas that it is extremely refreshing to encounter something as hand-crafted and traditional as Fantastic Mr Fox . Wes Anderson’s adaptation of the Roald Dahl classic has the look of something that could have been made on Blue Peter with pipe cleaners, buttons and little swatches…[Read more]

TERRY GILLIAM has always seemed a magnet for calamity. The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen was crippled by a soaraway budget. The Man Who Killed Don Quixote was abandoned after floods destroyed the set and the leading man fell ill. His latest film, The Imaginarium Of Dr Parnassus , has been mired in tragedy, from the death of the producer to […]

NOBODY can match Pixar when it comes to the creation of animated features. The studio has given up modern classics like The Incredibles, Monsters Inc and Ratatouille. The high standard is maintained with Up, an enchanting tale of friendship and adventure that combines impeccable craftsmanship, beautiful animation and a story with a universal…[Read more]

COUNTLESS British comedians have failed to make the leap from small screen success to big screen renown. Even the mighty Morecambe and Wise never made a really great film. Ricky Gervais is shaping up to become the exception to that rule. Gervais has chosen wisely, rejecting lucrative cameos in blockbusters like The Da Vinci Code and Ocean’s 13, […]

HAVING established his reputation with impeccable literary adaptations Pride & Prejudice and Atonement, British director Joe Wright tries his hand at something very different with The Soloist . Based on a true story, it charts the bond that developed between a Los Angeles journalist and a homeless man who had once been a promising music…[Read more]

TOURISM chiefs are reporting an increase in visitors to the Highlands and Islands this Summer. It seems that everyone is looking for somewhere to escape the pressures and strains of big city living. That may also explain the growing popularity of the annual No Mind Festival in the forests of Angsbacka in northern Sweden. It now […]

DIRECTOR Andrea Arnold is best known for her striking, Scottish-set debut feature Red Road . Her follow-up, Fish Tank , is an equally accomplished, heartfelt journey into blighted lives set on a housing estate on the fringes of London. There is a grim inevitability to a story that veers close to Greek tragedy at times but Arnold has a talent […]

AMERICAN CINEMA has shortchanged lovers of romantic comedies this year. Films like The Ugly Truth and Bride Wars have shown none of the real charm or warmth you would want from the genre. (500) Days Of Summer is a very different proposition. It is unusually fresh, smart and sweet, with characters you can take to your heart and a […]

Pure Cinephilia Comes To Nairn ALLAN HUNTER sets the scene for a film festival where love of cinema is the only motivating factor LIKE EVERY arts organisation in the land, film festivals have to keep an eye on the bottom line. Stars are expensive but essential if you want to win over the media. Distributors always have special […]