Besides the Toronto International Film Festival held every September, there is a host of mini film festivals scattered throughout the year, one of which is Toronto Britpics – a week of British films held in the middle of summer as if to refresh the film-going appetites of cinephiles. Now in its third year, the impressive list of films includes 16 admirable efforts (all Canadian premiers) from all over Britain. From Scotland (“Gas Attack” and “Late Night Shopping”) to Northern England (“Like Father”) to even Ireland (“As the Beast Sleeps”), there are treasures to be discovered for the adventurous. For example, this non-soccer fan found “Mike Bassett, England Manager” the funniest and perhaps one of the most entertaining of the lot.
Toronto Britpics director Oliver Groom will be present nightly during the festival to welcome audiences. Oliver is Toronto’s tireless promoter for British film. Yet Britpics is struggling to break even each year, relying very much on box-office revenue and support of its sponsors.
Britpics3 runs for a week at the Bloor Cinema (Bloor and Bathurst) from July 19th to July 25th. For complete information on schedules, film description and ticket information, check the Britpics website at: www.torontobritpics.com
Film and Ticket Info
All screenings take place at Toronto’s Bloor Cinema, 506 Bloor Street West, Toronto. Single tickets are $9 and $7 (seniors/students), Sixpack $40, Britpics Pass $70. For further information please call the Britpics infoline at: 416 604 4702 or email info@torontobritpics.com.
Below are capsule reviews for 8 of the films screened.
CAPSULE REVIEWS (by Gilbert Seah)
“Club Le Monde” (UK 2001) ***1/2
Directed by Simon Rumley
Writer/director Simon Rumley gets it all together in his third feature (after “Strong Language” and “The Truth Game”) set during one night of clubbing at a West End Club. The prologue and epilogue are delivered by Club Le Monde owner Frank Harper, a middle-aged good natured bloke not afraid of shagging his best mate’s wife. His employees include a barmaid from hell, a slightly daft bouncer looking like ‘Sly’ Stallone and a giggly, high-spirited ticket lass who can make good conversation with anyone. The clubbers show up, do drugs, slag around and down bottles of water, unless they happen to be beer guzzling wankers. The dialogue, though trite at times, is down to earth. The particularly funny bits (bouncer Moth revealing his career plans to his colleague, under-aged clubbers trying to elicit some ecstasy from dealers and especially the character Lizzie’s spill on why women prefer gay to straight clubs) enliven the film with director Rumley often ending each scene on a high note. Though the atmosphere and music are correct for 1993, the time the film is set, one wonders why Rumley did not update his film to the present. Upon closer observation, the only differences between London clubbers then and the present are that they now also do Special K, drink beer while doing ‘e’ and no longer listen to trance music. Just as rich or poor, old or young, black or white, straight or gay can enjoy themselves at Club Le Monde, so can everyone enjoy Rumley’s harmless politically correct little entertainer.
(Director will be present for Q & A after the film which closes the festival.)
“Everyone’s Happy” (UK 2001) ****
Directed by Frances Lea
What starts out as a comedy involving a group of campers (reminiscent of “Carry on Camping”) develops into something more serious as the campers interact. Whether everyone is happy – if you are not alone, you are happy as one character quips – is questionable, but the characters do gravitate toward some form of the state. This is an impressive debut feature by director Frances Lea, given a helping hand by Simon Beaufoy (“The Full Monty”) who provided the script. Lea gives a whole new meaning to the words “making full use of location filming” when her two characters actually start counting the billions of grass blades in a field. The performances from the unknown cast are uniformly good especially Holly de Jong who plays Rachel from neurotic to sympathetic. Made for a mere £6000 in the muddy fields of winter when director Francis Lea was 7 months pregnant with twins (‘the film almost killed her’, she confesses), “Everybody’s Happy” is pure delight and inspirational to anyone starting out on film.
“Kevin and Perry Go Large” (UK 2000) ***
Directed by Ed Bye
A major hit in the U.K., this comedy nevertheless must be seen for what all that it’s worth – the equivalent of perhaps a Farrelly Brothers type teen movie. Based on an ever popular British TV sketch, the film centres on Kevin Patterson (Harry Enfield), an obnoxious, typical, trouble-making teen whose favourite words include “I am not your slave!” to mum and dad and “It is so unfair!” to all others who give him a hard time and Perry (played by Kathy Burke, probably best remembered by North Americans as the long-suffering beaten wife in “Nil by Mouth”), Kevin’s monosyllable best chum. Kevin and Perry travel to party haven – Ibiza (pronounced “Ibitha”), with the hope of becoming top DJs, with or without the help of DJ superstar, eyeball Paul (Rhys Ifans). Mum and pop sneak along too, and to Kevin’s dismay, have more fun and sex than he does. What is odd about this movie is that the jokes still come across as bloody hilarious no matter how many times they are repeated (like the hard-on in the pants and the virgin jokes). This no-brainer film outdid many other worthier British efforts at last year’s box-office. “It is so unfair!” Film critics might be at a loss what to make of it, but when I was last in London, every clubber I met owned a copy of the “Kevin and Perry” video cassette!
“Late Night Shopping” (UK/Germany 2000) ***
Directed by Saul Merzstein
The film title comes from the fact that the four friends with whom the film concerns all have a late night job. These four do not really have anything much in common except hang out in a café and muck about. The result is a kind of slacker film that turns serious when one of the group, Sean (Luke de Woolfson) attempts to win back his girlfriend, Madeline (Heike Makatsch). Director Merzstein takes a while to get his film in gear. The narrative is all over the place and writer Jack Lothian deals with music, dating, sex, relationships (all leading nowhere) before eventually settling down with the issue of friendship. It is odd, but perhaps fortunate for North American audiences finding difficulty with the Scots accent, that though the film is set in Glasgow, the only notable character with a Glaswegian accent is a shelfer at the supermarket. But, at least the film is unpredictable and funny.
“Like Father” (UK 2001) *****
Directed by Amber
Relocation, father-son, son-father, family, betrayal, redundancy, social corruption and some other issues are tackled within the realm of three generations of a miner family in this small budgeted film set in north-east England (“Billy Elliot” territory). Made by the Amber production group and performed by no-name actors, this is inspired down-to-earth realism at its best. The lead actor also composed the excellent band piece for the film. No special effects here but the little bit of sentimentality is forgivable considering that the film soars ever so often. There is some decent photography of the local landscape and one amazing scene of hundreds of pigeons let loose. As the ‘Sight and Sound’ critic aptly puts it, this film is worth ’10 Billy Elliots’. A must-see!
“Motion” (UK 2001) **
Directed by Tom Clay
“Motion” is Tom Clay’s no-budget experimental film utilizing hidden camera, hand-held camera or whatever cheap means necessary to get his film made. “Motion” traces the life (or no-life) of one homeless middle-aged Don (Dean Robinson), struggling as his life falls apart in Brighton, Britain’s working class seaside town during one cold off peak season. The sky is gray, the amusement pier deserted and people scarce. At least Clay captures the spirit and atmosphere of the rough town of Brighton, which incidentally has grown pretty gay in the last 10 years. There is a curious gay pick-up scene involving our hero, Don. Though the film becomes more interesting as Don’s outlook on life deteriorates, the huge cop-out at the end when he is made an unexpected hero in a factory of time and motion destroys what little dignity writer/director Clay created for his little venture.
“The Search for John Gissing” (UK/USA 2000) ***1/2
Directed by Mike Binder
Americans Mathew and Linda Barnes (Mike Binder and Janeane Garofalo) arrive in London with high hopes of a better life and more money. Matthew’s transfer, as he is led to believe is to overlook a German merger. The trouble is that the travel arrangements are made by a rather nasty John Gissing (Alan Rickman), who found out that that he is to be replaced (by none other than Matthew himself). The poor Barnes are taken for a wild spin – sent to a restaurant that does not serve lunch, double-booked into a hotel suite, and abducted by a nun. What begins as an “Out-Of-Towners” comedy eventually develops into a feel-good and intriguing social commentary with a light Kafka touch without getting too preachy. The players are superb: Binder and Garofalo are funny enough, Rickman cool and conniving but it is the supporting players that give this comedy its kick – from the obnoxious French peacock C.E.O. (Allan Corduner) to the lowly janitor (James Lance). It is difficult to recall the funniest bit here as there are quite a few laugh-out loud moments. As an added bonus, Binder adds in some 60-ish sounding songs, slow and fast motion movements, multiple scene cuts to give the film the old 60s British comedy-look. Entertaining fluff, well-crafted and performed!
“This Filthy Earth” (UK 2001) ****
Directed by Michael Kotting
If any film should arrive with a warning, this would be the one. If director Kotting’s story of a Northern England farm family, two sisters, one aunt, one brother and an assortment of characters right out of the middle ages is impossible to follow, it is because he is uncompromised in his storytelling technique that includes slow/fast motion, inserts of newsreel footage and old film stock, screeching irritating sounds, gibberish dialogue and weird editing and camera work. The scenes that plain gross out (extracting pus from a bunion, or hands fully drenched from bull’s sperm) are nowhere comparable to the ugly depiction of the landscape and the unkempt actors (almost all have rotting teeth or wire-like hair). “This Filthy Earth”, which lives up to its name, is by no means dull and is unlike anything one would have ever seen on film. One might not stomach or like it – but director Kotting is by no means untalented in this display of filth or art, depending on how one wants to look at it.
