Frances Ha
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Dir: Noah Baumbach
With: Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner
Runtime: 86 minutes
NOAH Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale) returns with another exquisitely-rendered New York tale. Twenty-something dancer Frances (Greta Gerwig, who co-wrote the screenplay) lives with her best friend forever Sophie (Mickey Sumner). But then Sophie wants to move to another flat share, leaving Frances to cope with scary adult choices on her own. As is usual with Baumbach's films, little seems to be happening but underneath the surface all human life is bubbling away in its funny, messy, unfathomable way. A joy.
Tomorrow, 8.30pm, Filmhouse; Saturday, 12.30pm, Dominion
Fire in the Night
HHH
Dir: Anthony Wonke
Runtime: 93 minutes
BACK to that terrible night of July 6, 1988, and the Piper Alpha disaster. Via interviews with survivors and reconstructions, Anthony Wonke's documentary recreates what happened during what remains the world's worst offshore oil disaster. The reconstructions are patchy, but the film comes into its own when the survivors, some of whom have never spoken before on camera, tell their stories. Ordinary men forced by circumstance to become extraordinary heroes, all remain changed forever by what they saw.
Tonight,8.10pm, Filmhouse; Sunday, June 30, 6pm, Cineworld
The Bling Ring
HHH
Dir: Sofia Coppola
With: Emma Watson, Katie Chang
Runtime: 90 minutes
THE titular, real-life gang were a gaggle of LA teens who hit on the idea of robbing the houses of celebrities including Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. Sofia Coppola charts the goings-on in suitably glitzy fashion as the pals act as if all their trashy dreams have come true. Emma Watson does a decent job of leaving good girl Hermione of Harry Potter fame far behind, and for a while the picture rocks along amusingly enough, even if it does end up as shallow as the lifestyle it purports to mock.
Saturday, 8.30pm, Filmhouse; Sunday, 6.40pm, Cineworld
Desert Runners
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Dir: Jennifer Steinman
Runtime: 91 minutes
A MUST-see for couch tatties and wannabe endurance athletes alike, Jennifer Steinman's engrossing documentary charts the triumphs and blisters of those who set out to run the grand slam of ultramarathons (250km) each in Chile, China, Egypt and Antarctica. The landscapes are stunning and shot accordingly, but it's the real stories here that have the real legs.
Saturday, 2.30pm, Cineworld; Sunday, 3.30pm, Cineworld
Stories We Tell
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Dir: Sarah Polley
Runtime: 108 minutes
THE only downside to watching Canadian filmmaker Sarah Polley's documentary biography of her family is that it will make every other attempt you see in future seem second rate. Using dramatised reconstructions, Super 8 footage, and interviews with her brothers, sisters and other friends and relatives, she traces the story of her past, which, as it turns out, is largely the story of her actress mother. And what a story it is. Wise, heartfelt and moving.
Tomorrow, 6.10pm, Cineworld; Saturday, 3.45pm, Filmhouse
The Battle of the Sexes
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Dirs: James Erskine, Zara Hayes
Runtime: 90 minutes
BOBBY Riggs was a former tennis champion turned showman. The year was 1973, the women's liberation movement was making its presence known, so what better ruse, thought Riggs, than to ask Billie Jean King to play him, thereby proving his argument that men are always going to be better than women? Those unfamiliar with the story are in for a documentary treat as directors James Erskine and Zara Hayes, with the help of the majestic Ms King and others, recount the tale. Terrific.
Tomorrow, 6.30pm, Dominion; Sunday, 4pm, Cineworld
Monsters University
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Dir: Dan Scanlon
Voices: Billy Crystal, John Goodman
Runtime: 105 minutes
OR what happened when Mike met Sully the first time around. In this delightful prequel to Monsters Inc, we find the little green guy and the big blue giant starting out at college, desperate to become professional scarers. Standing in their way is the terrifying Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren). What could possibly go wrong? This being a Pixar/Disney movie the animation is out of this world, the jokes work for all ages and the feel-good factor is A plus. If it's not quite the masterpiece of Monsters, Inc, it's dandy enough.
Sunday, 11.45am and 2.45pm, Festival Theatre
I Am Breathing
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Dirs: Emma Davie, Morag McKinnon
Runtime: 73 minutes
NEIL Platt was just 33 when he was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. Determined to leave something behind for his baby son, just a year old, and to highlight awareness of this cruel disease, he asked a film crew to document his final months. Morag McKinnon and Emma Davie do so in admirably restrained fashion, allowing this remarkable family to have their say. A genuine heartbreaker.
Tonight, 6pm, Filmhouse; Sunday, 4.25pm, Cineworld
Tickets: www.edfilmfest.org.uk
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