The BFI London Film Festival 2019 is back with a dazzling programme of the best new film releases. It offers cinema lovers a rare opportunity to walk the red carpet at a Gala Screening and be the first to see the films that everyone will be talking about at a world, European or UK premiere.
Beyond the blockbusters, it also showcases independent releases featuring emerging talent, plus you can delve deeper into the director’s intentions with an intimate Q&A after the film.
Here are just a few of the inspiring, exciting films that you can see this week at participating cinemas across London…
Lucky Grandma
In Sasie Sealy’s debut black comedy Lucky Grandma, it’s impossible not to be charmed by Grandma Wong (played by veteran actress Tsai Chin), a tenacious widower resisting the pleas of her son to give up her tiny apartment in New York’s Chinatown and come to live in their family home.
After a fortuneteller predicts good luck coming her way, she recklessly gambles away her life savings during a trip to a Connecticut casino. However, on the bus ride home, the man sitting next to her suddenly dies from a heart attack, posing the opportunity to regain her losses and sneak away with his bag full of cash. Unfortunately for Grandma Wong, she has stolen from the fearsome Red Dragon gang and two of their henchmen are waiting in her living room to threaten her, not believing her claim of innocence.
To ward them off, she hires protection from a rival gang but her thriftiness get her Big Pong, a gentle giant rather than intimidating bodyguard. They form an unlikely bond and Big Pong’s skills are put to the test as Grandma Wong is chased around Chinatown by the gangsters, leading to a tense encounter with gang matriarch Sister Fong in an overheated sauna and a family member being taken hostage.
As well as being a joyous caper film, Lucky Grandma masterfully explores the lives of elderly Chinese immigrants and the cultural differences between them and their first generation Chinese-American children, from language and style of living to cooking and community. It also questions the independence and visibility of older generations in an ever-changing world, but always with a cheeky glint in the eye of the formidable Grandma Wong.
Photos: Lyle Vincent
Days of the Bagnold Summer
Remember those endlessly long summers at home where nothing much seems to happens? Simon Bird (of The Inbetweeners) perfectly captures the balmy ennui of the school holidays in middle class suburbia with his debut film, Days of the Bagnold Summer.
Based on Joff Winterhart’s graphic novel and adapted by his wife Lisa Owens, this likeable indie film chronicles six weeks in the lives of the Bagnolds – introverted teenage metalhead Daniel, played by promising newcomer Earl Cave (who happens to be the son of Susie and Nick Cave), and his divorced librarian mother Sue (Monica Dolan). Daniel is buoyed – excited would be overstating it – by the prospect of spending the holidays in Florida with his father and his girlfriend, but with a new baby on the way, they call to postpone his stay, grounding him in the somewhat less exotic Bromley, Kent.
Daniel’s days consist of arguing with his mum about chores, making ketchup sandwiches in his pyjamas, half-heartedly handing out his CVs and hanging out with his posh rocker best friend Ky (Elliot Speller-Gillott). Girls may be on Ky’s mind, but Daniel’s only really interested in music – in fact, he spots an advert looking for a singer in a local metal band, but has to pluck up the courage to apply.
While Daniel’s dad is zooming around Florida in a convertible MG and skipping his child support payments, dowdy cardigan-wearing Sue has given up on her own love life. That is, until Daniel’s schmoozing teacher (Rob Brydon) flirts with her in the library and they go out on date to their local Italian restaurant, kissing in the back of the taxi to her son’s dismay.
A trip to the seaside, the death of their old age golden retriever, a fall-out with Ky and Sue’s birthday meal out punctuate their summer together and their relationship certainly improves by the end of the film.
With a chipper soundtrack by Belle and Sebastian that Daniel would probably hate, Days of the Bagnold Summer is sure to take you back to simpler times when sleeping in and not cleaning your room was a triumph.
Photos: Rob Baker-Ashton
Our Ladies
Michael Caton-Jones’ raucous coming of age film Our Ladies has its world premiere at BFI London Film Festival. Adapted from Alan Warner’s novel The Sopranos and set in 1996, it follows a Fort William girls’ choir as they travel to Edinburgh to compete in a singing competition. However, hymns are the last thing on their minds as these Catholic school girls are on a mission to get their kicks in the capital.
Despite a stern warning from Sister Condron about the temptations of Edinburgh, six of the girls split off in groups to see who and what they can get their hands on. This takes them on a boozy tour of the city’s sinful spots like an infamous sauna, lesbian bar and a recently-divorced man’s flat.
It’s a transformative trip as secrets begin to unfold and old alliances shift. A surprising relationship develops between street smart Finnoula (Abigail Lawrie) and privileged, cello-playing Head Girl Kay (Eve Austin), as they discover they have more in common than their vastly different backgrounds would suggest.
Another key story is that of leukaemia survivor Orla (Tallulah Greive) who was ‘miraculously cured’ in Lourdes and is making up for lost time pursuing her desires – a new pair of thigh-high leather boots and a cute boy to lose her virginity with. Needless to say, Sister Condron’s vision of a choir of angels is destroyed as the girls turn up still drunk, vomiting as the result of a secret pregnancy and with their uniforms stolen.
Juxtaposed against the uncomplicated beauty of the rural Scottish landscape, life for the girls in Fort William is a challenge, as the film examines issues such as teenage pregnancy, repressed sexuality, lack of opportunity, poverty and vulnerability. Above all, however, Our Ladies is intoxicating and nostalgic with its punk rock attitude, stylised 90s backdrop and relatable girls.
Photos: Jaap Buitendijk
For more information and booking, visit: https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/
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