Edinburgh International Film Festival - Thursday

German mega-hit The Wave is apparently based on real events, but it’s best to take that claim with a pinch of salt and instead enjoy it as an exaggerated piece of cautionary speculation. It details the events of one week in a German high school in which, as a way of educating his class about autocracy, teacher Rainer decides to run the class on the principles of a fascist regime. Some students treat it as a joke, some are disgusted and others begin to embrace this new order; unfortunately Rainer doesn’t foresee the devastating effects that this experiment will have for all concerned.

Director Dennis Gansel‘s film works largely because of Jürgen Vogel’s excellent performance as Rainer; we are never really sure of his motives, and while some of the students’ actions and responses stretch credibility, the complex treatment given to Rainer’s character helps ground the film. And while the tragic conclusion is inevitable from the outset, Gansel builds up to it in such a way that ensures The Wave packs a mighty punch in its closing moments.

Also well worth catching today is Sleep Dealer, a very low budget Mexican sci-fi that, like all the best examples of its genre, explores questions about what’s most valuable to humanity while simultaneously telling a great story. It borrows from the best, with a soundtrack reminiscent of Blade Runner and a central concept involving humans connecting to a giant network that owes a debt to The Matrix, but director Alex Rivera adds his own unique touch to things, excelling at creating a future world that is believable without feeling the need to explain all of its technology.

While the shoddy special effects are a little off-putting, the strength of the central story, involving a hacker from rural Mexico going to Tijuana after his father’s murder by the government, helps to overcome budgetary limitations. Rivera also does a great job of suggesting the multiple ways in which ‘connection’ is important to humanity, giving the film a valuable extra dimension.

But just edging out these two for my pick of the day is Tarsem Singh’s new film The Fall. Completed in 2006 but floundering in an unreleased netherworld ever since, hopefully this breathtaking, exciting and humorously self-aware adventure will be available to a wider audience soon. The director, who’s previous offering was the much-maligned Jennifer Lopez starrer The Cell, is known for being a master at visuals but not so hot at actually telling stories, so the fact that The Fall takes storytelling as its central motif is either Tarsem’s way of taking his critics head-on, or just a sign of sheer bloody-mindedness. Whatever the reason, the result is wonderful cinema.

It’s 1920s Los Angeles. Lee Pace, having got rid of the appalling English accent he attempted in yesterday’s Miss Pettigrew, is Roy, a hospital bed-bound stuntman who is also just a little heartbroken and suicidal. He is befriended by Alexandria (Catinca Untaru), a 9-year old girl stuck in the hospital as a result of a fall, who convinces the unenthusiastic Roy to tell her a story. This Princess Bride-esque set-up gives Tarsem the opportunity to let his imagination go wild, and he creates some amazing visuals, covering a multitude of real locations, as Roy spins his yarn.

Several elements come together to make the film great. The first is the natural chemistry between Pace and Untaru: when we watch them talking together it really feels like we’re eavesdropping on a totally unrehearsed situation. Untaru occasionally stumbles over lines or seems to not really be paying attention to Pace; she is so clearly not a professional actress that all we get is her raw life and charm, and it works - she’s adorable. Equally effective is the way Tarsem blurs the line between the fantasy world of Roy’s story and the real world of the hospital. This allows for plenty of witty asides from characters within the story, but also crucially means that come the conclusion, when we really need to care about how things are going to end, the fantasy story has strengthened our understanding of what is at stake in reality, making for a gripping and satisfying finish.

Added to these pleasures, the film’s stunning visual quality, from the gorgeous black and white opening sequence to the dazzling blue city of the story’s finale, is the icing on the cake. The Fall is a treat of a film, and since this is the only opportunity to see it in the UK for the foreseeable future, it’s got to be my top recommendation today.

• The Wave (7/10) is at Cineworld, Fountainbridge on Thu 26th at 20.15 and Fri 27th at 17.00
• Sleep Dealer (7/10) is at Cineworld, Fountainbridge on Thu 26th at 17.15 and Fri 27th at 22.15
• The Fall (8/10) is at Cineworld, Fountainbridge on Thu 26th at 21.30 and Sat 28th at 16.45

Edinburgh International Film Festival Diary

1. Wednesday - The Edge of Love
2. Thursday - Elegy, Before the Rains and Sleep furiously
3. Friday - Donkey Punch, The Wackness and Three Miles North of Molkom
4. Saturday - Somers Town and The Visitor
5. Sunday- Lemon Tree (Etz Limon) and Summer
6. Monday - Reviews of Paris, Stone of Destiny and Better Things
7. Tuesday - 'Married Life', 'Love and Other Crimes' and 'The Surprise Movie'
8. Wednesday - Dummy, Elite Squad and Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
9. Thursday - The Wave, Sleep Dealer and The Fall
10. Friday - Let The Right One In and Man On Wire
11. Sunday - WALL-E Review

Posted by: Paul Gallagher from Screen Fever