Galway 2008: WAITING FOR THE LIGHT

My round-up of Irish films from Galway Film Fleadh continues. I happen to think today's entry is rather important for reasons that will be clear by the end.

WAITING FOR THE LIGHT was a late addition to my schedule, but I'm glad I chose to include it as it marked another achievement in my (accidental) ongoing quest to become the biggest non-Irish Irish-cinema geek in the world.

You've read about my MOSNEY/SEAVIEW Dublin-Toronto double header; you've read about how I managed to see short film NO REGRETS IN THE WEST at three separate festivals; now, marvel as I tell you all about how I saw an Irish film in which I appeared!

That's not to be confused with A FILM WITH ME IN IT, which also played at Galway, although if you're here to read about that then check out my recent Edinburgh round-up as I saw it there. Nope, this was a film with ME in it.

WAITING FOR THE LIGHT, which I believe was made for Irish TV, documents the life and work of George Morrison.

If you've just asked "who?" I'm not surprised. He's practically the father of Irish cinema and yet he's neglected in his homeland and pretty much unheard of outside of Ireland. In fact, an English woman mentioned this specifically in the Q&A afterwards and I almost piped up, but then thought better of it as she's probably right. Let's face it, there probably aren't that many people in Scotland who pay as much attention to Irish film as I do, and the ones that do are probably Irish.

Morrison is not just a filmmaker but also a preserver of history. His huge ongoing project to archive/catalogue moving images of Ireland from throughout the world made him the perfect person to piece together the stunning 1959 film MISE EIRE, a documentary covering Ireland's fight for independence up until the outbreak of the war of independence (this and the civil war were covered in the sequel, SAIORSE?), using original archival material that might otherwise have been lost, including newsreel footage from the time of the Easter 1916 rising.

Not prolific by any means, he has frequently found himself struggling to get anything made due to his refusal to compromise his artistic vision. Last year he directed his first film in over 30 years, the lovely documentary DUBLIN DAY.

When DUBLIN DAY premiered at the Stranger Than Fiction festival last year, I was there - go on, check my blog archives and see - which is how I ended up appearing in WAITING FOR THE LIGHT. You see, a brief shot of audience members waiting in the Irish Film Institute's foyer before the film includes myself, however briefly. Granted, that's not much of an appearance, but it still gave me a cheap thrill. I was at an Irish film festival watching an Irish documentary film in which I watched an Irish documentary film at an Irish film festival - how post-modern!

But enough of such frivolity. The documentary was fascinating from start to finish, giving me even more of an appreciation of the man and his talent not just for filmmaking but for ensuring Ireland's modern history is preserved for generations to come.

I can't emphasise Morrison's importance enough, especially if you happen to be Irish. I was delighted to hear that the IFI are carrying out a retrospective later this year, but in the meantime, go and pick up a copy of MISE EIRE and SAOIRSE?, both of which are available on DVD from Gael Linn in Ireland, and spread the word. (Despite MISE EIRE, the first film made in the Irish language, being probably the most important Irish film ever made, neither it nor the sequel are even listed on IMDb at the time I type this. Evidence if it was needed that Morrison's work is criminally under-recognised)

George Morrison is a master filmmaker and an extremely important Irishman. It would be nice to think that he could be widely recognised as such within his own lifetime instead of waiting until it's too late.

Galway 2008: a couple of Irish films

So here's the first part of my round-up of the numerous Irish films I saw at the recent Galway Film Fleadh (the main reason I went, after all).

ANTON, written by and starring Anthony Fox, is inspired by actual events. I have no idea what that means. It could be a really true story, or it could be a totally untrue one that happens to have one or two names the same. I don't know. Whatever, it's actually quite good.

The plot concerns a young man who, already with some trouble in his past, chooses to get involved in anti-British attacks in the aftermath of Bloody Sunday. However, when it all goes wrong, he finds himself having to choose between his country and his family.

Although the film is a little rough around the edges, most of the cast do a good enough job, with Fox convincing in the lead, the exceptionally pleasing on the eye Laura Way proves to be more than just a pretty face in the female lead and Gerard McSorley, one of Ireland's top actors, brings that touch of class that he usually brings to anything he appears in. Tension is maintained, the seventies period setting is ably realised and all in all it's a modest but gripping little thriller.

SATELLITES AND METEORITES is a love story with comedic touches - I hesitate to call it a romantic comedy as it doesn't deserve to be labelled with such a conventional term. A man and a woman lie in separate beds in a hospital, in comas. They also happen to meet in a completely different life. Characters around them pop up in all different guises. There's a meteor shower. Or is there? What the bloody hell is going on?

I won't say too much more about it except that while it's not without its flaws (at times it all gets a little bit too whimsical and odd) it's full of imagination and fully deserves a viewing. A likeable cast, lead by Adam Fergus and Amy Huberman, make up for other shortfalls and ensure that the film will charm most viewers.

EIFF2008 - the last few films

Yes I know it finished several weeks ago, but here's the rest of my EIFF round up anyway. Let's be honest, if you read this regularly you expect me to be late anyway and if you don't read it regularly, well, you're probably about to leave to go and read more interesting blogs anyway. My write-up of the Galway Film Fleadh might appear sometime within a month too, who knows.

The last day of the EIFF, when they show lots of extra screenings under the banner "Best of the Fest" gave me the opportunity to catch a few more films before it all comes to a close.

BETTER THINGS has received a lot of good press and some attention at other festivals (it played Cannes too). On the plus side, it's well put together and it's British. On the downside - everything else. Some old people sit about looking at each other; some young people take drugs and get angry; lots of stuff happens to a bunch of uninteresting people in really uninteresting ways. I'm not wasting any more bandwith talking about it. TURD.

MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY sees Frances McDormand conning her way into the life of famous movie star Amy Adams in England during WWII. Hilarious hi-jinks, melodrama and romance ensue. At the risk of sounding sexist, it's a woman's film. On the plus side though, it's an enjoyable woman's film, like the ones Hollywood used to make a long, long time ago - you know, the ones that starred Carole Lombard and people like that. McDormand and Adams are both terrific and ample support is provided by the likes of Ciarin Hinds and Shirley Henderson. An endearing throwback to the golden age of movies.

Earth is a post-apocalyptic wasteland where a lone figure prowls, speaking hardly a word but trying to make the world a better place. Nope, it's not a new MAD MAX film, it's Pixar's latest effort, WALL-E. Believe everything you've read - it's bloody brilliant. Despite the rather dark concept, it's still unrivalled family entertainment that will have kids and adults alike laughing and falling in love with a rusty little robot who doesn't even have a proper face. See it now.

A FILM WITH ME IN IT is an Irish comedy in which two layabouts with movie ambitions attempt to make a film but struggle with the script. However, they're then involved in a serious of unbelievable mishaps that might just provide them with inspiration. Dylan Moran and Mark Doherty star, providing plenty of laughs through both their own comic talent and the ludicrous, though very dark, twists that fate has in store for them. A dark comedy indeed.

By this time, the festival was pretty much over and as most people are away home it's a little bit depressing. It gets even more depressing however if you go and see a film like CRACK WILLOW.

Every so often I see a film at a festival that makes me wonder if the programmers are taking the piss. This is it. A fat man from Yorkshire talks to his dad, eats some chips, urinates in the bath. Weirdness suddenly happens. Then it's back to that bloke again. It's tosh of the worst kind and I am absolutely gobsmacked that it made it into the festival, far less got an extra screening. It's not even like BETTER THINGS, which was rubbish but beautifully shot. This is just a bloke with a camcorder eating some chips.

It's the kind of film that makes me wish I could travel back in time just to prevent cinema ever being invented. Avoid like the plague.