A year in film is over as quickly as the camera flashes on the numerous red carpets rolled out in the October night sky. Marketed with statistics that indicate the growing popularity of this fortnight in celluloid heaven—248 films, 17 venues, 12 days—the London Film Festival rolls into the capital, bringing with it delights from all over the world.
Movies are journeys of discovery, as is the selection process involved in choosing which of the potential masterpieces or pretentious duffers you’re going to see.
With a notable absence of films with real gravitas (or Gravity) or a word-of-mouth buzz piece such as last year’s 12 Years A Slave, here is a “this is Sparta” style kick in the right direction, a guide to the best of what’s showing on the autumnal London streets.
The Opening Night Gala is fresh from its Peoples Choice Award win at the Toronto International Film Festival. Imitation Game is the story of WWII codebreaker Alan Turing, played by he-who-can-do-no-wrong, Benedict Cumberbatch.
Not only focusing on the pivotal role he played cracking the German Enigma Code, the film, directed by Morten Tyldum (Headhunters), details his subsequent arrest for homosexuality and social ostracism.
Historical biographies have a tendency to be bogged down by facts, forgetting to engage with the audience, but the human struggle at the heart of this story should ensure that the Imitation Game turns out to be cracker.
