EDINBURGH FESTIVAL PREVIEW

There's a stronger than ever line-up of British films at this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival and MICHAEL WINTERBOTTOM'S Wonderland is perhaps the pick of the bunch. Words: Nigel Floyd

Walt

fe.‘ Film

After the frrst s<reenrng of Wonder/and, at thrs year's Cannes Frlm Festrval, many urban-dwellrng Brrtrsh (rrtrcs felt the need to phone therr famrly or frrends back home Thrs (ompulsron was a testament to how precrsely and lovrngly the frlm captures the sensatron of lrvrng rn a teemrng (rty that rs at on<e (ornfortrngly famrlrar and potentially alrenatrng an ambrgurty that adds an extra rntensrty to those human (onnertrons whrch drspel our fear of berng alone.

As drre<tor, tvlrt'hael Wrnterbottorn puts rt, ’As an rndrvrdual rn a ('rty, you're very aware, espeually If you’re feelmg lonely or Isolated, of the mrllrons of other people around you. The fatt that there are 500 other people lrvrng In your bl()(k of flats, and you're strll alone, makes that lonelrness more acute. So all the

,3! '2‘“ -

u .47“ London cal ing: Ian Hart in Wonderlait ., ,_ . 3r *

husbands or wrves to try to make sure that they’re not Isolated from the rest of the world The (rty m the frlm rs London, but rn thrs sense It could Just as easrly been Edrnburgh, Glasgow, Belfast or lvlan(hester.

have

therr lrves (rrss-cross over one long Guy Fawkes weekend ~ lrterally ’follows', as the Jerky, hand-held camera pursues actors rncludrng Ian Hart, Grna lvlr'Kee and John Srmm along streets or rnto pubs that are teemrng wrth real people.

'The attractron,’ explarns Wrnterbottom, 'was to have a sense of all these rnrllrons of people's lrves

charatters m the frlm are strugglrng to make Conne(‘trons r~ wrth therr famrlres, therr lovers, therr

Formally audaCrous and rntensely movrng, Wonder/and follows a drverse group of Londoners as

‘A BRILLIANT HOMAGE TO AN INDESTRUCTIBLE CLASSIC

l’IIiRS HANDLING TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL

DON BOYD I~II.M

EAI’M AUGUST 19— b

22 THE lIST 22 Jul—5 Aug 1999