GFF: Day Two

After a couple of days away, I can finally get back to the wonderful line-up of the Glasgow Film Festival. So even though this is actually Day 6 of the festival, this is only the second day I have managed to catch any films. So after a long day at work I caught The Congress on the big screen, having disappointingly missed out on the Tron showing at the Glue Factory due to technical difficulties when booking. Finished off the evening with another regular release which I'll review later.

A measly one festival film today however I mean to make up for my poor show with three more festival showings and an extra one on regular release today.

The Congress - a weird and wonderful, if somewhat troubling look at a future where people would rather live in their hallucinations than the real world. The eventual concept has plate out in many films before, however the journey to get there has never looked so bright and imaginative. It's a scathing take on the shallowness and increasing need to stay young in Hollywood and Robin Wright storms the role of aging actress, uneasy at the thought of handing over her own image to a company to do with whatever they want.

The sweeping score and longing, nostalgic animation scenes provide a psychedelic bridge between the world that we know and the world as it is to become. Questions about age, free will and beauty are all brought up but never quite answered completely - it's a buffet of tidbits that are left out for you to pick and choose, for you to decide what the truth is. Is fame and shallowness going to be the death of humanity as we know it?

It is no surprise that this won Best Animated Feature Film at the 26th European Film Awards, even though only half of the film is actually animated. I loved this film with the little characters you recognise instantly, the nods to films past, the eccentric hand drawn animation and emotional core that is bound by family.