Festival

An accurate portrayal of the vibe on the streets, boozing in the courtyards and ragbag mix of shoestring productions in dingy halls ranging from high artistic pretension to low comedy. More to the point it's a bloody good film, presenting us with some memorable portraits of aspiring artistes, jaded stand-ups, local journalists and citizens rubbing up against each other in pubs, hotel rooms and rented flats, and of course venues, with some pithy exchanges hurled between floor and stage. The actors are well served by a realistic, witty script that highlights the distinctive backgrounds and foibles of their various characters. They excite your sympathy, affection, pity or distaste even as you laugh. Every scene is either funny or sad, usually both. And the musical soundtrack is exquisite. It's not perfect - there are one or two moments of over-dramatised conflict towards the end that don't ring true, probably driven by some perceived need to pander to commercial expectations. The film should have retained its faith in the bubbling undercurrents which have swept it along so nicely until then, but thankfully it ends on an appropriate note of bittersweet irresolution.

The Edinburgh Festival deserves a film. It is a strange occasion in a great city, and huge numbers of people around the world have experienced it. It brings its own array of bizarre characters and situations, mixing them with the locals, and then takes them away again just as quickly, until next year when some of them come back for more. If that's not a recipe for some interesting comedy/drama, I don't know what is.

Unfortunately this film fails to hit the mark. It is structured quite well, and I liked the idea of following one venue through the course of its day. The overall atmosphere of the city is well-caught too, on the whole, and people who know Edinburgh in August will recognise it.

But its main flaw is lack of empathy. There are quite a lot of characters, some of whom are quite funny, but very few of whom are particularly likable and attractive. Those who are likable often lack authenticity, and everyone suffers from a lack of depth. The episodic plot is also patchy - some of the events that befall certain characters have nothing at all to do with the Edinburgh Festival and seem almost to have been put in as time-fillers.

To be fair, there are some funny moments and quite a few good lines. But put it this way: If it's on TV and not costing you anything, then by all means watch it. However, I paid £3 to rent it, and by the end I felt it wasn't really worth the money.

Ok. More fun location spotting than watching the film. Not even that redolent of a late summer in Edinburgh. A lot of actors under used. Nothing fleshed out, no one particularly interesting. Very superficial. Doesn't add up to much. Ultimately a bit pointless. If art is this depressing why bother?

Being from Edinburgh and suffering/enjoying the International Festival & Fringe for many years this film was always going to be of great interest to me. I did expect it to be dreadful, as so many UK-produced efforts can be, but actually ended-up enjoying large parts of it.

Edinburgh during the festival can be a strange place for the natives - the city is descended upon by hordes of media-types and desperate actors/comedians/whatever. During this time many locals will simply let out their flats at exorbitant rates and go on holiday thereby avoiding the whole rather disagreeable event.

With Festival you can play 'which celeb comedian is that meant to be' as well as 'which pub are they in' and 'where's that again' - being a local helps and you get the same familiar sense of enjoyment as when reading Ian Rankin's Rebus series (also set in Edinburgh.) The acting is good and there are some genuinely funny moments although the dialogue can be quite weak in places.

By miles, the worst element in this film is the music. It's intrusive, adds nothing to the drama and on occasions completely ruins the scene.

All-in-all if you're not from Edinburgh, Festival is hugely entertaining and will probably make you want to come here for next year's ever - if you need somewhere to stay I've got a lovely flat near the Assembly Rooms...

Festival. Written by Annie griffin who is best known for her channel 4 series 'the book group' (I have to admit at this point that I seemed to have missed that one) and staring familiar faces from the world of comedy shows such as 'green wing', 'Garth Marenghi's dark place' and 'this life'. This film is almost a mock-umentary. It parodies the Edinburgh fringe festival and some of the characters that inhabit this world of shows, plays and street theatre. The first thing to say is too much bagpipes!! I hate them with a passion. But that is a personal thing and no real reflection on the film, which is very good. The best bits of this kind of fly on the wall look at all things fringe like are the bits where the cast are taking the p#ss out of the whole pretentiousness of it all. The comedy-judging panel arguing over whether comedy should or shouldn't get laughs is brilliant. Elsewhere the film is punctuated with great one liners delivered by a huge cast who range from drunk comedians to sex mad journalists, an over enthusiastic one woman performer to a person so famous they don't care and have given up trying. It is in the subtlety of these characters, who were it not for the festival would probably have never met, that the story get it's rich ideas. If you have ever been to the fringe you will recognise the sense of madness portrayed of a city under siege from people from all walks of life convinced they have talent. Some have and go on to bigger things others fall by the wayside. This is a story of these people and of those who have made it but could lose it or in the case of one character hasn't made it after 8 years at the festival. Funny, dark and an insight into human nature alongside creativity. Festival will not be for all, but for those who visit they will come away rewarded. I have resisted giving away the best scene lets just say it happens to the ventriloquist.