Young Joe Scott, played by Harry Eden, and his childhood crush, Ruth, played by Felicity Jones, are certain to be two of Britain’s upcoming stars. As we are taken back in time, Joe’s hormonal emotions are depicted so truthfully we can relate to them as if they are our very own.
The performances from Daniel Craig, Harry Eden, and Felicity Jones particularly make this film a must see. The writer/director, Baillie Walsh, creates an almost dreamlike quality to his shots which results in a superb scene between the young Joe Scot and Ruth dancing to the legendary Roxy Music.

Day 8: Wednesday October 24, 2007

Head into the office today and am greeted by a rather shell-shocked colleague who’s still coming to terms with seeing the shot-for-shot remake of Michael Haneke’s Funny Games. In trying to explain how he feels about it, the best he manages is: “I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, but then I also think you just have to see it.”

I got a slightly easier ride with a screening of Amir Bar-Lev’s fantastically titled My Kid Could Paint That. It’s a fabulous, enthralling documentary about a four-year-old American kid whose ‘modern art’ paintings start selling for thousands of dollars and who’s then made out to be a fraud! It made me laugh, but also had the ability to make me question my take on the art world, and ultimately also highlighted the difficulties a filmmaker faces in remaining subjective about a project.

Day 7: Tuesday October 23

Back to the festival after a couple of days involved in other gainful employment — sadly, not all of it as entertaining as watching what’s looking like a high quality crop of movies this year. See Carlos Reygadas’ Silent Light. Not an easy watch, but still a beguiling one. It’s a film that kind of sneaks up on you a couple of hours after you’ve seen it and makes you think. It has a truly distinctive look, and as a filmmaker Reygadas has a very philosophical approach to his art. During a quick interview with him, I discovered he only used natural light in the movie — electric light only being employed when the lights in a house needed to be on for a scene. He also laid claim to being a major fan of much admired British New Wave director, Tony Richardson.

Day 4: Saturday October 20

On a day when the proverbial big guns were wheeled out, it could be the surprise film of the festival that marches away with the plaudits. I thought when I saw Stardust recently that I had seen the best fantasy/fairytale film of the year; I was wrong. Enchanted, starring Amy Adams, is far and away the most charming and disarming film this side of the Princess Bride. Adams, who already has an Oscar nomination to her name, deserves another one for this modern reinvention of classic Walt Disney films. It’s the sort of scene stealing role Johnny Depp delivered in the Pirates of the Caribbean films, with the added bonus of a genuine progression in character. Captain Jack Sparrow was a very funny one trick pony, but the Princess in this film transforms from the innocent to world savvy with utter believability.

Day 4: Saturday October 20

It's my first year with London Film Festival press accreditation, yet today was the first chance I've had to get to a screening, thanks to work commitments (both my full-time job for a national UK newspaper, plus my 'hobby/sideline' running this here website). I have managed to see a few Festival films pre-LFF — Eastern Promises, The Darjeeling Limited, In The Shadow Of The Moon, Sicko — but this is my first genuine, bona fide Festival screening. So I guess that there could be no better film to lose my LFF virginity to than Lust, Caution.

DAY 4: Saturday October 20

For some reason, I don’t quite know why, the documentary is a genre on the rise. It’s not that all of a sudden ‘the public’ likes documentaries, it’s more to do with audiences’ newfound willingness to go see them in a cinema, rather than just on the telly. Nick Broomfield, Michael Moore, Morgan Spurlock and Spike Lee have all enjoyed success on the big screen and there are now plenty of filmmakers arriving in their wake.

Day 3: Friday October 19

My first full day covering this year's festival couldn't have delivered two more different movies. First up was a morning engagement (10am, yikes) to see Andrew Dominik's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, which manages a running time way longer even than its title — 155 minutes, if you will. Still it's a beautifully photographed, sombre, elegiac film, with well-judged performances from Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck and Sam Rockwell. Gear shift time came at 4pm with Joe Swanberg's Hannah Takes the Stairs. Just 84 minutes in the chair this time, but all of them enjoyable.Swanberg's film is totally improvised by its cast, cost just $50,000 to make, and has a fresh feel and realism to it that makes its actually rather slight story totally engaging. Thumbs up for both, and a great way to start the next few weeks' film gluttony.
• Robert Hull

Day 1: Wednesday October 17

Director David Cronenberg, stars Naomi Watts and Vincent Cassel, and screenwriter Steve Knight were all on hand to answer questions at the press conference for Eastern Promises. Reuniting David Cronenberg with his History of Violence leading man, Eastern Promises again explores the psyche, physicality and fortunes of a troubled man whose true identity may never be wholly revealed. The film takes place in a criminal London underworld and boasts excellent performances from an international cast, as well a top-notch script from Dirty Pretty Things writer Steve Knight. This is what the makers and cast had to say, when Screenjabber caught up with them...

DAY 1: Wednesday October 17

Welcome to Screenjabber's London Film Festival blog. Every day we'll be bringing you the news, the rumours, the things you need to see (and the things you need to avoid) from the LFF, as we send our ever-reliable team running around the South Bank, Leicester Square and all those other funky venues hosting films and events at this year's Festival. Things got off to a cracking start — well, according to some reviewers — with the Opening Gala, David Cronenberg's oddly sentimental / grimly violent Eastern Promises. If you missed it, there's another chance to see it tomorrow...