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FeaturesYou are in: London > Entertainment > Films > Features > Film Festival hot picks  Ang Lee's Lust, Caution is a highlight Film Festival hot picksOur critic Jason Solomons picks some of the most interesting things to see at this year's London Film Festival... Centrepiece Gala: I'm Not ThereCate Blanchett makes a lovely Bob Dylan, one of six in Todd Haynes' outlandish portrait of the American singer.  Cate Blanchett: a lovely Bob Dylan Cate's joined by Christian Bale, Ben Whishaw, Richard Gere and Marcus Carl Franklin in portraying various incarnations riffing on the theme of Dylan, so a cubist image arises, the many faces and facets of Bob the folky, the actor, the poet, the agitator, the lover, the bastard, the cool dude, the religious zealot. It's a trip of a movie and when it works, it's superb. SATURDAY 27 OCTOBER 20.30 ODEON WEST END 2 Mayor of London Gala: Lust, CautionOh Ken, you saucy devil, picking Ang Lee's sexually explicit spy saga for your gala.  Lust, Caution's Tony Leung and Tang Wei Here, against the WWII backdrop of Japanese-occupied Singapore, newcomer Tang Wei, playing an aspiring actress, joins the resistance and is tasked with putting her thespian skills to the test by seducing a leading collaborator, Mr Yee, played by that smouldering lothario of Asian screen, Tony Leung. It's a slow burner, beautiful to behold, and when the sex does come, it blows your head off. TUESDAY 23 OCTOBER 12.45 ODEON WEST END 1 Far NorthBringing new meaning to the word "chilled", Hackney-born Asif Kapadia comes up with a Zen-like meditation on myth and fairy tale, building to a stunning climax.  Far North's Michelle Yeoh and Sean Bean Set on the icy wastes of the Arctic, Michelle Yeoh and her daughter hunt seals to survive but their hermetic world is pierced by the arrival of Sean Bean's stranger. Icebergs, yurt tents and love triangles are the shapes; ice cracking, howling wind and the shudder of violent memories are the sounds. Kapadia's film is timeless and a cult classic in the making. TUESDAY 30 OCTOBER 18.00 ODEON WEST END 2 You, The LivingSweden's Roy Andersson doesn't make many movies - it was 20 years between his last two - so when he does, attention must be paid.  Tragi-comic life: You, The Living His method is to present life as a series of surreal vignettes, some tragic, some comic, featuring long faces and long pauses and crew of oddball characters. Here we see a manic depressive, a tuba player, an Arab barber, a schoolgirl with a crush... Life, for Andersson, is a parade of absurd details, and you'll laugh and sob with him. WEDNESDAY 24 OCTOBER 21.00 ODEON WEST END 1 The Secret of the GrainA brilliant snapshot of hopes and immigrant dreams, Abdellatif Kechiche directs a sprawling cast of characters making up a French-Arab family in the southern port town of Sete.  Food and family: The Secret of the Grain The paterfamilias dreams of opening a fish-couscous restaurant on a dilapidated boat and cajoles friends, family and local dignitaries into attending the big opening night. It's a food movie, a family movie, a philosophical study and a satire on racism and love, both uplifting and heart-breaking, sometimes at exactly the same moment. Genius. THURSDAY 25 OCTOBER 20.30 NFT1 SubstituteAlways on the lookout for a footy movie, here's one with a nice difference, the story of a sidelined French international during the last World Cup.  Footy on the sidelines: Substitute While Zidane was grabbing the spotlight (and his own movie by artist Douglas Gordon), Vikash Dhorasoo gives us a video diary of his life on the bench, his melancholy and his low opinions of his squad colleagues and the manager. Dhorasoo was dropped from les Bleus after this - but he's a film maker now, so who cares? MONDAY 29 OCTOBER 20.30 NFT2 El Bano Del PapaI'm very fond of this folksy tale of a peasant on the Uruguay/Brazil border preparing an outdoor toilet for the visit of the Pope to his town.  A working man portrait: El Bano Del Papa It's the directing debut of Cesar Charlone, the cinematographer who gave us the distinctive look of City of God and The Constant Gardener. A greyer, more sober film than might be expected, its charms work slowly but build to a very moving "working man" portrait, a bitter comment on the hopes and dreams of the populace against the legacy and celebrity of religion. THURSDAY 25 OCTOBER 15.45 NFT1 Secret SunshineGorgeous Korean film from Lee Chang Dong, the crispness of the images contrasting with the turmoil of the central character, played here by actress Jeon Do Yeon.  Cannes winner Jeon Do Yeon She won best actress at Cannes for the role of a piano teacher trying to make a new start after the death of her husband, only to find more heartbreak and breakdown are around the corner. An emotional wringer of a film, but strangely cathartic, like finding sunshine when you didn't know it was there.... MONDAY 22 OCTOBER 20.30 ODEON WEST END 1 Treasures from the ArchiveOne of the joys of the LFF is the vast archive available and the titles picked for restoration and rediscovery. Try 1934's Jimmy The Gent, with Jimmy Cagney as a conman trying to best a magnificent Bette Davis under the always-fluid direction of Michael Curtiz. And finally, London CallingPerhaps not enough of the LFF is devoted to giving London's filmmakers a voice - but here's a programme of 8 short films from young directors encouraged by Film London's production schemes.  London's filmmakers get a look-in This should provide a snapshot of where London's at in terms of talent, topic and styles. It's also an ideal spot to store up a dinner party bon mot of the future: "Of course, I knew Tom was a talent when I caught one of his shorts at the LFF, oh, five years ago." MONDAY 29 OCTOBER 21.00 NFT1 Public booking for the 51st BFI London Film Festival is open now. Use the weblink, right, for more details.last updated: 22/10/07 You are in: London > Entertainment > Films > Features > Film Festival hot picks 
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