| Donkeys | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Morag McKinnon |
| Written by | Lone Scherfig |
Release dates |
|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Donkeys is a 2010 Scottish independent feature film, directed by Morag McKinnon and starring James Cosmo, Kate Dickie, Martin Compston, Brian Pettifer, and Natalie Press. It was awarded best feature film at the 2011 British Academy Scotland Awards, and Cosmo was named best actor. [2]
The film is a black comedy or tragicomedy set in Glasgow, Scotland. Cosmo plays an old man called Alfred trying to mend his relationship with his children, daughter Jackie (Kate Dickie) and son Stevie (Martin Compston), with darkly comic results. [3]
It was originally planned as the second part of the Advance Party trilogy inspired by Lars von Trier and the Dogme 95 movement. [4] It followed Andrea Arnold's Red Road , and all the films in the trilogy, produced by Sigma Films and Zentropa, were supposed to feature the same characters and actors. Kate Dickie's character Jackie was the lead playing a CCTV camera-operator in Red Road and is a checkout operator in Donkeys. [5]
However the production was difficult, due partly to the illness of original lead actor Andy Armour, who was eventually replaced by James Cosmo; Armour died of cancer a few months later. [6]
It was premiered at the 2010 Edinburgh International Film Festival and opened in October 2010 at Cineworld Renfrew Street in Glasgow. [6]
The film's reviews were mixed. The Hollywood Reporter praised its "mordant humour" but found the characters uninteresting. [7] The Scotsman rated it 2/5, complaining that the restrictions of the trilogy brought no benefit to the film, and that it lurched tonally between tragicomedy and tragedy through a series of obvious plot twists. [8] The List gave it a more positive review, scoring it 4/5, and praising it as a black comedy that was tonally quite distinct from Red Road. [3] The Radio Times criticised the direction and screenplay as "slipshod". [9] The Quietus considered that it wasn't as good as Red Road and would confuse audiences expecting a straight sequel, but was "moving, funny and disturbing in parts". [5]
Lars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter.
The Element of Crime is a 1984 experimental neo-noir crime film co-written and directed by Lars von Trier. It is the first feature film directed by von Trier and the first installment of the director's Europa trilogy – succeeded by Epidemic (1987) and Europa (1991).
Breaking The Waves is a 1996 psychological romantic melodrama film directed and co-written by Lars von Trier and starring Emily Watson in her feature film acting debut, and with Stellan Skarsgård, a frequent collaborator with von Trier.
Manderlay is a 2005 avant-garde drama film written and directed by Lars von Trier, the second and final part of von Trier's projected USA – Land of Opportunities trilogy. It stars Bryce Dallas Howard, who replaces Nicole Kidman in the role of Grace Mulligan. The film co-stars Willem Dafoe, replacing James Caan. Lauren Bacall, Željko Ivanek, Jeremy Davies, and Chloë Sevigny return portraying different characters from those in Dogville. Only John Hurt, Udo Kier, and Jean-Marc Barr reprise their roles. The film was internationally co-produced with seven different European countries.
Europa is a 1991 experimental psychological drama period film directed and co-written by Lars von Trier. The film is an international co-production between Denmark and five other European countries, it is von Trier's third theatrical feature film, and the third and final installment in his Europa trilogy, following The Element of Crime (1984) and Epidemic (1987).
Martin Compston is a Scottish actor and former professional footballer. He played Anti-Corruption Unit Detective Inspector Steve Arnott in the BBC drama Line of Duty, Liam in Ken Loach's Sweet Sixteen, Paul Ferris in The Wee Man, Ewan Brodie in Monarch of the Glen and Dan Docherty in The Nest.
Douglas “Dougie” James Henshall is a Scottish television, film and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Professor Nick Cutter in the science fiction series Primeval (2007–2011) and Detective Inspector Jimmy Pérez in the crime drama Shetland (2013–2022).
James Ronald Gordon Copeland, known professionally as James Cosmo, is a Scottish actor. Known for his character work, he has played supporting roles in films such as Highlander (1986), Braveheart (1995), Trainspotting (1996), Troy (2004), The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Ben-Hur (2016), and Wonder Woman (2017). On television, he appeared as Father Kellan Ashby on the third season of Sons of Anarchy (2010), Jeor Mormont on HBO's Game of Thrones (2011–2013), Farder Coram in the BBC series His Dark Materials (2019), and Luka Gocharov on the third season of Amazon Prime's Jack Ryan (2022). Cosmo appeared as a contestant on the nineteenth series of Celebrity Big Brother in 2017, finishing in fourth place.
There are several types of mass media in Scotland: television, cinema, radio, newspapers, magazines, game design and websites. The majority of Scotland's media is located in Glasgow, the countries largest city, which serves as the HQ for much of the countries major media employers such as broadcasters BBC Scotland and STV, radio services including BBC Radio Scotland, Clyde 1 and Pure Radio Scotland. Game design and production company, Rockstar North, has its international offices in the countries capital city, Edinburgh.
The Europa trilogy is an experimental film trilogy created by Danish writers Lars von Trier and Niels Vørsel, comprising his three feature films The Element of Crime (1984), Epidemic (1987) and Europa (1991).
Red Road is a 2006 psychological thriller film directed by Andrea Arnold and starring Kate Dickie, Tony Curran, Martin Compston, and Natalie Press. It tells the story of a CCTV security operator who observes through her monitors a man from her past. It is named after, and partly set at, the Red Road Flats in Balornock, Glasgow, Scotland, which were the tallest residential buildings in Europe at the time they were built. It was shot largely in a Dogme 95 style, using handheld cameras and natural light. The Observer polled several filmmakers and film critics who voted it as one of the best British films in the last 25 years.
Advance Party is the name given to a concept of three films which are all to follow a set of rules proposed by executive producers Gillian Berrie, Lone Scherfig and Anders Thomas Jensen. The concept came out of discussion between Lars von Trier, Berrie, Scherfig and Jensen. Each film is to be made by different first-time directors and producers. The production companies Sigma Films (Glasgow) and Zentropa (Denmark) are behind the concept.
Kate Dickie is a Scottish actress who has appeared in television series, stage plays and films. She is known for her television roles as Lex in the BBC series Tinsel Town (2000–2001) and Lysa Arryn in the HBO series Game of Thrones.
Scotland has produced many films, directors and actors.
Sigma Films is a film production company based in Glasgow, Scotland. The company was formed in 1996 by Gillian Berrie, David Mackenzie and Alastair Mackenzie – a producer, director and actor respectively. Over the last twenty years the company has been responsible for film releases including Starred Up (2013), Under the Skin (2013), Perfect Sense (2011), Hallam Foe (2007), Red Road (2006), Young Adam (2003) and Dear Frankie (2004). In 2017, Sigma began production on big-budget historical epic Outlaw King for Netflix.
Dogma 95 is a 1995 avant-garde filmmaking movement founded by the Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and the "Vows of Chastity". These were rules to create films based on the traditional values of story, acting, and theme, and excluding the use of elaborate special effects or technology. It was supposedly created as an attempt to "take back power for the directors as artists", as opposed to the studio. They were later joined by fellow Danish directors Kristian Levring and Søren Kragh-Jacobsen, forming the Dogme 95 Collective or the Dogme Brethren. Dogme is the Danish word for dogma.
Phil MacHugh is a Scottish television presenter, media personality and media consultant.
Melancholia is a 2011 science fiction drama film written and directed by Lars von Trier and starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Kiefer Sutherland, with Alexander Skarsgård, Brady Corbet, Cameron Spurr, Charlotte Rampling, Jesper Christensen, John Hurt, Stellan Skarsgård, and Udo Kier in supporting roles. The film's story revolves around two sisters, one of whom marries just before a rogue planet is about to collide with Earth. Melancholia is the second film in von Trier's unofficially titled Depression Trilogy. It was preceded in 2009 by Antichrist and followed by Nymphomaniac in 2013.
Shetland is a Scottish crime drama television series produced by ITV Studios for BBC Scotland. First broadcast on BBC One on 10 March 2013, it is originally based upon the novels of Ann Cleeves and adapted by David Kane. The first seven series starred Douglas Henshall as DI Jimmy Pérez, whilst Ashley Jensen stars as DI Ruth Calder from the eighth series. The cast also includes Alison O'Donnell as DS Alison "Tosh" McIntosh and Steven Robertson as DC Sandy Wilson, as well as Lewis Howden and Anne Kidd. Henshall won the 2016 BAFTA Scotland award for Best Actor and the series received the award for Best TV Drama.
In Plain Sight is a Scottish television drama series covering the crimes committed by serial killer Peter Manuel in Lanarkshire, Scotland in the 1950s. The three-part series was first broadcast on ITV on 7 December 2016. The series is distributed worldwide by BBC Worldwide.
