1. An Education: Nick Hornby's sensitive adaptation of journlaist Lynn Barber's excellent memoir of her first boyfriend.
2. Tales From The Golden Age: Portmanteau film with five stories about the horrific final 15 years of the Ceausescu regime in Romania.
3. Fantastic Mr Fox: Wes Anderson’s take on Roald Dahl is full of quirky magic — with a sly George Clooney voicing Mr Fox.
4. Bright Star: Jane Campion's imaginative portrayal of the Keats/Brawne love affair.
5. Disney's A Christmas Carol: Starring Jim Carrey as Scrooge.

Critics' Choice

Fay Maschler

quote With a single dessert and just two glasses of wine our bill was kept in check - but the effort of doing so was not much fun quote

Babbo Film

Andrew O'Hagan

quote This is a film with beautiful performances and a visual style that urges you towards reflection quote

Bright Star Theatre

Henry Hitchings

quote Although the first half of Kwei-Armah’s production is pacy, funny and intelligent, the energy level then drops off quote

Seize The Day

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Squiz, Islington

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An Education Theatre

Joe, London

quote I saw this last night and can't remember the last time I was so moved in the theatre. quote

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Aqua Kyoto

Sundance hosts Strummer film premiere

By Patrick Sawer, Evening Standard 19.01.07

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Culture Clash: Strummer's influence is explored in a new movie

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A film celebrating the life of London punk musician Joe Strummer will receive its world premiere at Robert Redford's Sundance cinema festival in Utah tomorrow.

The Future Is Unwritten, made by his friend, film director Julien Temple, promises to be the definitive documentary about the lead singer of The Clash, who died of a congenital heart defect in December 2002, aged 50.

It features contributions from Bono, Martin Scorsese, Johnny Depp and John Cusack.

Strummer's radical Leftwing lyrics established the Clash as campaigners against fascism, racism and US expansionism.

The Clash's albums, which embraced everything from reggae to hiphop, rockabilly and calypso, paved the way for today's interest in World Music, while the influence of punk graphics and clothes on high street fashion can still be felt.

Temple - who also made the Sex Pistols documentary The Filth And The Fury and whose 2006 film Glastonbury has become the definitive account of the festival - interviewed friends from Strummer's days squatting in London.

The film features footage of his early life as well as rare clips of the band. Temple said: "In many ways, Joe is a comparative figure to Winston Churchill."

Reader views (2)

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So true Dave... The Clash are the most overrated band in all existence. Punk for Eton boys. And what about "The Clash's albums... paved the way for today's interest in World Music, while the influence of punk graphics and clothes on high street fashion can still be felt."?

Was that written by a PR robot who has never even heard of punk let alone the clash?

The Clash were bad and everyone who gravitated around their orbit was equally so. Jilted John is more real (or '4 real') than the Clash. Why the hell would anyone listen to the clash when they could listen to the Fall, Public Image or Suicide? For the same reason they chose the equally bad Beatles over the Velvets, Kinks or the Silver Apples...

- Sam, London, UK

Middle class posh kids pretending to be the voice of a generation does not in any definition mean they are punk.
The Clash are to punk what Sham 69 are to skinhead,.. fake.

- Dave Edmonds, london,uk