London Film Festival 2012: 25 Essential Movies

Hyde Park On Hudson

Essentially an unofficial sequel to runaway hit The King's Speech , Hyde Park On Hudson is also set in 1939, covering the events of King George VI's (Samuel West) visit to Franklin D Roosevelt's (Bill Murray) New York countryside home, for a bit of international bonding in the hope of securing the United States' support during the impending war.

It's so far not confirmed whether Murray will attend the Festival (he's a hard man to get hold of) but expect big red carpet crowds if he does.

This Is England

If you're reading Total Film, there's a very real chance you've already seen This Is England .

The We And The I

Michael Gondry's first film since the disappointing Green Hornet is a return to more experimental techniques.

Quartet

Dustin Hoffman's directorial debut features a cast of sterling British talent, including Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Pauline Collins and Bill Connolly, in this tale of four aging opera singers who are reunited in a specialist retirement home.

John Dies At The End

The ultimate cult movie finds an appropriate home in the LFF's new cult section.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Fresh from opening the Venice Film Festival, The Reluctant Fundamentalist 's complex take on terrorist ideology will come to the LFF, bringing its star-studded cast with it.

The Sessions

Centred around a stunning central performance by John Hawkes, The Sessions deserves to be seen by packed out audiences at this year's LFF.

Antiviral

With Antiviral , David Cronenberg's son Brandon proves that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and, in this instance, it's probably rotting from within because of all the maggots.

Robot & Frank

Essentially a buddy movie between a robot butler and a retired jewel thief, this well-crafted crowd-pleaser features likeable turns from its impressive cast - Frank Langella as the thief, Susan Sarandon as his librarian crush, Peter Skarsgaard as the robot - and a surprising layer of poignancy.

Rust & Bone

Director Jacques Audiard’s follow-up to his acclaimed Oscar-winner A Prophet , Rust & Bone is an intense drama starring Marion Cotillard and impressive newcomer Matthias Schoenaerts.

A Liar's Autobiography

And now for something completely different.

Beyond The Hills

Beyond The Hills , Cristian Mungiu's follow up to his acclaimed abortion thriller 4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days , is a drama as terrifying as any horror flick.

Wolf Children

The latest anime from Mamoru Hosoda (who fans will recognise as the mind behind The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars ) Wolf Children uses the age-old 'girl meets wolf man, girl has wolf children with wolf man, girl loses wolf man, girl relocates wolf children to the countryside' plot and uses it to explore the nature of love and existence.

Celeste & Jesse Forever

A romantic comedy in reverse, Celeste & Jesse poses the question - can two best friends fall in love, get married, break up… and still remain friends?

Beasts Of The Southern Wild

Winner of both the Camera d'Or for best first film and the International Critics' Prize at Cannes this year, as well as the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, Beasts Of The Southern Wild arrives in London with a wave of critical hype behind it.

The Samurai That Night

Part of the festival's first feature competition, The Samurai That Night is a suspenseful revenge tale, concerned with seemingly mild mannered Kenichi Nakamura's quest to avenge the hit-and-run death of his wife.

For No Good Reason

This intimate documentary follows Hunter S Thompson collaborator Ralph Steadman over a period of 15 years, featuring rare footage from the Gonzo years and beyond.

Nameless Gangster: Rules Of The Time

Half gripping gangster thriller, half meditation on the nature of human corruption, Nameless Gangster is essentially the Korean Goodfellas .

The Hunt

Mads Mikkelsen's masterful central turn won all the plaudits at this year's Cannes, and rightly so: he's superb, escalating tension through the merest of facial tics, cleverly crafting a character initially so warm and likeable that watching his journey through The Hunt is an unforgettably harrowing experience.

Seven Psychopaths

We've been worked up about Seven Psychopaths on the basis that it's writer-director Martin McDonagh's first film since the incredible In Bruges .

Argo

Ben Affleck's acclaimed third feature follows the unbelievable true story of a CIA agent who pretends to make a science-fiction film as a cover to extradite six Americans caught up in the Iranian revolution.

My Brother The Devil

At first glance, My Brother The Devi l might look like another Adulthood knock-off. But it's far, far more interesting than that.

Crossfire Hurricane

It's a world premiere for the LFF and a massive treat for rock fans - The Rolling Stones documentary Crossfire Hurricane will debut at the festival, and we fully expect to see Mick Jagger and his mates roll down the red carpet.

Sightseers

Despite the fact that Sightseers features more murders than its horror-flick predecessor Kill List , the London Film Festival has put director Ben Wheatley's dark tale into the 'Laugh' section of its programming.

Amour

Michael Haneke's extraordinary Palme d'Or winner comes to London, offering general audiences the chance to see the film Cannes journalists fell over each other to praise.

PRODUCTS

Sam Ashurst is a London-based film maker, journalist, and podcast host. He's the director of Frankenstein's Creature, A Little More Flesh + A Little More Flesh 2, and co-hosts the Arrow Podcast. His words have appeared on HuffPost, MSN, The Independent, Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, and many more, as well as of course for us here at GamesRadar+.