The 51st Times BFI 5London Film Festival

BFI London Film Festival gets underway Thursday, with opening gala 24">Eastern Promises (which we'll be covering when it goes on general release next week). At this stage I've seen just over 30 of the films in the programme. That's a mere drop in the ocean in a festival of this size, but it's enough to be able to pass on a few tips, as well as the odd warning!

first films to sell out are always the Galas, in part because less tickets are available to the general public (this is where the festival gives its sponsors some payback). That means you won't be able to get in to Ang Lee's erotic Venice-prize winner Lust, Caution… though truth to tell, it's a bit of a long slog. Todd Haynes' Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There is also sold out, but as of Monday evening you could still get tickets for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The Darjeeling Limited and Sean Penn's Into the Wild - all of which I recommend. Still, bear in mind most of these films have UK distribution deals in place, and you'll be able to see them soon enough either on the big screen or down the line on DVD.

you're keen to be first among your friends to see some buzz titles (and I'm not talking about Bee Movie here) then let me point you to the Festival on the Square section. Here you can still get tickets for Son of Rambow: A Home Movie, my favourite discovery at Sundance earlier this year. A comedy about two boys who embark on making an action adventure Super 8 film in the spirit of Sylvester Stallone, it's wonderfully spry and inventive, and a must-see for anyone who grew up with the BBC's long-running children's quiz show, Screen Test.

Another Sundance title, The Savages is generating early Oscar buzz for Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney (who is coming into town to do an onstage interview this year). They play a brother and sister who are reunited when their father is kicked out of his retirement home. This is a very accomplished piece of work from Tamara Jenkins (her first since The Slums of Beverly Hills).

It's just been announced that Naomi Watts has also agreed to do an onstage interview, so you should be able to snap up tickets for that. She has two films in the festival, Eastern Promises and Funny Games, Michael Haneke's US remake of his notorious home invasion thriller. Apparently this is very close to the original, even shot for shot, but it has impressed those who have seen it.

I haven't seen Flight of The Red Balloon yet, with Juliette Binoche, but it's high on my catch up list. I also hear very good things about Edge of Heaven, by the director of Head On, and Silent Light, by Carlos Reygadas (Japon; Battle in Heaven).

On the other hand I would urge caution regarding Reservation Road, a disappointingly dull and depressing drama from Terry George; and wasn't much impressed with Grace is Gone, an Iraq home front drama with John Cusack that feels sentimental and complacent beside the likes of Brian De Palma's Redacted and Nick Broomfield's Battle for Haditha.

The LFF doesn't have a very strong record on supporting documentaries, but I can recommend My Kid Could Paint That, a vivid account of the rise and fall of a four year old artist hailed as a prodigy by the critics. In The Shadow Of The Moon talks to all but one of the men who have made the trip up to our nearest neighbour, and who have returned subtly changed. The Unforeseen is a terrific piece of filmmaking about an unlikely subject - urban sprawl - evidently influenced by the style of its producer, Terence Malick. And Terror's Advocate is a fascinating glimpse into the rationales for terrorism by the prolific feature film director Barbet Schroeder (Reversal Of Fortune).

Apparently the first show of Persepolis is sold out, but if you can get to the matinee of this autobiographical French-Iranian animation you won't regret it. The heroine's spunky rendition of "Eye of the Tiger" is one of the most glorious moments I've seen at the movies all year.

Tom Charity
tom.charity@lovefilm.com