resembles a Siberian concentration camp. refugees seeking shelter in Britain are held at the Government's pleasure. facing inter- rninable imprisonment or eventual deporta- tion. Into this shameful xenophobic mess blunders 'lanya. a young woman arriving from Moscow with her ten-year-old son. This is tough. politicised cinema. reminis- cent of waking nightmares Orwell and Kafta. Polish writer-director Pawlikowski effectively draws on his documentary back- ground. while the main players are superb. particularly ('onsidine making only his sec- ond appearance after his extraordinary debut in A Room I-m- Rmm'r) Brass. Sec preview and review. ('ameo. lidinburgh.
The Legend Of Bagger Vance (PG) CC. (Robert Redford. LS. 200] ) Will Smith. Matt Damon. ('harlize Theron. 126 mins. Redford returns to one of his favourite themes a quasi-mystical sporting pursuit as a metaphor for life and this time it‘s a golfing fable. The tale concerns a mysterious caddie (Smith) who acts as a guardian angel to a former golfing champ (Damon). burnt-out after returning from WWI liurope. and guides him towards redemption. As one expects from Redford. The lx'gr'ml ()l‘lirrggr'r l’um‘r' is long. leisurely paced and expertly crafted. As with a round of golf. some people will be enthralled by the struggle to master the inner game. sortie will he bored. while others will simply enjoy the scenery. General release. Leo ( IX) 0... (Jose Luis Borau. Spain. 2000) lciar Bollain. Javier Batanero. Valeri Jlevinski. 87 mitts. Borau makes a personal appearance for the premiere of his moving portrait of life on the margins of society. Bollain. whom your might remember from Ixrml Ami Freedom. is a tomboy living on the streets of Madrid. ()1) a rundown industrial estate she meets watchman Salva. and the pair embark on an unlikely romance. Part of the ,Viva! Spanish Film Festival. GF'I'. Glasgow; Filmhouse. lidinburgh. Lisbon (Lisboa) ( IS) 0000 (Antonio Hernandez. Spain. 1998) (‘armen Maura. Federico Luppi. Sergi Lopez. I00 mins. Lopez (so memorable as Harry who was recently here to help) plays a travelling salesman who picks tip Maura (Alrnodovar favourite) en route to Lisbon. The road. thereafter. is fraught with danger for the guy whojust wanted to sell his audio and video tapes. Part ofthe jViva! Spanish Film Festival. Gl’l‘. Glasgow". Filtnhouse, lidinburgh.
Made In Hong Kong ( (5) .00. (Fruit (‘han. Ilong Kong. 1999) Sam Lee. l08 mins. (‘han‘s audacious debut is a brazen retort to the ‘everything's line' official line on the ex-colony's future; eschewing glitzy metropolitan locations in favour of claustrophobic out-of-town housing estates with their teenage suicides. organised crime rings and dysfunctional families. GI’T. Glasgow.
The Man Who Cried ( I2) .0.
(Sally Potter. US/UK. 2000) (‘hristina Ricci. Johnny Depp. ('ate Blanchett. John Turturro. 9‘) mins. Potter's first narrative film since 1992's Orlando is the story of an orphan (Ricci). a Russian Jew adrift in Europe at the outbreak of World War II. attempting to get to America to be re-united with her long lost father. It‘s also about language and the universality of song. on and it's a musical. though not in the Golden Age Hollywood sense. The casting is canny and the performances impress. but Potter isn‘t quite able to condense all of her ideas into the film’s running time. MacRobert. Stirling. The Matrix ( )5) .0000 (The Wachowski Brothers. L’S/Australia. NW) Keanu Reeves. Laurence Fishburn. (‘arrie- Anne Moss. l36 mins. Absolutely gob- smacking science fiction thriller boasting cutting edge special effects. rocking action sequences. a smart story and an immensely entertaining cartoon sensibility (the film was storyboarded by comic artist Geoff Darrow). In the future day-to-day life is merely a scam. a matrix camouflaging reality: a post- apocalyptic nightmare world in which humankind are a power source for domineering super-computers. ()nly Reeves' cyber hero. Neo. and a gang of hacker pirates stand between the evil technology
and their race's extinction. Filmhouse. Iidinburgh.
Meet The Parents ( )2) 000 (Jay Roach. l‘S_ 2000) Ben Stiller. Robcn De Niro. Blythe Danner. l()7 mins. lt's everyone's idea of a nightmare weekend. Having fallen in love. you are forced to spend time of varying quality with your potential in-laws. This is the tricky task which faces Stiller as he prepares for the company of De .\'iro's ('old War secret agent. his daunting wife and a plethora of friends and family you'd go to the ends of the earth not to have to choose. The beauty or beastliness about .chr The Parents is the safe predictability of the gags. De .\'iro's performance is somewhat flat. but Stiller's edgin fatalistic performance is a joy. Selected release.
Memento ( IS) 00000 ((‘hrisiopher Nolan. IS. 2000) Guy Pearce. ('arrie-Ann Moss. Joe Pantoliano. I In mins. Beginning where most other films would end with an act of vengeance. writer-director Nolan tells his story by gradually working backwards in time. Leonard Shelby (Pearce) is obsessed with avenging his wife's rape and murder. Trouble is Leonard suffers from a condition of short-term memory loss, and .so he relies on an elaborate system of mementoes 77 maps. polaroids. body tattoos - to piece together the clues in his investigation. A compelling. elliptical reconstruction of the revenge thriller. which skilfully examines the connections between memory. identity and perception. Grosvenor. Glasgow. Merlin The Return (PG) 00 (Paul Matthews. l'K/l'S. 3000) Rik Mayall. ('raig Sheffer. Patrick Bergin. Tia (‘arrere. 88 mins. Mayall‘s Merlin has banished the evil sorcerer Mordred (Sheffer) to the depths of the earth and ptit King Arthur (Bergin) and his Knights into a deep sleep. When Mordred threatens to surface again thanks to the experimental efforts of scientist babe Joan Maxwell ((‘arrere). these l2th century men awake to find themselves in a modern world. forced to do battle with oil tankers rather than dragons. While the action jumps in and out of the dimensional time gate. the plot becomes muddier and muddier. Mayall and co do their best to inject some humanity into the film. btit end tip strangled by an unwieldy script and poor special effects. ()deon. Ayr.
Michael Collins ( 15) 00.. (Neil Jordan. L'S. l996) Liam Neeson. Julia Roberts. Alan Rickman. I32 mitts. Winner of the Best Film and Best Actor awards at the Venice Film Festival and the cause of knee-jerk criticism from the right-wing press. Jordan's stirring historical epic is an honest portrayal of a ragged and bloody conflict between the British imperial power and idealistic Irish Nationalists early this century. The action is well handled. the characterisations strong and the brutality on both sides is never glossed over. The Lumiere. Edinburgh.
Les Miserables ( 12 ) COO. (Bille August. US. l‘)‘)8) Liam Neeson. (ieoffrey Rush. Claire Danes. I34 mins. With preconceptions of the hit musical left in the foyer. the movie can be enjoyed for what it really is - a sombre dual character study concentrating on the psychological cat-and- rnouse game played by ex-convict Valjean and police inspector Javert. August. director of l’t'l/t' The Conqueror. has made a liuropean arthouse movie filmed on a Hollywood budget. ()deon. Dunferrnline. Miss Congeniality ( I2) 0
(Donald Petrie. L'S. 200l ) Sandra Bullock. Michael (‘aine. (‘andice Bergen. l 10 mins. Bullock‘s Gracie Hart considers herselfjust one of the gtiys in the FBI. So she's none too thrilled when she is chosen to infiltrate the ranks of ‘bikini stuffers' in the Miss United States Pageant in a bid to catch a L'nabomber-like terrorist. The galumphing. charmless Gracie needs a makeover. (‘ue (‘aine's defrocked pageant guru to attempt the most miraculous transformation since Henry Higgins got hold of Eliza Doolittle. Bullock throws herself whole-heartedly into the proceedings. submitting her character to a series of undignifted pratfalls. As the movie‘s producer. she only has herself to blame. See review. General release.
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