4
Film index
Index continued
Billy Elliot I IS i O... tStcphen l)aldry. l'k. :lllllll Jamie llell. .luhc \Valters. Gary Lewis lll miiis liilly lsuperb newcomer Iiclli linds release lt'ottt hle's daily drudgery. and ultimately sell- lultiliiient. tliiotigli ballet dancing. As
unlikely a leisure pursuit as that might be tor
a teenage boy grow mg tip in the iecession~ hit Yorkshire ol the fills land that's the
point I. it becomes young Billy 's ticket out ol hard times. \takmg his tilm debut. theatre director I)aldry handles the political backdrop and dramatic toreground with equal assurance. the dance routines proy ide much ol the tilm's humour and quite
oy erwhelmiiifl lcclgood lactor, ('amco. ladinbuigh
Black Beauty l t ' I .0. t('aroliiic 'I‘homson. t'S. W‘Mi Sean Bean. “and 'l‘liewlis. |’eter(‘ook. 33 mins. the most lamous horse in children's literature returns ma laithtul screen yersioii by debut director 'l‘hotiisoii. \y hose yyork as a screenwriter lillr’ SH I'i’! (run/(It, Iziliirll'i/ Xi I\\(II'/trlII(/\_ I'lu' .VIg/ilmurc lie/ore ('Iil'iylmiiy taps into a darker current ol' childhood y ision. The pace sets otl at a gallop. and should intrigue adults as well as younger y icwers. ('arlton. Stirling.
Blackboards tl’( i) O... (Samira .\lakhiiialbat'. Iran. lelllli Saeed .\loliamadi. llcliiia/ .latari. llaliaiii (ihobadi. 84 iiiins. A boldly uncompriimisiiig portrait ol' lite on the margins ol' Iranian society. t'iiloldmg in the mountainous region bctw een Iran and Iraq. [Huck/manly Iollow s a group or
iiiipoy erislied. itinerant teachers who are Iookiiig tor pupils. I’artly an allegory about national identity and statelessncss. H/llt'ly'luull'(/\ also considers w hcthei‘ education is a luxury tor those engaged in a primitiye battle I'oi' sury iyal. Makhiiialbal creates moments ot' acute tension alongside the dark humour. l‘ui‘thei'iiioi'e. the non- pt‘olt‘\\lttll;|l cast acquit tliciiiselyes
admirably. whilst the striking cinematography demands to be e\pcricnced on the big-screen l’art ot Relugcc \Veck. l'iliiihouse. Izdiiiburgh, Blow 1 IM .0. t'led I)cmnie. t'S. Zlilll I Johnny Depp. l’enelope (‘i'u/. I-‘ranka l’otcnte. I23 iiims. The story oi the rise and tall ot drug smuggler ( ieorge Jung lplay ed by l)eppi. yy ho progresses ITUIII smuggling iiiariiuana in the ldtC—(iIIs to importing cocaine on an industrial scale in the ’tis. It's a time ol’ hiin links in more than one sense and I)emine linds a style to match. employing tree/e training and lui'chmg Iooiiis. We cotild be in an episode ot Hie .l/Hlikr'cy ll' [Him ls intended as a modern morality play. how ey er. then its ethics remain unclear. We neyer see the social costs ot his treebootmg entrcpreneurship; l)cmme tails to giyc its the w idcr picture. (icneral t'L‘lL‘llsL‘. Bona Cornucopia t ISiit'Is'. luv—sill .\lost ot us are tamiliar with Kenneth \Villianis troiii his Iiigli camp day s as a (‘arry ()n stalwart. Some ot tis w ill be tamrltar with \Villiams' priyate lite through his much-praised diaries. bill this teature- length compilation of telcy isioii apiwaranccs and lilmed perlorinaiiccs is a iarc gem. rey ealmg his talent as an iiiipi'essioiiist. yoice-oy er artist and dull show guest. l’riceless. l’art ol’ the London lesbian and (la) l‘ilm t'cstiyal on 'l'our. (il’l‘. (ilasgow; I‘ilnihouse. lidiiibtii'gh. Borders/Nazareth 2000 t ISi t:\l\L'tl;tt'/ Riklis/Abu~Assad. Israel. I‘N‘H I I3 iniiis. Hulk/cry is a tloL‘tittiClittit'y recording scyeral dramatic stories across the borders ot Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Lebanon. Sy rm and Jordan. .\'u;'im'ili 2111)!) Abu Assad returns to his IttltIVL‘ city. w idely beliey'ed to be the most sacred tn the world. to record lite at the turn ol' the new millennium. I’art ot Retugec Week. l‘iliiihousc. lidinburgh. Braveheartt HI 0000 (Mel (iihson. lb. I‘NSI .\lcl (iibsoii. l’titt'icls' .\lc(ioohan. Sophie .\larceau. I77 inins. .\lcl (libson's
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26 THE LIST 3‘ clan—:1 chi .3301
long and bloody account ol the lite ol Scottish warrior hero William Wallace boasts some remarkable battle scenes and great pert-oriiiances. Aiming to entertain on a wider scale than the more literate li’oli Rm. llr'uirlieurr's Scottish passion is lciiipci‘ed by a l'eyy Holly wood moments touches ol' sentimentality and ‘draiiiatic' historical inaccuracy. Neyerlheless. it‘s a line. tull- bloodcd attempt to tap into the spirit that tires Scotland‘s history and heroes. (irosyenor. (ilasgow.
Breakfast At Tiffany’s I IS) 0000 (Blake lidwards. t'S. I‘)(il l Audrey Hepburn, (leorge l’cppard. l’atricia Neal. Buddy libscn. Mickey Rooney. 1 l5 mins. ‘llow Do I look‘." asks original wait llepburn in the role ol borderline schizophrenic llolly (iolightly. ‘\'ery (iood. I must say I'm aiiia/ed' replies l’cppard in the role of trustrated w ritcr and part-time gigolo I’aul Varjak. The iconic Hepburn has ney er iiiade neurosis look so good. and while the Iilm may haye numerous redeeming features (not least the exqtiisite cineinatography by l‘ran/ I". Plane and the swinging soundtrack by Henry Mancini i. it is she who remains responsible tor making it .such a well-toyed classic adapted troin the novel by Truman (’apotc. ('arnegie llall. Dunt'erinline.
Bridget Jones’s Diary 1 ISI 0000 (Sharon Maguire. t'S/I'K. 2()()I I Renee Zellweger. lltigli (irant. (‘olin Firth. ‘)(i niins. Bridget Jones '5 Diary is that rare thing. an adaptation that y'astly improy‘es on an over-rated original. in this case llelen I‘ielding‘s bestselling newspaper column- cunisbook. Jones has a rather nice job. and looks rather nice. but worries a lot about her appearance and career. In between weighing herself and ranting about the modern male. she entangles herself with nasty boss Daniel ('leayer ((iranti. before taking up with nice Mark Darcy ll'irthl. On paper. Jones was a sniy'elling. neurotic wreck. on Iiliii she's a .sniy'elling. neurotic wreck who also happens to be consistently hilarious. And Zellweger adds a touch of warmth to what is essentially a wholly unsympathetic. brittle character. (ieneral release.
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin l lSi 0.. tJohn Madden. t'K/t’S/l‘rance. 2t)()l I Nicolas ('age. Penelope ('ru/. John Hurt. Ill) niins. This adaptation or Louis de Bernieres' bestseller sees (ireece taken by the Italian Army during World War II. ('aptain (‘orelli and his squad ol' opera enthusiasts arriy'e on the island ol~ ('ephallonia. causing much uproar. And when the (’aptain is billeted to Dr lannis' tllum house. ('orelli and the Doctor‘s beautiful daughter. I’elagia t(‘ru/i. tall in forbidden loy'e. Madden has stuck to his guns and made a nun ie at once distinctly litiropean and likely to appeal to American audiences. Commercial. unfaithful to the book. but still head and shoulders aboye any ol. the eye candy Hollywood has to otter. (ieneral release.
Centre Stage I Ill 00 iNietmlas
A ‘ .. Jean Reno uncovers a clue deep within an Alpine glacier in Mathieu Kassovitz’s, ahem, chilling, gruesome murder mystery The Crimson Rivers
Ilytnci‘. t'S. llltll i .'\ItI.ttItl.l Schull. /oe Saldaiia. Susan \Iay l’iatt |lR mins ls’aiely since I'thlr and / his/ii/imii back in the MR. has a ltlltt tocused so specitic ally on dance ('i’IilI'i'SIiigi‘ spotlights thicc dclciiiiincd dancers. .lody. l'.\a and \Iamccn. desperately try mg to get into the Amciicaii llallct (‘ollege .’\\ )(‘llltl e\pt'y't. tliltiy‘s don‘t go to plan' a loye triangle. boy liicnds. bleeding toes and eating disorders. It could get quite interesting llut ll doesn't the \lot'} llllL'\ are too cltt't'sy to he take” seriously. and are inteiiupted by e\ceediii_~.:ly long dance scenes. the l umieic. l-diiibtiigli La Ceremonie: A Judgement In Stone t l( ‘ltllltlt' ( lltdl‘lol. l‘rance. l‘)‘)5l Saiidrme lionnaiie. Isabelle lluppei't. Jacqueline Ilisset lll iiiins .-\n illiterate maid begins woik .it a posh but isolated home in rural I'iance and begins a strange relationship with tlie obsessiye local postal clerk ('habi’ol's masteily adaptation ot' Ruth Rendell's iioyel is like a iewoiked llr’rli'r'II/\ ('n‘ulun'y meeting .i thinking man's 'l’lii' llUIltl I/iiil Rm Au/ I/lr' (Vi/illi- l‘iliiihoiise. lidiiiburgh.
Chance Or Coincidence (Hasards Ou Coincidences) t l’( i I 00
t('laude l.elouch. I'i‘ancc. I‘NXI :\lt'\\.ttltll;l .‘ylartmcs. l’iei'i'c Aiditi. .\larc llollogiie. Ill mins, More than it) years on trom the double-( )scar w iimmg .vt .tlim .'l/I(/.l lliinimi. yetci‘an l'li‘ench director |.elouch returns with this his Wth lilm. a iiicltidramatically oy ei'blowii yet disappointmeg superlicial romantic drama ('anadian tuturologist .\Iai’c chances upon a lost camera and. intatuated by the images ol its roll ot tilm. resolyes to track the woman down Miriam. a beautilul. bereay ed Italian ballerina. Ilow ey er. coiiyoluted plotting. some unremarkable perloi'iiiances and the at‘cliticss ol' the dialogth hinder any real sense ot poignancy. 'l‘he l.uiiiici‘c. lidmburgh.
Chocolati Ill 00 ll.assc ltallsiioin. lb. 200] I Juliette liinochc. Johnny I)epp. Judi I)cnch. III mins, Adapted Irom Joanne llarris‘s noyel. (‘lim n/rll untolds ‘oiicc upon a time" in a tranquil I'rench y iIlage where sexy unwed single mother Vianiie tliiiiochei opens up a chocolaterie during l,eiit. Ilei magical CUIIlL’L‘lIUIh are soon hay mg a liberating died on yai’ious locals. though her actions incur the w ratli ol the reigning count l.-\llred Molina). “ ho teat s that the traditional order may be ii'reyocably damaged. l'nlortunatcly. Ilallstroiii's t/ltr' (it/er Home Ru/i'yi teelgood tait‘y talc relies on its calculatedly cosmopolitan cast and glossy production yalucs to disguise its lack ot‘ substance ()deon. l)unlcriiiline Cirque Du Soleil it'i «loot i, l\‘.L’Ilss lixtreme Screen pl‘cseliti‘ition. [I i(' Cinemas. lidiiiburgh.
A Clockwork Orange I Ixi 0000 iStanley Kubrick. l'K. I97] I .\lalcoliii .\lcl)ow ell. l’atrick Magee. Warren ('Iarke. I37 inins. The night of 'ultra—y ioleiice' committed by Alex t.\lcl)owelli and his gang ol' 'droogs' giyes it its notoriety. But