Film index
Blame It On Voltaire (La faute a Voltaire) ( 151 (Abdelatif Kechiche. France. 2001 1 Saiiii Botiajila. lilodie Bouchel. Aure Atika. 130 mins. Fortner actor Kechiche directs this film about art illegal immigrant who attempts to secure a three month visa to live in Paris. the ‘land of Voltaire atitl the Rights of Man'. Part of the French Film Festival. (ilasgovv Filtn Theatre. (ilasgovv; The Filmhouse. lidinburgh.
Blood: The Last Vampire ( 181... (Hiroyuki Kitakubo. Japati. 2001 1 Youki Kudoti. Saeini Nakaniura. Joe Roinersa. (v0 tiiitis. Aniinie set on an American military base iii Japan during the Vietnam vvar. The base is overrun by vampires and so government agents call upon Saya. a vvomati vvilli superhuman povvers. to exorcise the spirits. ('anieo. Edinburgh.
Blow ( 181 0.. (Ted Deiiime. LS. 20011 Johritiy Depp. Penelope Cruz. Franka Potetite. 123 mins. The story of the rise and fall of drug smuggler (ieorge Jung (played by Depp1. vv ho progresses from stiitigglittg marijuana iii the late-60s to importing cocaine on art industrial scale in the 70s. It's a time of high jiiiks iii more than one sense — and Demme finds a style to match. employing free/e framing and lurching looms. We could be in art episode of The .llmikeev. lf [flow is intended as a modern morality play. hovvever. then its ethics remain unclear. We never see the social costs of his freebooting entrepreneurship: Demme fails to give us the \vider picture. 1'('l. lidinburgh. Brigadoon (P01 .0 (Vincente Minnelli. l'S. 1‘)541(ietie Kelly. (‘yd Charisse. Van Johnson. 108 ntiiis. Tvvo yanks on vacation in Scotlatid discover a sleepy village that comes alive once every hundred years. Rather flat and uninvolving Minnelli musical. especially iii comparison vs ith his other Fifties vvork. vv ith the unconvincing (and unintentionally hilarioust Scots background the main problem. (irosvcnor. (ilasgovv. Brotherhood Of The Wolf ( 1510. (Christopher (ians. France. 2001 1 Samuel Le Bihan. Mark Dacascos. Vincent ('assell.
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30 THE LIST 15-29 Nov 200‘:
Monica Bellucci. iiinilie Dequenne. 13-1 inins. In 18th century France a terrifying beast is terrorisitig the (ievaudan region. ripping its victims to shreds. Adventurer and scientist Fronsac (Le Bihanl. together vvith his Native American companion. Matti (Dacascos1. is dispatched by the King to investigate the phenomenon. Aided by a mysterious Italian courtesan (Bellticci 1. Fronsac's investigations uncover a vvitch. a secret society arid the sinister brother ((‘ttssell1 of the beautiful noblevvotnan (Roseuu‘s Dequennel vvith vvhom Fronsac is enatiioured. This bizarre hybrid of film genres —- historical romance. martial arts. horror - is lavishly assembled. yet strangely muddled and empty. Selected release.
La Captive ( 151 oooo ((‘hantal Akerinan. France. 2001 1 Stanislas Merhar. Sylvie 'I‘estud. I 12 mins. Akerman's study of emotional projection. loosely based on the vvriting of Proust. Simon (Merhar1 is obsessed by a plain-ish vvonian vv-ho's happier keeping her thoughts to herself. and her actions slightly otit of her lover's reach. This vvealthy Parisian initially follovvs Ariane ('I'estudl around as if a stranger iii voyeuristic pursuit. only for its to realise later on that it's probably been a ruse: Simon too seems to vvatit a formal. masochistic distance. Akerman's approach keeps tis guessing as we vvotider hovv much of the archness is the product of Simon's obscure vvay of being. or simply the director's deliberate play vvitii form. The Lumiere. lidinbtirgh.
Cats And Dogs (P(it .0. (Lawrence (ititeriiian. LS. 2001 1 Jeff (ioldblum. Fli/abeth Perkins. Miriam Margoyles. 87 mins. This refreshing approach to cute talking pets films is a kind of subversive [.uvst'v meets .llisvion: Inrpnssi/ilt'. These dogs don't jtisl talk. they tise surveillance equipment and have a solemn mission to protect scientist (ioldblum as he invents a cure for dog allergies. The cats are evil. hell-bent on conquering the vvorld: their special agents have deadly ninja skills and vicious vveapons. The animatronic effects are of a pretty high standard. btit it‘s the
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J.K. Rowling’s child wizard gets top rate big screen treatment in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
animal trainers you're iii real avve of. The occasional vvander into sentimental territory and slovving up of pace can be forgiven by the madly original idea. lively action sequences arid knockabotit humour. (ieneral release. Chariots Of Fire (P01 .0. (Hugh lltidsoii. LR. 1981 1 Ben (‘ross. lan (’harleson. Nigel llavers. 123 mins. Worryingly jitigoistic vision of the 192-1 Paris Olympics and the exploits of runners Harold Abrahams and liric Liddell that. in its numerous slovv-motion races. is to blame for Vangelis soundtracks becoming synonymous vvith athletics. Nevertheless. it vvoti a fair fevv ()scars. althottgli vvriter (‘olin Welland's legendary ‘The British are coming' vvarning to llollyvvood proved about as prophetic as Manchester‘s bid for the 2000 Olympics. The Lumiere. lidinbtirgh.
The Closet ( 151 (Francis Weber. France. 20001 Daniel Autetiil. (Eerard Depardieti. Thierry Lherniitte. niiiis. A crovvd-pleasing comedy involving Auteuil as a dovvii-troddeii man about to be fired from his job and Depardieti as his helpful nevv neighbour. Part of the French Film Festival. (ilasgovv Film Theatre. (ilasgovv; The Filmhouse. lidinburgh. Code Unknown ( 15100000 (Michael llaiieke. France. 2001 1 Juliette Binoclie. ()tia Lti Yenke. Luminita (iheorghiti. 116 mins. llaneke (I'll/my (itinimt asks hovv can vve start to think and feel tnore about others and a less about ourselves‘.’ He ansvvers by shovv itig us semi-atomised modern living iii modern day Paris. focusing on a handful of characters vvhose actions have chain reactions btit vv ho are oblivious of their effect on others. Btit he provides no easy ansvvers for his audience. instead Ilatieke presents a series of perfectly realised btit unfinished dramatic scenes - ‘incomplete jotirneys' he calls them - vvhich leave tis to dravv conclusions for ourselves. listraordinary. lidinbtirgh Film (iuild. lidinbtirgh.
Comic Book Confidential (P01
0... (Ron Mann. Canada. 19881 Lynda Barry. Robert ('rumb. Jack Kirby. Art Spicgclman. ()0 units. A history and celebration of the art and philosophy" behind comics and their creators. Mann provides a lively portrait of 22 contemporary cartoonists still vvorking in the (SA. delving into their psyche to fitid their inspirations and illustrating it vvitli comic strip classics. A fascinating and enjoyable insight to an undervalued genre. Cameo. lidinburgh.
A Crime In Paradise (Un crime au paradis) ( 151 (Jean Becker. France. 20001 Jacques Villeret. Josianne Balasko. Andre Dtissollicr. 95 niins. Black comedy follovving the potentially deadly marriage betvveen Jojo (\'illci'et1 and his Wife Lulu (Bulaskol (ls Jojo
attempts to achieve the perfect murder. Part of
the French Film Festival. (ilasgovv Film Theatre. (ilasgovv; The Filmhouse. lidinburgh.
Crocodile Dundee In Los Angeles (P01. (Simon Wiiicer. [S 20011 Paul llogan. Linda Ko/lovv ski. Serge ('ockbtirti. t)4 tiiitis. If Mick Dundee vs as a Crocodile. he vvould be ptit dovvn. In this belated. lame third adventure Mick's longtime companion journo Stie (’liarleton (Ko/lovvski. aka Mrs lloganl is called to LA when her father needs someone to edit a tievv spaper. The couple head to ('alifornia vv ith soti Mickey ((‘ockburnt vvliere they become embroiled iii a smuggling operation involving dodgy-looking liast
European filmmakers. Mick goes undercover and finds vvork on the set of l.('rli(il Agent .i’. a sequel so bad that no one cati understand vvhy it is being made (oh the irony? 1. Let's jtist hope that no one comes tip vv ith another sequel. or no. please - a prequel. Brunton Theatre. Edinburgh.
The Crow ( 181.... (Alex Proyas. LS. 199-11 Brandon Lee. lirnie Hudson. Richelle Davis. 101 mitts. Infamous as the film on vvhich martial arts star Bruce Lee's son Brandon vvas killed by a defective stunt gun. this is the most consistent attempt yet to create on film the distinctive feel of the graphic novel. The characterisation arid plot development may be slight — a rock star comes back from the dead to vvrech revenge on the gatig vv ho killed him arid his girlfriend - btit stylistically. it‘s a gem. (’ameo. Edinburgh. Crumb ( lS1 0... (Terry vaigoff. l'S. 199-11 1 1‘) mins. (‘omic artist Robert (’rtimb has remained resolutely part of the counter- culture since he started dravv itig iii the 60s. In this fascinating and personal film. long-time friend Zvvigoff tries to explain the cartoonist‘s disturbing output. finding a casual connection betvveen childhood. madness and creativity. btit skimming over legitimate concern at his portrayal of vvomen. ('ameo. lidinburgh. Cuba Va! (P(}1tFeliv (ireetie. l'ls'. 1971153 mitts. Documentary depiction of the (‘ubaii Revolution iii 195‘) employing footage frotn that year. Part of gSi \'ubal (iiasgovv Film Theatre. (ilasgovv.
The Curator’s Cut ( PU) (various. t'fs'. 2001190mins. Scottish Screen's archivist Janet McBain marks the Archives silver anniversary vvith a selection of iievvly recovered old itiiages of Scotland. (ilasgovv Filtn Theatre. (ilasgovv.
De l’amourt 181 (Jean—Francois Ricliet. France. 2001 1 Virginie Ledoyen. Ya/is Ait. Stomy Bugsy. Mar Sodtipe. 85 iiiitis. Bleak story of a young vvoman's decline as she vvinds tip iii jail after one impulsive act. Features French hip- hop artist Stomy Bttgsy as a drug dealer. Part of the French Film Festival. (ilasgovv Film Theatre. (ilasgovv; The Filmhouse. lidinburgh.
Delicatessen ( 15100000 (Jean-Pierre Jetinet/Marc Caro. France. 1901 1 Dominique Pinon. Marie-Laure Dotigtiac. Jean-(‘laude Dreyfus. 0*) iiiitis. lit a sepia vsastelaiid
somevv here in the future. a butcher feeds his neighbours vv ith the juicy joitits of his lodgers. Btit vvhen former clovvti Louison (Pitiotit arrives and falls for his daughter. an underground vegetarian resistance group come to the rescue. llilarious blend of bi/arre characters. slapstick and comic tension makes for the first true ctilt item of the ‘90s. (‘ameo. lidinburgh.
Disco Pigs l 181. (Kirsten Sheridan. Ireland. 20011(‘illian Murphy. lilaitie ('assidy, 0-1 mitts. llav ing already been aii lidinburgh Fringe hit. play vv right linda Walsh adapts his ovv ti vvork about an inseparable pair of troublesome teenagers. Pig arid Rtiiit. for the big screen. The transposition. hovs ev er. is not a successful otie. Walsh's screenplay remains too theatrical. vv liile Sheridan's heavy -handed direction allovvs proceedings to becotiie risiny melodramatic. Murphy. \v ho play ed Pig iii the original production. gives a pei'foi'iiiaiicc vvliich belongs on the stage. (‘assidy 's Rtitit is the one thing vvhich impresses. See rev ievv. l'(i(' Renfrevv Street. (ilasgovv; l'(i(' Cinemas. litliiibtirgli.