Film index
O The Believer t is. oooo illenry Bean. l'S. 2001i Ryan (ioxling. 'l‘herexa Rtixxell. Billy lane. ()8 iiiiiix. A young New York Jewiin kid w lto'x alxo a tico-Na/i ix about ax prmocatiyc ax xubiect matter getx. The xtory of Danny Bliiit rejecting hix yexhiya xtudiex to adopt a xkinliead uni- form and undertake actx of terrorixm. might haye been mere cheap xenxational- ixin were it not for the thought—proyokiiig manner in which w titer-director llenry Bean inyextigatex the xtory. and the fact that hix xcript ix baxed on a real caxe from the l‘)()llx. l’nxurprixingly. Bean ta Jew i got hiinxelf into hot water in America. but liix film ix a cerebral theological and philo- xophical inquiry which tranxccndx criti- cixm. See preyiew and reyiew. l'(i(' chfrew Street. (ilaxgow; l'(i(' ('inemax. lidinburgli.
La Belle et La Bete tl’(ii..... ilean ('octeau. l‘rance. 194m Jean Maraix. Joxette l)ay. Marcel Andre. 92 iiiiiix. Sombre. magical and extrayagant rendition of the fairytale with l)ay ax Beauty and Maraix ax her xhepherd loyer and the Beaxt. .-\ haunting fantaxy. ('ameo. lidinburgh. Benny Goodman Story t t 'i lVillL‘llllllC l)a\ ix. l‘S. 1055i Steye Allen. Donna Reed. Berta (icrxtcn. ll7 minx. Sentimental biopic about the clarinettixt from the Jew ixli ghetto. St liridc‘x (‘entre. lidinburgh. Berlin ls In Germany 1 15) tlltttiticx Stohr. (ieriiiany. 200l i lidita Malm cic. Tom Jahn. Valentin l’latareanu. ()3 minx. A man ix rcleaxcd from prixon after xcry ing an eleyen year xcntencc. but liiidx the former (il)R greatly changed. Part of the (ierinan l‘ilm l-‘extiyal. (il’l'. (ilaxgow; l-ilmhouxc. lidinburgh.
Blade Runner: The Director’s Cut ilSiOCCOO tRidley Scott. (S. 1082i llarrixon l-ord. Scan Young. Rutger llaucr.
| In minx. ()ut go the pxctido—noir narration and the tacked-on happy ending; in coiiicx a more defined xcnxc that l)eckard himxelf may be a replicant. The look and feel remain ax powerful. and the acting ix xupci'b. A
flaw ed maxtcrpiccc ix now a rextored
maxtcrpiece. l'(i(' chfrew Street. (ilaxgow;
lidinbiirgh l-ilm (iuild. lidinbui'gh.
BIOWt IS) 0.. fled l)cmnic. l'S. 200l i Johnny Depp. l’enelope (‘ru/. l’i‘anka l’otcntc. I33 minx. 'l‘lic xtoi’}‘ of the rixe and fall of drug xinugglcr (ieorgc Jung (played by l)cppi. w ho progrexxcx from xiiiuggliiig inariiuaiia in tlic |atc~()0x to importing cocaine on an induxtrial xcalc iii
34 THE LIST L/fl' [Jun ’2
Bruce Willis sleepwalks through anoth
the 70x. lt'x a time of high jinkx in more thaii one xenxe and l)emme fiiidx a .xtyle to match. employing free/e framing and lurchiiig loomx. We could be in an cpixode of Hie .llmikt't'x. lf Blow ix intended ax a modern morality play. how eyer. then itx ethicx remain unclear. We never we the xocial coxtx of liix freebooting entreprcneurxhip: Demme failx to give ux the wider picture. l'('I. (‘lydebankz l'(‘l. liaxt Kilbride.
Blue Room (cert lbci (\arioux. t‘K. 2(llll i Minx the. Show caxe of xltot'f liltiix made by local filiiimakerx through the l’ilm And Video .-\ccc.xx (‘entre ('ameo. lidinburgh.
Bowfingert lli O. tl'i'ank ()1. IS. 1090i Stey e Martin. liddie Murphy. llealhcr (irahaiii. U7 minx. licxiatic after reading a ‘grcat xcript'. Martin. the proprietor of the low budget Bow finger International l’icturex. beginx the farcical attempt to make a moyic with llollywood‘x flayour of the month. Kit Rainxey tMurphyi. ax itx unwitting xtar. lixpoxing of llollywood'x neurotic underbelly. but xadly all too briefly. the plot runx out of xteam. ()deon. Dunfermline.
Bridget Jones’s Diaryi IS) I... tSharoii Maguire. I'S/l'lx'. 2001) Renee /.ellw egcr. Hugh Grant. ('olin l'irth. ()(i minx. Brit/ng .lunm '.x Diary ix that rare thing. an adaptation that \axtly iinproyex on an oyer~rated original. in thix caxc llclen l‘ielding'x bextxclling new xpapei' coluinn-cum-book. Jonex liax a rather nice job. and lookx rather nice. but worriex a lot about her appearance and career. In between weighing herxelf and ranting about the modern male. xhc entanglcx hcrxelf with naxty boxx Daniel ('lcay'er ((irant i. before taking tip with nice Mark l)arcy tl‘irtli i. ()n paper. .lonex wax a xtiiu‘lliltg. neurotic wreck. on film xlie'x a xniyelling. neurotic wreck who alxo happcnx to be conxixtently hilarioux. And '/.ellw egcr addx a touch of warmth to w hat ix exxcntially a wholly unxy mpathetic. brittle character. The Lumiere. lidinburgh. Cats And Dogs ll’(il .00
tl.awrcncc (ititcrmaii. l'S. 200] i Jeff (ioldbluin. lili/abcth l’crkinx. Miriam Margoy lex. S7 ininx. 'l'hix i'efi‘exhiiig approach to cute talking petx filmx ix a kind of xubycrxiyc I.(l\.\f(' iticcfx .l/iyyiml.‘ [III/)(l\\l/’/(’. 'l‘hexc dogx don't iuxt talk. they tixc xurycillance equipment and hayc a \Ulclttli liiixxioli lo protect xclctilixl
er smooth tough guy role in the underwhelming bank robbery caper Bandits
(ioldblum ax he inycntx a cure for dog allet‘gicx. 'l‘hc catx arc eyil. hell-bent on conquering the world: their .xpecial agentx hay e deadly ninja .xkillx and \‘iciotix
w eaponx. The aiiimatronic effech are of a pretty high xtandard. btit it'x the animal trainerx you're in real awe of. The occaxional wander into xentimcntal territory and xlowing tip of pace can be forgiyen by the madly original idea. liyely action xeqtiencex and knockabout humour. Selected releaxc.
Chicken Run tt‘i 0... (Nick l’ark/l’eter Lord. l'lx'. 2000i \‘oicex of Mel (iibxon. Julia Saw allia. Miranda Richardxon. 35 minx. l-‘or their firxt feature Aardman xttidiox hay e re-w rittcn the WWII l’.( ).\\'. experience ax an ()rwellian .xatire. albeit with laughx. So. Stalag l7 becomex a battery farm and the camp commandant farmer Tweedy 'x domineering wife. while in the hutchcx. (iinger ralliex her fellow lieiix to fly their coop. Though the characterx aren't ax extablixhed ax Wallace and (it‘otiiil and the feature length running time xlow x the action. .'\ill'tllll;lll continue to work real wondei'x with their familiar l’laxticine animation. (‘ineworld. l’alkirk. The Children’s Midsummer Night’s Dream tl'i COO i(‘hrtxiine lid/gird. l'K. 2001i 1 15 minx. liy'eryone and their mother hax been attempting to re- imagine Shakexpeare for. y'know. kidx: MTV Romeo Am] .lll/f(’l. xhi'ew x being tamed in Allit‘l‘lcull high xclioolx t I!) 'I'lii'nycs [Hate About limi. But thix \crxion of Shakey 'x romantic fantaxy getx that bit cloxer to the kidx by filling it'x caxt of princex. qiiceiix and fairiex with. yep. kidx. ()rdinary kidx from ordinary xclioolx taking a xhot at Shakexpcarc. l‘ull markx. .\lttL‘Robcrl :\t‘lx ('L‘tilt‘c. Stirling. Christmas Carol - The Movie tl'i 0 (Jimmy 'l‘. Murakaini. l’lx'. 300]) Voicex of Kate \Vinxlet. Nicolax ('agc. Simon (‘allow. 80 ininx. l)expite the ad\anccx made in ctmiputer—generated imagery. there ix xtill a caxc for the traditional form. Sadly. it‘x not one made by thix poorly executed film; the animation ix flat and xtatic. xcarcely better than that found on Saturday morning kidx' ’l‘\'. Nor docx llic xtoi'ylcllitig do ('liat'lcx Dickenx
iuxticc. xwectening and xofteiiiiig an
already xcntimciital original. The final xtraw'. how cycr. ix the introduction of a pair of cute. xlapxtick mice. liah. humbug. Sec t'c\ icw. Sclcctcd i‘clcaxc.
The Circle (Dayereh) 0’6) .000 tJafar l’anahi. Iran/Italy. 200] i l’erexhteh Sadr ()rafaei. Nargex Maini/adeh Razlighi. 9| minx. 'l‘hrough a xeriex of quotidian incidentx. l’anahi i’l'lu' ll'lu'le Hal/mm) prexentx a deyaxtating yet profoundly empathetic portrait of Moxlem women'x .x'ttitilcd liyex in Iran. Nobody could fail to be angered by the caxual crueltiex. wicked dixcrimination and blatant hypocrixy xhow'ii here. Yet. by the xame token. nobody could fail to be imprexxed and inxpired by the courage and resilience of thexe women. Linked only by their deprexxingly .ximilar fatex. the women rebel agaian the circle of dixcriinination. bravely denying their .xecond-claxx .xtatux. l-‘ilmhouxe. lidinburgh.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon t IDOODOD t.-\ng Lee. ('hina/l'S. 2000) Michelle Yeoh. (‘how' Yuri-Fat. '/.hang Xiyi. (‘hang (lien. 120 ininx. Jane .-\u.xten meetx Bruce Lee in Aug ‘Smw :lml .S‘t'nsi’hi'liiy“ Lee'x axtonixhing martial artx period drama. In a fictionalixed version of early 19th century (‘hina. a world of heroic w'arriorx and deep philosophical y'aluex. l.ee xeainlexxly interweay‘ex the xtoriex of two .xetx of loy'erx. and a revenge tale with a feminixt twist. The fight .xcenex are groundbreaking. ax choreographed by expert Yuen \\'o l’ing. At once breathtaking and beautiful. ('miu‘liingligvr'x alxo a cinematic landmark: itx fuxion of the bext elementx from liaxt and \Vext cinema hax created .xomething wholly new. New Picture llouxe. St Andrew-x.
Dark Blue World ( lSi tJan Syerak. ('lech Republic/l'K/(iermany. 2001 i ()ndrei \'etchy. ('harlex Dance. 'l’ara Fit/gerald. minx. Tale of wartime heroixm baxed on the real life xtoriex of (‘Iech pilotx who fotight for the Alliex during World War II. Part of the London Film fextiyal on tour. (ii-'1'. (ilaxgow'.
De I’amourt ix) tJeaii-l'i'ancoix Richet. l‘rance. 200l i Virginie Ledoyen. Ya/ix :\'i't. Stomy Bugxy. Mar Sodupe. 85 minx. Bleak .xtory of a young woman'x decline ax xhe windx up in jail after one impulxiy'e act. l-‘eaturex I’rench liip- hop artixt Stomy Bugxy ax a drug dealer. Part of the Hench l‘ilm l't‘xllHll. liilmhouxe. lidinburgh. Dear Fidel - Marita’s Storyt IS) (Wilfried lluixmann. (iermany. 3000) IS ininx. Documentary retelling of the xtory of Marita l.oren/. daughter of a xea captain who met l‘idel ('axtro. embarked on an affair with him and wax finally hired by the ('l.-\ to murder the (‘uban leader. Part of the (ierman l-‘ilm l-‘extiy‘al. (il’l‘. (ilaxgow; l'ilinhouxe. lidinburgh.
O The Devil’s Backbone (El Espinazo del Diablo) 1 15> 00.. t(iuillermo del 'l'oro. Spain. 2001 i Marixa Paredex. Federico l.tippi. Iidtiat‘do dc Noriega. 107 ininx. In del 'I‘oro‘x expertly- crafted ghoxt tale xet during Spain'x (‘iyil War a young (‘arlox ix brought to a remote orphanage pt‘exided over by an odd elderly couple (Luppi and l’aredexi. and haunted by the glioxt of another orphan. .-\ powerful political backdrop ix .xeamlexxly interwo- yen with a .xtrong religioux xubtext. and there are numeroux cultural referencex including the .xurreal imagery of Salyador Dali and the Victorian (iothic w ritingx of MR. Jamex. (iloriouxly photographed by :\lmodo\ar'.x cinematographer (iuillermo Navarro. thix ix brilliant \ixual. allegorical xlot'ylclling. See l‘L‘\‘lL‘\\. Selected releaxe. Dirt For Dinnert IS) tBranw'eii ()kpako. (iermany. 2000) 75 minx. Documentary about the experiencex of Sam Meffire. one of(}erinany 'x few black policemen around the time of unification.
w ho wax uxed to launch an anti-racixt adyertixing campaign. Part of the (ierman l'ilm l'extiyal. l‘ilmhouxe. lidinburgh. Disco Pigs 1 IS) 0 tKlt'xlcn Sheridan. Ireland. 2001)(‘illian Murphy. lilaine (‘axxidyp 9-1 minx. llaying already been an lidinburgh Fringe hit. play w right linda Walxli adaptx liix own work about an inxeparable pair of troublexomc teenagerx. Pig and Runt. for the big xci'een. ’l'he ti'anxpoxition. how eycr. ix not a xuccexxful one. \Valxh‘x xcreenplay remainx too theatrical. while Sheridan'x lieay y —handed