Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Miles Fielder
ABC Africa (tbci (Abbas Kiarostami. France/1ran.2001)85 mins. l-‘ictiori filmmaker Kiarostami was commissioned by the l'.\' to make a documentary promoting a programme encouraging L'gandan women to adopt orphans. What Kiarostarni did was to focus on the children orphaned by AIDS. And while it‘s heartbreaking. the liliii is surprisingly celebratory of the l'gandan kids. l-‘ilmhouse. Edinburgh.
Alice (15) 0.. (Jan Svankmajer. Switzerland. 1988) 8-1 mins. Radical new version of the Lewis Carroll classic by brilliant Czech filmmaker Svankmajer. which has the protagonist as the only live action character making her way through a harsh dreamscape vividly conveyed through puppet animation and trick photography. Atmospheric treatment of cruel. childlike fantasies. which makes for absorbing viewing. btit Disney it definitely ain‘t. (’(‘.»\. (ilasgow.
Allen (18) ooooo (Ridley Scott. t'S. (070i Sigourney Weaver. lari lloltn. John Hurt. 1 lb mins. Agatha (‘hristie iii outer space as a freighter lands on a mysterious planet and is ingeniously invaded by a ravenous intruder which proceeds to chomp its way through the cast list. Edge-of-the-seat suspense thriller with a strong cast and ghastly special effects. The Lumiere. Edinburgh.
Amelie ( 151.0... (Jean-Pierre Jeunet. France. 2001 ) Audrey Tautou. .\lathieu Kassov'itz. Serge Merlin. 120 mins. .-\s with his two previous l-‘rench fantasies. I)elica!es.vt'n and The ('ily‘ ()_/'I.o,vl ('lir/tlreii. Jeunet creates a fantastical world. here reimagining Paris’ oldest quarter. .\lontmartre. Within it the eccentric adventures of his eponymous heroine (played by captivating elfin newcomer Tautou) unfold in a manner as complex as a Swiss timepiece when Amelie decides to bring happiness to deserving people by playing elaborate practical jokes on them. Composed of many moments of absolute wonder. this is a liliii which celebrates all the little. great things in life. Selected release. Asoka (PG) .00. (Santosh Sivan. India. 2001) Shah Rukh Khan. Kareena Kapour. Danny Denzongpa. 173 mins. Asoka there played by Bolly'wood's Tom ('ruise. Khan) was prince of the Magadha kingdom between 274 and 232 B('. After a period in the wilderness. Asoka returns to wage bloody war until he confronts the bleak wastage of his battle field and Buddhism reveals to hiiii its message of peace. And that. so the story goes. is how Buddhism spread its way across the world. Translated into a movie. Sivan has captured both the myths heroic and spiritual dimensions. There's also song. dance and lighting (that looks like it's sprung from the set of Crouching ‘lieeri. ()ne of the first 11indi films aiming to breech the [inst/West. Bolly/llollywood divide. The Lumiere. Edinburgh.
At The lileight Of Summer (1’0)
.0 (Tran Anh Hung. Vietnam. 2001 l Nguyen-Nhu Quynb. l.e Kharih. Tran .\'ti Yen- Khe. mins. This plaintive melodrama from Vietnamese-born writer-director Tran .\nh Hung (The Semi! ()fUI't't’Ii I’d/my“. ("v‘t‘lnl revolves around the romantic experiences of three sisters who meet tip on the anniversary of their mother‘s death in suburban Hanoi. Right from its immaculately framed opening scene to the strains of The Velvet Underground's ‘Pale Blue liyes‘. A! The Height ()fSimtnier announces itself as a work of languid beauty. Nevertheless. the filmmaker‘s heavy aesthetic approach feels suffocating. The Lumiere. lidinbtirgh. Atlantis: The Lost Empire (ti
0. (Kirk Wise. (iary' Trousdale. 1S. 2001) Voices of Michael J. Fox. James (iarner. John Mahoney. 96 mins. The basic premise of Disney's latest. the discovery of the lost. mythical empire of Atlantis. is a scenario with soooooooo much scope for magic and enchantment it shotild be impossible to fail. But it is realised with all the v istial and
imaginative panache of a iaded street artist. Furthermore. it sorely lacks ati eyebrow arching. pupil-narrow iiig. gloriously caricatured v illatri. Similarly. .\lilo. the geeky ltero (voiced by lost is deficient ol charm and arouses little sy mpathy. .r\s l)isney 's raisori d'etre is the good/bad dichotomy. it seems not only was the limpire lost. btii a grand opportunity too. Selected release.
Audition ( ISI 0.. (.\liikc"1‘akashi. Japan. 3001iRyolshibashi. lithi Shima. 115 mins. ‘Where have all the good girls gone " asks the chauv inistrc Yoshikawa of his widowed. middleaged business partner :\oyama ( lshibashi i. The latter thinks he's found one. when he sets tip a series ot auditions to select a new w ile: former ballerina .I\sami (Shiinai. who's young. beautiful. and submissive. But where have the scars on her legs come from. and what is the nature of her interest in littlll.)x\llc1’ a deliberately riieasured build- up, 'l‘akashi assaults the \ rewei”s senses w 1111 a truly nightmarish finale. which threatens to overwhelm the film's critique of male Japanese attitudes to women. 1idinbui'gh 1‘11111 (itiild. litlinbur‘gh.
A Beautiful Mind t 1:) (Ron Howard. 1S. 3001iRusscll(‘rowe.Jennifer('onnelly.1’aiil Bettany. tbc mins. l’rev iew screening of lloward's ()scar bound drama based on the life ofJohn l‘orbes .\'ash. the .\'obel pr'i/e winning mathematician vv hose genius was blighted by mental illness. Showcase. l’arsley.
Bedazzled ( 12) 0.. (Harold Rainis.
l'S. 3000i Brendan 1‘raser. lili/abeih. 9‘ mins.
.-\n updated riff on the l'atist legend. loosely based on Peter (‘ook and Dudley .\loorc's 1907 cult favourite. substitutes l‘l‘dw't‘is nerdy tech support guy for 1)ud‘s depressed \Vrmpy chef and lltit‘lcy 's se\y Satan loi ('ook‘s dr'oll 1)ev il. btit the set-up is the same: a cautionary tale about making deals with the Dev il. .\ladly in love with the oblivious ()‘(‘onnoi. l'r'aser signs away his immortal soul in return for a
fat legal contract that grants him seven wishes.
but the catch. as always. is in the small print. More than eriotigli laughs to sustain its modest running time. ()deon. ladinburgh.
Behind Enemy Lines ( i2i so
(John Moore. 1S. 2001 i ()vv en \Vllstill. (ieiic llacktiian. 1)av id Keith. 105 111111\. This hardware-packed drama is loosely based on the story of 1 'S air force captain Scott ()‘(irady who was shot down by Bosnian Serbs in 1995 and survived for si\ day s iii hostile territory. Here. he becoiries cocky navigator ('hris ‘1.onghorn' Burnett (\Vilsoni, The bravura sequence leading tip to the plane crash is an e\1iilaratmg collision ol fast paced editing and airborne camera work. btit the rest of the liliii fails to emulate the set tip. .-\nd bludgeoning patriotism stibdties any attempt to get to grips w ith the Bosnian corillict and .\‘:\'l‘()’s involvement; the latter dishonestly personified in a l‘rench admiral who would rather let the .'\111el‘tc;ttl die than jeopardise the diplomatic status Lllltt. (ieneral release.
The Believeri 151.... (Henry Bean. 11S. 2001 1 Ryan (iosling. Theresa ls’tissell. Billy /.ane. US mins. .\ young New York Jewish kid who's also a two .\a/r is about as provocative as subject matter gets. The story of Danny Blirit rejecting his yeshiva studies to adopt a skinhead tiriilot'rri and undertake acts of terrorism. rnrght have been iiiere cheap sensationalisni were it not for the thought provoking manner in which wtiter-director llenry Bean investigates the story. and the tact that his script is based on a real case 1mm the l‘)(i0s. l'nsurprisingly. Bean (a .levv 1:101 himself into hot water in .\rnerica. but his 111111 is a cerebral theological and philosophical inquiry which transcends criticism. 1‘ilmhouse. lidinbiirgh; .\lacRobert. Stirling Black Hawk Down ( (it so (RidIey Scott. 1S. 2001 1 Josh llartnett. livvan .\lc(ircgor‘. livv en Bremner. l~14iiims. Scott's war movie. based on the book by .\lark Bovvden. dr'aiiiatises the 19‘).i battle in .\logadishti between [S ground forces and Somali militia. recasting what was essentially a military disaster as a tale of .'\lllel'lc.'lll heroism. It's a one sided. iingoistic \rew ol the events. playing to the .'\111C1'1c;lll public in the wake of September 11. Technically. it’s a retiiai‘kable. giapliic re enactment of modern urban w arlare. Yet. although we're clearly
e\pecled [(1 be appalled. lvvti ltlll hours (‘1 orchestrated carnage ultimately comes across as voyeuristic. (ieneral release.
The Blue Room (its-ovations. t‘ts'. join. .\liiis tbc. .\n evening of short tilms by new and established local liliiiinakers. Iollow ed by discussions of what you‘ve seen It you want your liliii to be considered Ioi liitiiic gatherings. then send .i \llS copy to liliii \nd \idco \ccess (critic. .‘5a South \\ est llirslle Street lane. ladinbuigli. 1:11.‘ 11-“. (11' call
111 ‘1 3311113311. (aiiieo. ldrnbiiigli
The Boot Factory. isi (tech ts'owalslo. l'raiice Scotland. 3111 Nb \.\ inins ‘liiiagiiie 11 the Sc\ l’istols made boots instead ol music.' is how Kowalski describes his 1111]] which looks at a group of Krakow punks who make leather shoes for a liv mg. Part of the Sliellield International Documentary l'csll\.tl (i171. (ilasgow; l'ilmhoiisc. lzdmbiirgli.
Brass Unbound (1’( i1 (Johan van der Kc‘iikc'ri. Netherlands Scotland. 1‘)” it .\S mins. lsctikeri provides a world view of brass bands vv ith this documentary that (races the music through \epal. Stiiiiiaiii. Indonesia and (ihana. couritiies that have Itiscd their own musical traditions with what colonists brought 111.1);11'1H1lllchllt'lllcltlllllc‘lllalllilldl Documentary l'v'\11\.tl.(i1'l.(ilasgtivvl 1'ihiihotisc. l',t11111\111j_'11.
Breakfast At Tiffany’s « I5 i oooo (Blake l'.tl\\.ll't1\.1 S. 1‘)(i|r.\iidiey llepbtirn. (ieor'ge1’eppaid.l’atiicia\eal. Buddy labseii. .\lickey ls’ooney 115 mins. ‘llovv Do 1 look " asks original wait llepbtr:ri in the role ot borderline schi/oplirenic llolly (ioliglitly ‘\‘er'_v (iood. 1 must say I'm .tiiia/ed‘ replies l’eppaid 111 the role of litistiated \viitei and part time gigolo l’atil \ai'iak '1 he iconic llcpbiri'n has never made iiciiiosis look so good. and while the liliii may have iitiriieioiis redeeming features (not least the c\(|iiisrte cinematography by 1 raw 1'. l’lane and the swinging soundtrack by Henry .\laiiciiir i. it is she who i'eiiiains responsible for making 11 such a well loved classic adapted from the novel by litiiiiaii ('apotc. Selected release.
(9’ ortrciAi siiiLcriois' ‘\ i
i (‘1’ 2001 iiiiuiN s. TORONTO V,
INTERNATIONAL \. rust i'iis'i‘ivAis ,44’ O. _ ..
STARTS FEBRUARY 15'
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0870 907 0789
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index Film
The Bridal Path ( 12: 0.. thank launder. l‘K. 1959i Bill Travers. l'iona
('ly ne. (ieorge (‘ole. 95 mins. Jauniy little comedy about llebridcari islaiider' liwan .\lclzwaii who is dispatched to the mainland to liiid himsell a bride. lin route he gets mistaken for a salmon poacher and all kinds of ftiri ensue. St Bride's(‘eritre. lidinbui‘gli.
Bridge On The River Kwai it’(ii .00. (David lean. l’ls'. 195W mins. :\lec (itiinness, .lack llaw kins. William Holden. ('lassic l’( 1“ saga. in which .'\lec acts as foreman in the btiildiiig of a large railway bridge. lean's e\tra\agant study of British wartime girl is most memorable for (iuinness‘ detailed piit'lt'ayal (if the (ilisessive ('olonel \ic'liolson. and won a string of Academy .-\war'ds. The luiniere. lidrnburgh. Brotherhood Of The Wolfr iii
.0 ((‘hi'istopher (ialis. liraiice. 2001i Samuel 1.e Bthan. .\lai'k 1)acascos. Vincent (‘asse||. \lonrca Bellucci. limilre l)equenne.
l H llllll\. In lSth century l‘rance a terrifying beast is terroi'isiiig the (ievaudan region. ripping its victims to shreds. Adventurer and scienirsi l-rorisac (1c Bthan I. together with his \ative .\rrierican companion. .\ianr i1)acascosi. is dispatched by the King to investigate the phenomenon. .\ided by a
my stei'iotis llalian courtesan (Bellucci i. 1‘ronsac”s investigations uncover a witch. a secret society and the sinister brother (('asselli ol the beautiful noblewoman (Rover/it's l)ct|ucnnei with whom 1'ronsac is enariioui'ed. This bi/ar'i'e hybrid of liliii genres historical roriiance. martial arts. horror - is lav ishly asseriibled. yet strangely muddled and empty. The luiniere. lidinbirrgh.
Cal ( 15:0... (1’at()'(‘onnor.1'K.1984i llelen .\lrrr'en. John lynch. 102 mins. More a tale oi riiipossrble love than an esamiriation of the l’lster”1'iotibles. this is nonetheless a commendable small scale attempt to deal with the human reckoning of political turmoil. Seiisitiv e work from .\lit'r‘en and l.y rich. Presented by scriptvvtiter' Bernard .\lac l.avci'l_v. (iilriiorehill(i1_‘. (ilasgow.
1‘ THE LIST 27