Film index
Orphee ( I5) .0... (Jean ('octeau. France. 1950) Jean .\Iarais. .\Iarie l)ea. .\Iaria (‘asares. 95 mins. (‘octeau creates an unrivalled cinema fantasy in this stunning modern version of the ()rplietis legend. replete with surprising technical tricks and the director's personal brand of poetry. ('(':\. (ilasgow.
The Others ( l2) 0.” (Alejandro Amenabar. [IS/Spain. 2001 ) Nicole Kidman. Fionnula Flanagan. :‘dakina .\Iann. James Bentley. ltll mins. Timur/1m combines all the elements of the Victorian (iothic thriller. but Amenabar's American debtit is actually set on Jersey. at the end of World War II. Kidman plays (irace. a highly-strung woman w ho keeps her children locked up in an old mansion because she beliey'es they w ill die if exposed to the sun. llowey'er. they do not dwell there alone. .-\menabar's is a moody tale that rests on the impossibility of working out what is real and what is supernatural. .-\ triumph of merciless psychological manipulation. Selected release. Pandaemonium ( )5) 0000 i'i‘emple Julien. l'K. 2()()I ) Linus Roach. John Ilannah. l l‘) mitts. Temple's film charts the friendship between two of the best-know n poets of the late 18th century. Samuel 'lay Ior ('oleridge (played by Roach) and William Wordsworth (Ilannah). The director of The I‘i/I/t .-lm/ The Fury- eschews historical accuracy. instead focusing on the rock n' roll aspects of their lives; the sex. the drugs and the breakdowns. llis film is a mish-inash of styles. from straight costume drama to hallucinatory fantasy. juxtaposed with modern imagery. emphasising the opium-induced dream world in which (‘oleridge by ed. I-‘ilmhouse. Edinburgh.
The Piano Teacher (La Pianiste) I Is) .0... (Michael llaneke. I-‘rance/‘.v\ustria. 2t)()l ) Isabelle IIuppert. IZ‘) mins. .'\s with his previous films. ('mle ('Iiknuw-n and l'imny (iumes. Ilaneke shows but doesn't tell. It's left to the audience to piece together the disturbed psyche of lirika Kohut. the Viennese piano tutor of the title (Iluppert ). llaneke tells the tale (based on lilfriede Jelinek's noy el) through a series of beautifully composed scenes. editing them together with the precision of a surgeon. lluppert capitalises on her opaque Visage. proy iding her director with a beautifully nuanced understated performance. It's a pleasure to 'read' this film. and no surprise it garnered both controyersy and awards at the (antics l-‘ilm festiyal. ('ameo & l-‘ilmhouse. lidinburgh.
The Pinochet Case ( l5) tl’atricio (iuzman. Belgium/(‘hile/I-‘rance/Spain. 300] i I It) mins. (in/man's film documents the proceedings prior to the ('hilean dictator's arrest in January this year. Balancing the argument with pro- and anti-protestors. (iii/man's film ney ertheless includes harrowing interviews w ith y ictims of I’inochet's regime. Part of the Sheffield International Documentary l't'stiHll. ldlntlioum‘. lidinburgh.
Pippi Longstocking if) 00 Smith/Michael Schaack/Bill (iiggie. (‘anada/Sw'edenKiermany. 3()()()) "S mins. There's something \‘aguely disturbing about a nine-year-old girl who parades down the street
t('liye
singing ‘()h what a fabulous day. I'm happy as can be' haying _|tist watched her father being washed otlt to sea. But maybe that's being churlish. After all. l’ippi longstocking's anarchic behay tour has won her a place in the hearts and on (he bookshelyes of many a child smce .'\strld l.indgren litsl unleashed the world‘s first Hot girl. But in an age of sophisticated children‘s films. I’ippi l.ongstocking with all her eyulwrance. fails to deliy er. .\IacRobert. Stirling.
A La Place Du Coeurt IS) 0000 (Robert (itiediguian. lirance. l‘l‘l‘li .\rtane .-\scaridc. Jean Pierre l)al‘t‘t)tfsstn. (iei‘ard .\leylan. III imns. (iiiedigtiian‘s follow up to .\Iurim If! .It'tlllt'l/t' once again focuses on .\Iarseillcs' underclass. (‘hildhood sweethearts (inn and Bebe liye out a blissful eyistence lltllll a racist policeman imprisons Bebe because he's black on a trumped-up rape charge. at which point two families unite in their efforts to free lifltl. \\ hat ties these folk together is their beautiftil humanity and it's this that proy ides (Itiediguian's film with its feelgood factor. Who said social realism has to be all doom and gloom.’ (‘(U\. (ilasgow.
The Pledge: 15).... (Sean Penn. is. Jon) ) Jack Nicholson. Robin \Vright-I’enn. Sam Shepard. 123 units. In the cold mountain reaches of \c\ada the body of a little girl is found. raped and murdered. .\ simple minded Natiye American is swiftly taken into custody attd a confession ls e\tracted. lollo“ mg which the man kills himself. :\n open and shut case . . for eyeryone but Jerry Black (an admirably low key .\icholson). a retiring police officer w ho thinks they hay e the wrong man. (‘ouchcd in the conyentions of a thriller. l’cnn's tlnrd film as director is first and foremost a compelling psychological study of a middle aged man attempting to giye his life meaning post-retirement. .ler/y and Mary ()Ison Kromolow sist's script, adapted Irtim I‘riedrich Hurrenmatt‘s noyel. keeps things
.co.uk
m S 3 E co Q. E cu U. 3 3 3
.2' b
Recruitment Fair Summer Work and Travel in the USA
Come along to get your summer sorted in just a few hours!
Edinburgh
Wednesday 20th February 12pm— 4pm
Edinburgh Assembly Rooms, 54 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2LR
Call 020 7581 7373 or see our website for more information
CAMP AMERICA
32 THE LIST 31 Jan—14 Feb 2002
Monsters, Inc, another top notch CGI animation from Toy Story originators Pixar — great for kids and adults alike
ainbiguous. I’enn counters this. directing with an eyen hand and casting a sombre mood oy er the proceedings. Selected release.
Pom Poko (I’( i) l Isao ‘lakahata. Japan. I‘J‘H) ll‘l mms. .\ community of shapeshifting racoons battle to prey cut their forest home from being destroy ed by land deyelopers in this animated eco adyenture. (itlmorcltil|(il_‘. (ilasgow.
The Princess Diaries t)’( i) O
((iarry .\larshall. I'S. Itltlf ).'\nne llathaway. Julie .-\ndrews. lleather .\latara//o. ll5 mins. (iooty teenager .\Iia 'I'hermopolis t l Iathaway) Iiyes w ith her boho artist other in San Iirancisco. .-\lthough .\Iia gets the grades rather than the boy s. she brec/es happily through life, l'ntil her paternal grandmother Queen (‘larissc t.v\ndrcw s) arriycs at her doorstep and tells .\Ila she's the heir to the throne of the Iiuropean principality of
(ienoy ta. 'lltercafter. .\Iia suffers under the tutorledge of her stern royal granny as she is transformed from ugly duckling into a charming princess. llorrible. from sappy
w ish-ftilfilmcnt premise to sugar coated e\ecution. (ieneral release.
Princess Mononoke t3) 0..
tllayao .\Iiya/aki. Japan. I‘M") Voices of (iillian .'\ll(lel'still. Billy Bob 'l'hornton. .\Imnie |)ri\ er. 133 mins. 'l‘his e\traordinaril,\ ltt‘l‘tllar Japanese 'animic' tells the tale of a young warrior on a quest w hich takes him to a far away forest w here the animal gods war with human myaders. the conflict is a pretty straightforward allegory criticising modern day technology 's attack on nature. the animation is fltiid. the mythos inyolying the forest gods' champion. the wolf girl .\Ionoaoke is llf\ol\ mg. and the storytelling clear. the dialogue in the Iznglish language script by .\eil (iaimen. how ey cr. is unsophisticated and aw kward.
(iilmorehtll( i l 3. (ilasgow.
Rat Race ( II) .0. (Jerry /.ucker. l‘S. lilill I John (‘leewz Rowan .\lkittson. “'ltoopi
FTH
Sor‘ art: it'll/(nil,
The Devil's Backbone (18)
The Others (12) /' a” om Ines 51/? fen/dam The Pledge (15) / JOIN,"
S1,") {(th fen/(MN. Tears of the Black Tiger (15) '3 "map The Man Who Wasn’t There (15)
{Op/i; (ties 7931‘ fen/tan.
The Deep End (15) / J’Onre
Tickets and further information from The Steeple Box office
(Tel: 01324 506850)
or on the day from the hall
(ioldberg. l 12 mins. In Jerry '/.ucker‘s madcap comedy. a bunch of money grabbers undertake a cra/y race across America to New .\Ie\ico to find a hidden treasure hoard. ('Ieese is one of the select circle of l,as Vegas btisiness men who organises the race as a new means of placing a wager. Don't expect much in the way of comment on greed and cort'ttptibility‘. Instead. Zucker foctises on the laughs.employing the tactic he used with great success on his hit films .-Ii)'/)/une.' and .\iiku/ (inn: the scattergun fire of endless slapstick jokes. (ieneral release. Ratcatchert I5) 0”” (Lynne Ramsay. l'K. I‘J‘N) William liadie. Tommy l'ilanagan. .\landy Matthews. ()3 mins. Seen through the eyes of twelye-year-old James (iillespie. a sensitiye boy haunted by the drowning of a neighbour's son. Rtllt'tllt‘lll'l' paints a bleakly realistic picture of (ilasgow family life. Ramsay tises meticulous framing. unusual camera angles and atmospheric images to capture the subtle textures of ex ery day life. as well as complex inner feelings. ('(':\. (ilasgow.
Rear Window ( I’(i ) com t.-\lfred Ilitchcock. l'S. I954) James Stewart. (irace Kelly. Wendell ('orey. Raymond Burr. I I2 mins. laid up with a broken leg. Slim Jim takes to neighbour-spotting with binoculars and camera at the ready. Before long. he's getting hot under the collar about the dirty deeds done across the yard. is it murder‘.’ ()r itist naked yoy eurism'.’ ()ne of IIitch‘s darkest moy ies. with an intense. unrelenting clatistrophobia deriy ed from confining the lens to the apartment set. Iiilmhouse. lidinburgh.
The Remains of the Day ( t‘) 0000 (James lyory. l’K. IWR) Anthony Hopkins. limma 'l‘hompson. James I~‘o.\. L‘s-I mins. .-\ butler reminisces on the pre-World War II days he spent in Darlington llall. when he turned a blind eye to his employ er's dealings with the .\'a/is and his own feelings for the housekeeper. ()ne of .\Ierchant-ly‘ory 's best. with IIopkins the epitome of Iinglish emotional repression. l’ilnihouse. lidinburgh. Rock Start l5) .0 (Stephen llerek. [S 2001 J Mark \Vahlberg. Jennifer .-\niston. Jason I‘Iemy ng. IUS mins. Rock Slur is based on the life of Tim 'Ripper' ()w ens. the heay'y' metal fan who became heay'y metal god when his beloy ed Judas Priest offered him the \ocals In the film. \\';ililberg's long- haired l’ennsy lyania rocker ('hris ('ole is plucked from obscurity by British monsters of rock Steel Dragon. But by ing his ultimate fantasy goes to ('ole‘s head. Making a film about the rock and roll lifesty le on and off stage and treating it with so much cheesy sincerity is a bad moy e. 'I‘wo words: Spinal lit/l. In any ey ent. grafting that old chestnut. the rags-to-riches tale onto the rock milieu and sanitising it of the sex and drugs is as lame as an air guitar solo. Selected release. Serendipity ( l2) .0. (Peter (‘helsom. th. liltll ) John (‘tisack. Kate Beckinsale. .\Iolly Shannon. 00 mins. When Jonathan 'I‘rager ((‘usackl and Sara 'l'homas (lieckinsale) collide while looking for the perfect pair of gloyes for their respeclne other halyes. loye is well and truly in the air. But the rules of the rom-com dictate that fate should also keep them apart. .-\nd so Jonathan and Sara‘s on e is frtistrated until. when both are on the yerge of marrying other people. their seeds of doubt finally flow er into all-out. w ide-ey ed adoration. :\ few fine moments of comedy and decent performances lift it out of mediocrity and make this a pleasant piece of seasonal fare. Selected release.
Shallow Hal ( l2) .0. (Bobby and Peter I‘arrelly. l'S. Zoo) ) (iwyneth l’altrow. Jack Black. Jason :\Ie\ander. l Ii mins. Black (so good in Hie/i I'it/t'lilr) takes his first starring role as llal. an immensely shallow man w ho only ey er dates beautiful women. :\II that changes when llal gets trapped in a lift with a selflhelp guru who hypnotises him into only being able to see a person's 'inner beauty '. Shortly afterwards. Ilal falls in lose w ith a sweet-natured nurse w ho is immensely obese. but w ho appears only to Hal as slimline I’altrow. (iiyen the liarrelly brothers' penchant for gross our comedy, Slur/low llul turns otit to be. at heart. a yery sweet film. though It lacks belly laughs. See rey Iew. (ieneral release.