Breaking the Silence (the) (John Pilger, t'K. 2003) 50min. Subtitled Trial: and Lies in the War on 'Ii'rrm'. Pilger's most recent film vv as made for television and investigates the claims made by the Btish government. The film features previously unseen material from Iraq. Part of an anti- vvar activism double bill. l-‘ilnihoase. Edinburgh.
Bride of Chucky ( IX) (Ronnie Yu. 1S. 1999) 89min. The dismembered corpse of the pint-si/ed homicidal maniac is exhumed for this knovving horror sequel to the (’liilil'v' I’Iav series. The nevv edition offers diversion in the form of Jennifer Tilly as the once-human ('hueky‘s vengeful ex- girlfriend 'l'iffany. ()(/(’l"l (‘ilv ('enire. (i/(Ivg'im'.
Bright Young Things ( 15) so. (Stephen Fry. l'ls'. 2003) Stephen ('ampbell Moore. Dan Aykroyd. Jim Broadbent. Simon ('allovv. Stockard (‘hanning. Richard li (irant. limily Mortimer. 104mm. Adapted from livelyn Waugh's coruscating social satire. \‘i/e Bodies. l-‘ry's long-cherished pet project scales the (hay heights and plumbs the grubby depths of a set of vv ild and vvell- heeled partygocrs. vvho the press have nicknamed the ‘Bright Young Things'. Among these unllagging hedonists is aspiring vvriter Adam Syme (Stephen ('ampbell Moore) \vho. llat broke and poorly connected. struggles frantically to scrape together the readies required to marry his hopelessly fickle flapper girlfriend Nina (limin .\lor!imer). ('ompr‘omised. if likeable. debut from liry'. this tries vvay loo hard to appeal to an American audience. lienella \Voolgar as dotty. vvell-meaning Agatha and Michael Sheen as the outrageously effete .\liles steal the shovv. Selecletl release.
Buena Vista Social Club (t')
C... (With Wenders. ('uba. I999) Ry ('ooder. Ibrahim l‘errer. Ruben (ion/alel. l0-1min. (’uba looks a little like the land that time forgot. A theme Wenders brings out both in the over-exposed images of Havana and also in the musical brilliance of these octogenarian and nonagenarian musicians vv ho have for so long been neglected. And it's ironically thanks to an American. \Veiiders' regular musical collaborator Ry ('ooder. that their careers have been resurrected. I-"ilm/iuuse. Iii/inlnu'g/i.
Bugs 3D (l') (.\like Slee. I'K. 2003) 40min. Dame Judi l)ench narrates this giant screen .‘~l) film vvhich foctises on the life cycles of a praying mantis and a butterfly from their bir'th to their inevitable demise in the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia. HIAX. (i/(Ivumi'.
Cabin Fever t 15; secs (tili Roth. l'S. 2002) Rider Strong. Jordan l.add. Joey Kern. ('erina Vincent. James l)eBello. 94min. The true terror in this savvy horror movie is psychological. What's most frightening is not the symptoms of the necrotising fasciitus-like disease. but the vvay the fear it creates sets a bunch of college friends at one mother's throats. As each member of the group succumbs to selfish paranoia. it‘s not the gore that scares you. it's the kids' grim vvill to survive. This delightfully sick hysterical return to the heyday of flesh eating horror boasts a great pedigree as it pay s homage to among others. David lynch. llerschell (iordon l.evvis.
l)av id ('ronenberg and (ieorge A Romero. Plus. Angelo Badalamenti's score is one of the best things he has done in years. (it’ltt'l'il/ I'i'Ii’ttvt'.
Calamity Jane (M oooo (Dav id Butler. l’S. I953) Doris Day. llovvard Keel. Allyn Aim .\lcl.erie. Philip ('arey. 101mm. lndian scout ('alamity Jane (Day) is as hard-riding. boastful. and handy vvith a gun. She has to be she lives in Deadwood. l)akota. a place vv here men are men and vvomen are toothsomc. When Jane falls in love vvith a young army lieutenant she realises she may hay c to change. becatise he really does not appreciate her more butch quality. ('lassic camp vv estern music. Shova as part of (ilasgayl as a sing a long. the night includes avvards for the best dressed C(m girl/buy. (i/‘UI: (i/(lyuutt.
Calendar Girls ( 12A) 000 (Nigel (‘ole. l'K. 2003) Helen Mirren. Julie Walters. ('elia Imrie. l08min. This feclgood comedy drama is based on the true story of a group of bored middle-aged vvonien from a small Yorkshire village vvho all posed nude for a Women‘s Institute (‘alendar in 1999 in order to raise funds for the local hospital. ('alendar Girls is the sexed-up version of events that happened in the Dales. (‘ole. vvho had previously dabbled vvith middle-aged vvomen saga in Saving (have. once again proves he's adept vvith this material. particularly vv hen he centres the film on the relationships that ('hris t.\lirren) has vvith her family and best friend. vvidovv er Annie (Walters). (ieneral release.
Chocolat ( 12) oo tl.assc llallstt‘om. 1S. 2001 ) Juliette Binoche. Johnny l)epp. Judi l)ench. l2lmin. Adapted from Joanne llarris' novel. ('Iiamlai unfolds ‘once upon a time' in a tranquil l-‘rencb village vvher'e sexy unvved single mother Vianne (Binoche) opens up a chocolaterie during Lent. ller magical confections are soon having a liberating effect on v‘ar'ious locals. though her actions incur the vvrath of the reigning count (Alfred Molina). vv ho fears that the traditional order may be irrevocath damaged. l'nfortunately. llallstrom's ('I'Iie (ii/er House Rules) feclgood fairytale relies on its calctilatedly cosmopolitan cast and glossy production values to disguise its lack of substance. (ii/more/zillfl/l (ilasgovv: Cinemania (P(i) 0... (Angela (’hristilieb and Stephen Kijack. (iermany. 2002) 80min. This documentary offers a unique insight into the lives of five severely obsessed film buffs. liach protagonist has a signature obsessive compulsive characteristic. including one fellovv vv ho is on a ‘no tibre' diet in order not to vvaste valuable cinema time in the loo. Film/rouse. [film/Hugh.
La Comunidad ( 15) 00 (Alex dc la lglesia. Spain. 2000) ('armen Maura. liduardo Antuna. Jesus Bonilla. l0(vmin. Lame remake of Hitchcock‘s A I'anii/v I’lo! from the grovv u up bad boy of the Spanish indie underground. the man vvho gave Us l’en/ito Durangn and .llulan! Action. ('('A. (i/as‘gmv.
Le Cousin ( 18) (Alain (’orneau. l‘rance. 1998) Patrick Timsit. Alain ('habat. Samuel Le Bihan. (‘aroline Proust. ll2min. '(‘otisin' is slang for informer amongst the ranks of l‘rench detectives. but vv hen Inspector .\laurin personal contact commits suicide. inspector (iei‘ard [)elvaux takes over his informer. The 'cousin' promises (iei‘ard increasingly bigger catches vv hich he is intent on realising before he is forced to reveal to an investigating judge vv hat his sources are. Tight modern French thriller from the director of Iims lev man/ix (In mum/e ( l99l ). (’( 'A. (ilavgovv: Film/muse. Izdinlmrgh.
Cypher ( 15) O... (Vincenlo Natali. Canada. 2002) Jeremy Northam. Lucy l.iu. Nigel Bennett. Timothy \Vebber. l)avid llevvlett. 96min. [)irector Natali‘s vvindy tvvisty follovv up to (ii/7e. This is basically a revvorking of North hv Northwest. for the conspiracy riddled post .llatrii age. Northam delivers a tremendous performance as a journeyman nerd vvho transforms into something of a Bond hero. (ireat stuff. a mature interior sci-ti that concentrates more on ideas than special effects. ([15]: (i/(lsguvv‘. The Decay of Fiction ( IS) (Pat ()‘Neill. 1S. 2002) 74min. liight years in the making LA based special l-‘X guru ()‘Neill uses his gifts to transform the long closed Ambassador Hotel into a haunted house set made up of the good and the beautiful from the llollyvvood heyday. Much feted experimental documentary. Part of the Ill: on tour. (il'uli (ilasgmv. Distance (tbc) (lliroka/u Kore-eda. Japan. 200l ) Arata. Ytisuke lseya. Susumu 'l‘erajima. Yui Natsukavv a. 'l'adanobu Asano. 172mm. 'l‘ouched by the spirit of Bunttel and a million underground Japanese comics Kore-eda's third film after the truly remarkable .lIa/mmvi and After/ire contains itself vv ith an isolated cult mourning the devastation they have vvrecked by contaminating the vvater supply of a major
city. A strange elliptical vvork. it lingers in the mind a long time after its long running time. l’nfortunately Distance has never had a proper release. here it is shovvn as part of Akibiyori. a season of nevv Japanese cinema. See prev ievv. l-ilm/iuuse. Iz‘iliii/nu‘cli. Dogville ( 15) (Lars Von 'l'rier. l)en/l‘ra/vae/l'K/(ier/Neth. 2002) Nicole Kidman. llarriet Andersson. Lauren Bacall. Jean-Marc Barr. Paul Bettany. 178mm. Set in an .-\merican 'l‘ovvn in the Rocky Mountains in the l930s. l,ars von Trier re- L‘Xplot‘L‘s tltL‘ concept ()l‘ goodness. Shot in studio vv ith a minimum of props Trier claims to have been inspired by British televised theatre of the 7(l\. “nevi/[e “its a big hit at ('annes. See Ll‘l‘ on Tour pr'ev ievv. (il'nl; (ilavgmv.
Doing Time ( 12A) (Yoichi Sai. Japan. 2002) Tsutomu Yama/aki. 93min. Prison set drama about one man's very singular vvay of dealing vv ith the brutal regime inside. The film is based on the autobiographical manga comic by Ka/uichi llanavv a. Part of the Akibiyori Nevv Japanese l’ilm liestival. See previcvv. I‘i/Ilt/lt’ll.\(’. Iii/inlmreli. Donnie Darko ( IS) 0000 (Richard Kelly. 1S. 2002) Jake (iyllenhaal. l)revv- Barrymore. Patrick vaay /e. 1 13min.
Kelly 's debut feature is a mesmerising science fiction fable that pushes the concept of cinematic time travel into a vv hole nevv dimension. lts somnambulant teenage protagonist seems to slip into a parallel universe. vv here a giant demonic rabbit called l'it‘ank proclaims that the vvorld vv ill end in 28 day s, (v hours. 42 minutes and 12 seconds. Set in I988. this genre-bending film is not only an intriguing meditation on time travel and a deeply disturbing horror movie. it is also a John llughes-sty le coming—of—age movie and a black comic satire on Reaganite greed. individualism and (‘ltt'isliatt fundamentalism. .Si'let‘li'i/ I‘i‘h’ttu'. Down with Love ( 12A) ooo
tl’cyltm Reed. lb, 200.“) Renee /.cll\\ cgct‘. livvan .\lc(iregor. Sarah Paulson. David Hyde Pierce. 101mm. \‘ery likeable pastiche 0n the old Doris Day /Rock Hudson
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Great0flers
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Men at arms in All Quiet on the Western Front
index Film
romantic comedies. Barbara Novak (Xellvveger) has vvritten a book that instructs all vvomen to give up on love and treat men the same vvay they treat vvomen. ('atcher Block t.\lc(ircgor) is a supercool star _lUUI'l)itli.\l Who wants to get the real story on Novak. but he gets a vvhole lot more than he bargained for. This is not half as clever as llaynes' lit/"from Heaven btit it does look a treat and contains a fevv nice in-jokes. Things move along at a fair clip as well. vvhich is alvvays a good thing. Above all. though. the art. set and prvxluction designers deserve every avvard going. (ieneral release. The Draughtsman’s Contract ( IS) 0... (Peter (ireenavvay. l'K. 1982) Anthony lliggins. Janet Su/inan. 103mm. Sumptuous. seductive enigma in vvhich a young artist accepts a commission from a country manor and also accepts payment in sexual favours. But is there more to this than meets the eye'.’ Baroque (ireenavvay period piece. re-released in a nevv print.
('( .A. (i/usgmv‘.
A Drowning Man (PG) (Naoki lchio. Japan. 2001) l'nakami lliromi. Reiko Kataoka. llida Senko. l'ebaba Takehiro. Shinya 'I‘sukamoto. 82min. lcbio debut film deals vvith the dilemma of grief and redemption. When a young man finds his vvife drovvncd in the bath. he finds he has no reaction or feelings about the matter. so he sets about trying to find his ovvn sense of tragedy in some quite strange vvays. Part of Akibiyori Nevv Japanese (‘inema season. see previevv. Film/muse. Iii/inlmrg/i.
Dying at Hospital (P(i) (Jun lchikavv a. Japan. 1993) lttoku Kishibe. [00min Atistere pseudo documentary that follovvs live cancer patients receiving treatment from the same doctor. Bleak but impressive film from the ()lu‘s natural successor and the current gov ‘nor of nevv Japanese cinema. Part of Akibiyori Nevv Japanese (’inema season. sec prev ievv. Film/muse. Iii/in/nu'gli.
Earth (l') t.-\lc.\;ttl(lci' l)()\ lhcttkt). l'SSR. I930) tbcmin. Scmyon Svashenko. Stepan Shkurst. .\liko|a Nademsky. A rarely equalled lyrical evocation of a land and its people by one of the poets of celluloid.
('( 'A. (i/asgmv.
End Game ( IS) ((iary Wicks. l'K. 2000) Mark .\lc(iaim. Daniel Nevv man. 103mm. Rent boy thriller. replete vvith bent (in every sense of the vvord) coppei‘s and loads of sadomasochist activity. Part of (ilasgay? (il’l; (i/avgmv.
30 ()(tt ‘3 Nov 9003 THE LIST 33
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