Morton have done a remarkable job of transposing this quirky. distant character and her awkward strange joumey to the screen. In an age of saccharine and spice and all things predictable this is surprisingly brave cerebral filmmaking. Film/rouse. Edinburgh.
0 The Mother (15) 0”. (Roger Mitchell. UK. 2003) Anna Reid. Cathryn Bradshaw. Steven Mackintosh. Daniel Craig. Peter Vaughan. 72min. When her husband dies May (Anna Reid) starts shagging her daughter's boyfriend. Darren (Daniel Craig). Not. you‘d think. a nice thing for a mother to do. but the affair turns out to be mutually beneficial to both parties. As astutely scripted by llanif Kureishi and carefully directed by Roger Michell (who previously collaborated on The Buddha of .S'ubrurbia). The Mother takes a taboo subject and makes a compelling. compassionate. though never cliched drama out of a crisis. The union of May and Darren really convinces. lnitially. she‘s curious about him and he's sympathetic towards her. She begs him for sex and he obliges. but the extent of Darren‘s emotional problems soon becomes clear. A well-judged. perfectly played. fully absorbing drama. See review page 25. Selected release.
Moulin Rouge (12) 00.00 (Baz Luhrmann. US. 2001) liwan McGregor. Nicole Kidman. .lirn Broadbent. 108mm. Luhrmann‘s follow-up to Romeo (€- Juliei is a wildly unrestrained. gloriously camp. lewd as hell musical love story that re— invents the form. from the Golden Age Hollywood song-and-dance spectaculars up. Luhrmann has transformed the eponymous l9th century Parisian dancehall-cum-brothel into the rave capital of Europe. weaving 20th century pop music hits into the very dialogue of the film so that it becomes almost opera. And spiralling around a fairytale romance between McGregor's idealistic poet and Kidman‘s dance girl is a barrage of riotous imagery and design.
There's no middle-ground with Luhrmann's film; if you abandon yourself to it it'll leave you intoxicated with pleasure. UGC Renfreii' Street. Glasgow. Glasgow. Mulholland Drive (15) 0... (David Lynch. US. 200l) Naomi Watts. Laura Elena Harring. Justin Theroux. 146mm. Given the troubled production history of Lynch‘s latest slice of nightmare noir — it was originally a pilot fora US television series which was cancelled — it‘s nothing short of miraculous that Mtholland Drive shines with the filmmaker's idiosyncratic brilliance. Although set in the present day (albeit with retro styling). Lynch draws on his fascination with 40s and 50s Hollywood and its secret history of crime. here involving two actresses. amnesiac Rita (Harring) and amateur sleuth Betty (Watts). The proceedings veer into the kind of waking nightmare territory that either flummoxes or delights viewers. as Lynch mixes the bizarre and almost laughable with the moments of electrifying fear. Edinburgh Eilm Guild. Edinburgh.
My Life without Me (15) 0..
(Isabel (‘oixet. Spain/Canada. 2003) Sarah Polley. Scott Speedman. Deborah Harry. Mark Ruffalo. Leonor Watling. l()2min. Trailer mom Ann (Polley) works nights doing a cleaning job at the local university. and has to put up with her crotchety mother (Harry) and diet-obsessed friend Laurie (Plummer). But despite all this. her life with husband Don (Speedrnan) and her two young daughters is a happy one. After suddenly collapsing. her doctor reveals she has incurable cancer and has only two months to live. Rather than telling people. she instead keeps it to herself and starts planning what she wants to do in the time she has left. both for herself and those she will leave behind. TV movie-style weepie that never really catches alight despite the fine cast. It has. however. been a huge hit in the US. Spain and Canada. No accounting for taste. is there'.’ Seleeted release.
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The Mystery of the Yellow Room (La Mystere de la Chambre Jaune) (l2) (Bruno Podalydes. France/Belgium. 2003) Denis Podalydes. Sabine Azema. Pierre Arditti. l 19min. New adaptation of the classic 1900s whodunnit murder mystery thriller by Gaston Leroux. Part of the French Film Festival. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow; Filmhouse. Edinburgh. Mystic River (15) 0” (Clint Eastwood. US. 2003) Sean Penn. Tim Robbins. Kevin Bacon. Laurence Fishbume. l37min. Three boys from a small suburb in Boston see things in their childhood they maybe shouldn‘t. Years later the past comes back to bite them on the arse. Seamless slightly worthy version of Dennis Lehane‘s bestseller. but as usual Eastwood delivers something that is both timeless and issue led. Seler'ted release.
0 Noi the Albino (Noi Albinoi) (15) “O (Dagu Kari. Iceland. 2003) Tomas Lemarquis. Throstur Leo Gunnarsson. Elin Hansdottir. 95min. Set in the frozen north of Iceland. Noi (Lemarquis) is an albino teenager whose favourite pastimes seem to be winding up his school teachers and stealing from fruit machines so that he can afford a bottles of Super Malt. And then he sees her. Iris (Hansdottir). the new girl in the petrol station. First time director Kari’s respective nods and winks to the cinema of Jarmusch (Ghost Dog) and Kaurismaki (Leningrad Cowboys Go America) can get tiresome. but there is just enough unsettling originality here to keep you watching. See preview page 22 and review page 24. Eilmhouse. Edinburgh.
Octane (15) 0. (Marcus Adams. US. 2003) Madeleine Stowe. Norman Reedus. Bijou Phillips. Mischa Barton. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. 90min. Hippies meet vampires the end. Silly bloodsucking drama that manages to squander the talents of an ageing and obviously now desperate for work Stowe and Meyers. who camps it up as the young lord of a be—fanged cult.
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Once Upon an Angel (Peau d’ange) (18) (Vincent Perez. France. 2002) Morgane More. Guillaume Depardieu. Karine Silla. Magalie Woch. Helene dc Saint-Pere. 85min. Vincent Perez makes his feature film directorial debut with this romantic debut. Young Angele sets out to find work and finds a job as a maid. By chance. she meets Gregoire who tales a carnal interest in her and seemingly nothing more. Against all reason Angele spends an evening with him. They become attached to one another but discover a couple of complications that may prevent them from developing a relationship. Part of the French Film Festival. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow; Filmhouse. Edinburgh.
102 Dalmatians (U) 000 (Kevin Lima. US/UK. 20(X)) Glenn Close. Gerard Depardieu. loan Gruffudd. 90min. Cruella's back. And this time she's Ella. Thanks to a shot of mind-altering Pavlovian treatment during her stay at Her Majesty‘s Pleasure. the larger than life baddie is released into the community as an animal-loving philanthropist. ()nly when Big Ben strikes twelve does the spell snap. letting her revert to character. her passion for Dalmatian fur renewed. 102 is a generation on from the original cute canines. but the shape of the story is virtually identical. while the script’s too caught up in the machinations of the human world to give the dogs enough of a look in. Ster Century Cinema. Edinburgh. Perfume De Violetas (15) mo (Maryse Sistach. Mexico. 2003) Ximena Ayala. Nancy Gutierrez. Arcelia Ramirez. 90min. Dramatisation based on a true story and the growing problem of sexual assault in Mexico City. Rebellious tomboy Yessica is raped by her mother's new boyfriend and his son. after which she abandons her home and moves in with a friend. Another winner from contemporary Mexican cinema. Edinburgh Film Guild. Edinburgh.
13—27 Nov 2003 THE LIST 35