Film index
Stop Making Sense (PG) ooee (Jonathan Demme. US. 1984) 88min. There's plenty of quality in Stop Making Sense. the film of Talking Heads‘ 1984 stage show: the songs. the band's original musicians enjoying themselves tremendously and Demme. who has a radar- like eye for the little smiles and exchanges between band members. But the element of Stop Making Sense that arrests the attention froin beginning to end and makes this film unforgettable is the scintillating. mesmeric David Byrne. ('CA. Glasgow:
The Struggle for Peace (PG) (Steven Talley. (SA. 1991 ) 57min. .A deep and unbiased insight into the diversity of popular opinion surrounding the Palestinian-1srae1i conflict. Steven Talley"s documentary introduces four grassroots organisations and their different perspectives on the struggle for peace — the Vigil of Women in Black. Dialogues at Beit Shahur. Yesh G'Vuil refuseniks. and the Friends School at Ramallan. I-‘ilmhouse. Edinburgh.
S.W.A.T.( 12A) 0 (Clark Johnson. CK. 2003) Samuel 1. Jackson. Colin Farrell. Michelle Rodriguez. Ll. Cool J. Josh Charles. 130 min. Turgid police actioner about the LAPD Special Weapons and Tactics team. (irosi'enoiz Glasgow.
Sylvia ( 15) .0. (Christine Jeffs. Britain. 2003) Gwyneth Paltrow. Daniel Craig. Jared Harris. 1 10min. ()r Sylvia and 'led: 'I'he Unauthorised Film Biography as documented by talented newcomer Christine Jeff (Rain). Unfortunately this is a fairly conventional biopic of British poetry"s first couple Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. 1t trots out most. but not all of. the crucial details of these famously unhappy lives. Problems were clearly caused by the complete lack of co- operation from either family but either way there is little to draw you into the internecine nature of their relationship. Dominion. Edinburgh.
Temptress Moon (15) (Chen Kaige. Hong Kong. 1996) Gong Li. Leslie Cheung. Zhou Yemang. 130mm. ()pium addiction. incest and raging passions are the highlights of this complex love siorywhich mirrors the fate of a changing China during the 1920s. The film shares the visual luxury of Kaige's I'tll't’ii'l‘ll My ('oneuhine. btit sacrifices clarity by attempting to tackle a mountain of issues. Rich in period detail. this emotional storm of political and personal passion is perhaps too confusing for those unfamiliar with Chinese history. l‘ilmhnuse. Edinburgh.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (PG) 0. (Steve Barron. CS. 1990) Judith Hoag. Elias Koteas. Josh Pais. 93min. Pretty dire low budget chop sockery. but if your child is a retro freak. it may keep him or her entertained for about ten minutes. Ster Century. Edinburgh.
Terra Incognita (PG) ((ihasson Salhab. Lebanon/France. 2002) Carol Abboud. Abla Khoury. Walid Sadek. 1 19min. An intense and visually rich drama depicting the psychological aftermath of Lebanon's civil war and the destruction of Beirut. The lives of several thirtysomcthings collide as they find themselves struggling to relate to life or each other after the war in an engaging story that had a tumultuous effect on Lebanese audiences. l-‘ilmhouse. Iz'dinlmigh.
Tokyo Story (L') 0.... (Yasujiro ()zti. Japan. 1953) Chishti Ryu. Chieko Higashiyama‘. Setsuko Hara. Haruko Sugimura. SL' Yamamura. Kuniko .\1iyake.iilderly couple Shukishi (Ryu) and Tomi (Higashiyama) leave their provincial home to visit their two married children in post-war Tokyo. Their offspring. however. are too busy with their lives to look after them properly and send them to a noisy spa resort. Realising they are a burden. mother and father return home. with only their widowed daughter-in-law Noriko (Hara) having shown them any real compassion. Then an unexpected bereavement reunites
Keaton). Dreadful. smug and overlong star vehicle that attempts to address the vagaries of ageing love and lust by throwing heaps of star power and sugar over the subject. A big disappointment from Nicholson after the excellent About .S'ehmidt. (ieneral release. The Spirit of the Beehive ( IS) .0... (Victor liricc. Spain. 1973) Fernando Fenian (iomez. Teresa (iiinpera. Ana Torrent. Isabel Telleria. 98min. In rural Spain after the Civil War. the people's apathy is thrown into contrast with the frenzied activity of bees. Meanwhile. a young girl is alone in dreaming of liberation. through the gentle giant figure of Frankenstein. who she identifies with a young btit doomed soldier. Moody and haunting. lirice's debut is a calmly moving masterpiece. Cameo. Iidinlmrgh.
Spy Kids 3-D Game Over (t?)
0... (Robert Rodriguez. [78. 2003) Antonio Banderas. Carla (iugino. Alexa Vega. Sylvester Stallone. 100min. When Carmen becomes trapped in a sinister virtual reality video game. Jtini is the only one who can save her from the clutches of the toy maker (Stallone). an evil games designer. The 3-1) effects are both impressive and inventive and the set pieces are terrific fun. Highlights include a duel between giant robots. an exciting multi-vehicle speed race and some bizarre pogo-frogs. whose tongues shootout into the audience as they attack. L'CI. Clydelmnk. L'CI. Edinburgh.
Stone Reader (PU) (Mark .‘yloskowil. US. 2002) 128mm. After reading Dow Mossman's The Stones of Summer. Mark Moskowit is puzzled the author (who wrote one enthralling novel). seems to have disappeared off the radar. Moskowit traverses the country to meet acclaimed literary critics. editors and authors who might have some answers. in an award- winning documentary that is a wistful and powerful affirmation of the bond that literature can create among tis. (ilasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow:
the disparate family members. ()zu‘s brilliant seminal meditation on age and the generation gap was always one of cinema’s post war masterpieces; here in its new reissued cleaned tip form it is breathtaking. If you haven't seen this before then miss at your peril. I-‘ilnihouse. lidinlmreh.
Tooth (1') O (iidotiard .\'ammour. CK. 2004) Yasmin Paige. Rory Coptis. Maisie Preston. Sally Phillips. Tim Dutton. Harry iinfteld. Phyllida Law. 91min. Young fairy Tooth (Yasmin Paige) gives all of liaitytopia's money away to a needy brother and sister. thereby bankrupting her home and potentially scuppering Christmas. With only 36 hours to save the holiday. Tooth and her companions set off to find .‘ylrs Christmas. now in retirement. Predictable and yet cack-handedly chaotic pantomime style children’s film that appears to have been ptit together solely around the availability of the adult stars. (ienera/ release.
Touching the Void ( IS) oeeoo (Kevin .‘ylacdonald. Canada. 2003) Nicholas Aaron. Brendan Mackey. Simon Yates. Joe Simpson. 106mm. Brilliant cliff-hanging reconstruction feature documentary of the terrible events that overtook mountaineers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates when they tried to climb a Peruvian mountain in 1985. Macdonald pulls every trick otit of the bag to make this as heart-churnineg scary as a real climb in blizzard conditions. It is. ; they say. quite a ride. Seleeted release. Trilogy: One ( IS) eoooe (Lucas Belvaux. France/Belgium. 2003) Catherine i‘rot. Lucas Bclvatix. Dominique Blanc. ()rnella .\ltiti. (iilbert .\lelki. Patrick Descamps. 1 I 1min. After nearly 15 years behind bars. revolutionary terrorist Bruno Le Roux (Belvatix) escapes. 11c heads straight back to his cell's base in (ireiioble. He intends to settle some old scores. regroup his old learn and hook up with his ex-lover (Catherine lirot). But things ain't what they used to be: most of his allies are
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40 THE LIST TS) Feb—4 Mar 2004