Strange Gardens (Effroyables Jardlns) ( IS) 00. (Jean Becker. France. 2003) Jacques Villeret. Andre [)ussollier. Thierry l.herinitte. Benoit Magimel. Suzanne Flon. 97min. See review. page 33. l'(i(' Ri'Iiti'eii' Street. Glasgow-,- (.'(i( ‘. Edinburgh.
Suddenly (Tan de Repente) (15) 0... (Diego l.erinan. Argentina/Netherlands. 2002) See review, page 32. UP]: (i/(tvgim‘.
Switchblade Romance (tbc) (Alexandre Aja. France. 2003) (‘ecile de
France. Maiwenn [.e Besco. Phillipe Nahoii.
l-‘ranck Khalfottn. 85min. Marie and Alex go to spend some time at Alex‘s family holiday homestead in the French countryside. But an unexpected visitor arrives to cause havoc and mayhem. Much feted gory French farmhouse horror. Part of Dead by Dawn. See Rotigh (‘uts. page 28. I'i/nilinus'e. Iii/inhiujeli.
21 Grams ( 15) 0.... (.-\lejandro (iaon/ale/ lnarritu. l'SA. 2003) Sean Penn. (‘harlotte (iainsbourg. Benicio Del Toro. Naomi Watts. 124mm. A car accident changes the lives of three total strangers: ex-convict-turned-youth worker and family man Jack JorJan (Del Toro). suburban wife and mother ('ristina Peck (Watts) and college professor Paul Rivers (best actor ()scar-winner Penn). who‘s terminally ill and awaiting an organ transplant. Following the accident. Jack. (‘ris'tina and Patil are thrown together on a journey towards retribution. Brilliant. complexly plotted tragic drama from the filmmakers behind Amines perrov. The title refers to the weight we all lose when we die. A major movie. a classic. ltntttissable. Selected release.
Taking Lives (15) 00 (DJ ('artiso.
l'S/(‘anadiL 2004) Angelina Jolie. lithan Haw'ke. Kiefer Sutherland. (iena Row lands. ()livier .‘vlartinel. 102mm See review. page 33.5(‘ll’t‘ll’i/ I‘('/('(t.v’('.
The Thing ( 13) .C... (John Carpenter. IS. 1982) Kttrt Rtissell. Wilford
Brimley. David ('lennon. l09min. Scientists on an Antarctic research station thaw otit an alien creature able to change its shape and horribly murder humans. livtraordinary effects in this tense shocker. which utilises the central gimmick from the original short story in a way the l‘)5l version did not. .S’ter ('eiiiury. Iz'iliiiburgli.
Time Stood Still (ll Tempo si e Fermato) ( IS) (lirmanno ()lmi. ltaly. WW) Natale Rossi. Roberto Seveso. Paolo ()uadrubbi. 80min. ()lmi's first feature film centres on the lives of two men who pass their days guarding the site of an unfinished hydroelectric dam until the workers return to complete it in the spring. Like in most of ()lmi’s films. the devil is in the detail. Part of the ltaliaii filtn festival. (fl-"II (iluvemv: film/muse. Edinburgh.
The Toolbox Murders ( Ix) (Tobe Hooper. l'SA. 2003) Angela Bettis. Juliet Landau. Brent Roam. (‘hris Doyle. Rance Howard.A remake of Dennis Donnelly 's banned 70s ‘video nasty' by the director of the original 'Ii'tin ('liui'nvuw' .lluvv’m‘n'. When a couple move into a historic Hollywood hotel and start renovations they unearth. to their horror. a supernatural evil responsible for a series of murders. Part of Dead by Dawn. l-i/mliuuve. lz‘iliiilim-eli. Touching the Void f )5) .0000 (Kevin Macdonald. Canada. 2003) Nicholas Aaron. Brendan Mackey. Simon Yates. Joe Simpson. l0omin. 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 1085. .‘vlacdonald pulls every trick out of the bag to make this as heart-churningly scary as a real climb in bli/lard conditions. It is. as they say. quite a ride. (11mm. [Jilin/noel). The Tree of Wooden Clogs (L’albero Degli Zoccoll) ( IS) 00000 (lirmanno ()lmi. Italy. W78) 1 tiigi ()rnaghi. Francesca .‘vlorrigi. ()mar Brigiioli. Antonio l‘errari. Teresa Brescianni. I7Umin.
(ienerally regarded as ()lttti's liltesl. Iii/Iv Ii‘i'i’ (Jillian/HI (iluev skilfully \ll()\\\ peasant life in Italy through the seasons around the turn of the 20th century. The tilni is based on stories told to ()lmi by his gi‘andothei'. ()ne of Mike Leigh‘s favourite films of all time. Part of the italian film festival. (il-"I. (ilziveoii; I'ilmliuuvi'. [ziliIi/uu'e/i.
Trilogy: Three ( l5) 0... (Lucas Bclvauv. France/Belgitiiii. 2002) Dominique Blane. (iilbert .\lelki. ()rnella .\luti. ('athcrine lirot. l‘rancois Morel. Lucas Belvaux. 123mm. The conclusion of Belvaux‘s remarkable Iii/nev focuses on the intimate drama between policeman Pascal (.\lelki) and his morphine addicted w itc Agnes (Blane). We ltav e. of course. spent a little hit ()l- titne with these two before. Pascal is and was the v indictivc copper on the trail of Bruno (Belvauvi iii the first ‘l‘ri/uev film. and Agnes was and is the woman who offers Bruno protection in the chalet of her neurotic friend (’ecilc (.\1uti ). This time we focus on the heart breaking reality of a w ifc who has forced her legally bound husband to forage around the back door of drug dealers for lilosl of their married life. Powerful endgame to a fascinating cinematic cvperiment. ('unii'n. lidin/mrg/i.
The “twilight Samurai 1 12.-\) O... (Yoji Yamada. Japan. 2004) lliroyuki Saiiada. Rie .\liya/awa. \enii ls'obayashi. Ren ()sugi. l2‘hiiin. Superb adaptation of Shuuhei l-‘uiisawa‘s iiov cl about a 10th century Samurai who tries to protect a battered w itc. Not a lot of sword play though if that is what you are looking for. this is how ever a deeply touching and sensitive tale of one man‘s attempt to do the right thing. Reviewed nevt issue (‘(i(' R('Ilfl'(’lt SUTKT. (i/uvg'mi.
Nisted (15) 0 (Philip Kaufman. l'S. 200-1) Ashley Jttdd. Samuel 1.. Jackson. Andy (iarcia. David Strathairn. Russell Wong 06min See review. page 33.5'elu‘li'il
I'('/(’(l\('.
index Film
Under the Tuscan Sun 1 12A) .0 (Audrey \Vells. l'S/ltaly. 2004) Diane lane. Sandra Oh. Lindsay Duncan. llfimin. An unfaithful adaptation of Frances .\layes‘ autobiogi'aphieal book about her suiiimci's spent with her new lover renovating a house it) the Tuscan hills. \Vells does little to disguise the fact that the inspiration for lane is (iiulietta Massina in the l‘ellim classic .\'ie/ilv or (ii/Wm. The l'cllim references do not stop there: Duncan ev en takes a dip in a fotiiitaiii a la Anita likbei'g in /.(I [hi/w \i'm. l‘nfortunately. \Vells gives us i‘ellini as seen through the eyes of a .\lills and Boon novel. \threas l‘cllim essaycd the troubled internal conliict of a woman in a heartless world. \Vclls delivers only artifice and cliche. Dominion. lat/Hi/mre/i.
V-Max (Velocita’ Massima) ( IS) (Daniele Vlv‘dl'l. Italy. 2002) Alessia Barela. (‘rtstiano Morrom. lvaiio l)e Matte. \alei'io .\1astaiidrca. l l lmin. \icai'i‘s tilm about fast cars and fast women gives at) interesting Italian spin on what may sound like an :\lllL‘l'lv‘;lll movie. Tt‘lllpt'l's rise through the male rivalries and machtsiiio of the protagonists. Part of the Italian tilm festival. (il'i'l. (i/iivgow.‘ I‘llm/muvi'. Iii/iii/uu'e/i. Valentin (P( i) 0.. t:\le|andro Agresti. .'\t'geiitti‘.;i,’.\'etherlands. 2002) (‘ariiieii Maura. Julieta (ordinal). Rodrigo .\'oya. Sonim. Poor. funny. sad Valentin. His mother walked out on him. leaving ailing grandma Abuela (Maura) to bring him up alone in suburban Bueiios Aires. l‘athcr‘s absent. too. travelling the world on business. returning occasionally only to show off a new girlfriend. who never lasts. \Vhen Valentin gets to spend the day with one. |.eticia (gorgeous (ai'diiiali). he falls in love and iiiiplores her to become his new mother. \thl the precocious kid get a mummy or not.’ Argentina continues its winning streak of fill!) c\ports (Nine Qua IIv and Hit Son of Illt‘ Ifrnli') with this short and sw ect drama that's lust about the right side of saccharine. (i/’ I. (i/ilvguw.
Air .‘ 11 THE LIST 45