DALLAS FOREVER (15) 108mm 00
Supposedly a i').‘|llfl tribute b; director innit/i /ei‘firelli to (third 'larne Maria Dallas. thi', screaiiliiril, canip enterprise f:lli‘:f’l‘.:‘. .‘.’|lil a hoot and a iioller as the funniest unintentional hoiiiedy ot the ,em lirst|,¢ /effirel|i can't resist Y,it‘illllll llllll‘,t:|l as the hero of this .rariit, prriliert gone mad. and deck. out .Jltl‘:ll|,’ Irons as himself f,|l(,.'i “ii'i' u‘iatuall, playing Callas' riiarrager l itlf‘, Kellyi, resplendent in ‘li‘.*'l hair. rriirmed shades. a ponytail and enough bling bling (err/elleiy to liaiidirap a rapper. Theii /etfire|li whips up some authentically washed out [Us photography. complete Willi lurchiiig .‘r ii iiiis. that makes this tirttroiialised amount of his relationship with Callas resemble a Hetaiiiax copy of lrn/narir/e/le f). lie throws in a number by the Clash over the opening credits and casts the venerable Joan Plowiight as a music Journalist. He chucks in further local colour by detailing his own bathetrc affair Willi a handsome boy hearing impaired artist whose work is inspired by the ‘vrbrations' of (lallas‘ voice. And to top it all. he constructs a (il'éllllél‘lTOU story which ieriiiiies the inapr)roprrately radiant l .‘llllly Aidant to lip sync to ()allas' recordings. It's painfully obvrous that this ludicrous tarrago is meant to be Xeflirelli's heartfelt gift to his long dead muse. Let's hope she kept the receipt. (Eddie Harrison)
I / ilnihoi/se, Edinburgh from Fri 26 Nor:
PSYCT l()l ()(‘tICAl DRAMA ENDURING LOVE (15) 100mm 000.
Joe (Daniel Craig) rs about to propose to his girlfriend Claire (Samantha Mortoni ill a tecund countryside setting. They're Interrupted by the screams of a terrified child. carried skywaids by a runaway hot air balloon in a high wrnd. Together wrth some passers by. Jed (Rhys lfansi and John Logan (Lee Sherwardi. Joe grabs a cable and attempts to pull the balloon down to earth. resulting in a freak death that's simultaneously comic and repulsive.
Joe tires to return to his colour supplement lifestyle after the accident. but hrs routine is disrupted by the spring-Irmded presence of Jed. now iexealed as a religious .tealot who
' hart/Airs a ‘if' ' ; . g. 7‘ C Ell“; 1e tie rresence vf s.rp;/,rf"‘ ; {Jam-rs Bili Nigl‘. arid Andres. CW '\
’ ' Lexe. Ar,.‘;i.'ii’lj,. or the suga'r sweet coating of Mir:h~ll's prer. byllaboratiOn with liars farting; H riii'yit suggest That Ewan "g; l cm ‘:1 some Lirid ’it' l‘.‘.’orkir:g Title f’ii'l‘v’iflll. we are in fact rn l./ir:E.van's world. It‘s a world where lone is not only all around. it's a stalker waiting outside your house in the pouring rair‘. or hiding in a darkened kitchen with a (LilT‘Jlltl knife. This kind of love cannot be returned and is painful to endure. and Michell spares us none of the accidental cruelty or awkwardiress of Joe's various ltfltXlllOllfi of Jed‘s affections. Like Mitchell's previous film. The Mother. this is a darkly intelligent British drama. wrth Craig and lfans perfectly cast. and Joe Penhall's script capturing McEwan's morbid sentiments. This love hurts. agonisingly at times. but it's well worth enduring. (Eddie Harrison)
I General release from Fri 26 Nov.
TAIWANESE MINIMALIST DRAMA GOODBYE DRAGON INN (BU SAN)
(15) 82min 0000
The bittersweet Goodbye Dragon Inn from Taiwanese writer—director Tsar Ming-hang (The Last Dance) isn't easy to prgeonhole: an exercise in crnematic minimalism. it's also simultaneously a ghost story. a deadpan comedy and a lament for a vanished era of cinema- gOing. The setting is the run-down Fu- Ho cinema in Taipei. where King Hu's 1960:; martial arts picture Dragon Inn is being shown on the night the fleapit is set to close down. Just a handful of spectators have turned up. and most
of them seem more interested in smoking. snacking or cruismg than in actually watching the film.
Shooting in hrs trademark long. static takes. Ming-Hang makes the rnovre theatre the key character. The building is a cavernous. creaking affair in which buckets are used to collect the rain leaking through the roof. There are only two employees: a lame female cashier. who hobbles up and down the grimy corridors diligently carrying out her duties. and an elusive [JTOJQCllOlllSl ilvling-liang regular Lee Kang-shengl. who ayords contact with his devoted colleague.
Leayened with a number of droll sight gags. notably one involving the comings and gOrngs in a gents torlet. Goodbye Dragon lnn is in keeping with Ming-hangs l)T€‘."|OLlS rain-soaked explorations of urban solitude and emotional disconnection such as The River and What Time is it There. He's an austere director who keeps
ga. Japanese 'i‘a". K .:";‘l>u Mita'nura s asked. an.) thew s about the .'.‘a. people r‘iateralrse '1 the dark of the {illillifiTiti'l‘ an: slit; l‘zlS‘. ()l‘z' another
in the at tiriirxg rooiirs and :assages
stiir‘ethrrfa tl"")St-NK£>
The in rod f longing and loss is
eiv:ai:s.i!att-:-;l in the period song Can't Let G whch prays oxer the titri‘s r.-.«istfu? clcsing scene. «Tom Dawson
I Fr'rv‘nuse. Edinburgh "om F'i '53 .‘e l. {on 2.? Flori.
ANIMATION MODEL BEHAVIOUR (PG) 75min 0000
Adam Elliot shakes. Born in Australia in 1972 wrth a physiological tremor that affected hrs entire nervous system. Elliot is the most unlikely of claymation anrrnators. Thanks to antr-convulsaiits. extra-large models and his own Sisyphean perseverance. he is set to become the most applauded claymation animator since Nick Parks. Elliot won an Oscar earlier this year for the 23 minute specral Harvre Krurnpet. It is the highlight of this fascrnatrng selection of claymation by Elliot and Russran-born Norwegian Plotr Sapegin. Harvre Krurnpet is the strangely uplifting tale of a Pole who is born wrth Tourette's Syndrome then emigrates to Australia where he loses a testicle to cancer. Elliot's animation style may not be as 80phrstrcated as Parks' but his writing is in many ways more prof0und. Although the sets are superb. the animation is simple and childlike. making a virtue of Elliot's condition. Narrated by Geoffrey Rush. the film is a brilliant comedy on the fantastically inconsequential nature of life — the work of a brave. unflinching mind. His superb trio of earlier shorts. Cousrn. Uncle and Brother — which are also included here — are if anything less forgrvrng and indeed more amuSrng. Elliot pOrnts to the abSurdist Melbourne Age cartoonist Michael Leunig as his main influence but there is something in his lower middle—class menagerres that is Similar to the sprawling mob of untortunates that PJ Hogan depicted in Muriel's Wedding. PJtor Sapegrn. as a result. deserves some Sympathy. Hrs work has been placed alongSrde Elliot's by the Independent Cinema Office. one guesses. as a means of fleshing out this anthology to feature length. Sapegrn works within the European tradition of avant-garde animators who render folk fables into high concept vrsual form. He's good but. well. he doesn't have the delicate yet populist touch of Elliot. who can tell you tales of illness. misfortune and death but still leave you smiling. (Tim Abrahamsi
I GET. Glasgow Tue 23 Nov 5pm and 9pm.
Film
Film news and giveaways for beautiful cineaste types
I There's loads of great stuff happening around this year's French Film Festival. Jean Leon Reno is turning up in Glasgow for the full red carpet treatment to introduce Tais Toi! (pictured) «- a crime caper farce in which he appears with Gerard Depardieu - on Thursday 2 December. Over in Edinburgh Much Scotland Ltd (www.muchscotland.co.uk) will be putting on a live production of Louis Malle’s excellent 1981 film My Dinner with André with respected Scottish actors Andrew Dallmeyer and Sandy Neilson at the Outsider Restaurant (20, 25-27, 2-4 December). Tickets for a meal and a seat near the action are still available. Visit www.trenchfilmfastival.org.uk for more information.
sr((rAr + IOIYION
Four f. Weddings (:63 Funeral
'(m o‘tii: gm: nun: remix; infill :rm' 15
l Win special edition DVDs of Four Weddings and a Funeral (£15.99 rrp). From the creators of Bridget Jones' Diary and Notting Hill. this comedy stars Hugh Grant (About a Boy) and Andie MacDowell (Groundhog Day). To be in with the chance of winning one, just send an email to promotions@list.co.uk by no later than 2 December. Usual Li's! rules apply.
I Last issue Rough Cuts told you about the Sensurround Earthquake film event happening at the Cameo Picture House, Edinburgh on Friday 19, Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 November. Now is your chance to win a couple of free tickets to this great event. Just name one other film apart from Earthquake that used the Sensurround technique. Email the answer marked ‘Earthquake’ to promotionsOlist.co.uk no later than Friday 19 November. Usual List rules apply.
18 NO~.’-2 Dec 2004 THE LIST 55