Film
Napoleon Dynamite (PG) “0
(Jared Hess. L'S. 200-4) John Ileder. John (irres. Aaron Ruell. 90min. Napoleon (Ileder) is a quirky teenage geek who believes he has the potential to rule the universe through the most oddball means but when his grandnrother cracks her coccy x in a motorbike accident. slea/y l'ncle Rico ((irics) is called in as babysitter. Funny il uneven misfit comedy which feels like it could have been made at any porrit between 1979 and now. Paying heavy horrrage to the Xlls misfit comedies such as Jeff Kanew‘s The Revenge 0/ the Nerdy and John Hughes' Weird Sire/tee ( I984 and 85 respectively ). Napoleon Dynamite seems to come from that age before rap. when Arnie and Sly ruled the multiplexes. Painstakingly ticking off the boxes ofth high-school genre. hUsband and wife learn Jared and Jenisha Iless (director and writer respectively) are clearly having a ball. allowing the episodic structure of their debut feature to be governed by their love of the film's special (needs) central character. And yet the whole thing also has an air of an over manufactured Stock. Aitken and Waterman song. An oddball film whose attempt at mainstream seduction rrray make it all loo easy to overrate. (,’('I ('lvdebank.
( 'lv'debank.
Night of the Living Dorks (tbc) (Matthias Dinter. Germany. 2004) Tino Mewes. Thomas Schrniedcr. Manuel ('oner. (‘ollien Fernandes. Sissi Perlinger. Henry (iriindler. 88min. German zombie comedy in which three teenage undead geeks light for their right to live again. Pan of Dead by Dawn (www.deadbydawn.co.uk ). Film/rouse. Edinburgh.
9 Songs ( I8) .... (Michael Winterbottom. UK. 2004) Kieran ()‘Brien. Margot Stilley. 69min. Joining such controversial French directors as Breillat. (‘hereau and Noe. all of whom have broken cinematic taboos by showing real sexual encounters on screen. Winterbottom's film is anything but pornographic. Rather. its depiction of a shon-Iived affair pares down a relationship to its bare essentials; as graphic as the sex is. it merely adds to the quasi- docurnentary feel of the piece as a couple meet. mate and split. A fascinating experiment that is played out to the music of Franz Ferdinand. Primal Scream and the Dandy Warhols. Grosi'enm: Glasgow: Oberhausen Programme 2 ( 18) (Various) 8-4min. A selection of the best short films from the ()berhausen Short Film Festival programme from 2003/4. Glasgmi' I-‘ilm Theatre. Glasgow; Eilmlrouse. Edinburgh.
Occhi dI Cristallo (tbc) (Iiros Pugielli. Italy/Spain/UK. 2004) Luigi Lo (‘ascio. Desislava Tenekedjieva. Simon Andreu. Jose Angel Iigido. I I4min. This contemporary ‘giallo‘ (that‘s Italian for slasher) has a killer replacing his victim's body pans with corresponding pieces from Iifesized I8th century Italian dolls. Pan of Dead by Dawn (w'w'w.deadbydaw'n .co. uk ). film/rouse. Edinburgh.
On Any Street (La Notte brava) ( 18) (Mauro Bolognini. Italy/France. I959) Rosanna Schiaffino. Elsa Maninelli. Laurent Terriefl‘. 95min. A day in the life of three Roman men. Money and women are the driving motives that force the protagonists through a turbulent and. at times. bitter moral journey. Pan of the Italian Film Festival. Glasgovi' Eilm Theatre. Glasgow; Eilmhouse. Edinburgh.
On my Skin ( IS) (Valerio Jalongo. Italy. 2003) Ivan Franck. Vincen/o Peluso, Donatella Finocchiaro. l()l min. A cheese factory worker who is trying to serve out some of his parole gets involved with the family of gangsters who run the place. Pan of the Italian Film Festival. Glasgow Eilm Theatre. Glasgow; Filmhouse. Edinburgh.
58 THE LIST 14-28 Apr 2005
A Particular Silence (Un Silenzio Particolare) ( I2Ai (Stefano Riilli. Italy. 2004) 75mm. A family holiday ma somewhat cosmopolitan prov mcral house. where different cultures meet and people grow Pan ot the Italian I‘rlm I‘t'\ll\.ll (iluvgrm I'ilm llteulri'. (ililvguii. I’ilnihuuve. Edinburgh.
Pioneers in Art and Science: Gustav Metzger ( tbc) ( Ken McMullcn. I'K. 200-4) Legendary artist (iiistav Mct/gcr talks about his achievements and influences in .‘vlclv‘lullen's candid film essay. Part of the RISK film programme. (Ill. Glasgow Pooh’s Heflalump Movie il')
.. (Frank Nissen. LS. 2005) David ()gden Stiers. Jim (‘urrririmgs (voices) ()Xtilltl. Another camp adventure from 'I'housand Acre Woods. 'I‘igger gets all the best lines again. General I'e/eirve.
Poor But Beautiful (Poveri ma belli) (l5) (Dino Risi. Italy/France. l95b) Marisa Allasio. Maurt/io Arena. Renato Salvatorr. I0lmin. \'ying for the attention ol an adorable neighbour. two friends. Roiiiolo and Salvatore. try to outdo one another in this classic Roman lilm. Sumptuously shot on location in the famous Pia/Ia Navona. Part of the Italian Film Festival. Glavgmi I‘ll"! Theatre. (ilrtvgnii'; I'ilm/tnuve. Edinburgh. Private t l8) (Sav crio (‘ostan/o. Italy. 200-4) IIend Ayoub. Mohammad Bakr'i. I.iot' Miller. 90min. A troop of Israeli soldiers descends onto a prospering Palestinian family. turning their house into an observation post. The effects are overwhelming as libeny is lost and the members of the family become incarcerated irr their own home. Pan of the Italian Film Festival. G/asgmi' I’ilm 'I'hearre. Glasgow .' I'ilmhuuve. Edinburgh.
Quo Vadis? (PG) (Iinrico (iiia/loni . Italy. I924) Iilga Brink. Lilian Hall Davis. Iimil Jannings. I02min. Air antiquated but vibrantly compelling rendition of Henry'k Sienkiewicl's best-selling novel. Interwoven into the retelling of the story of Iimperor Nero's oppressively overbearing treatment of the early (‘hristians is a love story that manages to surmount religious and social barriers. Pan ofthe Italian Film Festival. (ilusgmv‘ I'll/n 'l'heatre. (iluvgmr: l-‘ilmhouse. Edinburgh.
The Rage in Placid Lake ( l5)
... (Tony McNamara. Australia. 2003) Ben Lee. Jordan Brooking. Miranda Richardson. Lucas Fraccaro. (iarry lvrlcl)ona|d. 89min. lv'IcNamara‘s social satire hangs on a corriing-of-age mini- odyssey undenaken by Placid (Brooking/Ice) that sees the teenage outsider graduate from beatings in the school playground (culminating in a bone- crunching failed suicide attempt following the screening of his scandalous video expose. Life is .S'uperdmiper) to try his hand at ‘normal life‘ with a desk job at an insurance firm before learning the Iiard way that age-old lesson: be true to yourself. It‘s hard to dislike this resolutely upbeat. good- natured film. and a quintessentially Australian one with its brand of bright. tone- setting optimism. (’G(' Ren/reir Street. Glasgow; Glasgow'; ('G(‘ ('inemax Edinburgh. Edinburgh.
Rain Man ( 15) ... (Barry Levinson. I'S. I988) Dustin Hoffman. 'I‘om (‘ruise. Valeria (iolino. I l4min. Small-time hustler (‘ruise kidnaps his previously unknown autistic savant brother Hoffman when their father bequeaths his fonune to the latter. Their initially cold relationship warms as the two cross America by road. and they leanr to value one another. Warmheaned and touching buddy movie that scrupuloust avoids sentimentality and boasts a detailed and compassionate performance from Hoffman. Ster ('enrury ('inema. Edinburgh. The Ramones: End of the Century ( 15).... (Jim Fields/Michael (iramaglia. US. 2003) The Ramones.
l 10min. The Ramones. now there was a band: ‘Blitzkrieg Bop'. 'Bcat on yhe Brat'. ‘Judy is a Punk'. This lovingly put together documentary chronicles the mad. bad and crazy times of this very special band. from their early days at C(iBGs to the Spector sessions and beyond. As the band would say: ‘Hey! Ho? Let’s (iof' cos ‘Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue'. ('anreo. Edinburgh.
Ray« 15).... ('laylor lIacklord.l S. 200-4) Jamie l'oxx. Kerry \\ashrrrgton. Regina Krrrg. (‘lrtton I’owell l52mrrr HacklordK long awaited biopic ot Ray ('harles is undoubtedly ov erlong and given to bad explanatory graphics and cheesy pub psychology btit it still manages to be entertaining and rev elatory Ileaiitrliilly set designed. costumed and scored (by ('harles himself) it is I‘oxx's mix ol rirrpressrorr. pathos and rare presence as (‘hailes that holds the tilm together -\ masterful. very adult biopic Hill on. l-dinbuigh
The Ring No ( Iii oooo (llrtleo Nakata. IS. 2005) Naomi \\atts. Kelly Stables. lll‘lmin I'ilmmakcr Nakata driect~ the American Ring sequel I'ans ot \akaia will be pleased to learn that he's Ik'l‘ldxk‘tl plot consistency w ith his own brilliant brand of suspense that makes it almost impossible to guess what. when oi where the scares w ill come. He‘s changed the conundrum that faces returning heroine Rachel Keller (“'gtllsl. The challenge now Is whether sllx' will kill her own son to get rid ol Samara (Stables) Samara is also a much more
pow erlul lot“. able (i) possess bodies Kill: 3 works because Nakata concentrates on what he knows best without trying to adapt his style to fit Ilollywood. l'or once a l'S remake of a classic Asian horror film proves itsell to be a lurtive work of fusion (it nual ltlt an Robots ( l ') ooo ((‘lrr-rs wedge. (‘ai‘los Saldhana. LS. 2005) Voices of Robrrr Williams. Ilalle llei'r'y. (ireg Kmneai. I:warr Mc(ir'egor'. 9lmm, New animated adventure from the makers of /( c Age. Rodney ('opperlvoltoin (.\Ic( ii'cgot') is a working class robot whose (Il'c'allls ()I I‘L'cntlllltg‘ all inventor are dashed w hen he discov eis that Iiigw ell. the largest corporation in the city. has been overtaken by Ratchet (Kiimear). a ruthless capitalist w ho makes Rupert Murdoch look like Karl Marx. ()n this show mg the ('( il formula is desperately in need of an upgrade. General release. Roman Notes (Appunti Romana) (PG) (Marco Iiertol/i. Italy. 2004) 50mm, Shown in conjunction with the II‘I-"s cinematic celebration of the city of Rome. A
compi'ation of sequences made Iron) a range
of lilms shot around the city. Pan ol the Italian Film Festival. Glavgmi l'ilnr 'I'lieaire. Glasgow; I‘ilnrhouve. Iz'dinburgh.
Romeo and Juliet ( l’( i) 0.0
(Renato (’astellani. ltaly/l‘K. I954) Laurence Harvey. Susan Shentall. Flora Robson. l3b'tiiin. The classical lalin mood that is created by (‘aslcllani is augmented and imbued by the fact that it is shot on location in Italy. coupled with the stylistic visual development of Renaissance paintings. Film/rouse. Edinburgh.
Sahara ( 12A) oo 2005) Matthew .\lc(‘onaughey. Penelope ('rul. Steve Zahn. l25min. I-‘unctional action-adventure thriller. based on the novel b) ('live (‘usslerz which tries and fails to revive the spirit of Indiana Jones. While director Iiisner ensures that the story moves along at a decent clip. the film doesn‘t even manage to match the 2004 modern-day scavenger hunt .N'ritiona/ lieavure for excitement. General release.
Satan’s Little Helper (tbc) (Jeff Lieberman. LS. 2004) Katheryn \anick. Alexander Brickel. Amanda I’luinmer.
Stephen (iraham. Joshua Annex. Dan /.iskie.
\Vass M Stevens. Melisa .\lc(ircgor. Joyce R Korbin. 99min. ()n Hallow e'cn. a madman in disguise wreaks havoc ma small American town. unw ittingly aided by an unsuspecting family. Pan of Dead by Dawn (w w w .dcadby'daw n.co.uk ). l-ilmlrouve. Edinburgh.
The Sea Inside (PG) 0000
( Alejandro Amenabar. Sparn/France/Italy. 2004) Javier Bardem. Belerr Rueda. Lola Duer‘ias. 125mm. Fascinating investigation into euthanasia and man‘s right to die. based on the real story of cx-ship's engineer Ramon Sampcdro. (amen. Edinburgh. Secret Cinema (tbc) what will it he: Nobody knows. but one thing is for sure it's going to be as cool as all hell. The Filmhouse's excellent secret film night. introduced by Mark (‘ousms and other members of the cinema's programming team. \Veird arid wonderful viewing for all. I’i/rnhouve. Edinburgh.
(Breck Iiisner. l'S.
See you in the Next wafill‘c) (Iloiig \ubiey.l K. 20M |\ tilm surrounding the Balkan contlrct. detailing .i c hcmical generation war story about lite. death and survival in between an oppressive regime and the bombs of N \Ill I‘ait ot the RISK lilm programme (( \, liiuvg‘uii
Shall We Dance?« l.‘ x» 000 il'clct (‘helsoinl S. 200*) Richard (icre. Jennrtei Iopc/. Stanley lllcxl lllbmm I'lutly but watchable Holly wood remake ol the Japanese romance about what happens when love strikes during ballroom dance lessons \hout an ( 'ini ma. l’arvr'i \. [1:1in \ \ftr (it Ittmv ('irri ma. lain/"urgir
Shark Tale (l i... (Hibo
lieigeion \ icky .leirson Rob I ettciiriair.l S. 2004) \\ ill Smith. Robert lie \rio. Jack Illack. \Iaitm Scorsese 90mm ()s\.ll (Smith) is .i little fish who lives happily in the oceon Iliit one day he gets in debt to a vegetarian shark (Illack) whose maliosi lather lion I mo (Ile \rio) rules the reel. what can he do to get hiirrsell out ol this situation' lively. silly ll occassronally llat ('(i animation that is x learly try me to hustle in on linrling \r mo territory It /
(lhlt bank. (lvrli brink
Shrek 2 ( l ) ... ( \ndrew \damson. Kelly Asbuiy. ('oniad \eiiioii .l S. 2004) Mike Myers. I'ddic \Iurphy. (‘aiiicion I)l.t/. Julie \iidievvs. Antonio Iiandeias. John ('lecsc. Rupert I'\('Ix'll. .lenniler Saunders 92mm Patchy. episodu sequel to I)ieairi\\'orks' inspired. satirical rill on Disney laiiy tales. this lails to lk'l‘llx ate the irragic ol the original Hack ll()lll honeymoon. swamp dwelling Shiek .rird his bride. I’riiicess l'l()ll.t are rnv rted to v rsrt his in I.t\\s_ King Ilaiold and Queen I rllian. rulers of the kingdoiri ol I at L.” Away /.oi'iorlike assassin I’uss m Hoots (Ilaiideiasi is hired to do away w rtli the ogre iriterlopei and restore the natural order Hut the plotters have underestimated I'ioiia's love. Slriek's sense of sell worth and the loyalty ol tlreit asmme sidekick. |)orikey (Murphy) More contrived than clever. the m rokey inov re parodies are lurmy biit la/y 'l he slapdaslr selection of music is olten smeared on to disguise the erratic pacing Nevertheless. the danlmg fairytale ball linale will probably blind v iewers to these many imperlectrons .Ster ( ‘enturv (inertia. deinburgh. Sideways ( I5) ..... (Alexander Payne. l‘S/Ilungar'y. 2004) Paul (iiamatti. Thomas Iladcii ('hiir'ch. Virginia Madsen. Sandra 0h. 27min. ’I'wo teiirper'aiiicntalIy opposed tttitltllc‘~tigeil lt'tctttls head (ill on a w eek's break in ('aliloi'iiian wine country. before one of them gets married. ()rre is a sell-pity mg divorcee and w me snob Miles ((iiainatti ). the other his lormei college roommate Jack ((‘Irurchi a washed up 'I \' actor. whose looks are ladrrrg. biit wlio's still enthusiastically chasing alter lresh romantic conquests in the week of his ow n wedding l'nlolding at a relaxed tempo. and unobtrusively edited. Sidenai \ is a w elcome throwback to the I970s American cinema of Bob Ralclson and Jerry Schat/ber‘g. in part simply because ll reminds us of what lun it can be to hang out with guys like Jack and Miles for a couple of hours. Se/er ted re/eave. Sleep ( 18).... (Andy Warhol. l'S. I903) John (irorno. 42mm. A man sleeps on a bed we watch. Warhol at his simplest and most confri)nlalional. Part ()I the Warhol exhibition. Heston l.lllh. Izdinburgh Sleepover ( P( i) .0 (J( )c Ntissbaum. LS. 2004) Alexa Vega. Mika Boorem. Jane Lynch. Sam Huntington. H9mm. A hurried photocopy ol the lar superior Lindsay Lohan vehicle .llean (ill'lv Jtilie (Alexa Vega) and her four adolescent chums slip away from a sleepover to enter a scavenger hunt against a dominant school clique. with the pun: being to sit beside the fountain at lunch break. Tiresoirie. Glasgow I'll/n 'I'heutre. (i/(ivgmi.
Some Like it Hotil’ti) 0.... (Billy Wilder. IS. 1959) Tony (’unis. Jack Lemirron. Marilyn Monroe. l20min. 'I'wo impecunious male musicians inadvertently witness the St Valentine's Day Massacre and take refuge in Florida with Sweet Sue and her Society Syneopators. an all-female band. Brilliant. brittle. crackerjack farce with all concerned at a peak in their careers. .‘v'urth Edinburgh Arty (‘entna Edinburgh.