A scene from Sorrentino's Concequences o
Name Paolo Sorrentino Born 31 May 1970. Naples
Background Having worked as screenwriter in cinema and television. Sorrentino made his directorial debut in 2001 with L’Uomo in Piu (One Man Up) which was presented in competition at Venice. His second film. The Consequences of Love. played at last year’s Cannes festival. Also starring Toni Servillo. it's a stylish. understated thriller about a reclusive businessman holed up in a Swiss hotel. What’s he up to now? Sorrentino is developing another film about organised crime. this time with a more international scope. reflecting the way, in his words. ‘the Sicilian Mafia has spread its roots around the world'.
What he says about the Mafia ‘The more I learned about it by reading and researching. the more I realised it’s such an extraordinarily broad phenomenon. which has hardly been delved into by Italian cinema.‘
What he says about The Consequences of Love 'I didn’t have any interest in following the love story between two characters. I wanted to use that as a springboard to leap into a different story, which is about a respectable person who is caught up with an organisation that is totally ruthless.’
And about Toni Servillo ‘I’ve written both my films for him. I think he's an extraordinary actor. because he's so eclectic and versatile. He’s not confined to playing himself and he brought to the role a certain sort of virility and masculinity.’
And about Naples: ‘If you live in places with a greater degree of social tension. then these tensions are reflected in your work. To me Naples is much more alive than the northern Italian cities.’
Interesting fact For the lead female role in The Consequences of Love. Sorrentino cast Olivia Magnani, granddaughter of the famous Italian actress Anna Magnani.
I The Consequences of Love is at Filmhouse. Edinburgh from [-71 27 May. See review.
54 THE LIST 26 May—9 Jun 2005
The Days are Numbered (I Giorni Contati) (15) (Elio Petri. Italy. 1962) Salvo Randone. Franco Sportelli. l02min. When a lonely fiftysomething plumber sees a man his own age die of a heart attack on the tram. he decides to seize the day. Quitting his job. he embarks on a campaign to enjoy his life. with decidedly mixed results. Part of the Elio Petri season. Glasgoit- Film Theatre. Glasgow;
F ilmhouse. Edinburgh.
Dear Frankie (12A) 000 (Shona Auerbach. UK. 2004) Emily Mortimer. Gerard Butler. Jack McElhone. 104min. Life is tough for Greenock youngster Frankie (McElhone). His only means of expression comes from the letters he writes to his absent father. who Frankie believes is sailing the world aboard the HMS Accra. Frankie's tnother. Lizzie‘s (Mortimer) bluff is dangerously close to being called when HMS Accra sails into port. She arranges fora gruff stranger (Butler) to pose as Frankie's father. not realising how much her life will be changed in the process. Heartwamiing drama that contains a few well observed truths about male-female relationships in Scotland. Vue: Edinburgh ()t‘ean (formerly Ster Century). Edinburgh.
Death Watch (15) on (Bertrand Tavemier. France/West Germany. I980) Romy Schneider. Harvey Keitel. Harry Dean Stanton. l30min. Bertrand Tavernier‘s thought-provoking science fiction fable. filmed in Glasgow and set in a near future city. where a terminally ill wornan‘s final days become a real-life TV soap. If only that had been the case with Big Brother. Location manager lain Smith is on hand to talk about his experiences. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow.
A Dirty Shame ( l8) (John Waters. USA. 2004) Tracey Ullrnan. Johnny Knoxville. Selma Blair. 86min. Waters‘ latest sees repressed Baltimore housewife Sylvia (Ullman) suffer concussion in a freak traffic accident. She wakes with a massively enhanced libido. much to the disgust of her mother. As rude and anarchic as you might expect. UGCReItfrew Street. Glasgow, Glasgow.
The Door In the Floor(15)am (Tod Williams. US. 2004) Jeff Bridges. Kim Basinger. Mimi Rogers. 11 1min. Adapted from a section of John Irving’s novel A Widow for One Year by writer-director Williams. The Door in the Floor focuses on the disintegrating marriage of Bridges‘ children‘s book writer and his wife Marion (Basinger) during one summer in the private beach community of East Hampton in upstate New York. There‘s a real sense of souls in torment here. And while there‘s a fair amount of (sometimes painful) humour in the film. there‘s no easy sentiment. nor a cop out conclusion. Recommended for grown ups. Film/rouse. Edinburgh.
Downfall (15) ooo (Oliver Hirschbiegel. Germany/Italy. 2004) Bruno Ganz. Alexandra Marta Lara. Corinna Harfouch. 156mm. Dramatisation of the final days of Hitler's Third Reich. It's a sober and sobering and (largely) accurate historical account of the last 12 days of the Reich. holed up with their leader inside the bunker as the Russians storm Berlin. Ganz gives a career best performance as the Reich's leader. managing to capture both the physical. emotional and mental wreck that was Hitler in his final days as well as suggesting the awe and blind loyalty the Chancellor commanded of his followers. both soldiers and civilians. Assisting Ganz with the latter is a solid supporting cast. including Juliane Kohler as Eva Braun. the vapid glamour puss who resisted reality with Hitler until they executed their suicide pact. Cameo. Edinburgh.
Dr Strangelove (PG) moo (Stanley Kubrick. US. I963) Peter Sellars. George C. Scott. Sterling Hayden. 93min. Subtitled ‘()r. How I Learned to Stop Worrying And Love the Bomb‘. Kubrick and writer Terry Southem‘s superb black comedy satire shows us. step by careful step. just how easily foolish politicians and military egos could start a nuclear war. Scotsman Screening Room. Edinburgh.
Duma (U) (Carroll Ballard. US. 2005) Alex Michaeletos. Campbell Scott. Mary Makhatho. l00min. See review. page 45. Selected release.
The Edukators ( 15) .0. (Hans Weingartner. Germany/Austria. 2004) Daniel Bruhl. Julia Jentsch. Stipe Erceg. 127min. Interesting German political drama about a bunch of anarchists who are forced to rethink their values when they kidnap a liberal businessman. Cameo. Edinburgh.
8 and a Half (15) mo (Federico Fellini. Italy. 1963) Marcello Mastroianni. Claudia Cardinale. Anouk Aimee. 138mm. Showing in a pristine new 35mm print. Many regard this moody magnum opus as the Italian maestro‘s finest hour. Following a scenario not unlike the one that faced Fellini himself when he was under pressure to come up with a sequel to the massive international success of La Dolee Vita. Mastroianni plays a filmmaker plagued by intellectual insecurity and Catholic guilt as a weird selection of actresses. financiers. writers and hucksters dog his every move. As ever with Fellini. it‘s all about spectacle rather than ideas. but the show is a sparkling one. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow.
Eyes of Night (Mafia apo Nihta) ( l5) (Pericles Hoursoglou. Greece. 2003) Evangelia Adreadaki. Ekavi Douma. 98min. Chronis. a truck driver. Eleftheria. a woman desperate for a child and Vallia. a girl keen to move to Athens. find their paths crossing. Pan of Greece on Screen. Film/rouse. Edinburgh.
meAssassh
Kicking off a season of films by militant activist, journalist and arch Marxist Italian filmmaker Elio Petri, 1961’s The Assassin is a gripping thriller full of twists and turns starring Marcello Mastroianni. Next issue we will be looking at Petri’s work in greater depth.
I GFT, Glasgow (Thu 2 Jun only) and Fi/mhouse. Edinburgh (Sun 5 Jun on/y).
Far from the Modding Crowd (U) I
0”. (John Schlesinger. UK. I967) Julie Christie. Terence Stamp. Peter Finch. Alan Bates. l75min. Some of the swinging 60s‘ beautiful people gather for Thomas Hardy's tale of a girl from a sheep farm and the three men fighting for her affections. The landscape is lovingly shot by Nicolas Roeg. Weston Link. Edinburgh.
Fate Morgana (tbc) (Werner Her/.og. West Germany. 1971) Eugen Des Montagnes. Lotte Eisner. 78min. Hemog‘s experimental three- parter mixes music from Handel. Mozart and Blind Faith. desert visuals and surreal poetry. Divided into ‘The (.‘reation'. "lhe Paradise‘ and ‘The Golden Age‘. it‘s more concemed with philosophy and filmic texture than with straighforward narrative. Showing alongside Sharon Lockhart's elegiac short No. Filmhouse. Edinburgh.
Flgl‘l! Club ( 18) D.” (David Fincher. US. 1999) Brad Pitt. Ed Norton. Helena Bonharn Caner. l35min. Masculinity is in a mess and consumerism is to blame. Men have become docile spectators of life according to Fight Club. Finchcr's controversial adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's novel. in reckless response to this late 20th century malaise. Norton's compliant spectator teams up with Pitt's mischievous Tyler Durden to form an arena for men to beat each other to a pulp and thus reconnect with the world. It‘s hit and miss. but enough of the punches connect to startle even the most meek of viewers. Vue: Edinburgh ()t‘ean (formerly Ster Century). Edinburgh.
Final Solution (15) (Rakesh Shanna. India. 2003) 90min. The 2002 riots in the Indian province of Gujarat resulted in the death of around 1000 Muslims. Sharma‘s documentary explores the relationship between the killers and the political class. and the nature of democracy in India. Sharma will be answering audience questions after the screening. Filmhouse. Edinburgh.
Friday Night Lights (l2A) ooo
(Peter Berg. US. 2004) Billy Bob Thornton. Lucas Black. Garrett Hedlund. Derek Luke.
I 17min. American football flick detailing the story of economically challenged Pennian High School‘s I988 drive to the state final. Some great action scenes and the gritty ‘based on a real story‘ edge make this a flavoursome example of a typically bland genre. There is too much nasty rock mUsic on the soundtrack however. UGC Renfrew Street. Glasgow. Glasgow; UC I Edinburgh. Edinburgh.
0" Film Quiz Test your knowledge against a wide-reaching range of film questions. with prizes for first. second and third place. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow. A Good Woman (PG) 000 (Mike Barker. Spain/ltaly/UK/US. 2005) Helen Hunt. Scarlett Johansson. Mark Unbers. Stephen Campbell Moore. 93min. A
reworking of Oscar Wilde‘s Lady
Windennere ’s Fan. which transposes the action from late 19th century London to the Amalfi Coast in I930. Howard Himmelstein‘s liberal screen adaptation allows many of Wilde‘s characters to now become Italian and American. It all works very well: Himmelstein borrows freely from Wilde‘s other plays to highlight Wilde's original anthropological inclination to detail the doomed days of the aristocracy. Good. solid. uninventive l entertainment. Selected release.
The Green Bay (Le Rayon Vert) (PG) .0” (Eric Rohmer. France. 1986) Man'e Rivierc. Lisa Heredia. Vincent Gauthier. 98min. Rohmer's Comedies et Pmt'erbes series continued with the tale of lonely Delphine (Marie Riviere). trying to pass her summer holidays without the benefit of a boyfriend. Travelling with a suitcase of self- pity through Normandy and on to the mountains of Biarritz. she finds a companion when she least expects it. Filmhouse. Edinburgh.