narrative style that is more rooted in the work of African directors Ousmane Sembene (Xa/a. Moo/aade) and Jean- Pierre Bekolo (Aristotle '3 Plot) than his British contemporaries.
In fact. it is when Letts tries to pander to the perceived sensibilities of the British audience that One Love falls short. Like nearly every recent British film about visible ethnic minorities. Bend it Like Beck/rain, East is East and Ae Fond Kiss. One Love has a staid Borneo and Juliet story at its heart. This time. pastor‘s daughter and gospel singer Serena (Cherine Anderson) falls for Flastafaira Kassa (Ky-Mani Marley). lead singer in a reggae band. at a music competition. Serena's father (Winstone Stona) has two reasons to disapprove. One: Kassa is not of the cloth and. two: Serena is already promised to another.
Their relationship leads to predictably dire consequences and. bogged down by the plot. the film quickly loses its way. It's a crying shame. because Letts is a fantastic filmmaker who can and should be doing better.
(Kaleem Aftab)
I UGC, Benfrew Street. Glasgow and We Edinburgh from Fri 75 Jul.
COMEDY WEDDING CRASHERS (15) 119min O.
This boisterous comedy about a pair of divorce mediators (Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn) who spend each spring season gate-crashing weddings so they can score babes is merely an ugly second cousin once removed to even the low-brow likes of Dodgeba/l and Meet the Fockers. Operating on the principle that lame verbal and visual gags are funny if the audience is repeatedly pummelled with them (why bounce one naked chick on a bedspread if you can bounce half a dozen of them; why fluff a line once if you can fluff it six or more times?) Wedding Crashers sorely lacks a strong script and the kind of inventive direction worthy of its not uritalented comic leads.
Furthermore. in attempting to combine the crazy family plot of Meet the Fockers with the comedy beatings and shit and puke humour of Dodgeba/l (along with a star from each film). Wedding Crashers also suffers from seen-it-all-before film formula fatigue. Thus. when Wilson and Vaughn get themselves invited into the country home of Christopher Walken's gr0uchy but loaded politician and get
into all kinds of uncomfortable scrapes with nymphomaniac mothers and daughters. violent boyfriends and foul- mouthed grannies. you want to shout: ‘Not locking again!‘ Even once and glorious English rose Jane Seymour's cameo as a nightmare matriarch smacks of the role her fellow Jane (Fonda) took in the recent noisy-but- nurnbing comedy Monster in Law.
It's just not good enough to assemble a half-decent cast and then ply them with bad dialogue and ear- piercing sound effects. Cacophonic cack. (Miles Fielder)
I General release from Fri 75 Jul.
DRAMA CLEAN (15) 110min 0...
Watching Clean Lou Reed's lyrics. ‘Heroin/ it's my wife and it's my life' contained in the Velvet Underground's haunting ethereal track are never far from mind. That's because French auteur Oliver Demon/over Assayas does a remarkable thing. taking the gritty realism of the classic song and putting it on screen. Assayas also employs his ex-wife. Maggie In the Mood for Love Cheung (who he met when he directed her in the fabulous lrnia Vep). in the lead role of Emily Wang. We meet her in a hotel room on the fateful night that her partner (Lee Johnson) has a fateful overdose and she is thrown into jail for six months on possession charges. When she comes Out. she is full of remorse. wants to kick her drug habit and rebuild her life as a musician. It is a rare thing in cinema to see such a strong and interesting middle-aged woman depicted. Emily flits between Paris and London trying to resurrect her career and the scenes revolving around the music industry are given an added realism with cameo appearances from Tricky and upcoming Canadian band Metric.
Cheung also wants to persuade her former partner's parents to give her back custody of her son. Nick Nolte is the grandfather in question and he
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gives his best performance since Paul Schrader's Affliction. Unlike his wife. he feels that Emily and her son should be reunited. but is unsure of how best to handle the situation. In contrast. Assayas. handles the touchy topic judicioust and with remarkable panache. (Kaleem Aftab)
I GET. Glasgow from Fri 75 Jul. See preview.
CHRONICLE/EPIC
HEIMAT 3 (15) 680min 0000
PUNISHMENT . A daunting l 1 and half h0urs long. and Split into six self-contained episodes. this is the third cycle in writer-director Edgar Reitz's colossal chronicle of 20th century Germany life. Spanning the decade between the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 and the Millennium celebrations. Heiniat 3: A Chronicle of Endings and Beginnings revisits the rural HuiiSruck region of the Original Heimat series to explore how the tide of recent histOiy -~ the departure of NATO troops. immigration from Russia. global economic trends — is impinging on everyday lives and identities.
I Rough Cuts is going giveaway crazy this issue. First up we’ve got eight classic posters of the Peter Watkin’s brilliant 1971 cult film Punishment Park to give away. To be in with a chance of winning one, simply answer the following question: ‘In what year did Peter Watkins create his most radical film La Commune? You may want to visit www.punishment park.co.uk before you send your reply marked PARK to promotions@list.co.uk no later than 20 July 2005. Usual List rules apply.
I Don’t miss Oxfam Music's night down at the Cameo Cinema Bar, Edinburgh on Thursday 21 July (9.30pm until late). DJS Babes. Beefy and Hew Torrance (Oxfam Music) will be playing their favourite film-related records. from obscure Italian horror soundtracks to Singin’ in the Rain.
A we HINtDlGI‘lAl. CAMERA mo THE BOGNDOCK SMNTS ENDS ; I To celebrate the release of Overnight in cinemas on Friday 8 July, we have teamed up with Olympus to give away an Mju Minidigital camera and five DVDs of The Boondock Saints. Overnight is a documentary about bartender Troy Duffy, who landed the deal of a lifetime in the late 19905 when Miramax bought his film script, The Boondock Saints. Not only did Miramax want him to direct it and have his band produce the soundtrack, it also offered to buy him the bar in which they
The key individuals here are familiar figures from Hei/nat 2. the conductor- composer Hermann (Henry Arnold) and the Singer Clarissa (Salome Klaminer). who return a newly reunited couple to the Rhineland ceiintryside. The film's novelistic range incorporates the experiences of their siblings (particularly Hermann's older brothers Anteri and Ernst) and parents. and their own adult children. as well as the East German workmen they hire to renovate their dream home in the hills outside the village of Schabbach.
The atmosphere of iubilation in Helmet 3 Surrounding national reunification. which reaches its peak With Germany winning the World Cup in 1990. gives way to a powerful mood of melancholy
and disappointment. Ageing characters . agreed the deaI, but things did not quite go to plan. To enter, just send an email to promotions@list.co.uk no later than 20 July 2005. Please include your postal address. Usual List rules apply.
become preoccupied wrth their own mortality. and nature itself. in the form of tremors and floods. amplifies the mood of human vulnerability. (Incidentally. those who enjoyed the leisurely inaction of Heiniat may be Surprised by the number of melodramatic climaxes here in terms of car and plane crashes.) Driven along by a dynamic original score. and boasting some striking widescreen compositions. it's another impressive feat of multi stranded cinematic storytelling from Reitz. while the haunting final shot paves the way for the possibility of Hernia! 4.
(Tom Dawson)
I Film/louse. Edinburgh f/orn Fri 8 < M h
i' “XI Jtil .‘Kltlfi THE LIST 47