Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Paul Dale
The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl (l') .0 (Robert Rodriguez. LS. 2005) 'l‘aylor Latitner. Taylor Dooley. (‘ayden Boyd. (ieorge Lopez. 93min. Bland post-Spy Kids kiddie llick from Rodriguel. ('('I ('lvdeluaik. (lvdehank: (7(‘1 Ifdililtirrgli. Ifdiiilm/jgli.
An American in Paris (t') 0000 (Vincente Minnelli. l'S. l95l ) (iene Kelly. Leslie (’aron. ()scar Levant. Nina Foch.
l l3min. Splendid if sometimes garish romantic musical. vvith Kelly on top form as a would-be artist kicking up a storm in la belle rite. Scotsman .S'ereening Room. lziliiiliia'gh. The Art of Breaking Up (Un fit a la patte) ( l5) 0.. (Michel l)e\ ille. France. 2005) limanuclle Beart. (‘harles
Berling. Dominique Blane. Julie Depardieu. 78min. The big screen adaptation of (ieorge l-‘eydeau's 189-1 farce retains its vvit. Against the backdrop of Parisian high society. Boris d'linghein (Berling) attetnpts to confess his impending vvedding to his mistress. only to be thvvarted at every turn. Part of Mini French Film Festival. I’ilinliorrse. lidinlnajgh. Battle in Heaven (Batalla en El Cielo) ( l8) 0... ((‘arlos Reygadas. l"rance/Belghim/Mexico. 2005) Marcos Hernandez. Anapola Muslikadiz. Berta Ruiz. 97min. Reygadas's follow-up to Japan is this compelling metaphysical drama which unfolds in a morally bankrupt contemporary Mexico ('ity. Middle-aged chauffeur Marcos (Hernandez) has kidnapped a friend's child for ransom and is also developing a complex relationship vv ith his boss's beautiful daughter Ana (Mtishkadizl. Things vvill have to come to a bead somehovv. An austere and visceral vvork. vvhich is steeped in mystery and longing. ('anieo. lidin/mrgli.
DVD NEW RELEASE INTERVIEW
VIETNA
As seminal 1974 documentary film Hearts and Minds gets a long overdue release on DVD, the writer and director PETER DAVIS (pictured centre) talks about the making of an American classic.
REQUIEM
‘I had made a film called The Selling of the Pentagon, an investigative report about the Defense Department’s propaganda campaign which was promoting the war in Vietnam. That led to a congressional investigation of me. When I refused to hand over my notes and the network, CBS, refused to hand over the outtakes we were all served with subpoenas. The president of CBS, who hadn’t even seen the programme before it was broadcast, stood firm behind it and said, “No, you can’t do this.” So they tried to hold him in contempt of congress. This was a battle, which raged for months, and finally CBS won, but after that, I was a watched man. The network was glad that I did what I did but they also didn’t want to do anything like that again. And so after that, I did a few pieces for 60 Minutes and then producer Bert Schneider asked me if I would like to make a film about the trial in LA of Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo, who had divulged the Pentagon Papers [which contained the secret history of the Vietnam War] to the press. Well, I soon found out I could not make that film because neither the prosecution nor the defence would have anything to do with me because they were preparing for what they thought would be the trial of the generation. Ultimately that trial was declared a mistrial, because President Nixon tried to bribe the judge with an offer of the FBI directorship. By that time I was off to Wetnam and travelling around the US making my own film and I decided that this would address three questions: why did we go to Vietnam? What did we do to the Vietnamese? What did that in turn do to us? I also knew that I did not want it to be an explanatory, but an experiential, film. 80, I went to Wetnam, and the first day there I saw a village that had been bombed and I realised that that this destruction would only be about the first 15 seconds of a normal American report. But I liked that first 15 seconds of the camera crawling around the village showing you the destruction - this is what American network executives call “dead air”. I decided I wanted to make my film about
that “dead air”.
‘I am glad a new generation is seeing the film. I’m just sorry for the reasons they’re seeing it. It’s as though we had learned no lessons at all in Vietnam.’ (Interview by Paul Date)
I Hearts and Minds is released on Mon 27 Nov (Metrodome).
46 THE LIST 1/ Nov 1 Doc 700:3
The Battleship Potemkin (PG) .0... (Sergei liisens’tein. USSR. 192.5) A Antonov. Vladimir Barski. (irigori Alesandrov. 75min. Made for the 20th anniversary of the 1905 revolution. liisenstein’s all-time classic follows the mutiny by the crevv of the I’rinee Potemkin and the support given by the local civilian population. vvho are rnovvn dovvn by the (’zar‘s troops in the famous ()dessa Steps sequence. Part of (ilasgovv Silents. (ilasgoir l'i/ni 'I‘heaIre. Glasgow.
The Beat That my Heart Skipped (de battre mon coeur s’est arrete) ( l5) 0”. (Jacque Attdiard. France. 2004) Romain Duris. Niels Arestrup. Linh-Dam Phaiii. limmanuelle Devos. l0()min. Stunning remake of James 'l'obaek‘s I978 small thriller Fingers. Selected release.
Bed and Breakfast (Bienvenue au Gite) ( l5) ((‘laude Duty. France. 2003) Philllipe llarel. Bulle ()gier. Julie Depardieu. Marina Fois. l07min. ('laude Duty's comedy follovvs the trials of a thirtysomething Parisian couple attempting to live out their dream of ovvning a bed and breakfast in the countryside. only to discover that reality can be cruel. Part of Mini French Film Festival. I"ilmliouse. lidiiilna‘gli.
Belle of the Nineties (PG) 0.. (Leo Mc('arey. l'S. I934) Mae West. Roger Pryor. Johnny Mack Brovvn. Katherine DeMillc. John Miljan. 73min. Filmed right as the Hays (‘ode gained influence. West's saucy play was cut to shreds. llovvever. vvhile some of the risque elements vvere dropped. the comedy remains. as does her sultry singing. Part of Mae West Season. l“lllllll()ll.\'('. lidinlmrgh. Bewitched (l’( i) 00 (Nora liphron. LS. 2005) Nicole Kidrnan. Will Ferrell. Shirley Macl.aine. Michael ('aine. Jason Schvvart/man. 101mm. Dire. one dimensional. high concept revvorking of the erstvvhile TV shovv that lacks magic. (imsi'enoi: (ilasgon'.
Blue Velvet ( (8) 00000 (David Lynch. l'S. I986) Kyle .\lacl.achlan. Dennis Hopper. Isabella Rossellini. l20rnin. ln small-tovvn Middle America. vvould-be boy detective Macl.achlan finds a severed car on some vvaste ground. When the police shoo him avvay he decides to do sortie investigating of his ovvn. This is lilmmaking of remarkable imagination and skill. Part of Hitchcock and 20th (‘entury ('ineina Season. (ii/morehi/lU/Z. Glasgow; I’ilmlious’e. lz‘rliiilna'gli.
Broken Flowers ( 15) .000 (Jim Jarrnuscli. LS. 2005) Bill Murray. Sharon Stone. Jessica Lange. Jeffrey Wright. 'l‘ilda vainton. Julie I)elpy. 88min. Don (Murray) receives an anonymous letter from one of his former girlfriends claiming that the son he never knevv he had has left home and may be heading his vvay. At the insistence of his friend Winston (Wright) he sets off on fly and drive adventure across the country to visit each of his live exes to discover the truth behind the scarlet missive. With Broken I’lou-ers' Jarinusch returns with ease to the spare. minimalist charm of his very earliest vvork. The result is a tender. perplexing joy. (ieiiera/ release. Broken Lance (t') 00. (lidvvard Drnytryk. l'S. I954) Spencer 'l‘racy. 96min. Spencer Tracy. Robert Wagner. 96min. This classic Western explores inmlernisation. revenge and family betrayal in a King Learesque story of Spencer 'l'racy's cattle baron Matt Devereaux. The discovery of copper on his land brings civilisation and destruction. eventually tearing his family apart. Povverful and sophisticated. Si
Bride '3 ('eIiIre. Edinburgh.
The Brothers Grimm ( 12A) 0... ('l'erry (iilliam. (‘zecb Republic/LS. 2005) Matt Damon. Heath Ledger. Mackenzie (’rook. Peter Stormarc. Jonathan Price.
1 lSinin. In French occupied (ierinany stttX‘t'ttztlttral hoaxcrs Will and Jack (il‘lllllll (Damon and Ledger) are making a good living until the French authorities catch up with them. To save their skins. the brothers are forced to go to Marbaden to break a real curse on the tovvn which seems to be emanating from the local enchanted forest. (ieneral release.
By the Pricking of my Thumbs (Mon petit doigt m’a (lit) (15) see (Pascal Thomas. France. 2005) Catherine Frot. Andre Dussolier. 106mm. A vvannabee sleuth looks into the criminal influence of a recently inherited painting. Enjoyable French Agatha ('hristie adaptation. Part of Mini French Film Festival ll K. Film/rouse. Edinburgh.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (P(i) mo (Tim Burton. US/UK. 2005) Johnny Depp. Freddie llighrnore. David Kelly. llelena Bonharn (‘arter. Noah 'l‘aylor.
l l5min. lixcellent and faithful adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic I964 book. Bizarre and beautiful to look at. (his is Burton at the top of his game. Glasgow I'll!" Theatre. (ilasgoir. Christ Stopped at Eboli (PG) .0” (Francesco Rosi. France/Italy. I979) (iian Maria Volonte. Paolo Bonacelli. Alain (‘uny. Lea Massari. lrene Papas. 155mm. Based on the true story of anti-fascist intellectual. (‘arlo Levi. a painter trained as a doctor vvlio. in the fascist ltaly of 1935. was exiled to a remote region near liboli. Rarely shovvtt theatrically. this huge underrated portrait of Fascist ltaly is well worth checking out. Part of Rosi Season. Film/rouse. Edinburgh. Cinderella, Italian Style (C’era una volta . . . ) WU)” Italy/France. 1907) Sophia Loren. ()mar Sharif. Dolores del Rio. 1 17min. As the title suggests. the classic fairy tale gets an ltaliaii tvvist in this appalling film. Sharif and Loren vvince as the prince and his peasant girl- turned-princess. What can you say‘.’ Rosi clearly needed the money. Part of Rosi Season. I'lllllllrmu'. Edinburgh.
The Constant Gardener ( (5) 0.. (Fernando Meirelles. L'S/l'K. 2005) Ralph Fiennes. Rachel Weisz. Hubert Kounde. Danny lluston. l28rnin. When Nairobi-based diplomat Jtistin Quayle's (Fiennes) outspoken activist vvife less (Weisz) is found murdered in a remote region of Northern Kenya. he begins to uncover a vvhole load of dirty secrets. Beautifully structured and shot. Mereilles‘ film succeeds as both a poleinical thriller and a retrospective love story. with Fiennes outstanding in the role of a man gradually opening up to the depth of his feelings for his vvife only after her death. (ieltel'al release.
Corpse Bride (PU) om ('l'irn Burton/Mike Johnson. lfK. 2005) Voices of Johnny Depp. Helena Bonham ('arter. limily Watson. ‘l’racey t’llman. 77min. linorinously enjoyable gothic stop motion animation from the same team vvho brought you A Nightmare Before ( 'hrisrnias. General release.
Das Testament Des Dr Mabuse (tbc)
(Fritz Lang. Germany. 1933) Oscar Beregi Sr.
Paul Bernd. llenry Bless. l22min. Lang's early masterpiece. a crime thriller in which a Berlin police inspector investigates a case in vvhich all clues lead to a man. Dr Mabuse. vvlio has been confined to a hospital for mental illnesses for many years. lidinliiagli Film (iiiild. l‘.‘iliiil)ia'gli.
Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story (l') C. (John (iatins. [S 2005) Kurt Rtissell. Dakota Fanning. Kris Kristofferson. lilisabeth Shue. l02min. Drearily nice film about a trainer (Russell) and his daughter (Fanning) vvho nurse an injured horse back to health. hoping to one day race her in the Breeders' (‘up. Nausea-inducing. Seleeted I'l’h'UAt’.
Dreams That Money Can Buy ( (5) mo (llans Richter & Man Ray. l'S. 1947) Louis .-\pplebaum. litliel Beseda. Jack Bittncr. Samuel (‘ohen. Max lirnst. 99min. Surrealist painter and Dada film-theorist Richter vvrote. produced and directed this experimental exercise which is still seen as one of the most significant contributions to the avant garde movement. (‘ombining short scenarios vvritten by such vvorld-renovvned artists as lirnst. Duchainps. Mari Ray. Alexander ('alder and Leger. Richter came up with a study in dreamlike vvish fulfillment. Novv rarely shovvn. this remains a treat for a modern audience. Iidin/mrgli [Vi/m (iaild. lidinlmrgli.
Dropstitch (l') (Josie (‘lyde. l'K. 200.1) 55min. Documentary celebrating the funky moves of some of the worlds greatest female snovv boarders. The film vvas shot over a year in lcelarid. Nevv Zealand. the LS and the liuropean Alps. llang ten. sister. (ilasgoiv I'ilm 'I‘heaire. (ilasgmv:
(Francesco Rosi.