Name Dave McKean
Born 29 December 1963. Maidenhead. Kent
Background McKean attended the Berkshire College of Art and Design in the late 19708 and shortly after began his career as an illustrator. In 1986 he met author Neil Gaiman and their first book Wolent Cases was released in 1987. Between 1990 and 1996. he wrote and illustrated the SOD-page comic novel Pages. which won the Harvey Award for Best New Comic in 1992. Acclaim and many collaborations followed. particularly with Gaiman. He moved into the world of children's books in 1998 when he started having kids himself, and his first The Day I Swapped my Dad for Two Goldfish was followed by The Wolves in the Walls in 2003. Coraline (both with Gaiman) and SF Said's Varjak Paw (2003). What’s he up to now? Mirrormask is his first feature film as director and visual designer. He’s currently illustrating a book for Ray Bradbury and another for Gaiman. He’s also working on a book of photography for adults and he's hoping to make another movie.
What he says about circuses ‘I love the little circuses you discover travelling round the UK. the ones which are trying to do something different. You're there with just ten other people in this big top. small top and the oddest things happen on stage in the space of less than a couple of hours. I love traditions like that.’ Interesting fact McKean met Gaiman after a very unsuccessful business trip to New York.
I Mirrormask is on selected release from Fri 3 Mar. See review, page 43.
50 THE LIST 2—16 Mar 2006
The Ladies of the Park (Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne) COO. tRobcrt Bresson. l-‘rance. I‘MSI l’atrl Bernard. Maria ('asarcs. lilrna I.abotirdette b-Jltllll Realising that her |o\ er Illernardt is losing interest in Iicr. a societ} lad} t( asarest gets re\cnge b_\ tricking him into marryng a lortttct prostitute tl.abourdettci Alter the \s eddrrig (‘asarcs tells a stunned Bernard abotrt his \site‘s secret past. but tlte ending has more than one surprise tuist lit/lIt/WI'L‘JI I'r/m (int/ll. lat/rirltm'u/i.
Lady Vengeance r lsi O... tl’ark (‘Ittttt-Wook. South Korea. ZINISI l cc Young-ac. (‘hor Mrnrsrk. (io Sir-lice
I 12min, Alter l3 sears (iciiiii~|a l|.ec Young-act is coming otit ol prison alter
ha\ mg gained notoriet} lor contcssrng to the abduction and murder of a si\-}c'.tr-riltl bo}. Btit all is not as ll seems (ictinria has an agertda that is written in blood. The tlnrd and final part ol l’ark (‘hari-uook's 'Rc\ ertgc 'l'rtlogs' tprecedcd b} .S'tni/urt/ii [or .III' li'nenrnr (' and (Ht/Inn l is a Work ol L'\t|tll\tlcl} bleak gore. With its perple\ing btit remarkabl} executed flashback montages. recurring themes. bi/arre dream sequences and sense ol political and communal absurdrt}. the lilm has a lot more in common \sith the first film in the trilog} than the second. Park is back and so is his number one lad}. (ilmgmr IVr/m 'I'lrmrrt'. (i/useon'; ('trnteo. lat/iri/ture/i. Laissez-Passer (Sate Conduct)
1 ISA) ... (Bertrand 'la\ ernrer. l‘t'ancc. 30021 Jacques (iamblin. l)cnis l’tkl;tl_\tlc's. Marie (iillain. l7tlinin. Set during dtrring (iermariy's World War II occupation ol- l-‘rance. 'l‘a\crriier"s lilm l‘ollous the paths ol' assistant director and l'amil} man Jean l)e\'ai\ re ((iamblinl and \somanising script“ riter. Jean .-\trrenche (l’tkl;tl}tlc‘sl. Btit the film llC\ er quite comes together. Yes. there's an interesting contrast betxs cert l)e\‘ai\re's cotttt‘adiclot'} behaxiotir selling otit to the Na/is in his career btit lighting therri with resistance activity and .-\tirenche's artistic rel‘usal to compromise despite his urns illingness to do ari_\thing that \sould ptit his life at risk. Btrt more fictional shaping a more singular \ ision Would have gisen 'l‘asernier's liliii a richer texture. l’art ol- the Renault French l‘lltlt licstlval. (i/mgoii' I'll/n I‘llt'tlll't’. (ilttsgmt‘; I'tlm/mmc. Iztlr'It/im'g/i.
Last Holiday t IZAi COO tWa} ne Wang. l'S. Zoom Queen l.atil‘ah. I.l. (‘ool J. 'l‘imoth} Hutton. (ierard l)epardieu.
l I llttttt. See Also Released. page ~14. (it'rtt'l'u/ I'i'll'th'.
The Legend of Zorro tl’(i) 0. (Martin (‘ampbelL l'S. 2005i :\ttlonto Banderas. (‘atherine Zeta-Jones. (itotanntt Zacarias. Raul Mendel. 130mm. llort‘tbl} reactionary. xenophobic sequel to 1997‘s enjoyable sss'ashbtickler 'I'lie Musk til/unit. which revolves around ()ld ('alil'ornia joining the l'nion and its Spanish citi/ens exclaiming that becoming American is the best thing that could happen to tlictri. Rotten. laborious and deeply fraudulent. ('(‘I ("Iv/elmnk. ('lt'tlehmik; l'('l lit/inlnu'g/i. lit/inlim'glr.
Lite is to Whistle (El Vida Es Silbar) ll’(il tliernando l’ch/ Valdes. (‘uba. WORM portrait of contemporary (‘uba that combines three hilarious stories about people looking for line. l’art ol' ('uban Season. I'tlm/mmr'. lirlinhurgli.
Life and Nothing But ll’(il COO (Bertrand 'l‘ax‘ernier. l-‘rance. I‘Jb'b'l Philippe Noiret. Sabine .»\/cma. Pascale Vignal. L‘s-1min. l-‘rance I‘llh'. and Major l)e|laplaric tNoirctl has the grisly task ol~ identil'}ing unknoun soldiers' corpses. Among the relatives \\ ho come to seek their loved ones are lrerie t.-\/emal and Alice (Vignal l. The sense ol~ a bruised and battered people quietly coming to terms \\ ith lit‘e‘s contintiit} despite their grief is splendidl} evoked. tliotrgh the central romance. all suppressed passion and meaningful glances. is mini- series slttll and the humour ma) hate lost something in translation. Part of the Renault lirench Film Festival. (iltlsgmt' I'll/m T/lt'ull't'. (iltisgon': Him/tome. Edinburgh.
Little Polar Bear: The Mysterious Island (U .0 tl’iet l)e Rs'cker. (iemian). 2005) 80min. Juvenile polar bear Lars and his best budd} Robbie head off to
rescue a tricnd trorn the (ialapagos Islands .-\n argument against reprtsluction \( In It .1 Hit tlsr
Local Hero rl’tii 0000 «Brit l‘otsstlt. I‘ls'. l‘th'ii l’ctcr Rreger't. Burt l ancaster. I)cnis l.a\s son lllrnrri ()ne ot BtII I'orssth's most strre looted \cnttrrcs. and one in \s Inch his c_\e tor charm balances \xith his one tor \shims} .-\n ambitions t‘\L‘clllt\L‘ HI .tll .-\lttcttcttll tttl cotttpart_\ ls sent to hit) an entire Scottish to\\tt tor a future drilling protect. btit soon tinds hrmscll lalltrrg in lo\c “ith the place. \shrlc being hooduinked b} the cornnitrnrt} I’art ol l.ocal IIcrocs night (i/trseon Ii/nr I’ltt’rlll'r. (rltJ\L’lll\
Lost in Translation I lit 00.. tSolia ('oppola. l'S/Japan. limit Bill Mtrrra}. Scarlett Johansson. .-\krko 'lltkeshrta. K.t/tl}ttslll Minamimagoc. lll5mrn. Bill Mirna} pla}s it straight as an ageing nio\ re star forced to shoot ad\ertiscments in ’l‘okso because the) are so Ittcratnc. 'l‘hrs culttrre clash. lish otrt ol \satcr'. parrl'aced pseudo corned} marks Solia ('oppola‘s second otrtrrrg as director l’art lo\e stor}. part oddball lost \seckend drama. l.o\r III I'rtuixluriori trndcrltncs tlte continuing lettlield talents of Mtirra} arid ('oppola and. ol course. the precocious Joltansson. (it/mm’e/tl/lU/S. (illiteou. Lucky Number Slevin 1 I81 .0. tl’atil Mc(itrigan. I'S. Itllltsl Josh llartrtett. Bert Klllg'le'}. Bruce Willis. Morgan l'reeman. I.ttc_\ l.ru. llllmin. When Slexrn lIIar'tnetti sublets an apartriient \\ ith cool uallpaper he is mistaken tor his landlord. \s ho just happens to o“ c lWo lettdirrg cr'nnc Iot‘ds (Kingslc) and l't'cctttattt a heap ol cash. To add to his “ties. a in) sterrons hitrnan tWillisl is ptrlltiig strings behind tlte scenes making Sles in's lile a miser}. Rollcr‘coaster ride corned} thriller that is Item} on atmosphere arid great \saIIpapcr. btit light on originalit). (iv/mu! release. Madagascar r t ‘i 0.0 ll'.rlc‘ Darnell & lottt Mc(irath. ['8. 2005) Ben Stiller. ('hris Rock. l)a\id Schuimmcr. Jada l’inkett Smith. ls'omin. .llmlueusr ur opens \sith steak-lm ing lion .-\le\ cttjo)tttg his pampered esistence in Next York's ('entral Zoo. llis l'r‘iends. Matt} the lcbra tRockl. (iloria the hippo tSmitlii and Melmari the hypochrindriac giral'le tSchu imniert
discm er that the cral't) penguins are Planning a breakout. and set oll l'oi' Africa to re-conricct \\ ith their inner animals. Btit interaction “ith a tribe ol~ Icmtirs uncmers the bitter truth abotrt Alcs's carnixorous nature. 'l‘horottghl) eriio} able. blackl} comic l)reaniWorks animation musical. Film/muse. lat/rtrltrtre/r.
35‘ Manderlay 1 l5) .... ll,ars \on 'I‘rier. Denmark/S“edcn/l ~ls'/l-'rance. Ztlllfil Bryce Dallas llouard. l)ann_\ (iloxcr. Isaach dc Barrkolc. Lauren Bacall. Wilem l)al‘oc. l3h’min. See t‘c\'le\s. page 44. and inter\ ieu. page ~13. I't/m/trtllu’. lit/riilmreli.
March of the Penguins NJ 000 t|.ttc Jacquct. lirance. ltltlfii 85min. Delightful il‘ lairl} routine liri a l)isco\ er) (‘hannel kind of ua} l doctrinentar} which l‘ollous the Iimperor l’enguins' annual attempt to bring new lile into the l'ree/ing climbs ol'.-\ntarctica. Morgan l"rc-c'iri;iri's rich. chees} \oice-os er makes the liltn. Film/rouse. lit/inlmreh.
Maria Antonia t Ib'l lSergio (iiral. (‘tiha l‘Ntll Alina RodrigueI. Alexis \'aldel.
l l lrnin. Adapted from a classic of ('uban theatre by litigcnio llernande/ and set in the slums ol‘ lla\ana. .llurru .‘lltlrtlttrl l'ollou s a prostitute W ho lalls in lo\ e uith a boxer client and falls further into despair as he becomes more sticcessl‘ul and. as a result. more distant. Part of (’tiban season. film/muse. Edinburgh.
Masterclass with Bernard Tavernier The locus of the (il"l"s current retrospectne gi\es a masterclass irt l'rlntmaking. Presented in association “ith the l'nnersit} ot' (ilasgou. See Rough (tits. page 43. Part of the Renault l‘rench I‘ilm l:L'\ll\ill. (i/uwmi I'll/n 'Htt'um'. (Hawaii. The Matador 1 IBM 00. lRichard Shepherd. l'S/(ierman)/lrelarid . 2005) Pierce Brosnan. (ireg Kinnear. Hope l)a\is. 96min. When a ll’lL‘lldICss international hitrnan (Brosnanl meets a crestl’allen businessman tKinneari in a bar in Mexico
(it). both then In es are tlcepls allected in unusual and death} “ass I rrnp attempt to turn llttchccock's Mame-t n or: ..' Inmr into a rnacabtc black corned} It doesn‘t \sotk bill this ambitious little tiltn ccrtarnb has its moments and the No leads are c\cellent \r‘lr t It if It [um
Memoirs of a Geisha t l.‘ \t .00 tRob \larshaII. l S. 2005i l'scn Watanabc. \lichcllc \coh. /hang /i}i. (iottg l i I-lSrnrn Screen adaptatrort ol \rthtn (ioldcn's no\e| \shich tells the slot} ot a Japanese child tortr tronr her lattttl} to “ink at a geisha house. blossoming into the lcgcndar) geisha Sastirr l/|}ll Marshall places the emphasis on the aesthetic rather tltart dtatttattc content. Ite\cr gis trig tts enough beliesable rnotnation as a result _\t’/t't lr'r/ It‘lt rlH
Mirrormask tl’( it ... tI)a\e Mcls'can. l Rd 'S. Illtl5t Stephanie Iconidas. (irna McKee. Rob Bt_\don llllnirn See re\re\\. page J i. and protilc in listings ('mrnoi/t/ Rt Illlt'tt \rn'rr.
(i/rrseou .' \ru‘ I'tlrn/tmg/r ()t ( (HI, ItIHIIIIlIL'll Mrs Henderson Presents . l3.\i .C. (Stephen l'tears. l‘ls'. .‘lltlSi Judi I)cnch. Bob lloskins. l'helrna Barloss. Will Young. ls’ell} Reills. ('hrrstophei (iticst
ltl innit l'ltis drama charts the earl) histor} ol London's cclcbratcd W indnnll 'I‘hcattc. a naught} slto\\ theatre \thrch pto\ rded .t tonic lor the troops during WWII l‘hrough this detailed. lightucight conlcctron. director heals and \srrter Sherman pla) on comparisons bctuecn Blit/ r'tnned l.ondon and the utter} riiodcrri rricdra obsession \sith the trcsh spate ol bombings that l.ondon Ito“ laces. Btrt tiltimatcl} this is l)ench‘s liIm: she is tremendous as the eccentric. dcliant llenderson (It/uni. lat/rirltrrre/i Munich 1 l5) C... tStcx cn Spielberg. l'S. IINISI larrc Barra. l)anrcI ('rarg. Mathtcti K.l\stt\lI/. (icollr‘e) Rtish. Itiimrn ltt late I073 a learn ol sktllctl Mossatl agents u cre sent to litiropc to ascnge the death of l I Israeli athletes at that _\ear‘s Munich ()l} rnptcs. .-\\ ncr tBanai and his men \scre sent on a mission ol \engeance lr'orn \shrch there “as no redemption. Spielberg chronicles the gangs blood} adwntttrc as part boss‘ oun traxelogtie and part schematic paranoid political thriller and It] the process creates his best liIrn in sears. (it’llt'l‘rl/ I’t‘lt’rlsr'.
The New World 1 IBM 00.
t'l‘crrence Malick. I'S. ZINISl (It )t‘tanlsa Kilcher. ('olin liarrell. ('hristian Bale. (‘hrrstopher l’lninmer. Ifillmtn, Malick's epic is quickl} recognisable as the stor} ol l’ocahontas. the Natne .-\merrcan girl \sho risked her lile lo shim mere} to intruder John Smith uhen he laced certain death at the Ittttttls ol her tribe. l‘IlllllL'tl 35 )cat's alter he originall} “role the script. this is an t'\t|lllsllL'I_\ realised past look btit the casting is ptrrc loll}. l)cspite its urnnrng heroine. the male stars otter barel} a spark betsseen them. lea\tng a gaping hole \s here there should be an authentic romantic heart. ()t/t'mt. Inhn/nrrg/t.
0 Brother, Where Art Thou? 1 lb .... (Joel (.(IL'll. [5. HM”) (icot‘gc (‘looney John 'l‘trnurro. ’l‘im Blake Nelson. ltl7niin. l’reston Sturgcs‘ .S'ul/i'imi'x Inn-«Ii artd llomcr's The (hit on are the starting points for this Ills-set screuball corned}. Smooth-talking liserett l'l}sees Mc(iill t(‘loone_\ ). simpleton l)elniar (Nelson) and inaladrusted l’ete t'l‘tirttirroi are members ol a chain gang on the run looking for btrrred loot. 'l'heir jotrrne} tip and (Ioth the state oI Mississippi brings them into contact with assorted eccentrics based on Homer's m_\thological Iigures. A lrgliter vtork tor the ('oens. more Raising :ll‘lflilltl than l-iirgu. but it's still a rare treat. A trul) captnating conl'ederac} ol' dunces. (it/ntur’elll/IU/3. (i/usgmi.
The Parallax View r til 00.. l.»\lan J l’ak‘trla. I‘S. l‘)7-li Warren Beatt}. l’aula l’rentrss. William Daniels. ltllmin. ()ne ol the better conspiraL‘} theor} lll()\'lL‘\. Much goes off at a tangent from the Kenned} assassination and the vtorld's paranoia about it. Reporter Beatt} stumbles on a plan to kill off the uitnesses of a presidential candidate's assassination in this tightly directed thriller uith great cinematography. (ilusgmc l‘tlnr Theatre. (ilusgms‘.