Festival Film
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THE GREAT HAPPINESS SPACE: TALES OF AN OSAKA LOVE THIEF (Jake Clennell, US, 2006) 75min 0...
lln- thief ll‘. ridestidn l" Glennells (tr/,ti'iientai, film is lssei. the raidlrtciul; host L". fierloiii ttlr, Le, t,ar Hakkao Arid b, “rm, liai'. mean a bar where lssei". (round men and hiinself are listerl fill the menu next Tr, pints of /\T.{llll and .‘Et‘ifi’l bottles of f,ll£tlllt)f,‘f53, (ilaiiirzious booted and suited young lllt-ll are available for young women by the hour l or Sailor it) these women can he teld that they are beautiful. special and that lssei and his band of lost boys are utterly in love Wllll them. lhanktully, skimming over the peculiarities of Japanese culture. the film riuickly develops into a revealing study of the unmet desires and the sexless malaise of youth iJapanese or otheiWIsei Also the carefully sculpted twist in the middle propels a cast of surprisingly reflective youths to take stock of their occupations. while one only hopes that they WI” take their own adVice upon seeuig this remarkable portrait. ilsla l eaver-Yap‘i
I Writ/rouse. (i133 8030. 2:3 Aug.
8. lfiprn a 80' Aug, 3. Nip/n, 57.95 018.2(1).
APART FROM THAT (Randy Walker/Jennifer Shainin. US. 2006) 120mm .000
Great suburban America — vast. twisted. scan. and an obses‘Sion of indie filmmakers as diverse as Hal Hartlex and Daxid Lynch. But far from meh's baroque sensationalism. this is a portrayal of uncomentional families from miter directors Shainin and Walker. With an tilllblllOUSl‘, large and surprisingly multi-iaciali cast and disparate narratixes. Acan F'om Thar nearly falters at the first hurdle — that of comprehension. But fragmentan plot is onl\ ex er a hesitantlt offered context that hovers around the film’s CrLiCial e\ents. Instead. iniscontmunication
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m Pm French writer/director Denis Dercourt‘s sadistic, eerie revenge thriller about one young lady’s passion to prove the homily that success is indeed a dish best served
cold, was something of a hit at the Cannes Film Festival. When young Melanie (Deborah Francois) fails to get a
music tuition grant because of one of the judges (Catherine Frot), their paths are set to cross again.
I Ctriewor/d, (£83 8030, 8-! Aug, t'w‘pri 8 Re Ado. . .~ .’ 4' r "
a scooter. he's .ed up l t. h" : :tr-I H6: D'ARY OF AN “HULK/lb fiil"r.‘. t’ )éé!j',w' . ‘i- "Mi "(1' I . (Martin Garrido Baron, Spain. 2005)
and unresolved details are the catalysts. And so. unfettered by
realism, the film successfully dodges takes care if thi- .WA-l‘i . r' a l
. . . 92min 0 the mundane Within every scene. lts rgoiiietlj.. ht... list ,a. can r : universe is a skewed mirror of our horribl, iioriir: .i‘irv‘ensir ' f ‘ '
Saloui's filin. H, the i: mi us T
successfull. ’leepeiru lll.
own, no doubt. but its characters are more akin to the American grotesque of Raymond Carver and Flannery O'Connor than any film precedents. save perhaps early Cassavetes. Superb dialogue gilded wrth vibrant and honest eccentriCity and raw acting, this is a film that pricks intrigue With its curious beauty.
llsla Leaver-Yapi
I Film/rouse, 623 8030, 25 Aug. 10pm, £7.95 ($5.20).
A FEW KILOS OF DATES FOR THE FUNERAL (Saman Salour, Iran, 2006) 85min .0.
completely losind .ts roll“: tr new» proportion. 'loix, lvlttKimii
I FI/rlt/ltfllsefi, H.737 Flt/"ft" ’, .11 Add.
8. lfiprh (‘2 (36 Aug. as» x"- f5‘:3.2()i.
DRIVING LESSONS (Jeremy Brock. UK, 2006) 98min
Do certain national cinemas lend themselves well to particular themes and preoccepations: Danish dysfunctional drama. French adultery. British austerity? Of course simplify, but certainly comedy isn't the first genre that comes to mind when thinking of Iranian film. Yet A Fen I .‘piz'e' at .‘
Kl/OS. like Mohsen Amiryousseti's Bitter Nc Summer noltrta, e t' r; ' , .t , "w ° " .-
Dream ishown at the EIFF two years London subur . Br." a”, , t, :' " ' ,‘ a: . '
agOl werks in that very register. Here a P:>.’.‘e"‘s “awe-"fa '-,-’: {4‘ l(,':'.. .
lovestruck yOung man asks the Cari"? —- ms: {airless 2' ; , 5: .~ ' ; '
postman to deliver letters to the Chrysfia" tasks 1" '»':-,-" g " ‘. " x'rz (.‘:"',(n:
v.0man he loves. but the postman's mother Lat/a L We. . F' ’-'.-' «: .e'y. 'aix' ‘ a z, wax/r" e' f
initially more concerned ab0ut getting di“ere"t "iatrtar'x 2: "gs'e, '2” W: ’i’,' tr . . . . , . " ' ' astress Eut,‘ chm: '.'.’;:“.-i,-' ,. ', " I,- ': 'e'.' .r " w ,'-': ' " :v' .ntri:,:lv.;ces We feerage' T' r,- , :xc‘c .' r: ' " -' ' 12:1. ,' "- :.?' ‘(,I‘f).‘.’ ' -’~':"‘_ ’2 " r 't ', . w: " ,r ' ' " B' '1 t. ' r' ex: ,‘ ' ' (are: ’at c- . r» 2 t " C' '* r z 2 CDT-T IN," " ' ‘ ' (:3 I S" ' j '/‘ { ' ' :" to'ccc'z' i, I, ' '. ‘ e"ter‘.e.a:""a. T," Lass? ’;'7::,' “,f: . 1-2-1. > .. ‘ I fig; 4': A1,: I Cu" 1:0 (7-1 X- 5.361;”: :79?) S 5.4% .‘ 3:" '. 2:": ' Jr. .w”. x‘ : I 8535. 26 A11. : a E)"; i: :7 z? 5': 2’,
84 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 24 Aug-‘ Sec 233:?