mowe in the context of Germany 2006 and even as a sports move is to do these directors a disservice. It's no mistake that this game between Real Madrid and Villarreal takes place in Madrid. a city that Velazquez made his home. Zidane. also in 1998. when gurding France to the World Cup. displaced philosopher Albert Camus as the most famous and loved French man of Algerian extraction. As far as these filmmakers are concerned. Zidane. espeCially in the moments of tedium, is the modern day ‘Outsider' in the true Camusian sense. As such this movie is more an analySis of the immigrant experience than of a footballer. (Kaleem Aftab)
I GFT, Glasgow and Cameo. Edinburgh from Fri 29 Sep.
REAL LIFE/EPIC WORLD TRADE CENTRE (12A) 129mm 0_
Oliver Stone has proved remarkably adept at re-enacting pivotal moments in post-World War ll American history. from the death of John F Kennedy to the anti-Vietnam war movement (Born on the Fourth of July) and his intriguing portrayal of Nixon. His best films have been locked in the years surrounding the Vietnam War and in revealing a hidden or forgotten truth. Alas. his approach to the events of 9/1 1 come from the most banal and disconcerting elements of Hollywood filmmaking and Stone's owned warped code of ethics. He has made a hero story out of the blackest day in recent American history. Our heroes are the last two men pulled out of Ground Zero alive. two cops played by Nicholas Cage
and Michael Pena. After a foreboding and intense opening 20 minutes leading to the attack. Stone sketches a sentimental and sanctimonious story of family grief and courage against all odds. Incredibly. World Trade Centre depicts the tragedy as a crime against the white Christian right. rather than humanity. even going so far as making white a black US marine who heroically helped save the cops. The rewriting of history continues with a link between Iraq and 9/1 1, creating another of Stone's half-baked. half- arsed conspiracy theories. Dreadful. (Kaleem Aftab)
I General release from Fri 29 Sep.
ACTION/DRAMA
MOUNTAIN PATROL (KEKEXILI)
(15) 85min 0000
Unfolding against the stunning mountainous backdrops of the Oingzang Heights in Tibet's Kekexili region. this epic drama relates real-life events from a decade ago. when an armed team of Tibetan volunteers attempted to protect the indigenous antelope from being wiped out by Chinese poachers. The latter were seeking to profit from the prized woollen coats of the slaughtered animals. which could be turned into
scarves and pelts.
Ga Yu (Zhang Lei) is the Beijing
I photojournalist who accompanies the
patrolmen, led by the taciturn figure of Ri Tai (Duo Bujie). on their mission. Mortal danger comes not just from the rustlers they are pursuing through the
wilderness. but also from the
treacherous weather conditions and the high-altitude atmosphere. Nor are they allowed to arrest their quarry: their powers enable them merely to stop the thieves and to confiscate their stolen fleeces.
Fusing the man-pitted-against- nature spectacle of John Ford and Werner Herzog. writer-director Lu Chan proves to be an impressively economical stOryteller. He mounts some thrilling action secluences such as a barelegged chase across a freezing river and a man drowning in quicksand. while Cao Yu's cinematography captures plenty of other striking images. including one of a field containing antelope carcasses being feasted on by vultures. And there's a fascinating moral ambiguity to the characters' deeds. Ri Tai is prepared to sacrifice his own men's lives to pursue his quest. while the
i impoverished Chinese hunters are
killing animals in order to ensure their own physical survival. Mountain Patrol is definitely one to savour on the big screen. (Tom Dawson)
I Cineworld Renfrew Street. Glasgow from Fri 29 Sep.
COMEDY/DRAMA TO DIE IN SAN HILARIO (12A) 99min «0
The small Catalonian town of San Hilario once had a great reputation for putting on a good funeral. The whole town would get involved. from tailors and barbers to the local brass band. but business has not been so good recently and it '5 been ten years since their last client. When a dying artist decides he wants the San Hilario treatment. but he actually wants to come and die in the town as well. the townsfolk get themselves in such a flurry that they confuse the dying man with gangster/bank robber on the run
Piernas (Lluis Homar).
ActreSS/writer and director Laura Mana's funny. charming. old- fashioned. eccentric Village comedy is as cliche’d and enjoyable as the films it seeks to emulate (noticeably two Scottish gems — Whiskey Galore and
Local Hero). Maria is a gifted
filmmaker (whose previous films Killing Words and Compassionate Sex never saw the light of day in the UK but are well worth seeking out) and she imbues everything with Waugh-ian
chaos and magic realist devilment that
naturally and sadly facilitate the sense
of the end of the old and the disease
of the new. (Paul Dale) I Gl-T Glasgow on Fri 22 and Sat 23 Sep only
DOCUMENTARY THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED
(18) 97min mo
Kirby Dick's hilarious but deeply worrying expose of the Motion Picture Association of America's rating board is one of the most thoroughly entertaining documentaries of the year. A clearly partisan Dick (his own films. among them Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist. have suffered at the hands of the MPAA) looks at the disparities between the ratings dished out for Hollywood and independent product (the MPAA was set up by a conglomerate of big Hollywood studios). between depictions of gay
and straight sex. between violence
(good) and nudity (bad) and most of all between the artistic ambitions of
individual filmmakers and the conservative right agenda of the board members.
Many souls have suffered at the hands of the MPAA. including Martin Scorsese. Darren Aronofsky and.
unsurprisingly, Trey Parker and Matt
Stone. the men behind South Park
and Team America. Dick wheels some of them out with the footage they had
f cut while conducting his Own
undercover investigation into the individual members of the board (white bread rednecks to a man or woman). It's delicious stuff. highlighting just how fortunate we are in this country since the passing of the equally censorious James Ferrnan. (Paul Dale)
I GFT, Glasgow from Sun 24—Thu 28 Sep only.
Film
ALSO RELEASED
Dirty Sanchez (18) 100min 0. To freshen your memory. Dirty Sanchez are a bunch of Welsh boys who have had their own Jackass-style TV show on MTV sporadically Since 2002. Their gimmick is that this lot are such a bunch of ‘maddos' that they make the Jackass boys look like a bunch a of perfume ponces. This feature length movre sees the boys hit the world stage to complete stunts based around the seven deadly Sins while enjoying the Splendours of Thailand. Japan. Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Silly. offensive. obscene and occasionally very funny. General release from Fri 22 Sep.
Trust the Man (15) 99min
.0 Bart The Myth of Fingerprints Freundlich's lighthearted rom-com about two Manhattan couples enjoying complicated relationships is as smug as it sounds. David Duchovny and Julianne Moore star as a glamorous married couple with two kids and a troubled sex life. while Maggie Gyllenhaal and Billy Crudup take up the other relationship cliche slack. Selected release from Fri 22 Sep.
Rabbit Love (18) 85min
.0 This lightly amusing British comedy follows the trials and tribulations of a group of women who regularly attend Rabbits Anonymous. where they attempt to beat their addiction to the best-selling. most satisfying vibrator in the world. Written by Stephen Raphael. the son of actress Maureen Lipman and legendary scriptwriter Frederic. and starring a bunch of B-Iist celebs and TV actresses. this is Calendar Girls with a nice commercial tie-in and orgasms. Selected release from Fri 22 Sep.
Click (12A) 107min O. Stressed out architect Michael (Adam Sandler) doesn't have enough hours in the day to meet all his many commitments. Then he meets a weird electronics salesman who gives him a universal remote control. Another mildly pleasant. schematic Sandler comedy with the requisite amount of laughs and some good cameos from Jennifer Coolidge. David Hasselhoff and ChristOpher Walken. One for all the family. General release from Fri 29 Sep. Life and Lyrics (15) 99min
0 Dreadful yout' drama about opposing London DJ crews. What do you get if you cross a lame star-crossed lovers story with some hip hop lite and So Solid Crew's Ashley Walters? The worst British film of the year. that's what. General release from Fri 29 Sep.
21 Sep-5 Oct 2006TNE LIST“