Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Paul Dale
* Abouna - my Father(t’(i) O... (Mahamat-Saleh llaroun. ('had/I‘rance/thhcrlands. 3003) Liam/a Moctar Agttd. Ahidjo Mahatnat Moussa. llatn/a Moctar Agttid. 84min. In this lovely little film from ('had two brothers cope with the disappearance of their father. llaroun combines a calming colottr scheme chiefly made up of terracottas and sky blues not it seems for some cumbersome symbolic purpose bttt to create a tranquil feel that keeps the usually dramatic events at one remove. With his minimally moving camera often holding on the medittm shot. or shadowed close-up. the director follows the boy s' harsh life as they get carted off and detained in ls'oranic school. There's always a sense of characters being contained by a purpose wider than their own individual existence. Part of Africa in Motion. I‘iltnlmttse. lit/inlnujeh. Accepted ( 12A) .0 (Steve Pink. LS. 3006) Jtistin Long. Adam Ilerschnian. Blake Lively. ‘lfitnin. In an attempt to earn the Jolm Ilughes teen movie crown. l’ink offers tip the tale of Bartleby. who. after being refused entry into every college. opens a school [Ital has a policy of accepting life‘s losers. Dcspite several hilarious moments it's a teen tnov ie by numbers. and ultimately the maths don't add tip. (ieneral release.
Across the Water: Myths, Magic
and Folklore (I’(i) (Various. l'K/Ircland.
3000-5) 55min. Shorts exploring storytelling. inclttding The Buy with the liver ()pen .ltllt‘. (iii/in Iltialeeh. Skeletal: Woman. The (ireen .Ilan. llle II'ite/ies and The true Story of'Savt'nev Iieane. some of which were tnade in Iidinbtirgh's very progressive Red Kite animation studio. Part of Reel 3006. I'ilnilmnse. lit/inlmrgh.
=I= Adam and Paul ( 15).... (Letmy Abrahamson. Ireland. 3004) Mark ()'Ilalloran. Tom Murphy. 86min. 'l’vvo hapless Dublin heroin addicts (()'Ilallaran
and Murphy) begin another day in search of
a supply. Paul and Adam are lost souls cttt adrift frotn their own realities. one part Laurel and Ilardy to two parts Haiti/tutor (imlot. Naturalistic black comedy with a fatalistic documentary feel. I’lus short I’luent I)vsphasia. Part of Reel 3006. l'ilmhnuse. lit/inlmreh.
MiIanCalibre9
This shamefully overlooked 1972 Italian crime flick about ex-con Ugo (Gastone Moschin) and
African Documentaries ( IS) (Various. Various. Various) 95min. Docs from a variety of filmmakers abotit the experiences of being in. or coming from. Africa: The BIN/X lieautilitl. I‘is'lters' ulnar. Khal/an (UNI Zanzibar and think Lueal Aet (ilohal. Part of Africa in Motion. Film/muse. Ifrlinlmrgh. All the King’s Men ( 12A) .0
(Steven '/.aillian. (iermany/l 'S. 3005) Sean Penn. Jude Law. Kate \\'ii)slct. 137mm. See review. page 4 l. (ieneral release. Aquamarine (PG) 00. (liIi/abeth Allen. (S. 3006) Iimma Roberts. JoJo. Sara Paxton. Jake McDorman. Arielle Kebbel. l03min. Surprisingly sweet adaptation of Alice Iloffmann’s popular book aimed squarely at an undiscriminating audience of pre-teens. When two 13-year—old girls discover a mermaid on their favourite beach. their troubles have only just begttn. Splash meets the Little .Ilermaitl for a sassy new generation. (irosv-enor (i/asemv‘.‘ ()i/ean I-in't Kinnainl. Edinburgh.
The Aryan Couple ( 12A) 0
(John Daly. I'K/I'S. 3005) Martin Landau. Judy I’arlitt. Kenny Doughty. I I‘lmin. Despite a credible list of exec producer credits. Daly's telling of the not very true story of two Aryan servants of
(let'man/ch ish industrialist Joseph Krau/cnberg (Landau) is a mystery. Badly framed. badly shot. badly recorded and edited. the cast struggle in a film that. at its best. plays like a really shoddy 'chee/cball' 80s tnini series. ('iltevt‘urltl ReII/revt' Street. Glasgow; ('inevt‘arlil lat/inlmrgh. lit/inlmreh. Bam Barn and Celeste ( IS) 00. (Lorene Machado. ('anada. 3005) Margaret ('ho. Bruce Daniels. Alan ('ttmming. 85min. Written by and starring comedian ('ho as ('eleste. this road inov ie travels frotn a small town in the Midwest to the Big Apple. With Barn Ban) (Daniels). she sets off for a reality makeover show. They encounter thtigs. a racist petrol attendant. a lonely tnotel ow net' and a lesbian ‘I.one Ranger" along the way. But help is at hand from Alan ('umining. l’art rlfiU/aseavz' .3006. (ilas gun l‘ilm Theatre. (ilasgmv;
Barnyard (Pt ;) O. (Stcv e ()edekerk. I'S. 300(1) voices ()I- Kevin James. ('ourtency ('ox. Sam IiIliott. 80min. See .-\Ist) Released. page 4 l. (ielteral release. Black Book (Zwartboek) (the) (Paul Verhoeven. Netherlands / Belgium / I'K / (ierniany. 3006) (‘arice van IIouten. Sebastian Koch. Ilium Hoffman. I-ISmin. Master Dutch filmmaker \‘erhocv en returns to his homeland for his first Dutch language film in 30 years. A WW3 thriller abottt a Jewish songstress on the run after her hiding
his involvement with psychopathic gangster Rocco (Mario Adorf) and an American drug syndicate boss is getting a rare outing as part of the all new Psychotronic Cinema: Mondo Italia! season. Chocka full of great fashion, superb music and more suspenseful moments than you have nails to bite, Milano Calibre 9 deserves to be ranked alongside US equivalents The French Connection and Ulu Grosbard’s Straight Time.
I Film/rouse, Edinburgh on Tln126 Oct only; GFF, Glasgow on Wed 75 Nov only.
place is destroyed by a stray botnb has had a lot of praise at festivals and this is your chance to see a preview screening of it. (illtevi'nrlt/ Renli'evi' Street. Glasgow:
* Blind Flight ( IS) 0000 (John littrse. I'K. 3003) Ian llart. Linus Roache. Bassem Breish. Mohatnad ('harmas. 97min. A dramatisation of the kidnapping of Brian Keenan and John Mc(‘arthy in Lebanon in the 1980s. Roache and Hart give the performances of their respective careers. and this low budget film using a single dramatic location is a riveting piece of drama. Programme includes short The Way We l’llllVf'tl. Part of Reel 3006. Film/muse. lfl/llll’ttl't’ll.
Brothers of the Head 1 18) 0000 (Keith I'tlllnn. Louis I’epc. I'K. 3005) Ilarry 'I'readavvay. Luke 'I‘readaway. Bryan Dick. 93min. 'I'his British mock—rock-doc tells the life stories of a pair of conjoined twins who becotne the pioneers of punk rock. The story is played completely straight by the acting 'I‘readaway twins (not conjoined). Thus. while there are no laughs as such. the Iilm as a whole can be enjoyed as one big practical joke. (ilasetm l-ilm 'l‘heatre. (ilasgun: Buena Vista Social Club (t’) 0000 (Wim \‘v'endcrs. ('uba. I‘)‘)‘)) Ry ('ooder. Ibrahim I‘errer. Ruben (ion/alel. 104mm. ('uba looks a little like the land that time forgot. A theme Wenders brings out both in the over-exposed images of Havana and also in the musical brilliance of these octogcnarian and nonagcnarian musicians who hav c for so long been neglected. And it's ironically thanks to an American. \Venders‘ regular musical collaborator Ry ('ooder. that their careers have been resurrected. (irttsi'eltnli (ilas‘emr.
The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari
(l’( i) .0... (Robert Wiene. (iermany.
l‘) l 9) Werner Krauss. (’onrad \‘eidt. Lil Dagover. t)0min. A landmark of expressionist cinctna. feasting the eyes with bi/arre. angular visuals despite its technical crudity. The acting and directing are superb. and the story of a fairground hypnotist who uses a sleepwalkcr to carry out murders still retains a unique sense of horror. Part of an Introduction to Iittropean ('inenia. I'ilmimnse. I'ftliIt/mreh.
* Cairo Station (Bab el-Hadid) (m) C... (Youssef(‘hahine. Iigypt. IIJSS) Yotissef(‘hahine. Ilind Rttstum. l-‘arid
Shaw qi. 90min. An exploration of the notion that a station is the hub of all life. vs here disparate characters go about living and loving in a microcosm of society. ()ne of the truly seminal Arabic films of the 30th century. from great Iigyptian filmmaker (‘hahine Part of Africa in Motion. l‘tltltlttlltst'. lz‘ilililmreh.
Cars (I’(i) 0.. (John Lasseter. LS. 3006) Voices of()vvcn \Vilson. Paul Newman. Bonnie Hunt. Larry The (’able (iuy. l3linin. Racecar Lightning McQueen loses his way en route to the final race of the season and finds himself marooned in the sleepy town of Radiator Springs. which is populated by an array of misfit cars. Despite the many positives. ('ars' doesn‘t qttite tnakc the highest grade mainly because it's the least original I’ixar film yet. Seleetetl release.
The Cat in The l-lattt’U) .0 (Bo \Velch. 1.5. 3003) Mike Myers. Alec Baldwin. Kelly Preston. Dakota I-‘anning. Spencer Breslin. 83min. American classic. perverted and robbed of any charm. Mike Myers' golden touch may have just come to an end. Mind you this did pretty well in the states. bttt there is. of cottrse. no accounting for public taste. (imsvenar‘. (ilaverm:
=l= Ceddo (t’( i) 0000 (()ttsmanc Setnbene. Senegal. 1077 ) 'I‘abata .\'iday e. Moustaplia Yade. Ismaila Diagne. Matottra Dia. l30ntin. 'I'hc ('eddo are a group of stib Saharan non-Mtislini outsiders who defend their traditions against Islamic conversion.
Checkout the ' L
Film
colonisation and the slave trade. Sembenc's masterful Iiltn delves deep into their culture with dramatic resonance. Recommended. Part of Africa in Motion. I-‘ilmhause. Iz'tlinlmrgh. Children Of Men ( 15) C... (Alfonso (‘uran. I'K. 3006) (‘live ()wen. Julianne Moore. Michael (‘aine. ('hiwetel Iijiofor.
I I-lmin. It‘s 3037. and no children have been born worldwide for nearly two decades in this rare exatnple of big budget sci-Ii with intelligence and heart. Director (‘uaron has played down the I’D James' novel's religious allegory in favottr of hard-hitting political immediacy. in the spirit of forerunners the ()mega Man and .S'trv'lettt (ireett. .S'elet‘tetl release.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (t')
0... (Ken llttghes. (K. 1968) Sally Anne Ilowes. Dick Van Dyke. Lionel Jeffries. I-lSmin. Lengthy. effects-tilled children‘s adventure conceived in the wake of Mary Poppins" huge commercial succes btit with a charm (and great songs) all of its ow n. Dick Van Dyke is the mad inventor whose tly ing car propels his children and romantic interest lIow cs to a far—off land of adv entttre. Part of Weans' World. I‘ilmhause. lz'ilinlmrgh.
Click ( 13A) 0. (I‘rank (’oraci. LS. 3006) Adatn Sandler. Kate Beckinsale. (’hristopher \‘v'alken. I07min. Stressed ottt architect Michael (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. (ienera/ release.
The Command (l’( i) 000 (David Butler. 1'5. “)5le (iuy‘ Madison. Joan Weldon. James \‘s'hitmore. 94min. Little known bttt very entertaining and solidly tnadc Western in which a cavalry medical officer leads a wagon train through dangerous Indian territory. smallpox and a rotnantic subplot. SI Brit/("s (‘entre. lit/inlmreh.
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