Film
Reviews
NEW PRINT/CLASSIC THE WIZARD OF 02 (U) 98min 0000
The Wizard of O/ is about a girl called Dorothy (Judy Garland) whose neighbour. Miss Gulch. threatens to take away her dog. Toto. but they run away. A hurricane hits the house and the house gets blown away. Suddenly the hurricane stops and she lands in 0/. She meets Glinda. the Good Witch of the North (Billie Burke) and all the Munchkins come out and start singing and thanking her.
The Wicked Witch of the East (Margaret Hamilton) appears in a red puff of smoke. realises that her sister is dead and tries to get her ruby slippers. but the Good Witch of the North magically transports them to Dorothy's feet. She tells Dorothy to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City.
She meets a lion who needs courage. a tin man who needs a heart and a scarecrow who needs a brain. They get to the Wi/ard of Oz and he tells them to get the witch's broom and they do by chucking water on her and she melts. They take the broornstick to the Wi/ard of O/ and they get what they want.
It changes colour tremendously from Kansas to 0/. It shows that O/ is much happier than Kansas. but Kansas is still home for Dorothy. The moral of the story is that you may have something that you don't realise yOu already have and you've got to go a long way to find it. There is lots of very good singing and dances. especially by the scarecrow. Judy Garland is the best at singing. especially 'Over the Rainbow'. It's great go see it! (Archie Fisher. aged 9)
I F i/mhouse. Edinburgh from Fri 75 Dec. See Big Picture. page i l.
DRAMA HOMANCI GABRIELLE (15) 90min 0..
‘I love her as a collector does his most prized possession'. annOunces Jean (Pascal Greggory). a wealthy publisher in pre WWI Paris. of his socialite wrfe of ten years Gabrielle (Isabelle Huppert). The husband's arrogant self—
62 THE LIST 14 Dec 2006—4 Jan 2007
BOLLYWOOD ROUND UP
Jv“\l‘.~ 4'9: .s
Vivah - A Journey From Engagement to Marriage (PG) 166min (o ) harks back to an innocence that hardly, if ever, existed in Bollywood cinema. Prem (Shahid Kapoor) the eligible young son of a business tycoon agrees to an arranged marriage to Poonam (Amrita Rao). Poonam’s problem is that she’s ‘too pretty’. Few of the lead characters here are explored beyond a one-dimensional stereotype, while the remaining family members are portrayed as maniacal smiling fools. In a two-and-a-half hour family relationship drama, the emphasis on traditional Indian values could have made for a highly charged melodrama. But the lack of underlying sensuality between Prem and
Poonam means you really don’t care.
In contrast, Kabul Express (15) 104min (0000 ) shows what a difference a script can make (pictured). Two Indian journalists Jai (Arshad Warsi) and Suhel (John Abraham) in post 9/11 Afghanistan, take us on a 48-hour journey, along with their Afghan driver/interpreter. Taking in one thrilling turn after another, we follow their quest to interview a Taliban prisoner. Complex relationships between the various political and religious groups, are brilliantly explored in sharp dialogue and icy exchanges of the main protagonists. The film succeeds in using humour and subtlety to diffuse tensions and futile prejudices. Filmed entirely on location in Afghanistan over 45 days, writer/director Kabir Khan has based the film on his own experiences as a war correspondent in the region. There is some beautiful cinematography here, sweeping in the clear blue skies, rugged mountains and rubble of a war-devastated Kabul. Warsi has fantastic comic timing and Abraham is still every inch the Bollywood hero, all mean and moody, while supporting Afghan and Pakistani actors add their individual quirks. Kabul Express is a refreshing perspective of a difficult and convoluted subject to negotiate - ‘lt’s all about who sells the Coke and oil at the end of the day’.
Baabul (PG) 169min (COO
) fulfills all the expectations of a big
family led drama. Amitabh Bachchan is glorious as Balraj Kapoor, father-in-Iaw of the newly-widowed Malvika (Rani Mukherjee). When the Balraj decides it’s time for Rani to remarry and start a new life we tag along for the emotional rollercoaster. Culture and tradition, love and loyalty, battle it out over the harsh realities of life in an extended
family.
Meanwhile, Bachchan Jr takes on the title role in Mani Bombay Ratnam’s Guru (12A) 150min (COO. ). Loosely based on the rags to riches story of 3 Forbes top 500 entrepreneur, this may well be Abhishek Bachchan’s defining role. A stellar star cast (including Aishwarya Rai) provides support in the telling of this exciting and turbulent tale. Told with all the flair and ingenuity of Batman’s epic but
intelligent style. (Ghazala Butt)
I All films on selected release from Fri 75 Dec. except Guru, which is
released on Fri 72 Jan.
regard is punctured however. when he discovers a letter written by his spouse. which admits to an infidelity with an unnamed lover. On her return the same evening to the marital home. she declares. ‘If I had believed you loved me. I would never have come back.‘
Adapted from Joseph Conrad's The Return. a London set novella in which the wife has a near silent role. Gabriel/e isn't your conventionally
polite period chamber drama. Director Patrice ()hereau (Intimacy. Those that Love Me Can Take the Train) hones in on the raw. unsettling emotions overwhelming the protagonists. whose lives are governed by restrictive social conventions. There are clear echoes of lbsen's A Doll's House. and (Jhereau's visual motifs mirrors. glass cases. closing doors. and constricting clothes reinforce the notion of entrapment. Unfolding almost exclusively within
the theatrical confines of an opulent. belle epodue mansion. Gabriel/e is a highly stylised film. with arbitrary shifts from colour to black and white. text blown up onto the screen. and a discordant classical score. lluppert and Greggory give powerfully contrasting performances: he blusters. rages and eventually explodes into sexual violence. whilst she tearfully retreats into herself. using silence as a weapon in her guest for freedom. (Tom Dawsoni
I (3/ 'l. Glasgow from Fri l5)- lhu Bl Dec only.
l’Xl’i‘irllMl‘leAl DRAMA CONTAINER (15) 75min 0..
Lukas Moodysson continues his cinematic journey into the abstract with the beguiling Container. Since his striking debut Show Me I ove. his films. Together. 1 i/va 4 ever and A Hole in My l lear't have become less and less centred on a straiglitforwarrl narrative. Container. With its circular structure. repeating black and ‘-."/llli(} gritty images of a rather fat man il)eter Lorent/oni. also has a life in art galleries where Moodysson has shown the film Within a container mirroring that which our bi/arre chubby protagonist inhabits. l le is a woman living in a man's body. This is made clear by the ethereal monologue that provrdes commentary throughout. It is the voice of Jena Malone. We know this. because at one moment in the film. the voice jumps out of character to declare. ‘I am Jena Malone."
lhose concerned that Moodysson has gone crackers need fear not. i or Container. unlike the abstruse excesses of A Hole in My l lea/t. surprisingly manages to remain interesting for its short runtime. It's a difficult watch. but one that conveys a sense of alienation. the theme uniting all Moodysson's films. in a unique and disquieting fashion. (Kaleem Aftabi I li/nihorise. Edinburgh from in 75) Dec -Mon 18 Dec only (‘i (if 1. Glasgow from fl! 25)«-Siin (ll Dec or i/y DVD on release from Mon 95) Jan 2007'. See profile. listings.
CRIME 'lllltll l i it I SAW BEN BARKA GET KILLED (15) 102min .00
Ex Callie/s (Iii Cinema critic turned director Serge l e l’eron revrsits the intriguingly murky circumstances surrounding one of Gaullist France's greatest political scandals. On 25) October 1905. an exiled Moroccan dissident Mehdi Ben Barka (played by Simon Abkarian) was abducted from a Parisian street in broad daylight by police officers. never to be seen again. Were the French