: Reviews
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WAR/EPIC LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (15) 140min coco
machine, the Japanese, commanded by the resourceful and honourable Lt General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (played by the excellent Ken Watanabe), literally dug
Clint Eastwood follows up his admirable but uneven World War II movie Flags of Our Fathers with a second, more accomplished, film looking at the battle for the Pacific island of lwo Jima. This time the focus is on the Japanese as opposed to the American military experience. Like the first film, Letters from Iwo Jima is less an action movie (though there’s plenty of bloody slaughter in it) and more an examination of the calibre of men in combat and the political forces at work behind the front lines.
Where Flags addressed America’s war drive in the aftermath of the pivotal battle for the Pacific atoll, Letters focuses on Japan’s (with hindsight) foolhardy sacrifice of its garrison on lwo Jima, which was seen as
themselves into lwo Jima’s black rock. There they withstood a level of shelling that had the Americans wondering if they were about to enter into close quarters combat with supernaturally powerful opponents. Working from a script by Japanese-American Iris Yamashita and with a commendable level of cooperation from the Japanese government, Eastwood imbues the film with a deeply affecting level of pathos. The characters, from humble baker and family man-turned- foot-solider Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya) to idealistic former military policeman Shimizu (Ryo Kase), are vividly rendered in a manner rarely seen in American produced war films. And the striking humanity of both films (especially Letters) gives Eastwood’s undertaking a
the Eastern empire’s last line of defence in the war in 1945. Much of the film details the build up to the battle that raged for 40 days and resulted in 7000 American deaths and 20,000 Japanese casualties.
Faced with a vastly more technologically advanced war
DOCUMENTARY INTO GREAT SILENCE (U) 169min .00.
Shakespeare's comment that 'The silence of pure innocence persuades when speaking fails' pervades German documentarian Philip Grbning‘s film about life inside a silent Carthusian monastic order in France. For Into Great Silence is less of a critical examination and more an apt consideration of its inhabitants and the immense leap they have all made for their faith.
Filmed in the Grand Chartreuse
(Miles Fielder)
Monastery up in the Alps near Grenoble, this long, demanding film suggests that communion with nature may be as important as that with God. This is evident in the small still-life meals. the simple tasks the monks perform in the monastery gardens, and their backbreaking endeavours during the snowy winters and sun- kissed summers.
It's as though Grening got so caught up in the months at the monastery spent filming alone that his critical faculties were replaced by a benign sense of wellbeing. How impressive you find the film will depend on whether you manage to share a similar sense of wellbeing. If you have the stomach for it, this low key. demanding. occasionally transcendental work about the nature of silence is as thought provoking as it is rewarding. More meditation than movie. Into Great Silence attempts to sweep time to the surface.
(Tony MCKibbin) I Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Fri 7 6— Thu 22 Feb only.
heightened importance in our troubled times.
I General release from Fri 23 Feb. Also at Cinewor/d Renfrew Street, Glasgow on Sat 77 8. Sun 78 Feb as part of Glasgow Film Festival.
COMEDY ORCHESTRA SEATS (12A) 105min 00
if k 1‘; is.
‘A comedy about people who are suffering', is how director and co— writer Daniele Thompson describes Orchestra Seats. In fact, this predictable slice of middlebrow entertainment resembles a Gallic Love Actually.
Set in and around Paris’ prestigious Avenue Montaigne, the film consists of a trio of intersecting storylines, with bubbly waitress Jessica (Cecile De France). a new arrival from the provinces. acting as the audience's
Film
Rough Cuts
Film news to keep you amused
I The Cameo in Edinburgh is currently installing digital cinema technology, including a rooftop satellite transmission receiver which will make it possible to begin a series of live broadcasts of New York Met Opera productions in Screen One. The first one will be of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville (pictured) on Saturday 24 March, followed by Puccini’s ll Trittico on Saturday 28 April.
I The provinces have spoken and the winners of the UK Regional Critics Film Awards are Abigail Breslin (Newcomer of the Year for Little Miss Sunshine). Helen Mirren (Performance of the Year for The Queen) and Guillermo Del Toro, who had the double honour of securing the Filmmaker and Best Film awards for Pan '3 Labyrinth.
I Don’t miss the promising Cinema China, a festival showcasing eight decades of Chinese cinema at Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Friday 9 March. Highlights include classic silent Goddess which will be screened with a live score by Hong Kong/Scottish composer Kimho lp and exclusive preview screenings of Zhang fimou’s two most recent films.
WIN UNTIl THE END OF THE WORLD ON DVD
On Monday 26 February Metrodome Distribution will release Until The End Of The World. Available
for the first time mm mm mm on DVD. Wim j.-. """"" . Wenders'
mysterious. iconic, brilliantly soundtracked (by U2, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, REM. Lou Reed and Talking Heads) road movie epic spans several continents. We have five codes to give away. To be in with a chance of winning one, simply send an email marked WORLD with your name. address and daytime telephone number to promotions@list.co.uk by no later than Friday 2 March. Usual List rules apply.
15 Feb—1 Mar 2007 THE LIST 41