Film
Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Paul Dale
>l< After the Wedding (Efter Bryllupet) ( l5) 0... (Susanne Bier. Dentnark. 2006) Mads Mikkelsen. Sidse Babett Knudsen. Rolf Lassgard. l22min. See review. page 42. (’inewm'ltl rem/m.- Slreel. Glasgow.
Alien Adventure 30 (tf) 00.. (Ben Strassen. Japan. 200l ) Voice of John Boyle. Bouli Lanners. 37min. An alien race looking for a planet to colonise find earth and unfortunately enter a theme park where they cause tnuch amusing mayhem. IMAX Theatre. Glasgow:
All the King’s Men ( 12A) .0
(Steven Zaillian. (iermany/tTS. 2006) Sean Penn. Jude Law. Kate Winslet. l27min. A new adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's novel. inspired by corrupt Louisiana governor and Senator Huey ‘Kinglish' Long. which fails to live up to Robert Rossen‘s I949 adaptation. With unconvincing turns from Penn and Law. the only point of interest is that it was one of the last movies shot in New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina. Se/et‘lerl release.
INTERVIEW
=3: The Arch ( l2A) ooo ((‘ecile Tang Shu-Shuen. Hong Kong. 1970) Roy (‘hiao. Lisa Lu. W'en-Hsiu. 94min. Shu-Shuen‘s story about feudalistn and desire. preligured the new wave of (‘hinese cinetna in the l980s. Part of('inema (‘hina festival. I'll/illiuus‘e. Ifrlin/imje/t.
Arthur and the Invisibles (t7)
.0. (Luc Besson. France. 2007) Voices of l‘reddie llighmore. .Mia Farrow. Ron Crawford. 93min. In an adaptation of his own children's book. Besson mixes live- action and (‘(il animation with patchy results. Arthur (Highmore) embarks on a quest to save grandmother‘s (furrow ) house. cotnplete with troll-like Minemoys. an evil wizard and saucy princess. Most entertaining in its live-action sequences. it's heavy on style but light on originality. (ienel'ul release.
The Asphalt Jungle (PG) 0000 (John Huston. lTS. I950) Sterling Hayden. Louis (‘alhertL Jean Hagen. Sam Jaffe. Marilyn Monroe. l 12min. Huston's freshly cleaned up I950 film noir/heist classic feels as fresh today as must have been it then. Based on WR Burnett's pulp novel and with a blindingly starry cast. the story of a botched diamond heist which brings down characters from every rttng of society was immeasurably influential. Although. in the
Dito Montiel (right) discusses the challenges of adapting his novel A Guide to Recognising Your Saints for the screen. Set in the 19803 it is a coming-of-age drama about a boy growing up in Astoria, New York.
‘The book is so different to the film, it’s more about people that I knew. I put my name to one of the characters in the movie, but it is not like an autobiography or a memoir. Of course, there are things that are personal, but I mixed up the people. I used the book more like a bank of emotions. Originally, with the film, I was writing a film just with the kids and then Robert Downey Jr got involved and said he wanted a contrary story to just the kids in the 805 and he had just seen Memento and he was like “maybe we could do it backwards?” We tried to think of another way to bring something else into it and the writing and the editing and the directing was like trying to remember any event in the past. l’d mess something up in the description of it; it would be fragmented because our memories are fragmented. To me, the film is supposed to be more about what it is like to experience something than to control something. I wanted it to feel like you’re in a moment. ‘Robert Downey was very cool, he helped me get it made and never sold me out along the way. He would pop in with different things. Even when he was in jail I got a couple of letters from him. He is a smart guy, and when you say his name the first thing people say is that he is “a great actor,” and you can list the number of great actors on one hand.
There is a reason he is still around.
‘lt’s been a war from day one to make this film and I love the end product. You don’t get many chances in life to make a movie and if someone says they don’t like it, I say “I do”. l’ve made records before and if someone said it sucked it bummed me out. A story about my life should not be particularly interesting but it is, it’s just about me and some kids who didn’t know how to talk to each other. It’s personal but
not autobiographical.’
I A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints is on selected release from Fri 2 Mar.
See review, page 40.
44 THE LIST 1-«15 Mar 2007
current climate. the political overtones of the ending seem tojar. this is a joy and undoubtedly one of llttston’s best. Part of lluston season. l'lllllll()ll.\'(’. lidin/mije/i. L’Auberge Espagnole (Pot Luck)
( l5) .0 ((‘edric Klapisch. lirance. 2002) Romain Duris. Judith (iodrechc. Audrey ’I‘autou. l20min. In this feelgood lilm Xavier exchanges student life. his girlfriend and his family for the chance to learn Spanish and live in Barcelona and reconsiders his priorities. influenced by his new experiences and the students he shares his new apartment with. Introduced by Dr Jonny Murray. (ilusgnir l-‘i/m 'I'lieutre. (ilus‘gmi:
BAFTA Scotland Winners’ Night (l5) (Vat'iotts. LK. \I'arious) 90min. An opportunity to see the best new talent in short lilm making in Scotland. (i/(tsgmv I’ll/n lllt'tlli't'. (i/(ts‘gmv‘.
Babel ( l5) .0. (Alejandro (ion/alel- lnarritu. l'S/Mexico. 2000) (‘ate Blanchett. Brad Pitt. (iael (iarcia Bernal. l-Bmin. Screenwriter (iuillermo Arriaga and director lnzirritu (both Amures l’erms. 2/ (irums) turn out another fragmented story with a deeply ‘profound’ message. Despite the A- list megastars. the sections about a Japanese girl and Moroccan kids fare the best. The rest is cliched nonsense. Se/eeler/ re/eus-e. Barnyard (PG) 00 (Steve ()edekerk. LS. 2000) voices of Kevin James. (‘ouiteney ('ox. Sam lilliott. 89min. ('t)mputer-generated animation feature centered on the single unfunny premise that farmyard animals do mad things when no one is watching. Will) the cast and writers involved. this should be half decent. but it's actually very poor. More manure for minors. (litr'tt'ul‘lt/ l’ul'ls'ltetttl. (iltls‘grm': (‘iltt'ti'nr/(l l“.tlllll)lll‘g'll. lat/inbmgh.
Battle Royale ( l8) 0... (Kinji l’ukasaku. Japan. 200l ) 'l'atsuya Fujiwara. Aki Maeda. 'l'aro Yamamoto. ’l'akeshi Kitano. l lSmin. 1.1m] (Ill/1e I'lles‘ is re- itnagined as a violent pic-millennial nightmare as a class of teenage Japanese schoolchildren is abandoned on an island. given a variety of weapons. and told that only the last survivor will be allowed to leave. Superbly violent and satirical Japanese cult film that was clearly made to goad the Japanese authorities into action over the country's juvenile delinquency problem. lit/iii/Hufgli l'i/m (int/(l. lit/inlmlgli. Beau Travail ( IS) 000. ((‘Iaire Denis. lirance. 2000) Denis Lavant. Michel Subor. (it'egoire ('olin. 90min. An imaginative reworking of Herman Melv ille's novella Bil/y Btu/(l. Sui/Ur. Bert/t 'I'mi'ui/ sees writer-director Denis relocating the source material from the 19th century British navy to the present-day l‘rench l’oreign Legion. in Marseille. Sergeant (ialoup (Denis Lavant) recalls the eycnts that led to him being forced to leave the corps after being posted to a remote outpost in Djibouti. liast Africa. A work lilch with beauty. sadness and mystery. Mesmerising lilmmaking. Part of Introduction to liuropean (‘incma programme. I'i/m/tuuse. lat/in/itufie/i. Because I Said So ( 12A) 0
(Michael Lehmann. LS. 2007) Diane Keaton. Mandy Moore. (iabriel Macltt. l02min. Daphne Wilder (Keaton) is the proud. overbearing mother of three daughters including insecure Milly (Moore) who doesn't have mttch lttck with men. so Daphne decides to set her up with the perfect man. Wackiness and confusion ensue in this absolutely abysmal. unfunny family comedy. (it'llt'nll release.
Becoming Jane (PG) 00 (Julian Jarrold. l'K/l'S. 2007) Anne Hathaway. James McAvoy. Julie Walters. James (‘romw ell. Maggie Smith. l20min. See review. page 40. lite Int/in/nug/i ()nmi. Iftliii/iin'e/i.
The Best of Norman McLaren (PG) 0.... (Norman McLaren. l'K/(‘anadzr Various) 87min. A programme of pieces by the Scot who moved to (’anada. and w hose inspirational. pioneering work in abstract animation needs to seen to be beliey ed. Recommended. (ilusgmv I'll/II 'l'lleulre. (i/usgmv‘.
The Big Wee Picture (l’(;) (Various. l'ls'. Various) ()7min. Some wee pictures (shorts) by Margaret Jail and Ruby (irierson
in the lyrical documentary idiom: Housing I’m/)lems. llll')‘ A/su Serve. l’urlruil o/(iu. I’lttt‘e olllin‘k and 'Iitil/iieee. Will) an introduction and post-film discussion by Dr Sarah Neely. l'lllllllt)ll.\'(’. [film/Hugh. Black Book (Zwartboek) ( 15) C... (Paul \‘erhoeven. Netherlands/BeIgium/l‘K/(iermany. 200m ('arice van Houten. Sebastian Koch. Thom Hoffman. l-lSmin. Verhoeven returns to fortn with this pacy'. provocative wartime thriller his first Dutch language film in 20 years. l"oc‘ttssitig on a young Jewish girl named (van Houten). it is an old fashioned boy’s own romp about the resistance movement and \a/i collaborators. Matching the themes of his pic-Hollywood films to an arthouse. racy style. Verhoeven gets the best frotn both. (ilusgmt‘ I'll/m 'l'lteull't'. (ilusgmv. Blood Diamond ( I5) .0 (lidward Zwick. LS. 2000) Leonardo Di('aprio. Djimon Hounsou. Jennifer (‘onnelly l-Hmin. Against the backdrop of civil war in l990s Sierra Leone. an ex-mercenary from Zimbabwe (DiCaprio) and a Mende fisherman (Hotmsou) cross fates and their lives are changed forever. ('ontrived. pseudo-liberal tosh with an embarrassing script that's only alleviated by decent performances. (it'ltel'u/ release. Bobby ( IS) .0. (limilio listev'eI. ('8. 2007) Harry Belafonte. Joy Bryant. Nick ('annon. l 10min. Writer-director listeve/ turns his attentions to the assassination of another Kennedy. Jl‘K‘s little brother. The action takes place at the scene of the crime the Ambassador Hotel in LA on 5 June I968 and follows the impact on 22 fictional characters. lt‘s hit and miss. but does ably mix archive footage with fictional action in what is ultitnately a hagiography. (’iiieimrlt/ I’urk/terltl. (i/(tsgmi; C4 Funny Bits (ti) (Various. l'K. Zoom 90min. The pick of the comedy crop from 4'l'alent. Visit wvvvv.channel-l.com/—ltalentsc()tland to enter. (i/(tsgmt‘ I'llm Ill/lerlll‘e. (i/ttsguii'. Canary (Kanaria) ( t5) .0. (Akihiko Sltiota, Japan. 2005) lloslti lsltidtt. Mitsuki ‘lanimura. Hidetoshi \ishiiima. l32min. 'l‘hriller about the inside machinations of a Japanese cttlt which tiscs disenfranchised children to carry out terrorist activities (probably inspired by the Attm ctilt who executed the Sarin gas subway attack in I995). this is a compelling lilm about the power of belief. Part of Move Over. ()/u season. l'lllllllUll.\(’. lz‘rli/tlmi'elt. >i< Centre Stage (PG) 000 (Stanley Kwan. Hong Kong. 1992) Maggie ('heung. (‘arina Lau. Paul (‘hang lein. ('heung stars as Ruan Lingyu. the ('hinese (ireta (iat'bo. in this tale of political intrigue in the film industry of l930s Shanghai. Part of ('inema ('hina festival. l-‘i/m/iuuse. lat/iitluire/i. Charlotte’s Web (l‘) 00. (( iary Winick. ISA. 2000) Dakota fanning. voices ofJulia Roberts. Sam Shepherd. Steve Btiscemi. 97min. ('hirpy tot l’ern (banning) rescues Wilbur the pig from a cruel farmyard fate for lovable arachnid (‘harlotte to eventually save the day in a bittersweet finale that touches on practical matters of life tttltl death. Somewhere between tlte cutesy Babe and ()rwell’s political Animal I'iimi it should draw in children and nostalgic adults alike. (it'ltel'tll I‘t'lt’tlyt'. Cinema Paradiso ( IS) .000 ((iiuseppe 'l‘ornatore. Italy/France. I988) Phillipe .\'oirct. Jacques l’errin. Salvatore (‘ascio. l23min. 'l'old largely in flashback. the winner of the I990 Oscar for Best Foreign l‘ilm traces young S;il\';tt()i‘c"s infatuation with his \ illage cinema. and his growing lriendship with its pt'oiectionist (play ed to perfection by \oiret). lissentially. it‘s 'l‘ornatore's lament for the joyous movie-going e\perience of his youth and recognition of the price we pay for our Itltltttt‘ily. l'fth/lt'lltlt/ l’ttl'ls 'l'llettll'e. (iluygmi‘.
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