Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Paul Dale
The Adventures of Prince Achmed (U) (Lotte Reiniger. Germany. l‘)2()) ()5llilli. The world‘s first feature- length animated film takes a story from /()()I Arabian Nights. A rare screening of a film that almost disappeared forever. before a new negative was made from the one remaining print in the l‘)70s. Part of Puppet and Animation Festival. Film/rouse. Edinburgh.
Alien Adventure 30 ( U) .000
(Ben Strassen. Japan. 2001 ) 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 much amusing mayhem. IMAX Theatre. Glasgow.
Amazing Grace (PG) 0.
(Michael Apted. UK/US. 2006) loan (iruffudd. Rornola (iarai. Youssou N‘Dour. 1 18min. To mark the 200-year celebrations of the abolition of slavery. this solid biopic details how William Wilberforce ((iruffudd) persuaded the House of (‘ommons to end the slave trade. The film is however derailed by an irrelevant love interest ((iarai). staid dialogue and the presence of only one black character (N'Dour). General release.
Arthur and the lnvisibles (U)
.0. (Luc Besson. France. 2007) Voices of Freddie llighmore. Mia Farrow. Ron Crawford. 93min. In an adaptation of his own children’s book. Besson mixes live-action and (‘Gl animation with patchy results. Arthur (llighrnore) embarks on a quest to save grandmothch (Farrow) house. complete 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. Seleeterl release.
The Aura ( l5) 0... (Fabian
Bielinsky. Argentina/France/Spain. 2005) Ricardo Darin. Dolores Fort/i. Pablo (‘edron. l34min. The second and final feature from the late director of Nine Queens is a complex. dark and compelling thriller about an epileptic taxidermist
"ontom
(Darin) who tries to commit the perfect robbery. Part of Viva! Spanish and Latin American Film Festival. Glasgow I’ilm Theatre. Glasgow; Film/rouse. Edinburgh. Bad Spelling (Les Fautes d’orthographe) ( l5) 0. (Jean- Jacqttes Zilbcrmann. France. 2004) (‘arole Bouquet. ()liver Gourmet. Damien Jouilerot. 90min. (‘oming-of—age yarn set in a boarding school for disadvantaged adolescents in which a baby faced scion finds that the only sure way to survive the other students is through rebellion. A wannabe Ifbut without the surreal brilliance. Glasgow I'i/in Theatre. Glasgow.
Barakat! ( l5) (Djamila Sahraoui. Algeria/France. 2006) Rachida Brakni. Fattouma ()usliha Bouamari. Zahir Bouzerar. 95min. An examination of social and political issues affecting women in the aftermath of the Algerian (‘ivil War of the l9‘)0s. hinged on the kidnapping of a
journalist by Algerian extremists. Part of
New (‘inemas of the Arab World season. Film/rouse. Edinburgh.
Becoming Jane (PG) 0. (Julian Jarrold, UK/US. 2007) Anne Hathaway. James McAvoy. Julie Walters. James (‘romwelL Maggie Smith. l20min. A biography ofJanc Austen (played beautifully by Hathaway) which cites a relationship with cad. hedonist and lawyer 'l‘om Lefroy (McAvoy) as the reason behind her success. Despite excellent performances and a very generous smattering ol'Auslen's best lines. this is sadly as dreary as period dramas get. General release.
Belle de Jour ( l8) .0... (Luis Buriuel. France/Italy. l‘)(>7) (‘atherine Deneuve. Jean Sore]. Michel Piccoli. ()9min. 'l'he taboo-busting film about a beautiful. faithful and bored young housewife Severinc (Deneuvc) who finds her inner fetishism in the brothels of her small town. Forty years on it‘s still shocking. funny. clever. sexy and peculiarly familiar. Go and see it: it‘s good old fashioned arthouse porn. for heaven‘s sake. Glasgow I’ilm 'I'healre, Glasgow. Blades of Glory ( IBM 0.. (Josh Gordon/Will Speck. US. 2007) Will Ferrell. Jon lleder. Will Arnett. 93min. See Also Released. page 38. General release
from () A pi:
Every year at the beginning of May, the small, very typical Ruhr valley town of
Oberhausen in Germany hosts an eclectic short film festival beloved of Wim Wenders and Gerhard Schroeder. Organised around films in competition and a changeable festival theme, these shorts tend towards the more avant-garde in stylisation and so rarely see wider distribution. Two selections from the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen 2006 arrive in Edinburgh this fortnight. First up is a selection of shorts by free thinker and Dadaist Robert Nelson (to whom a large scale retrospective was dedicated) and Media Art, a selection of new experimental work from around the world.
I Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh, Sat 37 Mar and Sat 7 Apr.
>i< The Caiman (ll Caimano) (15) O... (Nanni Moretti. Italy/France. 2006) Silvio ()rlando. Margherita Buy. Jasmine 'l‘rinca. Michele Placido. 105mm. Italian auteur Moretti returns with this multi-layered work set in contemporary Rome. which is simultaneoust the study of an anxious producer‘s failing marriage. a comic examination of low-budget filmmaking. and a scathing critique of Silvio Berlusconi‘s assault on democracy. Sec interview. page 37. Film/rouse. Edinburgh. Casablanca (PG) .0000 (Michael (‘urtiL US. l‘)42) Humphrey Bogart. Ingrid Bergman. Dooley Wilson. l02min. You must remember this . . . Bogart being impossibly noble. Bergman torn between two lovers. (‘laude Rains playing both ends against the middle. devious Nazis. a fogbound airport. at piano-player tinkling that tune. A wonderful hill of beans and a wonderful new digitised print. too. Glasgow I’ilm Theatre. Glasgow. Catch a Fire ( I2A) 0.. (Phillip Noyce. UK/South Africa/US. 2006) Derek Luke. Tim Robbins. Bonnie llenna. I0lmin. In 1980s apartheid South Africa, Patrick (‘hamusso (Luke). under harassment from racist police detective Nick Vos (Robbins). enters a game of cat and mouse as he prepares an act of terrorism. A worthy. occasionally compelling dramatic thriller with its heart in the right place. ( 'ineworlil Renfrew Street. Glasgow; ('ineworlil Edinburgh. Edinburgh. Catch and Release ( l 2A) 0. (Susannah Grant. US. 2007) Jennifer (iarner. 'I'imothy ()lyphant. Sam Jaeger. Kevin Smith. I l 1min. Allegedly this is a ‘dramedy’ about love. loss. and finding new love. Gray Wheeler's (Garner) fiance dies and she moves in with his roommates attentive Dennis (Jaeger) and quirky Sam (Smith). Promising comedy that ultimately disappoints. Seleelerl release. Charlotte’s Web (U ) .0. (Gary Winick. USA. 2006) Dakota Fanning. voices of Julia Roberts. Sam Shepherd. Steve Buscerni. 97min. (‘hirpy tot Fern (Fanning) 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 and death. Somewhere between the cutesy Babe and ()rwell‘s political Animal Farm it should draw in children and nostalgic adults alike. General release. The City of the Sun (15) (Martin Sulik. (‘zech Republic/Slovakia, 2005) ()ldrich Navratil. lvan Martinka. Lubo Kostein. 95min. After being made redundant a group of friends try to establish a small business together in post- communist eastern liurope. Part of New liurope Film Festival. Film/louse, Edinburgh. Climates (15) O... (Nuri Bilge (‘eylan. 'l‘urkey/lr‘rance. 2006) libru (‘eylan. Nuri Bilge (‘eylan. Nazan Kirilmis. 102mm. The relationship between middle-aged university professor lsa ((‘eylan) and his younger girlfriend Bahar (his real-life wife libru (‘eylan) breaks down in this deeply personal work. Suffused with melancholy. it shows (‘eylan's trademark contemplative. pared- down style and touches of droll humour. Recommended. Cameo, Edinburgh. Crossing Borders ( 12A) ((‘arlos lglesias. Spain. 2005) (‘arlos lglesias. Javier Gutierrez. Nieve de Medina. 96min. Martin (lglesias) and Marcos (Gutierrez) emigrate from Spain to Switzerland to seek a better life. but the grass isn‘t always greener. Part of Viva! Spanish and Latin American Film Festival. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow; I-‘ilinhouse, Edinburgh.
Check out the
on paqe6
Name Robert Francis ‘Bobcat’ Goldthwait.
Born 26 May 1962, Syracuse, New York, US.
Background Best known as the freak with the trembling, high- pitched voice Zed in the Police Academy films, Goldthwait was performing professional level stand-up comedy from the age of 15 while he was still in high school, where he met lifelong pal and creative partner Tom Kenny, with whom he appeared onstage as Bobcat and Tomcat. At 22, Goldthwait appeared on the Jay Leno Show and caused uproar by impulsively setting the host's couch on fire. The mischievous elf has since carved out a career acting, writing and directing in film and television, appearing on the Ben Stiller and Howard Stern shows, The Simpsons, alongside John Cusack and Tim Robbins in Tapeheads (under the pseudonym Jack Cheese), and in Scrooged, Destiny Turns on the Radio and Blow. Goldthwait also directed himself as an alcoholic children’s entertainer in the 1992 cult comedy film Shakes the Clown, which is much admired by Martin Scorsese and Michael Stipe.
What’s he up to now? He’s just written and directed his third film, Sleeping Dogs, 3 sweet-natured bad taste comedy reminiscent of mid—period John Waters, which turns on the naughty notion that lying to loved ones is a good thing. What he says about the film ‘The idea hit me that living the lies we tell about ourselves makes us better people. Telling the truth is overrated. But a lot of people believe you should have full disclosure in a relationship. They think that's true love. Maybe these people are afraid of someone deceiving them. Then I tried to think about something you would lie about in a positive way. It needed to be something that the protagonist has gotten past, but that would be a deal breaker for most people.’
Interesting fact Goldthwait was a close personal friend of Kurt Cobain, and performed a stand-up opening act for Nirvana on what was to be the band's final American gig in 1994. (Miles Fielder)
I Sleeping Dogs is out now on selected release.
29 Mar—12 Apr 2007 THE LIST 41