Index
PROFILE
Name Roxane Mesquida Date of Birth 1 October 1981
Background Aged 13 Mesquida was spotted walking down the street in her home village near Toulon in the south of France by the director Manuel Pradal, who gave her a small role in 1997’s Mane Bale des Anges (Angel Sharks). She was chosen by Catherine Breillat to play the part of the beautiful teenager Elena, who‘s cajoled into losing her virginity in A Ma Soeur!
(2001 ), and she later starred in the same director’s self-referential Sex is Comedy (2002).
What’s she up to now? She appears in the Vincent Cassel- produced Sheitan, a gleefully twisted account of a group of young Parisian clubbers being preyed upon by devil-worshipping yokels, which has just been released on DVD. And she has completed filming another Breillat movie Une Vielle Maitresse, a period drama starring Anne Parillaud, Asia Argento and Michael Lonsdale, which is being tipped for a competition slot at this year’s Cannes festival.
What she says about Sheitan ‘ln France only people who were 16 and over were allowed to see this film. I didn’t think it was a very scary movie — to me it was a very weird black comedy. The atmosphere in the house where we were shooting was strange: the owner was apparently in jail for paedophile offences, and recently there had been a kidnapping just outside.‘ What she says about Vincent Cassel ‘l was so excited to be working with him on Sheitan. When he's acting, he likes to put himself in danger, in his different roles, and I respect that. I don't like acting if it’s too easy.’
What she says about her future ‘I don’t know what I want to do next. I think French cinema lacks energy at the moment. I would love to work with Gaspar Noe. Apparently A Ma Soeur! is one of his favourite movies, so who knows.’
Interesting Fact Mesquida’s favourite painting is Edvard Munch’s The Scream.
(lom Dawson)
I Sheitan (Satan) is out now (Tartan).
42 THE LIST 29 Mar—12 Apr 2007
Curious George (U) oo
(Matthew ()‘Callaghan. US, 2006) Will Ferrell. Frank Welker. Drew Barrymore, David Cross. 86min. Feature animation based on the adventures of the hero of Margaret and HR Rey’s popular children’s book series. Parents may be able to stem any suicidal impulses by listening to the laughter of their children at the film‘s simple slapstick antics. Part of Puppet and Animation Festival. I'ilmhouse, Edinburgh.
Cyberworld 30 (PG) (Various. US, 2000) Jenna Iilfman. Matt Frewer. Woody Allen. 44min. Jenna Iilfman is the cyber- host who introduces us to various unrelated segments of cyber animation. The Simpsons and Ania. make 3|) appearances in a spectacular display of today‘s most impressive graphic technology. IMAX Theatre, Glasgow:
Dawn of The Dead (18) oooo (Zack Synder. US. 2004) Sarah Polley. Ving Rhames, Jake Weber.Remake of George Romeo‘s l978 zombie classic. scripted by James Gunn (who graduated from trash film factory Troma to also write Seooby Doo and its sequel). The plot remains the same: when North America is overrun by a plague of zombies, a group of survivors hole up in a shopping maul where they‘re besieged by the flesh eaters. The original was a wry commentary on the perils of modern day consumerism. (.‘ameo. Edinburgh.
Days of Glory (Indigenes) (12A) .0” (Rachid Bouchareb. France/Morocco/Algeria/Belgium, 2006) Jamel Debbouze. Samy Naceri. Roschdy Zem. Sami Bouajila. 123mm. Four Moroccan men journey from their homeland to France during WWII to help light the Nazis. Moving. provocative and thought provoking war epic, which illuminates the many wrongs of France‘s colonial rule. The ensemble cast of well- known North African actors is superb.
Recommended. See preview. page 37. Selected release.
Deep Sea 30 (PG) (Howard Hall. Canada/US. 2006) Voices of Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet. 41min. A 3-D digital exploration of the ocean‘s depths and its creatures. [MAX 'l'healre, Glasgow:
Dirty Dancing (l5) oooo (limilc Ardolino, US, I987) Jennifer Grey. Patrick Swayze, Jerry ()rbach. |()()min. The plot — in the summer of 1963 bad boy Johnny (Sway/e) meets good girl Baby (Grey) and teaches her hip grinding. eventually winning the respect of her parents. Sure it's full of stereotyping. bad dialogue and a pre-teen sugar coated prurience. but 20 years on Dirty I)aneing still has the ability to send a generation of women all gooey. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow:
ET - The Extra-Terrestrial (U) 0.” (Steven Spielberg. US. I982) Dee Wallace—Stone. Ilenry Thomas. Peter Coyote. l20min. Classic fable about a peaceful alien marooned on liarth. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow.
Eragon (PG) oo (Stefen Fangmeier. US, 2006) Edward Speleers. Sienna Guillory. Garrett Hedlund. l()4min. Based on the successful novel by Christopher Paolini. Eragon is the tale of a boy (Spelleers) and his dragon against the evil King Galbatorix (Malkovich). The special effects are impressive but otherwise this is a fairly lame opener for this muted fantasy franchise. Cinew'orld l’arkhead. Glasgow; Empire Clydebank, (.‘Iydebank. Esma’s Secret (Grbavica) (l5) DD” (Jasmila Zbanic, Bosnia. 2005) Mirjana Karanovic. Luna Mijovic. Leon Lucev. 90min. In the years after the Balkan war Iisma (Karanovic) and her daughter (Mijovic) struggle to cope. Proving that Sara's father is a war hero will entitle them to preferential treatment, but can they rewrite history? The past haunts the present in this economical low-key post civil war drama, which delicately investigates the
In preparation for this year’s very promising French Film Festival you may want to check
weight of past traumas and their effect on society. Cameo, Edinburgh.
Factory Girl (15) coo ((ieorge Hickenlooper. US. 2006) Guy Pearce, Sienna Miller. Hayden Christensen. 90min. An lidie Sedgwick biopic that deals with her time at Andy Warhol’s Factory in the mid- l960s. lntriguingly. Hickenlooper focuses on the banality of the experience and seems more concerned with criticising Warhol than probing Sedgwick the icon (a hypnotic Miller). Cineworld Renfrew' Street. Glasgow: Cinew'orld Edinburgh. Edinburgh.
The Family Friend (L’Amico di Famiglia) ( I5) O.” (Paolo Sorrentino. Italy, 2006) Giacomo Rizzo. Fabrizio Bentivoglio. Laura Chiatti, Clara Bindi. l()2min. See review, page 38. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow.
Fast Food Nation (I5) coco (Richard Linklater. US. 2006) Greg Kinnear, Iithan llawke. Bruce Willis.
l l6min. A dramatic interpretation of lirie Schlosser‘s non-fiction expose of the same name. A big name ensemble cast dish the din on the fast food industry a la Super Size Me and Thank You for Smoking. Reviewed next issue. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow:
Ferpect Crime ( l5) coco (Alex de la lglesia. Spain, 2004) Guillenno Toledo, Monica Cervera. l()Smin. A near hysterical farce about crime, blackmail and a light to the death set in the cutthroat world of a high fashion department store. A broad. full-bloodied performance from Toledo makes this well worth staying with. Part of Viva! Spanish and Latin American Film Festival. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow: Film Discussion GroupMcct up with film writer Eddie Harrison and lots of other lilm buffs to swap opinions and perceptions of both art house and big blockbuster recent releases. Held on the second Wednesday of every month. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow:
out Jean-Jacques Zilbermann’s French boarding school-set drama. Daniel Massu (Damien Jouillerot) has the misfortune of having both his parents work at the boarding school he attends. When they force him to become a boarder he learns to hate them and all the authority they stand for. Clearly influenced by both Jean Vigo’s Zéro de Conduite and Lindsay Anderson’s If, Bad Spelling offers an interesting insight into
French private schools of the 19605.
GFT, Glasgow, Mon 9—Thu 12 Apr.