www.list.co.ukltilm
Kandahar (Poi coco (Molisen Makhmalbat. lran/l'ranee. 2001i Neloter l’a/ira. llassari 'l‘antaoe. Sadou 'l’eymouri. 84min. Kandahar (based on the life story of l’a/ira) is the story of an Afghan exrle. Nafas, who returns to Afghanistan to find her surcidal sister. 'lhe sister has sunk into depression under the Taliban's oppression of women. Don't expect good production values (though there is some extraordinary visual poetry). nor professional performances Makhmalbat and Hum filmed on the hoof with a stary irig crew. lixpect a film that's deeply iiioy mg and disturbing and uplifting. lzxpect a film about 'laliban-niled Afghanistan that's barely fietiorialised at all, Part of Reel Afghanistan season. I'llmlioau'. lzrlin/mrglr. Kala-Hana (tbc) (Shinp Soomai. Japan. 2000) Kyoko KUI/Ullll. ('hoei 'lakahashi.
l l(iinin. Slow moving road movie about a young business man who wakes up under a blossoming cherry tree with a hangover a woman he doesn't know. Part of contemporary Japanese film season. I'll/IthlMl’, Edinburgh.
Kings 0! the Road ( I5) coco (Wim Wenders, (iermany. l‘)7(i) Rudiger Vogler. Bruno (ianl. l7(iinin. A businessman escaping from his domestic resrxiiisibilitres joins up with a travelling cinema equipment repairman in an odyssey round the niral movie houses of (ierinariy. 'lhis seminal road movie more than bears comparison with its American models. the episodic narrative and bleak monochrome cinematography emanating an almost palpable sense of despair. Highly recommended. Part of Wenders season. I’llmhouse. Edinburgh.
The Kite Runner( 12A) coco (Marc Forster. US. 2007) Khalid Abdalla. lihsari Anian. Vsevolod Bardashev. 128mm. (iripping and moving adaptation of the novel by Khaled llosseirii, about two boys whose ordinary lives become caught up in Afghanistan's tumultuous politics. (ilasgow' Film lltr'ulrr', Glasgow“.
The Lady Vanishes (2008) (ti) 0... (Alfred Hitchcock. UK. 2008) Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave. Dame May Whitty. 95min. Hitchcock‘s wonderfully entertaining pan-liurorwan railway thriller feels as fresh today as it
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riiust haye back in the aprx'aseriierit years (it/rim). lit/(Ill’llrgll
Land of Plenty ( (Sim (\htlll Wcridcrs. IS. 200% Michelle Williams. John l)iehl Wrm Weriders' take on post 0 l 1 America l’art of W etiders season Iilnilrouyr', lulurliiugli
The Magnificent Seven (l’( i! .0000 (John Sturges. l'S. l‘thi Yul llrynner. Stcyc McQueen. Jatncs ( ‘oburri. lalr Wallac h l2(iiiirii l'.yer popular Hollywood remake of Kurosawa's Srirn Samurai has llryririer and co hired to saye a Mexican y rllage trorii the uriwelcoriie attentions ot Wallach's bandits l’art ol l’rrnt the legend Irlnilioau. I'J/thll’L‘ll
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (l'i em (John l-ord. l'S. l‘loli John Wayne. James Stewart. l.ee Mary iii ll-lmiri In this. John l'ord‘s lament to the passing of the conyeiitioiial troiitier Western. Senator Ransom Stoddard (Stewart) returns to the town of Shinbouriie to mourn (or an old cowboy friend The Senator their faces .i barrage of questioning with regard to his success as a politician due to his slay mg of the highwayiiiari liberty Valance (Mary llll Part of Print the legend l-ilni/rorm'. Izrlrnlmreli.
Manhattan ( l5) 0.... (Woody Allen. l'S. l‘)7l)) Woody Allen. l)rarie Keaton. Mariel lleriirrigway. ‘)(iiiiiri. Woody wanders through the female (tingle of New York iii search of a perlect soulriiate alter the demise of his riiarriage. Sublime comic delight w itli a soulful (let‘shwin score (ilayeou I-rlnr 'I'lieam'. (ilaycoii:
Margot at the Wedding ( iii 0. (Noah llaumbach. 2007. [St Nicole Kidmaii. Jennifer Jason l.eigh. Jack lllaek. 02min. Sec rey'iew. page 40. ('rni'ii'orlil Rut/ms Streel. (ilasgow .' (‘ineworlil Izrlrnlmreli. lzilrn/im'eli. May 68, a Fine Piece of Work (Jean l.uc Magrieron. l'ittllL‘t‘. 3003) 52mm. l)ocuriientatioii of the May ‘(ix student riots with various celebrity testimonies. Part of French l’ilm season. (ilayeow' I‘rlnr I'liearn'. (ilaygmi‘.
Michael Clayton ( Ht .0 ('l'ony (illroy. [78. 2007) (ieorge ('looney. Sean (‘ullen. Tilda Swinton. Tom Wilkinson.
l l‘hnin. Nonsense conspiracy thriller. .Y/llHt't‘th’ (.llu'lml. ('Utllltl'lllg'r'. (lluag’mr .‘ .S'lioin'ase ('(nema. I’atylc'y'. l’(ll.\lt’\'.
‘Get off your horse and drink your milk’ with this great selection of westerns both old and
new. Highlights include John Sturges’ The Magnificent Seven, Fred Zimmerman's High Noon, Clint Eastwood’s High Plains Drifter and Unforgiven, Sam Peckinpah’s remarkable epic Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, and of course John Ford's The Searchers. This season of films is running in conjunction with the Myth of the West exhibition at the Fruitmarket Gallery. www.fruitmarket.co.uk
I Fr/mhouse, Edinburgh from Sun 9 Mar.
52 THE LIST 28 Feb—13 Mar 2008
The Milk Woman ( IS: ( -\kir.i ( )gata. Japan. .‘(ll‘rYuko lariaka. lttoku ls'ishibc. -\kiko \rshrria II‘mrri local riiilk worrian Miiiakw laiiakai lryes a quiet lite delryering iiirlk. working iii the supermarket and readrrrg her many books at night We terminally ill
w rte ol .i local couric rl eriiployec suspects that \lrriako and her husband liaye an (iriresolycd attraction to each other It is the wite's dying wish that this is resolyed and the couple theretore lace the eriiotroriil trial of putting aside ‘0 years ot denial l'art ot coiiterriimrary Japanese filrrr season lilnilionu. ltlrnlriugli
""00 in May( l‘i C... (I ours Malle. l'raricc. l‘lS‘li Michel l’iccoli. Mioii Mrotr. Michel lhrcliaussoy ltiSiiiin ()ri a raiiiblrrig estate in the South of l'rance .i satyr like old reprobatc. l’rccoli. is in tor .i prolonged bout ot domestic discord when the rrieiiibers of his bickering tamily come together to sort out grandma's will. exacerbated by worrisome news trorii I‘loS l’arrs l'aicical but fascinating portrait ot the french lmurgeoisre at a time of great social upheayal Part of l‘lt'ltc'lt l‘llllt l‘t‘Sll\.tl (ilayeow Iilnr Ilrt'arn'. (rlilyg'rtti
The Misfits ( l’(ii C... (John Huston. [8. Not t Marilyn Monroe. ('lark liable. Moritgoriiery (’lilt. ll-lriim lleayeri knows what mood persisted on the set of sombre Western. as it ended tip being the last film for both Monroe and ( iable. while ('litt too was iii something of a decline. despite his superb perloriiiarice (iable plays a cowboy who comes across diyorcee Monroe when she‘s tr'eeirig captiye horses w itli disillusioned rodeo rider ('litt. Arthur Miller's intelligent script is a character study set as dusk falls on the ( )ld West. Story/nan Screening Room. larlrnlml‘glr.
Mr Bean’s Holiday ( l’(it co (siest- lleiidelack. l'ls'. 2007i Rowan Atkinson. Willem l)aloe. S‘lmiri. Wordless misfit Mr Bean (Atkinson) goes to the french Riy rera and becomes eiisnared m a broad liuropeaii adyenture. A silly. occasionally luririy. mildly \eriophobic slapstick feature. Jacques 'l‘ati did It so much better. (ll/It’llfll'ltl I’d/'Un'ml. (ilasgow .' ('(neworlil lzilinliurgli. lzilrnlmrglr. Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (l') 0. (Zach llelm. l’S. 3007i Natalie l’ortiiian. Zach Mills. Dustin Hoffman. ‘Miiiiri. Molly .‘ylahoney (l’ortinarii is the awkward and insecure manager of Mr Magoriuiii’s Wonder limporruiii. the strangest and most fantastic toy store in the world. llut when Mr Magoriuiii bequeaths the store to her. a dark and ominous change comes oy er the liniporiurii. Besides the irresistible high of seeing l’ortiiiaii finding her witchcraft. nothing has much resonance here. It's all bright surfaces with nothing beliriid them. and the result is flat and incoiisequential. l’m' Iz'ilinliurglr Urea/i. l-jrliiilmrgli.
My Blueberry Nights ( IZAi co
(Wong ls'aivwar. llong Kong/('lirria/l"rance. 3007i Norah Jones. Jude Law. Day rd Strathairn. 05mm. Kar-wai's first lziiglish language film flounders in the road moer genre. What there is of a plot iriyolyes Mancunian waiter Jeremy (l.aw'i meeting mysterious stranger lili/abcth (Joiiesi in his New York diner before she trayels from last to West to learn about loye. Things get interesting w itli some awkward domestic situations. but the subtleties of the screenplay are lost in deliyery. Slirii pickings for fans of this master filriiiiiaker. Seln ml rr'lc'au'.
My Country, My Country ( l'.i (Laura l’ortras. l'S. 200m 90min. This film documents the logistic preparations for Iraq's national elections which were held in January 3005. It focuses on the anxreties of the IN. l'S. Australian and local personnel and also follows l)r Riyadh. a Sunni physician who practices at the Adhamiy a liree ('lrnrc. .'l( 'l'.. litlr'nlm/jeli.
Nancy Drew (Hit 0 (Andrew l‘lemrng. l'S. 2007i l'.ttittia Roberts. Josh l'lrttcr. Ma\ 'l‘hieriot. Rachael Leigh (‘ook ‘J‘Jllllll. llasty update of the yenerable teenage guiiishoe franchise. in which lilcming
uiiw iscly attempts to ramp up the charm of (‘arolyn Kcene's old-fashioned gal by throwing her into glit/y tnoderrt'day LA, Despite the perks of a polished studio production. Nancy Drew feels unformed. hollow and yaeuoUs. lint/rife (lulu/rank. (‘lyrleliank
National Treasure: Book of Secrets (l‘tit 0. (Jon lurteltatrbl S. _‘00‘i Justin llartha. ly llurrell. Nicolas (age l.‘~1nirri l \charige the religious subplot troiri Ilrr Ila lin. 1 (oil: with some spurious blather about the history of the l S (‘onstrtutron and you hay c the \U\ cesstul torriiula tor the \arronar’ Inaxrm franchise lhe second iristalriicnt has adyenturer lleii ( iates (l'agct chasing around \arious worldwide tourist traps while (lmlgrng the attentions of his riyal Mitch Wilkinson (llarrisi (retinal nleaw No Country tor Old Men ( Ifii mo (Joel l-thari ('oeii.l S, 3007i Jayrer llardeiri. Josh llrolin. lselly Macdoriald l.‘.‘riiiri l‘lie (‘ocri llrothers return to form with this adaptation ot (‘ormat Mct ‘arthy ‘s iioyel
W hen l lewelyri Moss ( lliolriii takes a baglul of cash trorii .r drug deal that goes wrong he sets otl .i c liairi ot eyerits that lead psycho killer ('higrirh (proriouiic ed sugar t to yow to do anything to get the money back l‘hough based on Mc(‘.iitliy 's least interesting iioyel. the ('oeris riiibrie this simple tale with their trademark quirkiriess arid wry humour (it’llr'lill I(‘l('(l\('
N0 One's Arlu IM (Nobuliiro Yarnashita. Japan. 3002i lliioslii Yairiaiiioto. lotioko Kotcra. Yuko llosoe llliiiiii After spending seyeral years in lokyo racking (ip huge debts. l)aisuke (Yaiiiariiotoi returns to his quret hometown yillage with his girltrieiid llisako (Koterai 'l‘hc pair siiake their way through the \ rllage atteriiptirig to sell .r hideous health drink called Akairru arid siriiultaiieously uricoyeiiiig a barrage of sriiall towri reseiitinent 'l'ouchirigly low key. this huriiorotrs film prollers two eytraordinarily odd characters helplessly clinging to a shattered dream of free enterprise l’art of conteiiipoiary Japanese lilrii season l'rl/nlroayi'. laminae/i
The Other Boleyn Girl ( 13m” (Jtistiii ('hadwick. l'ls'. 2008i Natalie l’ortiiiaii. Scarlett Joliaiissoii. laric llaiia
l l5iiirii See reyiew, page 47 (it'ltr'lul /('/('(I\('. from ['11 7 Mar
Over Her Dead Body ( I3.-\ l 00
(Jeff I.owell. l'S. 3003i l'.ya l.ongoiia l’arker. Paul Rudd. lake llell ‘Mrmn. When his fiancee Kate (l.oiigoria Parker) is killed on their wedding day. lleriry (Paul Rudd) finds limiselt falling for psychic Ashley (llelli. Kate's angry ghost then haunts Ashley. [his is a pale. hysterical and oyer'ly scheiriatic retread of Noel ('oward's lilitlir' .Y/lll'll .X'i'ln ml I'l'll’llAl'.
Oxbridge Blues ( llAi (Richard Stroud. l'K. Irish Susan Sarandon. llarry l)erineri 80min. ltpisode (He'll .Yi’i' You Now i lrolii llll(‘ umyersrty drama shown in tribute to the great screenwriter l'redcric Raphael l’art (il Aye Wrrtel (ilayeow I'll/It 'I'lii'am’. (ilaygow Penelope (l'i .0” (Mark l’alanski. l'ls'll 'S. 200m ('hristina chci. James McAyoy. ('atheriiie ()‘llara X‘hiiin. With her moneyed background and good sense of humour l’cnelope (Riccii should haye been a bit of a catch. Sadly. she has a pig's snout tor a nose. and. not only do her swinish leatures send the boys running. they also confine her to dating the landed gentry. l’r‘m'ltrln' is characterised by its subtlety. rejecting easy plot turns and .Y/rrek-esque pop culture coriimeritary. its iiidiy'iduality and intelligence making it a bit of a hybrid lreak. (ir'm'ral release.
Pickpocket (Pt ii .000. (Robert llresson. l‘rance. lllfilll Martin laSallc. Marika (lreen. Jean l’clegrr. Dolly Scal. 70min. ()ne of llressori‘s most popular films. shot on the teeming streets of Paris aml inspired by l)ostoyey sky 's (rum and I'aniilrnienl. It's all about an isolated young man who aspires to challenge society and himself through daring criminal acts. l-antastic. A film introduced by Jean-Michel l'rodon. editor of (alarm (lu cinema. who will host a post-film discussion. I'llIIl/lllll.\('. Edinburgh.
Pillow Talk (l’(ii coo (Michael (lordon. lTS. WSW Rock Hudson. Doris Day. l03miri. Brad (Hudson) is a songwriter. Jan is an interior designer. They get together through a series of misunderstandirigs. but millionaire Jonathan l‘orhes ('l‘oiiy Randall), who harbours an obsession with Jan. isn‘t happy about it. Fruity. carin as hell Day/Hudson \‘CthlC. ()ne of their best. Scotsman Screening Room. lulrnhurgh.