DOCUMENTARY HER NAME IS SABINE (12A)_85min e...
As an actress, Sandrine Bonnaire has worked with some illustrious French filmmakers including Maurice Pialat, Agnes Varda, Jacques Rivette and Claude Chabrol. Her Name is Sabine, her own impressive directorial debut, is an intimate and poignant documentary portrait of her 38-year-old autistic sister Sabine.
Clips from old home-movies, shot by Bonnaire show a pretty and vibrant teenaged Sabine, who was then able to play Bach and Chopin on the piano, learn English, and accompany Sandrine on trips to New York and Guadeloupe. However, her erratic behaviour saw her removed from school, and when her siblings grew up and left home, her actions became increasingly disruptive and self destructive. A disastrous five-year spell in a psychiatric hospital followed, where she was ‘treated’ with antipsychotic drugs, stints of solitary confinement and straightjackets.
Now Sabine lives in a residential centre in the Charente, which her famous sister helped set up. Here carers respectfully look after her and the other residents, and it’s at this group home that Sandrine patiently observes her daily existence. Through cutting between present and past we appreciate Sabine’s tragic loss of independence and how her personality has been stifled. Physically the patient is almost unrecognizable from her younger incarnation: she is now obese, sluggish and struggles with basic physical tasks. She repeatedly asks Sandrine the same question, ‘Are you coming to visit tomorrow?’ reflecting her profound fear of abandonment. In a particularly moving moment, she views footage of her adolescent trip on Concorde and burst into tears — of joy. And whilst this film quietly expresses Bonnaire’s profound love for her sibling, it also poses important broader questions about how society should care for those suffering from debilitating behavioural conditions. (Tom Dawson)
I GFT, Glasgow from Fri 22-Mon 25 Aug.
28 THE LIST 21 Aug—4 Sep 2008
DRAMA BUDDHA COLLAPSED OUT OF SHAME
(PG) 81 min on
Teenage Hana Makhmalbaf. the youngest of the Iranian filmmaking family that comprises famous father Mohsen (Kandahar). mother Mar/rel) (Stray Dogs) and sister Samira (At Five in the Afternoon). follows in the footsteps of her relations to make a film about life in war—ravaged Afghanistan. Havrng prevrously directed the enjoyable documentary Joy of Madness (about her sister's experiences making At Five in the Afternoon) \rvhen she was leSl 1‘1»- years-old. Hana here makes her dramatic debut wrth a contemporary fable written by her mother,
The srrnple story revolves around the efforts of a poor srx-year-old Afghan grrl named Bakhtay (Nikbakht Noru/i to get herself an education. But poverty and male attitudes towards women conspire to keep her out o" school. and outside it the wilful tyke is brutally bullied by local boys posing as Taliban fighters and the occupying US Army. The terrible funny games the boys play on the girl — forcing her to wear a bag over be." head. digging her grave. etc ~ are rel)resentative of the oppression of Afghan women across their country This is under'lzned by the setting of the film - the town of Bamiyan. where in 200) the Taliban destroyed a number of ancient Buddha statues they deemed to be rdolatrous images.
It's an admirable attempt to dramatrse the plight of women and children in Afghanistan. although the script is a brt too didactic and the direction somewhat uneven. Still. rt remains a remarkable £1(2lll()\.'()lll(}lli for the tE)-year~old Makhmalbaf.
(Miles FIUMOI') I Cameo. Fdrnhurgh. out new; (3/57. Glasgow from Tue .96 Thu 98 Aug.
lllltll l l H HORROR THE STRANGERS (15) 85min .0.
COMEDY STEP BROTHERS (15) 97min .00
'Families is where our nation finds hope. where wrngs take dream' is the George W Bush quotation which opens new Will Ferrell comedy Step Brothers. Such crude expression sets the tone for a sporat‘lically funny but generally gross comedy in which Ferrell (as both writer and performer) attempts to eschew the sport parodies of Blades of Glory. Tallageda Nights and Semi-Pro in favour of manchild clowning of Old School.
Step Brothers pairs Ferrell with his Talladega Nights co—star John C Reilly as Brennan and Dale. two grown men who despite pushing 40 are still living at home. An unlikely twilight romance between their parents ilvlary Steenbur‘gen and Richard Jenkins) brings them together, leading the step brothers to repel each other then team up to form an alliance.
T his tasteless comedy opens with Ferrell delvrng both hands into his trousers. After that. Step Brothers leaves no gross out moment uncharted. including a close up shot of Brennan's scrotum being laid on Dale's drum-kit. a bathmat used in lieu of toilet paper. and the licking of dog excrement off the l)Zt\/()lll(}lll.
Anyone up for scatologrcal detail will enjoy Step Brothers. with Ferrell's co— wrrtei' and producer Judd Apatow likely responsible for the sexual frankness. But for all it's enthusiasm for poop humour. Step Brothers seems to be a Juvenile and retrograde step for the talent iri\.rolved.
(Eddie Harrison) I General release from Fri 29 Aug.
Even in 2008. sleeper hits (low budget. low forecast films that become box office hits) still happen. Take writerdirector Bryan Bertino's taut thriller The Strangers which cost ten million dollars to make (a paltry amount in today's marketr and grossed five times that in the US alone. It's a simple urban horror story likely to repeat such good business in every territory except i r‘ance. where it'll be instantly recognised as a unacknowletlged rip off of their 2006 domestic hit lrs
(The/iii.
Without ruining the material in the same way as US remake of The Vanishing did. Bertino's take is considerably more melodramatic. After a shrill narrator announces ‘What you are about to see is inspired by true events. According to the FBI. there are an estimated 1 31 million yiolent crimes in America each year." The Strangers then focuses on the turbulent romance between Kristen (Liv Tyler) and aspiring beau .James (Scott Speediiian) who retire to a country house to lick therr wounds after“ she rejects his wedding proposal. On arrivai. they find themselves teased. tormented and eventually tortured by three unknown assailants. whose identities are orin revealed in the last few moments.
The Str.’inge/s deserves its cult status by offering straight. serious chills combined wrth an impressive directorial turn by Bertino who whips up an atmosphere of foreboding and growrng unease. (Eddie Harrison)
I General release from Fri ()5) Aug.