TheStKidaTmes
St Andrew’s Day is marked in Glasgow this year by this multimedia and live music event about the evacuation of St Kilda. Rare archive footage, testimonies from
surviving evacuees and music from guitarist David Allison (whose previous work includes the Island Tapes project) make up this remarkable musical journey. www.myspace.com/thekildatapes
I GFT. Glasgow. Sun 30 Nov. 6.30pm.
Singin’ in The Rain il') .000. (Gene Kelly/Stanley Donen. l7S. l‘)50) (iene Kelly. Donald ()'('onnor. Debbie Reynolds. ('yd ('harisse. l02niin. Hollywood undergoes the transition from the silent era to the talkies and reputations rise and fall. Absolutely wonderful musical entertannnent. with the slickest of snappy dialogue. enduringly catchy numbers. a cast of genuine charisma. and an engaging picture of the industry in transition into the bargain. ()uite splendid. Brimlon ‘I‘ln'uln'. lir/inlmreli.
Somers Town 1 12A) .0. (Shane Meadows. l'K. 2008) Piotr Jttglcllo, 'l‘homas 'l'urgoose. Ireneus/ (‘1op. 77min. ()riginally financed by liurostar as a short film to promote the service’s new terminus at St l’ancras. Meadows' has expanded his brief to tell a \ iv idly drawn story of childhood friendship and to paint a vibrant portrait of a part of the big smoke that's in all likelihood soot) to gentt‘ilied out of existence. I'i/m/inuw. l-{rli'n/nufieli. Something Like Happiness t 15) (Bohden Slama. (’Iech Republic/(ierinany. 2005) 'l‘atiana ViheImova. l’ayel l.iska. Anna (ieislerova. l00inin. 'l‘hree childhood friends grow up in a run-down ('Iech industrial town together and become dangerously embroiled in each othcr's lives. A gently funny and moving portrait of complex and passionate friendships. Part of the Winter liestiyal of (‘entral and liast liuropean Film. l'i/m/muu'. [film/Hugh.
Space Chimps tt') 0. (Kirk De Micco. l'S. 2008) Voices of Andy Samber. (‘heryl llines. Jeff Daniels. 80min. ()n the whim of a sinister senator t'l‘ucci ). llam lll (Samberg) - the circus performer grandson
50 THE LIST 150 Oct 11% Nov 2008
of one of the first chimpan/ces in space is sent into orbit to retrieve a missing satellite. With endless monkey and banana puns and bog-standard animation. Spare ('ln'mps is strictly for easily pleased little ltlonls'eys. St'lt’t’lt't/ l'('/(‘(l\(’.
Space Station 30 it') t'l‘oni Myers. ('anada/l'S. 2003) 47min. Narrated by Tom ('t‘ltise. this big screen l.\l:\X presentation l‘olloyys real aslt'ontttlls into the big blue. Impressive. but not as awesome as it should have been. l.ll.vl.\' T/It'ulrt'. (i/uxguii;
The Stone of Destiny fl’(i) .0 (Charles Martin Smith. ('anada/l'K. 2008) ('harlie (‘ox. Kate Mara. Billy Boyd. ()(nnin. Smith's hysterical. historical heist film gets a Scotland-only release (‘ox plays lan Hamilton. a student who sets out to liberate the Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey and bring in back to
Scotland. A cinematic non-event. devoid of
thrills. excitement and even common sense. \iu' Iz'rlin/mre/i ()uwn. Ifrlin/nu‘gh. Tableau Ferraille 1 IS) .00
(Monssa .Sene Absa. Senegal. l‘)‘)7) lsma'el Lo. Ndcyc l'iatoti Ndaw. 'I‘hierno Ndiaye. ()2min. Senegalese music star Ismael 1.0 plays'l)aam. a liurt)pean-traincd politician caught between the ideals of the West and his local community. llis bind is represented by his relationship with his two wives. the first a dignified village woman. the second wcll-connected and Western-cducated. Part of Africa in Motion. I'i/m/muu'. Iii/in/nujgli.
Taken ( l5) ... tl’icrrc Morel. France. 2008) Liam .\'eeson. Maggie (irace. l-‘amke Jansscn. 93min. Retired l'S secret agent operative Bryan (Neeson) steps into fray when his daughter Kim
((irace). with his ex—wife tJanssen). is 'taken' by sex traffickers on a trip to Paris. A high octane. blood thumping update of Paul Schrader's W79 Hun/wry is every bit as i‘idictilous as it sounds but no less enjoyable for it. with l"rancophile attitude. ('hekhoy ian familial regret. over the top torture and not a fundamentalist Mtislim in sight. St'll’t‘lt't/ release.
The Man who Could Cheat Death t l5) 0.. t'l‘erence l‘isher. l'K. 1959) Anton Diffring. lla/cl (‘ourt. ('hristopher l,ce. 83min. Decent llainmer horror about a doctor who learns the secret of eternal youth: the perpetual renewal of his glands tising substitutes from younger victims. ('(mm), Iii/inburgli.
“N0 Brothers (PG) .0 (Jean- Jacques Annaud. l-‘rance/l'K. 2004) (ill) l’earcc. Jean-(‘laude Dreyfus. l-‘reddie llighmore. ()anh Nguyen. 109mm. 'l‘iger cubs Kumal and Sangha are seperated when legendary merchant Aidan McRory (Pearce) turns up in the Thai jungle to seize some Buddhist statues. Will the brothers be reunited after their many traumas'.‘ Annaud returns to the same territory of his 1988 hit The Bear. with exotic. thrilling and occasionally somnambttlistic effect. This will jtist about keep kids and their parents entertained over its excessive length. (i/usgmv I’I'lm 'I'ln'alrt'. (i/mgmi:
Un Chien Andalou (18) com ll.tlls Bunuel. l’rance. l‘)28) Simone Mareuil. l’ierre Batcheff. Jaimc Mirav illes. Salvador Dali. Luis Bunuel. sundry dead donkeys. 17min. Part of Introduction to liuropean ('inema. I'i/m/mnst'. Edinburgh.
‘3, Violent Summer (Estate
’6‘ Violenta) t l8) 0... (\"alerino /.tirlini . l‘rancc/ltaly. 1950) lileonora
Rossi Drago. Jean-Louis 'l‘rintignant. Jacqueline Sassard. 89min. Wartime love story and political drama set in a seaside town on the Adriatic coast during the summer of 1943. Rich charmer and dreamy lover (’arlo t'l‘rintignant) suffers a crude awakening to the realities of war. Part of '/.urlini season. Glasgow Film 'I'ltt'ull't’. (i/usgon’. The Visitor ( 15) C... (Thomas McCarthy. IS. 2007) Richard Jenkins. llaa/ Sleiman. Danai (iurira. 103mm. Widower Walter Vale (Jenkins) is a grouch. When work sends him to Manhattan. a series of misunderstandings lead him to form a friendship with Syrian drummer 'l‘arek (Sleiman) and his Senegalese girlfriend Zainab ((iurira). l'nderwritten and beautifully performed. The Visitor is a sentimental drama that manages to access a hypnotic rhythm that is both convincing and reassuring. ()(l('()ll.' Bl'tlt'llt'tltf. Rt'rifi't'ii'. Voices of the Bushmen (PG) (Various) 1 l lmin. A spotlight on the Busbmen of Southern Africa. this programme presents two documentaries: Rehad Desai's [ins/intuit 's‘ St't'n'l. documenting struggling traditional healer Jan van der Westhui/en. and (iinger Mauney's Legends oft/iv Bushman. which combines wildlife filmmaking with stories of Namibia's indigenous people. the Bushmen. Part of Africa in Motion. I-‘i/mlinuw. Edinburgh. W 1 l5) .0. (Oliver Stone. l'S. 2008) Josh Brolin. James ('romwell. lili/abeth Banks. 129mm. See review. page 4-1 and profile. page '.".’. (imam! release/rum Fri 7 Nor. The Warlords ( IS) 000 (Peter (‘han. ('hina/llong Kong. 2007) Jet Li. Andy Lau. 'l'akeshi Kaneshiro. 1 12min. See review. page 43. .S'r'lr't‘tt'll I't'lt’uxr'ji‘oni l'hl't 7 No)". The Wave ( IS) 0.. (Dennis (iansel. (iermany. 2008) Jttt‘gen V'ogel. l-‘rederick l.au. Max Riemclt. I07min. A slickly produced examination of how fascism can enter everyday life. The Wave is a peer pressure teen drama where much of the heat comes from above. noticeably Vogel's high school teacher who wonders what will happen if he instils in the kids a few lessons from the Nazi past. (iansel doesn‘t dig too deep. but his well-made youth drama offers a couple of moments of tension come the denouement. (Jim-gnu- I'i/m 'I'ln'uln'. Glasgow. White Palms tli) (Slabolcs llajdu. (‘anada/ Hungary. 2006) Zoltzin Miklos llajdu. (iheorghe Dinica. Kyle Shewfelt. 100mm. Troubled 30-something Hungarian gymnast Miklos Dongo (llajdu) arrives in (’anada after suffering a career- ending injury. He must face the demons of his past. however. before he can start rebuilding his new life as a coach. Part of the ll'at'l festival. (ti-l. (i/uxgun: Without a Trace (Sin Dejar Huella) tli) (Maria .\'ovaro. Spain/Mexico. 2000) 100mm. ()n the run from a drug dealing boyfriend. two women road trip through Mexico and encounter sweatshops in the l.'S border. a migrating population and corrupted agents of the law. In conjunction with the Alum'unxlruvrnin exhibition. (TA. (i/uxgun: Would I Lie to You? (La verite si ie mens) t 12) (Thomas (iilou. l-‘rance. l‘)‘)7) Richard .-\nconina. lilie Kakow. Amira (‘asaiz l00min. 'l‘his hilarious screwball Jewish comedy follows a young drifter without a family through a story of mistaken identity. A huge hit in France. Part of the Jewish Film ('lub. (’(Irl. (i/uxgmi‘. >9: La Zona t IS) 000. (Rodrigo
6 Phi. Mexico. 2007) Daniel (iimene/ (‘ache. Maribel \'erdti. Daniel 'l‘ovar. 95min. 'l‘he titular area is an liden-like gated community in Mexico ('ity with barbed wire atop the perimeter walls. ('("l‘V cameras. and a stretch of surrounding barrios. 'l‘his taut and visually accomplished thriller from l'ruguayan- born director I’la explores what happens when these two polarized worlds collide and an attempted burglary goes fatally wrong. (i/uvemr I‘f/Ill 'I‘In'uln'. (i/mgmi: