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Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Paul Dale ✽ Indicates Hitlist entry
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of The Desert (18) ●●●●● (Stephan Elliott, Australia, 1994) Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce. 104min. Two transvestites and a transsexual team up for a trip across the Australian outback for a drag show in Alice Springs. Serious issues pop up from time to time, but the emphasis is on the camp humour and outrageous musical set- pieces. A World AIDS Day charity screening. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby (U) ●●●●● (John Henderson, UK, 2005) Oliver Golding, James Cosmo, Greg Wise, Christopher Lee. 104min. In 1858, John Gray died and his faithful terrier guarded his grave in Edinburgh’s Greyfriars Kirk for 14 years. This is a whimsical fiction involving dogcatchers, cute orphans and conniving councillors. It’s effective as children’s entertainment, and adults will enjoy seeing the likes of Lee and O’Hanlon being upstaged by the wee Westie impostor. Cineworld Parkhead, Glasgow.
✽ Ano Una (15) ●●●●● (Jonás Cuarón, Mexico, 2007) Eireann Harper,
Diego Cataño, Emilia Garcia. 78min. See review, page 44. Cameo, Edinburgh.
✽ The Approach (PG) ●●●●● (Raymond Depardon, France, 2001)
88min. The first film in photographer turned documentary filmmaker Depardon’s transcendent trilogy, filmed over eight years, chronicling the lives of farmers living in the mountain valleys of Lozere, Ardeche and Haute-Loire. Part of Illuminations festival. See preview, page 43. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
✽ The Baader Meinhof Complex (18) ●●●●● (Uli Edel,
Germany/France/Czech Republic, 2008) Moritz Bleibtreu, Martina Gedek, Johanna Wokalek. 149min. Based on the Stefan Aust’s Der Spiegel, this is a compelling and engrossing attempt to explain the trajectory and the political position of arguably the most incoherent post-war European terrorist group – The Red Army Faction. Selected release. Badlands (15) ●●●●● (Terrence Malick, US, 1973) Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek. 94min. Rarefied, lyrical US filmmaker Terrence Malick’s stunning and mega- influential 1973 crime spree drama is brought back to life in a beautiful new 35mm print. Cameo, Edinburgh. Bigga Than Ben: A Russian’s Guide to Ripping Off London (15) ●●●●● (S A Halewood, UK, 2007) Ben Barnes, Andrei Chadov, Ovidiu Matesan. 85min. Allegedly based on the diary of a young Moscovite who came to London in the late 1990s, Bigga Than Ben is, for the majority of its running time, a distracting black comedy. Cobakka (Barnes) and Spiker (Chadov) are a couple of Russian wide boys who, on arrival in Britain, quickly learn the beauty of cashback, shoplifting and smoking crack, but as their friendship breaks down, any emotion felt towards these self-proclaimed racist scumbags quickly dissolves. Cameo, Edinburgh. Blindness (18) ●●●●● (Fernando Meirelles, Canada/Brazil/Japan, 2008) Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Danny Glover. 121min. Brazilian filmmaker Meirelles’ adaptation of José Saramago’s novel about the impact of a blindness epidemic on a city. Meirelles has reduced the story to be more about the plight of a doctor and his wife (Ruffalo and Moore) who are forced into quarantine when the doctor loses his sight. Stark and flawed attempt at fin de siècle sci-fi. Selected release. Body of Lies (15) ●●●●● (Ridley Scott, US, 2008) Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Alon Abutbul. 128min. CIA operative Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) is trying to track down terrorist mastermind Al Salim (Abutbul). His investigations take him from Iraq to Jordan with stop offs at any other Islamic country possibly capable of harbouring terrorist cells. Overlong,
Index Film
Rebel Without A Cause/Badlands on adolescent angst and Terrence Malick’s 1973 love stuck killers-on-the-run drama remains generically unsurpassed or unequalled. A fine afternoon will be had by all. ■ Cameo, Edinburgh, Sun 30 Nov. Fantastic double bill. Nicholas Ray’s iconic 1955 melodrama starring James Dean is still one of the great cinematic essays
unnecessarily convoluted thriller adapted from a novel by David Ignatius. General release. Burn After Reading (15) ●●●●● (Ethan Coen/Joel Coen, US/UK/France, 2008) George Clooney, John Malkovich, Brad Pitt. 95min. Foul-mouthed CIA analyst Osbourne (Malkovich) quits his job after being demoted. Across town at Osbourne’s gym, slow-witted employees Chad (Pitt) and Linda (McDormand) happen upon one of his discs. A shaggy, punctured tyre blackmail thriller entails with the requisite outbreaks of shock tactic violence and absurdist plotting. Selected release. Can Dialectics Break Bricks? (E) ●●●●● (Kuang-chi Tu/René Viénet, France, 1973) Voices of Raoul Curet, Jacques Thébault, Michèle Grellier. 90min. Funny and oddly illuminating film in which old black and white Chinese martial arts footage is dubbed in French with new dialogue about situationist principles. ACE, Edinburgh.
✽ Changeling (15) ●●●●● (Clint Eastwood, US, 2008) Angelina Jolie, Gattlin Griffith, John Malkovich. 141min. See feature, page 20 and review, page 46. General release. The Children (15) ●●●●● (Tom Shankland, UK, 2008) Eva Birthistle, Raffiella Brooks, Stephen Campbell Moore. 84min. See review, page 45. Selected release from Fri 5 Dec. Children of Winter Never Grow Old (E) (Warren Miller, US, 2008) 90min. Extreme skiing feature. Expect huge airs, deep powder and an emotive sound track from the likes of Radiohead and Beck. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow; Dominion, Edinburgh. Choke (18) ●●●●● (Clark Gregg, US, 2008) Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly MacDonald. 92min. Unrepentant sex addict Victor (Rockwell) cons money in restaurants by pretending to choke on his food. His only act of charity is to visit his dementia-besieged mother (Huston) at a private clinic. One day Dr Marshall (MacDonald) suggests a radical new treatment for his mother, one that will force Victor to face up to his past. A respectfully offensive adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s hilarious and sordid 2001 novel. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow; Cineworld Edinburgh, Edinburgh. The Circle (Dayereh) (PG) ●●●●● (Jafar Panahi, Iran/Italy, 2001) Fereshteh Sadr Orafaei, Narges Mamizadeh Razlighi. 91min. Through a series of quotidian incidents, Panahi (The White Balloon) presents a devastating yet profoundly empathetic portrait of Muslim women’s stunted lives in Iran. United by discrimination, hypocrisy, courage and resilience, the women bravely denying their second-class status. Part of Universal Declaration of Human Rights Film Series. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Citizen Havel (12A) ●●●●● (Miroslav Janek & Pavel Koutecky, Czech Republic, 2008) 119min. Following the 1992 split of Czechoslovakia, political dissident and
outspoken essayist Vaclav Havel became the first president of the Czech Republic. Filmed over ten years, this subtle documentary provides a considered insight into Czech politics and the influence of Havel. Part of Winter Festival of Central and East European Film. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. College Road Trip (U) ●●●●● (Roger Kumble, US, 2008) Martin Lawrence, Raven-Symone, Brenda Song. 83min. Kumble’s family-comedy-drama focuses on trust issues between high-flying teen Melanie (Raven-Symone) and her over- protective father (Lawrence). When Melanie decides she wants to check out the universities in which she might pursue her academic career, Porter decides to be her an uninvited escort, provoking predictable father-daughter disagreements and leading to obvious resolutions. Cineworld Parkhead, Glasgow; Cineworld Edinburgh, Edinburgh. Conversations with my Gardener (12A) ●●●●● (Jean Becker, France, 2007) Daniel Auteuil, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Fanny Cottençon. 108min. Successful Parisian painter (Auteuil) returns to the rural childhood home he has inherited in southern France and places an advert for a gardener. The first applicant (Darroussin) turns out to have been an old school friend and they talk freely about their respective life experiences. Adapted from Henri Cueco’s novel, this intimate two-hander might seem slight on paper, but it’s a surprisingly moving study of male friendship. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow; Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
✽ Daily Life (PG) ●●●●● (Raymond Depardon, France, 2005) 83min. The second documentary in Depardon’s trilogy, filmed over eight years, depicts French farmers and their struggle to survive under pressure from the EU, large farming conglomerates and disinterest from younger generations. This screening will be followed by Depardon’s homage to the farm where he grew up, short film What’s New in the Garet?. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Dance on Screen (E) (Various) 90min. A programme of historical films examining the relationship between dance, movement and the camera. In association with the Goethe Institut Glasgow, Dance on Screen present Kurt Jooss’ ballet The Green Table and a reconstruction of Oskar Schlemmer’s 1920s experimental Bauhaus ballet, The Triadic Ballet. CCA, Glasgow. David Allison: The St Kilda Tapes (PG) (Various, UK, 2008) 90min. Singer/songwriter and acoustic guitarist extraordinaire, playing live over footage from the Scottish Film Archive. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Desert of the Tartars (Il Deserto dei Tartari) (15) ●●●●● (Valerio Zurlini, Italy/France/Iran/West Germany, 1976) Vittorio Gassma, Giuliano Gemma, Helmut Griem. 150min. Zurlini’s final film, an adaptation of Dino Buzzati’s novel, was shot entirely within the two thousand year- old Persian citadel of Bam. Focusing on periods of inaction and conflated bureaucracy mostly neglected by
filmmakers in the examination of war, Zurlini’s 1907-set film stars Jacques Perrin as Drogo, a lieutenant assigned to an isolated fortress on the edge of the desert. This enigmatic, slow, bombastic and unforgettable film is a fitting swan song for this unique director. Part of Zurlini retrospective. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Diamonds Were Forever: Celebrating Glasgow Steam (PG) (Eddie McConnell, UK) 55min. The history of the North British Locomotive Company of Springburn, Glasgow, including scenes of the legendary 1911-built wood burning engines of Paraguay and a steam rally in Melbourne. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. ECAP/ACE Cinema Special (E) (, UK, Various) 90min. Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty and Autonomous Centre Edinburgh cinema special featuring a screening of special issue video magazine Despite the Poll Tax, and commentated footage from recent ECAP actions. ACE, Edinburgh. 81/2 (15) ●●●●● (Federico Fellini, Italy, 1963) Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimee. 138min. Mastroianni plays a filmmaker plagued by intellectual insecurity and Catholic guilt as a weird selection of actresses, financiers, writers and hucksters dog his every move. Part of Introduction to European Cinema course. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Easy Virtue (PG) ●●●●● (Stephan Elliott, UK, 2008) Jessica Biel, Colin Firth, Kristin Scott Thomas. 97min. England, the 1920s. Dashing young socialite Whittaker (Barnes) returns to his ancestral pile with his spunky new American wife Larita (Biel). Their family home is a hotbed of dysfunction, xenophobia and bankruptcy, and it’s not long before all hell breaks out in this loose and disappointing adaptation of Noel Coward’s little known 1924 play. Selected release.
scottishoperau26.org.uk 27 Nov–11 Dec 2008 THE LIST 47