Film Index FILMS OF THE YEAR
The List Film Editor Paul Dale chooses his films of the year. If the cinema is the panic room of those too socially ill equipped to deal with the woes of the world, then 2008 has certainly been a year for putting things in context. From the collapse of the free markets to the election of a black man as president of the US, cinema going as a cerebral or leisure pursuit has never seemed less important but more necessary.
For me, most of the highlights of 2008 came in the form of digital print re-issues of films from the 20th century, with Wim Wenders’ magical Alice and the Cities, Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes and The 39 Steps and Bertolucci’s still stunning The Conformist reassuring me that maybe this has not been a life wasted in the dark.
Of the new releases there was
certainly some gold in the sludge. Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood enigmatically displaced Welles’ Kane in the oilfields of California, Cristian Mungiu’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days proved again that Romania must be a tax haven for the most natural filmmakers in the world; Juno was sweet and made me titter. Irish filmmaker Lenny Abrahamson’s deeply affecting Garage proved that 2004’s Adam and Paul was no fluke, while Jeff Nichols’ Shotgun Stories (pictured) reminded me that outside of the US mainstream, works of raw and meditative beauty are still being wrought.
The biopic (of one kind or
another) came of age, with Steve McQueen’s stunning Hunger, Julian Schnabel’s The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, German epic The Baader-Meinhof Complex, Czech master Jirí Menzel’s I Served the King of England and Ang Lee’s remarkable Lust, Caution. All left me humbled by the lives of others.
2008 was also a good year for documentaries – Barbet Schroeder’s Terror’s Advocate and James Marsh’s Man on Wire are exceptionally fine exercises in form and debate while Young@Heart had me crying like a baby.
60 THE LIST 11 Dec 2008–8 Jan 2009
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (12) ●●●●● (Rouben Mamoulin, US, 1932) Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart, Holmes Herbert, Halliwell Hobbes, Edgar Norton, Tempe Pigott. 98min. Classic adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella, which focuses on Jekyll’s attempts to separate the good and evil natures of man. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Earth (La Terra) (15) ●●●●● (Sergio Rubini, Italy, 2006) Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Paolo Briguglia, Massimo Venturiello. 112min. In this gangster comedy, Luigi Di Santo (Bentivoglio) returns home to the Southern Italian region of Puglia and his Mafia heritage. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Elf (PG) ●●●●● (Jon Favreau, US, 2003) Will Ferrell, James Caan, Edward Asner. 96min. Buddy (Ferrell) is a big Elf who, though accepted in his Elvish community in the North Pole, manages to wreak havoc on a daily basis. Fed up and confused by his charge, Papa Elf (Bob Newhart) sends him to the US in search of his true identity. Hilarious and puerile Yuletide comedy from the star of Swingers. Schools screening. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Emmanuel Jal: War Child (15) ●●●●● (C Karim Chrobog, US, 1008) 93min. Seven-year-old Sudanese refugee Emmanuel Jal fought alongside some of the estimated 10,000 child soldiers in the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army. Now in his twenties, Jal, a rising African hip-hop star, campaigns for peace. Part of Illuminations documentary festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Express (PG) ●●●●● (Gary Fleder, US, 2008) Rob Brown, Dennis Quaid, Justin Martin. 129min. Turgidly sentimental biopic of Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy (a collegiate football trophy) that’s every bit as worthy and emotionally manipulative as you would expect. Selected release.
✽✽ Far North (15) ●●●●● (Asif Kapadia, UK/France, 2007) Michelle
Yeoh, Michelle Krusiec, Sean Bean. 89min. See review, page 54. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Fear(s) of the Dark (12A) ●●●●● (Various, France, 2007) 85min. The Gallic term ‘outre’, meaning beyond or excessive, perfectly describes this imaginatively conceived and immaculately executed French language portmanteau horror. Paris-based producers commissioned six cartoonists and animators to make five short films that exploit our dread of the gloom. The film features an 18th century Marquis who hunts children and a blood-splattered Japanese anime concerning a girl who’s terrorised by the ghost of a dead samurai. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Football Under Cover (PG) (David Assmann/Ayat Najafi, Germany/Iran, 2008) 86min. The Berlin amateur ladies football team travels to Tehran to play the first female match in the history of Iran. After a year of battling bureaucracy, the Iranian Women’s International Team finally play the German team before a crowd of hundreds of cheering women. Part of Illuminations documentary festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Four Christmases (12A) ●●●●● (Seth Gordon, US/Germany, 2008) Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, Kristin Chenoweth. 88min. Another year, another Christmas comedy starring Vaughn. This time he’s teamed up with Witherspoon for a likeably silly comedy about divorced parents and the pressure of yuletide family gatherings. General release. Fred Claus (PG) ●●●●● (David Dobkin, US, 2007) Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Rachel Weisz, Kathy Bates. 116min. Vaughn trades heavily on his wise guy charm as the dysfunctional Fred, in this overlong Christmas offering. Recently released from prison, Fred goes to stay with his big brother Nick (Giamatti) who turns out to be jolly Saint Nick himself. Brotherly feuding ensues until eventually the importance of fraternal bonding shines through. Real life misunderstood siblings are trotted out to unfunny effect, and seeing Vaughn and Giamatti labouring with such crude slapstick set-ups is enough to make a Scrooge out of anyone. Selected release.
Glyndebourne Opera House: Cinderella (PG) (Various, UK, 2008) Ruxandra Donose, Maxim Mironov. 175min. A recording of Rossini’s comic opera Cinderella, starring Donose in the title role, with Mironov as her Prince Charming. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow.
✽✽ Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr Hunter S Thompson (15)
●●●●● (Alex Gibney, US, 2008) 119min. See review, page 56. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. The Great Escape (U) ●●●●● (John Sturges, US, 1962) Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough. 173min. The classic WWII escape drama, featuring a fine ensemble cast trying to get out of the Nazi stalag. McQueen’s ‘Cooler King’ became a screen icon, particularly in the scene where he attempts to jump over a field of barbed wire fences on a motorbike. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Great Silence (15) ●●●●● (Sergio Corbucci, Italy/France, 1968) Klaus Kinski, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Frank Wolf. 100min. Blustery Euro-Western featuring gunslinger Silence (Trintigant), a band of nasty bounty hunters, and the blizzard of 1899. Part of Outer Limits! Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Happy Feet (U) ●●●●● (George Miller, Australia/US, 2006) Robin Williams, Hugh Jackman, Elijah Wood. 109min. A clumsily plotted but totally charming animated musical from the makers of Babe about tap dancing and singing penguins deep in Antarctica. With solid songs and some genuinely excellent voiceover performances, Happy Feet is probably the best of the Christmas family films. Empire Clydebank, Clydebank. High School Musical 3: Senior Year (U) ●●●●● (Kenny Ortega, US, 2008) Zac Efron, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale. 111min. This time high school seniors Troy (Efron) and Gabriella (Hudgens) prepare for separation before they head off to different colleges by staging an elaborate spring musical. Every bit as nauseating as it sounds (unless you are a child under its shamanistic powers), HSM 3 does, however, take advantage of the big screen format with some impressive ensemble music and dance numbers. General release. Hogmanay with the Whistlebinkies (U) (Eddie McConnel, UK, 2008) 40min. BAFTA winner Eddie McConnel explores the roots and traditions of Scotland’s Hogmanay celebrations. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Horton Hears a Who! (U) ●●●●● (Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino, US, 2008) Voices of Jim Carrey, Steve Carell. 86min. Animators Blue Sky take a break from their ongoing Ice Age franchise to colourfully realise the universe of Dr Seuss’ text. Both Carrey and Carrell are allowed full rein for their brand of vocal mugging as co-directors
Hayward and Martino skilfully guide Horton towards a comforting moral about size not being all that important. Vue Edinburgh Ocean, Edinburgh. Hunger (15) ●●●●● (Steve McQueen, UK/Ireland, 2008) Michael Fassbender, Stuart Graham, Helena Bereen. 96min. In 1981 provisional IRA member Bobby Sands allowed his body to become the ultimate instrument of protest when he led the Maze prison hunger strike. Directed by Turner Prize-winning artist McQueen and written by Irish playwright Enda Walsh, Hunger is the story of the last six weeks of Sands’ life. A brave and unforgettable film, tinged with thematic prescience and the politics of belief. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. I’ve Loved you So Long (12A) ●●●●● (Philippe Claudel, France, 2008) Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein, Serge Hazanavicius. 117min. In northeast France, Lea (Zylberstein) has just been released from behind bars and the story follows her re-introduction into society and gradual emotional rapprochement with her sister (Scott Thomas). Claudel’s directorial debut places everyone inside metaphorical prisons in this patient and sensitively shot family drama. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Igor (PG) ●●●●● (Anthony Leondis, US/France, 2008) Voices of John Cusack, John Cleese, Eddie Izzard. 86min. Hunchbacked Igor (voiced by Cusack) ekes out his precarious existence as humble servant to the sinister Dr Glickenstein (Cleese), an evil genius set on winning the annual evil science fair in the badass province of Malaria. But Igor bravely decides to enter the competiton himself and enters his Bride of Frankenstein-style creation called Eva (Molly Shannon). Decent but uninspired animation. Empire Clydebank, Clydebank. The Infinite Border (12A) (Juan Manuel Sepulveda, Mexico, 2007) 90min. Poetical documentary about a handful of migrants who enter Mexico en route to the United States. Some ride the rails, some are incarcerated and some are sent back. Part of Illuminations documentary festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Inkheart (PG) ●●●●● (Iain Softley, Germany/UK/US, 2008) Brendan Fraser, Eliza Bennett, Paul Bettany. 106min. See review, page 54. General release.
✽✽ It’s a Wonderful Life (PG) ●●●●● (Frank Capra, US, 1946)
James Stewart, Donna Reed, Henry Travers, Thomas Mitchell. 129min. Small-town boy Stewart runs into financial difficulties and is on the brink of suicide when an elderly angel descends to earth to show him all the good his life has done for those around him. Archetypal Capra sentimentality with a superbly detailed fantasy framework and one of Stewart’s most lovable performances. One to warm even the most glacial heart. See List.co.uk to listen to audio of panel discussion. Selected release.
Slumdog Millionaire (preview) Danny Boyle’s excellent new film about an
impoverished Indian boy’s appearance on the Hindi language version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? gets an early preview. This screening will be followed by a satellite interview with Boyle. ■ Cameo, Edinburgh and selected cinemas on Tue 6 Jan.