www.list.co.uk/film
Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Paul Dale
all Indicates Hitlist entry
The African Queen (PG) 0000 (John Huston. 1K. 105] ) Humphrey Bogart. Katharine Hepburn. Robert Morley. 105mm. Splendid World War I adventure has the marvellous pairing of grillled Bogey' and spinsterish Hepburn as they make their way tip the (‘ongo fighting swamps. the [Inn and each other to quite thrilling effect. (ireat character interplay courtesy of filth critic James Agee's gritty dialogue. .S‘catsman Screening Room. Edinburgh. Alexandra (l’(i) 0... (Alexander Sokurov. Rtissizu'l-‘rance. 2007) (ialina Visititevskaya. Vasily Shevtsov. Raisa (iichaeva. 95min. l’oignant (‘hechnyan tale from filmmaker Sokttrov, Russia‘s most feted living filmmaker. (amen. Edinlmrgh. All About Eve (l’(i) 0... (Joseph I. .‘vlankiewicl. l'S. 1950) Bette Davis. Antte Baxter. (ieorge Sanders. .Marilyn Monroe. 138mm. Davis and Baxter are on top form in this tale of back-stage back-biting and conniving. and a young Marilyn makes a big entrance in a small part. A witty and intelligent film. Now on re-release in digital. (titeit'nt'lrl Rt’ltlt‘ett' Street. (ilaygmi‘; ('inen'urld Edinburgh. Asterix and The Big Fight (t') .0. (Keith lngham. l'K. IQXU) With the voices of Bill ()ddie. Michael lilphick. Andrew Sachs. 82min. Asterix and his band of plucky (iallic mates take on the might of the Roman army in this animated feature. Eilnihouse. Edinburgh. Australia ( 12A) 0.. (Ba/ l.uhrmann. Australia/l'S. 2008) Nicole Kidman. Hugh Jackman. Brandon Walters. lofimin. l’rissy linglish vvotnan Lady Sarah Ashley (Kidman) heads to Australia thinking she's going to catch her husband cheating on her. only to find a country run by bigots. l.uhrmann soon lakes Lady Sarah w alkabout. delivering a seriously damning verdict on his country‘s past. But hard-hitting social commentary is (lot l.iihrmann's forte and while he strives for pertinence. all is lost in a magical realist swish. (ieneral release.
The Ballad of Cable Hogue (PG)
0... (San) l’eckinpah. l'S. 1970) Jason Robards. Stella Stevens. David Warner. l2lmin. Prospector (’able Hogue (Robards) is robbed and left for dead in the desert. l’eckinpah‘s strange and beguiling Western portrays the efforts made by Hogue to transform a watering hole into an oasis. and take revenge on the men who savagely betray ed him. Part of l’cckinpah season. I'i/nihouse. Edinburgh. Bedtime Stories (PG) 0. (Adam Shanktnan. (S. 2008) Adam Sandler. Keri Rtissell. ('ourteney ('ox. l)0min. l‘amily fantasy about a man who can make bedtime stories come to life. (iettet'ul release. Belle de Jour ( 18) 00000 tl.tlis Bunuel. l‘rance/ltaly. l‘)(i7) (‘atherine Deneuve. Jean Sorel. Michel l’iccoli. 99min. 'l'he taboo-busting film about a beautiful. faithful and bored young housewife Severine (Deneuve) who finds her inner fetishism in the brothels of her small town. Forty years on it's still shocking. funny. clever. sexy and peculiarly familiar. (io and see it: it's good old fashioned arthouse porn. for heaven's sake. (ilasgaii' I'ilm Theatre. Beverly Hills Chihuahua (l') 00 (Raja (iosnell. l'S/Mcxico. 2008) Drew Barry more (voice). l’iper l’erabo. Andy (iarcia. Slmin. See review. page 40. (ieneral release from Eri If) .Ian. Blindsight (l’(i) (l.iicy Walker. t'K. 2()()o) l0-1min. Blind educator Sabriye 'l‘enberkcn and world rcnow tied mountaineer lirik Weigcnniayer take a group of blind Tibetan teenagers on an epic journey to climb l.iiakpa Ri. a 7.000 metre peak close to the north face of liv crest. (ilavgmt' I'll/It Tlleall‘r'“ Bob le Flambeur (Bob the Gambler) (l’(i) O... (Jean—Pierre Melville. l‘rance. WSS) Roger Duchesnc. Isabelle ('orey. Daniel ('auclty. (iuy Decomblc. 101 min. Part heist movie. part
‘love letter to l’aris'. Melville points out the glamour and danger in the city at night. Edinburgh I’ilnt Gui/d. Bolt (l') (l’avel Sorokin. Russia. 200(1) Anastasia Yatsenko. Andrei Mcruriev. 87min. Russian classical music composer Dimitri Shostakovich‘s second ballet brings together serious popular music with dance. featuring Komsomol routines. Red Army marches. acrobatics and vaudeville antics. (’onducted by Alexei Ratmansky and filmed at the Bolshoi Theatre in 2006 at a performance in honour of the 100th anniversary of Sltostttkoviclt‘s birth. this is it digital projection. Eilnihause. Edinbta'gh. Boogie ( 12A) 0.. (Radtt Muntean. Romania. 2008) l)ragos Bucur. Anamaria Marinca. Mimi Branescu. 102mm. See Also Released. page ~17. Selected release/rum Eri I!) Jan. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (l2A) 0 (Mark Herman. l'S/l'K. 2008) \"era l-‘armiga. David 'I’hewlis. Rupert liriend. 93min. Bruno (Butterfield) is the nine-year old son of a Na/i ('ommandant ('l’hewlis). When his father is seconded to manage a concentration camp. the lonely Bruno makes a new friend. Schmuel (Scanlon ). beyond the high wire. Badly acted and clumsily directed. this liberal-guilt- monger-sweeping-cod-historical-nonsense is simply unnecessary. Bruntun Theatre. Edinbta‘gh. Bride Wars (l’(i) 0.. ((iary Winick. l'S. 2009) Anne Hathaway. Kate Hudson. ('andice Bergen. 90min. See Also Released. page 47. General release. Brideshead Revisited ( IZA) ooo (Jttlian Jarrold. (K. 2008) Matthew (ioode. Hayley Atwell. limma 'l’hompson. l32min. Jarrold's revamp of livelyn Waugh's classic novel pares back the opulent trimmings of the television series to expose the bare bones of Waugh's lament for the civilised past. ('harting blithe social climber ('harles Ryder ((ioode) on his journey from humble l’addington digs to the aristocratic arcadia. the film focuses on his halting love affair with prim posho Jttlia (Atwell ). Selected I’t'lf'llfif’.
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo
Garcia ( is) 0000. (Sam l’cckinpah. Mexico/l 'S. 1074) Warren ()ates. lsela \‘ega. Robert Webber. l 12min. l’eckinpah's purest vision of tnale masculinity and the madness of nihilism is given a long overdue 35mm and digital makeover. .Made in l‘)74. l’eckinpah's misleadingly simple fable of a bar manager‘s attempt to claim the reward money for the head of a young man who has misguidedly impregnated the daughter of a Mexican land baron. is surely one of the greatest films of all time. l-‘ilnihuuse. Edinburgh. Bringing Up Baby (PU) ooooo (Howard Hawks. l’S. 1938) (any (irant. Katharine Hepburn. ('harles Ruggles. 102mm. [any gal Hepburn causes timid Ioology professor (irant to lose a valuable dinosaur bone and mislay a pet leopard within the course of one screwball evening. Archetypal 30s era/.y comedy with one outlandishly hilarious scene following another within the progression of an unerringly logical narrative. Both stars at their charismatic best. Part of Short-Sighted ()scars season. Eilnthouse. Edinburgh. Chandni Chowk to China l 12A) 0.. (Nikhil Advani. lndia/l'S. 2000) Akshay Kumar. Deepika l’adukone. (‘hia Hui l.iu. ll0min. See Also Released. page 47. Selected release from l't't 10 Jan. Changeling ( IS) 0000 ((‘lint liastwmid. l'S. 2008) Angelina Jolie. (iattlin (iriffith. John Malkovich. l-Hmin. When (‘hristine ('ollins' (Jolie) son Walter ((iriffith) goes missing. she is initially relived when the LAPD say they can return the boy to her. bill on seeing him she does not recognise the child. Her subsequent accusations of conspiracy prompt the authorities to take shocking and radical action. The stolen child theme may be a melodramatic staple. btit liastwood's old-fashioned and deeply classy woman's picture is a timeless affair. Selected release.
Che: Part One ( )5) 0000
(Steven Soderbergh. Spain/li‘ance/l 'S. 2008) Benicio Del 'l‘oro. Rodrigo Santoro. Demian Bichir. l2omin. Part one of
Soderbergh's structurally magnificent ‘film diptych' about ('he (iuevara (Del 'I'oro) unfolds in a non-linear fashion. This biopic details his life as a collection of incidents rather than a coherent whole with three events are used to highlight (‘he's philosophy his initial meeting with l-‘idel (‘astroz the fighting in the Sierra Maestra mountain regions; and his controversial 1964 speech to the t'nited Nations. Selected release.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (l’( i) 00 (Andrew Adamson. l'K/l'S. 2008) Liam Neeson. Tilda Swinton. Ben Barnes. l-Hniin. In the second instalment of the Narnia films. the Pevensie children are summoned back to Narnia for a slick. fast-paced romp through dark woods. umlerground caverns and fierce battles. With a simplistic plot. and (‘aspian (Barnes) reduced to a pretty face. Disney may have finally brought Narnia to the big screen. bill for a real journey of the imagination. stick to the books. (ilasgmv Ell/n Theatre.
City of Ember (PG) ooo (Gil Kenan. [S 2008) Bill Murray. Tim Robbins. Saoirsc Ronan. l00min. Students from the ama/ing underground city of timber go through a series of adventures in order to sustain their special secret world for another 200 years. Ho-hum btit visually impressive children‘s adventure sci-fi. ('ineu-orld I’arkhead. (ilasgmi': ('ineivarld Edinburgh. Clubbed ( IS) 0 (Neil 'l'hompson. l'K. 2009) Mel Raido. Shaun l’arkes. Scot Williams. ‘Mmin. See Also Released. page 47. Selet‘lerl I't’lt’tl.v¢’_li'rtttl I'll’i lb Jail Cyberworld 30 (PG) (Various. t'S. 2()()()) Jenna Iilfman. Matt l‘rewer. Woody Allen. 44min. Jenna lilfman is the cyber-host who introduces us to various unrelated segments of cyber animation. The Sinipmns and .-lnt:. make 3D appearances in a spectacular display of today‘s most impressive graphic technology. l.iIAX Theatre. Glasgow.
The Day The Earth Stood Still
( l2A) 0.. (Scott Derrickson. IS. 2008) Keanu Reeves. Jennifer (‘onnelly. Jon Hamm. 105mm. Here. as in Wise‘s original. mankind's future is placed in the hands of alien visitor Klaatu (Reeves). who has been sent to judge its capacity for change in the wake of the environmental damage they have inflicted upon the planet. It's up to Dr Helen Benson ((‘onnelly) and her stepson Jacob (Smith) to convince him that they are ready before it's too late and lie triggers their destruction. A remake with more contemporary resonance than most. (ienera/ release.
Deep Sea 3D (PU) (Howard Hall. (‘anada/l'S. 200(3) Voices of Johnny Depp. Kate Winslet. 4 I min. A 3—D digital exploration of the ocean's depths and its creatures. IMAX Theatre. (ilasgaw. Defiance ( l5) .0. (lidward '/,wick. l'S. 2009) Daniel ('raig. l.iev Schreiber. Jamie Bell. 136mm. See review. page 45. (ienera/ release.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
I 12A) 0... (Julian Schnabel. l-‘rance/l'S. 2007) Mathieu Amalric. limmanuelle Seigner. Marie-Josee (role.
1 12min. Julian Schnabel's third biopic tells the tale of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby (Almaric) who. after suffering a debilitating stroke. authored a slim memoir. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. This is an unusual. rich. formless and challenging film. which fits perfectly with the triumph of the human spirit theme that runs through Bauby's core text. Part of BB(‘ l‘our World (‘inema Awards 200‘). I’ilnilmuse. Edinburgh.
Enchanted (PG) 0. (Kevin l.ima. 1S. 2007) Amy Adams. Patrick Dempsey. James Marsden. l()7min. 'l‘wo fairytale characters struggle to find each other aitd make it in the ‘real' world in this mix of live and animated action (a la ll'ho I-ramed Roger Rabbit). Enchanted is one of the nastiest. most insidious children's films adults will have the displeasure of seeing this year. (‘hock full of pseudo ('hristian ideas. Waspish imperialism. product placement and celebrations of consumer culture this is about as evil as Disney gets. Leave your critical faculties. reason and humanity at the door. ('ineimrld Edinburgh.
Name Erick Zonca
Born 10 September 1956. Orleans. France
Background This 52—year-old Frenchman can hardly be called a prolific filmmaker. Zonca was in his late thirties before he finished his first film, Rives. the first of three shorts he made after studying acting in Paris and New York. And in the 16 years since he graduated from drama school, he's only made four features. one of which he wrote but didn't direct. Nevertheless. Zonca's a much admired filmmaker. not least by Tilda Swinton who put her new-found Hollywood clout behind him, taking the lead in his English language debut. the America-set character study-cum-road movie thriller, Julia. Zonca's kudos is largely derived from his auspicious first feature, 1988's La The Dream/i‘fe of Angels. A hit with the critics and cinema-going public alike. this wonderfully nuanced drama about a pair of penniless young women trying to get by in Lille in northern France won awards at film festivals around the globe. Although Zonca has made only three films since (Le Pet/t Vo/eur and Le Secret in quick succession. and then Jul/a after an eight-year gap). he proves that less is. indeed. more.
What’s be up to now? Celebrating his fruitful (though resolutely non-commercial) successful collaboration with Swinton: a no-holds-barred portrait of an alcoholic that gradually morphs into a Coen brothers-esque crime movie. What he says about Jul/a 'She's a woman who believes she can still fool people. but who. at the same time. senses that her life's crumbling. She takes a crazy and violent decision in defiance of any human consideration. convinced as she is that her salvation lies in money. and she finds herself running scared - and that's when events force her to rediscover her humanity. That's what interested me.‘
Interesting fact Zonca was inspired to make Julia after seeing a photo by Helmut Newton of a flamboyant redhead (not Swinton) driving through Los Angeles in a BMW. (Miles Fielder) I Julia, Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 9—Tue 73 Jan. See review, page 46.
8—22 Jan 2000 THE LIST 49