Film Index District 9 (15) ●●●●● (Neill Blomkamp, South Africa/New Zealand, 2009) Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, Nathalie Boltt. 112min. District 9 takes place on an alternate-reality earth where an alien race known as ‘prawns’ have arrived only to find themselves decanted by the sinister Multi National United agency into shanty-towns on the outskirts of Johannesburg. Stark, political messages and sci-fi splatter action are comfortably balanced, with the result managing to be at once a moving paean to the importance of human rights and a crowd-pleasing rollercoaster ride. Part of Africa in Motion. Selected release. Document 7: CCA 4 – Friday Screening (E) (Various) 615min. Featured films include The Holy Fire of Revolution, China’s Wild West, My DDR T-Shirt and Bagatela. CCA, Glasgow. Document 7: CCA 4 – Saturday Screening (E) (Various) 545min. Saturday’s screening includes documentaries that tackle issues of mental health, women’s rights, the Korean divide, homelessness and Palestine. CCA, Glasgow. Document 7: CCA 4 – Sunday Screening (E) (Various) 600min. The closing day of screenings features The Marina Experiment, Tapologo and Doomsday Machine. CCA, Glasgow. Document 7: CCA 4 – Thursday Screening (E) (Various) 600min. A wide range of documentaries tackling concerns such as Afghans in Iran, alternative health, Pakistan, homelessness, the Balkans and women’s rights. Featured films include Mahvash Sheikholeslami’s Where Do I Belong, Dan Edge’s Pakistan’s Taliban Generation, Claudia Brenlla’s The Homeless Club, Boris Mitic’s Goodbye How Are You, and Gerhard Schick’s Invitation To The Dance – Body and Taboo. CCA, Glasgow. Document 7: CCA 5 – Friday Screening (E) (Various) 600min. Themes covered in this day of screenings include Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Colombia. Featured films include Sanctuary, No Comment and Tras El Humo Del Disparo. CCA, Glasgow. Document 7: CCA 5 – Saturday Screening (E) (Various) 600min. The programme includes a selection of mixed shorts, a programme for the young, and films that tackle environmental issues and video- activism. CCA, Glasgow. Document 7: CCA 5 – Sunday Screening (E) (Various) 600min. Today’s screenings cover the following issues: women’s rights, the environment, Albanian vendettas, North Korea and young people in war. CCA, Glasgow. Document 7: CCA 5 – Thursday Screening (E) (Various) 620min. Themes covered in this day of screenings include Bedouins, Black History Month, immigration and women’s rights. Featuring Oded Adomi Leshem’s Voices From El-Sayed, South African short Congo My Foot, Philippe Diaz’ The End of Poverty?, Dawid Leszek’s A Bar at Victoria Station and Zhao Liang’s Crime & Punishment. CCA, Glasgow. Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee (15) ●●●●● (Shane Meadows, UK, 2009) Paddy Considine, Scor-zay-zee, Olivia Colman.
54 THE LIST 22 Oct–5 Nov 2009
74min. A mock-rock-doc made in the spirit of the low-fi, no-budget shorts with which Midlands-born filmmaker Meadows began his impressive career. Cameo, Edinburgh. L’Eclisse (The Eclipse) (PG) ●●●●● (Michaelangelo Antonioni, Italy/France, 1962) Monica Vitti, Alain Delon, Francisco Rabal. 125min. Vittoria (Vitti) leaves her long term lover for a stockbroker, but is increasingly drawn to solitude. The final part of Antonioni’s unofficial trilogy of movies on doomed relationships (after L’Avventura and La Notte), this again captures a restless feeling of human alienation and sets it against an unforgiving backdrop – here the decaying beauty of Rome. Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh. An Education (12A) ●●●●● (Lone Scherfig, UK, 2009) Peter Sarsgard, Emma Thompson, Alfred Molina. 99min. See review, page 50. General release from Fri 30 Oct. Electra Glide in Blue (18) ●●●●● (James William Guercio, US, 1973) Robert Blake, Billy Green Bush, Mitchell Ryan. 113min. One-off foray into film by former record producer Guercio (Chicago, Blood Sweat & Tears) features Blake as a diminutive motorcycle cop who has fantasies of becoming a comic-strip hero, but finds around him a world of corruption and despair. This odd, existential, intriguing film is something of a minor masterpiece, and just wait till you get to the mad final sequence. Remarkable. Glasgow Film Theatre. (500) Days of Summer (12A) ●●●●● (Marc Webb, US, 2009) Joseph Gordon- Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Geoffrey Arend. 94min. This factory made YouTube generation rom-com kicks off at breakneck speed delivering a drole reconstruction of young man Tom’s (Gordon-Levitt) unruly love affair with Summer (Deschanel). Selected release. Fame (PG) ●●●●● (Kevin Tancharoen, US, 2009) Kay Panabaker, Naturi Naughton, Kelsey Grammer. 107min. Pointless remake and updating of Alan Parker’s 1982 original film (and subsequent TV series) for the High School Musical crowd. General release.
✽✽ Fantastic Mr Fox (PG) ●●●●● (Wes Anderson, USA, 2009) Voices of
George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Adrien Brody. 88min. See feature, page 18 and review, page 49. General release. The Final Destination 3D (15) ●●●●● (David R Ellis, UK, 2009) Bobby Campo, Shantel VanSanten, Nick Zano. 81min. The first 3D instalment of the popular Final Destination series joins Nick O’Bannon (Campo) for a day at the races. The trouble is he’s actually having a horrific premonition of, surprise surprise, multi-race car pile-ups, flames, debris, destruction and death. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow. The Firm (18) ●●●●● (Nick Love, US, 2009) Paul Anderson, Calum McNab, Ben Shockle. 90min. An unashamed celebration of mainstream soccer casual culture. Showcase Cinema, Coatbridge, Glasgow. Fish Tank (15) ●●●●● (Andrea Arnold, UK, 2009) Katie Jarvis, Kierston Wareing, Michael Fassbender. 122min. Living in a small flat on a sprawling Essex council estate with her single mum (Wareing) and younger sister, angry and aggressive 15-year-old Mia (Jarvis) finds herself inexplicably drawn, with disastrous results, to her mother’s new boyfriend, the confident and seemingly kind Connor (Fassbender). Cameo, Edinburgh. Flame (15) (Ingrid Sinclair, Zimbabwe, 1996) Marian Kunonga, Ulla Mahaka, Jackie Jojo. 88min. A tribute to female freedom fighters in Zimbabwe’s War of Liberation, and a highly controversial retelling of the war, Sinclair’s feature tells the story of two young girls who join the liberation army in hope of a better future. Part of Africa in Motion. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Follow the Master (12A) (Matt Hulse, UK, 2009) 75min. Edinburgh-based filmmaker Hulse walks the 100-mile South Downs Way in homage to his grandpa Eric (the titular Master), who died last year. A wild road trip with ukuleles, air drumming and an adorable dog. This screening will be followed by Hulse’s God Gives Nuts but He Does Not Crack Them. Part of Made in Edinburgh season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. French Girl (15) (Souad El-Bouhati, France/Morocco, 2008) Hafsia Herzi, Farida Khelfa, Maher Kamoun. 84min. Questioning issues raised by the processes of immigration
and the return home, El-Bouhati tells the story of young Sofia, a girl born in France to Moroccan parents, who must leave her modern ways behind and return to a farm in Morocco. Part of Africa in Motion. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
✽✽ From a Whisper (15) (Wanuri Kahiu, Kenya, 2008) 80min. Commemorating
the tenth anniversary of the terrorist bombing of the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kahiu’s film concentrates on the aftermath of the bombing and its devastating effect on the lives of its indirect victims. This screening will be followed by short film Killer Necklace. Part of Africa in Motion. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Godfather (15) ●●●●● (Francis Ford Coppola, US, 1971) Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan. 175min. Digital print reissue of Coppola’s gangster classic. Grosvenor, Glasgow; Cameo, Edinburgh. The Golden Ball (Le Ballon D’Or) (PG) ●●●●● (Cheik Doukouré, France/Guinea, 1993) 90min. A Guinean village boy, obsessed with football, is exploited by a city businessman, but falls under the wing of a caring football club manager. Its thematic focus is on the difficulty of keeping alive traditional cultural values in the face of the modern world. Cineworld Parkhead, Glasgow.
✽✽ Goodbye Solo (15) ●●●●● (Ramin Bahrani, US, 2008) Red West,
Souleymane Sy Savane. 91min. See profile, page 50 and review, page 51. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (15) ●●●●● (Neal Brennan, UK, 2009) James Brolin, Jeremy Piven, Ving Rhames. 89min. See review, page 51. Selected release. The Great Dance: A Hunter’s Story (15) (Craig Foster & Damon Foster, South Africa/US, 2000) 90min. Intriguing documentary that examines the unique relationship between the Kalahari Desert Bushmen and the harsh landscape of the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Greek Pete (18) (Andrew Haigh, UK, 2009) 79min. Filmmaker Andrew Haigh worked with a group of London rent boys over a period of six months, to create a semi- improvised drama based on their lives. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Halloween II (15) ●●●●● (Rob Zombie, US, 2009) Tyler Mane, Sheri Moon Zombie, Scout Taylor-Compton. 105min. Rob Zombie makes his own sequel to his remake of the horror classic where he puts putrid flesh on the bones of that ultimate senseless killing machine Michael Myers. Although a potentially pointless exercise, Zombie’s singular stylistic flourishes are still well worth a look. General release. The Horseman (18) ●●●●● (Steven Kastrissios, Australia, 2009) Peter Marshall, Caroline Marohasy, Brad McMurray. 90min. See review, page 51. Selected release from Fri 30 Oct. How to be Loved (15) (Wojciech Has, Poland, 1963) Barbara Krafftowna, Zbigniew Cybulski, Artur Mlodnicki. 100min. Has’ second drama about the emotional casualties of war follows the fates of famous actress Felicja (Krafftowna) and her lover Wiktor (Cybulski) as their relationship is torn apart by WWII. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Hurt Locker (15) ●●●●● (Kathryn Bigelow, US, 2008) Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty. 130min. Based on the accounts of a freelance writer who was embedded in Iraq, The Hurt Locker presents an excoriating vision of the war as seen through the eyes of one particularly mental member of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit (EOD). Bigelow creates an unromantic vision of modern warfare, which is both, muscular and visceral while making us question just how close such heroisms are to lunacy. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (U) ●●●●● (Carlos Saldanha/ Mike Thurmeier, US, 2009) Voices of Simon Pegg, Seann William Scott, John Leguizamo. 93min. Life is changing for Scrat, Manny, Ellie and co in many different ways in this the latest installment of popular animated series. Selected release. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (12A) ●●●●● (Terry Gilliam, US, 2009) Heath Ledger,
Christopher Plummer, Johnny Depp. 122min. After Ledger’s death, the film only saw the light of day once Depp, Law and Colin Farrell stepped in. The typically Gilliam-esque story focuses on immortal carnival owner Dr Parnassus (Plummer) as he enters a wager with the Devil and, given the trauma surrounding it, is a return to form for the director: an enthralling morality tale with his trademark visual panache. General release. Imagine That (PG) ●●●●● (Karey Kirkpatrick, US, 2009) Eddie Murphy, Yara Shahidi, Ronny Cox. 106min. Pedestrian but passably old-fashioned Disney-style recession parable starring Murphy as a successful financial executive who has more time for his blackberry than his seven-year- old daughter (Shahidi). When his career falters he finds himself drawn towards his daughter’s imaginary world. Empire, Clydebank; Vue Ocean, Edinburgh. The Incredibles (PG) ●●●●● (Brad Bird, USA, 2004) Voices of Craig T Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L Jackson, Jason Lee. 120min. Amusing superhero parody. Grosvenor, Glasgow. Inglourious Basterds (18) ●●●●● (Quentin Tarantino, US/Germany/France, 2009) Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth. 152min. Pitt’s Lieutenant Aldo Raine and his band of Nazi-bushwhacking Jewish- American GIs provide the film’s Dirty Dozen element, but their bloody antics are only one of the plot strands of this multiple narrative romp through occupied France. Plenty of action, a good deal of black humour and a number of superbly staged set pieces. Vue Omni, Edinburgh. The Insect Woman (18) (Shohei Imamura, Japan, 1963) Emiko Aizawa, Masumi Harukawa, Sachiko Hidari. 123min. In a time of great national upheaval, Imamura chronicles the rise of his strong- willed heroine, Tome (Hidari), through poverty and exploitation, to become one of Tokyo’s top brothel-keepers. Part of Imamura season. Glasgow Film Theatre. The Invention of Lying (12A) ●●●●● (Ricky Gervais/Matthew Robinson, US, 2009) Ricky Gervais, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner. 99min. Whimsical but likeable romantic comedy starring Gervais as a writer who discovers the power of lying in a world where it doesn’t exist. General release. Invitation to the Dance: Body and Taboo (PG) (Gerhard Schick, Germany, 2006) 89min. Documentary about German choreographer Gerda Konig and his 2005 dance project in Nairobi, Kenya, that aimed to bring together both disabled and able- bodied dancers in an eight-week workshop. Glasgow Film Theatre. Ip Man (15) ●●●●● (Wilson Yip, Hong Kong, 2008) Donnie Yen, Simon Yarn, Fan Siu-Wong. 110min. See Also Released, page 51. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. James Ellroy & Screening of LA Confidential (18) ●●●●● (Curtis Hanson, US, 1997) Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Kim Basinger. 135min. Adapted from James Ellroy’s neo-noir novel, the best American film of 1997 evokes a glitzy post- World War II Los Angeles underpinned by an all-pervasive, festering corruption. An intricate plot links bent cops, good cops, Hollywood star lookalike prostitutes and the mob. This screening offers the rare chance to see Ellroy in discussion before the film and speaking about his book and the film it became. Glasgow Film Theatre. Jennifer’s Body (15) ●●●●● (Karyn Kusama, US, 2009) Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons. 102min. See review, page 50. General release from Wed 4 Nov. Je Veux Voir (15) (Joana Jadjithomas, Khalil Joreige, France, Lebanon, 2008) Catherine Deneuve, Rabih Mroue, Daniel Auwermann. 75min. A hybrid of fiction and documentary, in which Deneuve plays a famous actress who is being escorted through Lebanon to see the devastation left by the recent war. The planned excursion becomes an unpredictable adventure as the star and her Lebanese escort are drawn deeper into the damaged lands. This film is screening with John Smith’s short film, Dirty Pictures. Glasgow Film Theatre.