Film Index
✽✽ A Prophet (18) ●●●●● (Jacques Audiard, France/Italy, 2009) Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif. 150min. Audiard tells the complex story of a young Arab man’s progression into a position of power during six years inside a corrupt prison. The director proffers an unflinching account of life inside a modern high security jail. Part of French Film Festival. Glasgow Film Theatre. The Return of the Idiot (12A) (Sasa Gedeon, Czech Republic/Germany, 2000) Pavel Liska, Anna Geislerová, Tatiana Vilhelmová. 100min. Frantisek (Liska) returns from a period in psychiatric care and struggles to adjust to family life and relationships. Part of Czech Cinema Season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Sagan (15) (Diane Kurys, France, 2008) Sylvie Testud, Pierre Palmade, Jeanne Balibar. 119min. Biopic of Françoise Sagan who at the age of 18 shot to cultural fame overnight with the publication of Bonjour Tristesse – an existentialist-inspired treatise of teenage immortality. Following her early peak, Sagan’s troubled life is marked by straight talk, scandal and the occasional overdose. Part of French Film Festival. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Saw VI (18) ●●●●● (Kevin Greutert, US, 2009) Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Shawnee Smith. 90min. Surprisingly part VI is the best Saw for a good while (certainly trumping the last two chapters). Previous instalments had become mired in their own mythology, but this finally gives the Saw faithful something to sink their teeth into, and Bell once again owns the roll of Jigsaw, a modern horror icon. Selected release. Seachd – The Inaccessible Pinnacle (PG) ●●●●● (Simon Miller, UK, 2007) Aonghas Pàdraig Caimbeul, Dolina MacLennan, Crisdean Dòmhnallach. 90min. In the first Scottish Gaelic film to achieve mainstream distribution, rich layers of romantic folklore are combined with the more immediate travails of a family trying to adjust to one another, with the legendary Inaccessible Pinnacle standing as a metaphor for the challenges ahead. Glasgow Film Theatre.
✽✽ A Serious Man (15) ●●●●● (Joel Coen/Ethan Coen, USA, 2009)
Michael Stuhlbarg, Sari Lennick, Fred Melamed. 105min. See review, page 49. Selected release. Shorts for Wee Ones (U) (Various) 35min. A collection of short films especially for young children with bright visuals and minimal dialogue. Ages 3+. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Slumdog Millionaire (15) ●●●●● (Danny Boyle, UK/US, 2008) Irfan Kahn, Anil Kapoor, Dev Patel. 120min. Adapted from Vikas Swarup’s novel Q&A by Simon Beaufoy, Boyle’s film chronicles a Mumbai street urchin (Skins’ Dev Patel) who makes it to the final round of India’s version of Who Wants to be A Millionaire?. Alternatively hilarious and heart wrenching, grimly realistic and dream-like, romantic and resolutely non-sentimental, watching Slumdog Millionaire feels like watching six films at once. St Bride’s Centre, Edinburgh. Southern Softies (U) ●●●●● (Graham Fellows, UK, 2009) 78min. Singer/songwriter John Shuttleworth ventures to the Channel Islands to check out the scene and see if its ‘soft down South’. Glasgow Film Theatre; Cameo, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Special Correspondents (15) (Frédéric Auburtin, France, 2009)
93min. Sent to cover the war in Iraq, radio star Franck (Lanvin) and sound man Poussin (Jugnot) decide to instead play it safe and lie low in a Parisian apartment, broadcasting ‘live’ via satellite phone from ‘Basrah’ and ‘Baghdad’. Part of French Film Festival. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
Got an opinion? You can now Comment on all our articles at list .co.uk 56 THE LIST 19 Nov–3 Dec 2009
King Coal Coal and it’s place in the British landscape and psyche is investigated in this remarkable collection of old films, animation and documentary footage from the 1910-1980s. Part of the
British Film Institute’s Industrial Heritage project. Introduced by the curator of the BFI archive. ■ Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Mon 23 Nov.
The Spirit of The Beehive (15) ●●●●● (Victor Erice, Spain, 1973) Fernando Fernan Gomez, Teresa Gimpera, Ana Torrent, Isabel Telleria. 98min. In rural Spain after the Civil War, the people’s apathy is thrown into contrast with the frenzied activity of bees. Meanwhile, a young girl is alone in dreaming of liberation, through the gentle giant figure of Frankenstein, who she identifies with a young but doomed soldier. Moody and haunting, Erice’s debut is a calmly moving masterpiece. Part of An Introduction to European Cinema. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Spirit of Film (E) (UK, Various) 90min. A selection of shorts in celebration of the skills and craftsmanship of short filmmaking. The Arches, Glasgow. St Andrew’s Day Celebrations: Scottish Film Event (E) (UK, Various) 90min. A day of Scottish-themed films: I Know Where I’m Going, Mrs Brown and Flying Scotsman, each preceeded by a Scottish short. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Starsuckers (15) ●●●●● (Chris Atkins, UK, 2009) 103min. Writer, producer and director Chris Taking Liberties Atkins documentary diatribe against the modern malaise that is celebrity culture is a lot of fun. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Séraphine (PG) ●●●●● (Martin Provost, France/Belgium, 2008) Yolande Moreau, Ulrich Tukur, Anne Bennent. 126min. See review, page 49. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Tabarly (PG) (Pierre Marcel, France, 2008) 90min. Documentary about the legendary 20th Century Gallic naval officer Eric Tabarly who set remarkable speed and distance records, before disappearing on his way to a regatta in St Andrews. Part of French Film Festival. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Taking Woodstock (15) ●●●●● (Ang Lee, US, 2009) Henry Goodman, Edward Hibbert, Imelda Staunton. 110min. Focusing primarily on the personal trials of Woodstock’s organiser, this amiable comedy about how the world’s most iconic music festival came to pass is less about the goings-on on stage and more about the vibes, man. Milder than Lee’s previous work, it nevertheless hints at the dark clouds gathering on the horizon with a late reference to Altamont. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow; Dominion, Edinburgh. Tales from the Golden Age (Amintiri Din Epoca de Aur) (12) ●●●●● (Ioana Uricaru, Hanno Höfer, Razvan Marculescu, Constantin Popescu, Cristian Mungiu, Romania, France, 2009) Tania Popa, Liliana Mocanu, Teodor Corban. 131min. A beautifully executed portmanteau box of delights that is the brainchild of Palme D’Or-winning Romanian director Mungiu. These vignettes of everyday life under brutal dictator Ceausescu sensitively combine the inbuilt horror of history with a wry humour and a certain affection for this much sinned- against country to form a smart and accessible whole. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Tati Shorts (U) ●●●●● (Various, France) 68min. A screening of René Clement’s Watch Your Left, Jacques Tati’s School for Postmen and Nicolas Ribowski’s Evening Classes. Part of French Film Festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Tigger Movie (U) ●●●●● (Jun Falkenstein, US, 2000) 77min. Identical in many ways to 1977’s The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh, this yarn based on AA Milne’s characters finds Pooh, Piglet, Tigger et al still living a charmed life of tea parties and afternoon naps. Only this time, the wee stripy fella’s decided being one of a kind isn’t quite as cool as he’d first thought and so a quest for the Tigger Family Tree ensues. Grosvenor, Glasgow. Top Gun (PG) ●●●●● (Tony Scott, US, 1986) Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer. 110min. Say what you like about him, Scott undoubtedly has the golden touch at the box office. This emotionless formula adventure about men being grandly upstaged by very fast, very expensive and very dangerous aircraft, with the splendid Ms McGillis thrown for love interest, made a fortune, especially in the US. It had to be those planes, or maybe the rampant ‘America the strong’ ethos of the film, because it doesn’t have much more to offer. Scotsman Screening Room, Edinburgh. Traffic (U) ●●●●● (Jacques Tati, France/Italy, 1971) Jacques Tati, Marcel Fravel, Honoré Bostel. 96min. Tati’s comedy sees Monsieur Hulot drive a camper car decked out with wild and marvellous gadgetry from Paris to Amsterdam in his usual disastrous fashion. Part of French Film Festival. Glasgow Film Theatre.
Tum Mile (12A) (Kunal Deshmukh, India, 2009) Emraan Hashmi, Soha Ali Khan. 140min. Romantic Bollywood presentation. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow. 2012 (12A) ●●●●● (Roland Emmerich, US, 2009) John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton. 158min. Roland Independence Day Emmerich’s ludicrous apocalypse disaster movie balances spectacular special effects with signposted speeches of withering environmental pomposity. Some old fashioned fun is to be had but there is also some tedium on the way. See Also Released, page 50. General release. Twilight (12A) ●●●●● (Catherine Hardwicke, US, 2008) Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner. 121min. This adaptation of Stephanie Meyer’s vampire-romance novel tells the coming of age story of Bella Swan (Stewart). Unhappily decanted from Arizona with her dad Charlie (Burke), Bella’s humdrum existence is transformed when vampire Edward’s (Pattinson) superpowers save her from getting squished by a truck. She subsequently falls under Edward’s spell and into conflict with various vampire sects. Odeon at the Quay, Glasgow; Odeon Braehead, Renfrew. The Twilight Saga: New Moon (12A) (Chris Weitz, US, 2009) Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner. 130min. See Also Released, page 50. Reviewed at www.list.co.uk. General release. Under the Sea 3D (U) (Howard Hall, UK, 2009) Jim Carrey. 65min. Carrey narrates an underwater 3D look at the impact of global warming upon the diverse coastal regions of Southern Australia, New Guinea and the Indo-Pacific areas. IMAX Theatre, Glasgow. Up 2D (U) ●●●●● (Pete Docter/Bob Peterson, US, 2009) Voices of Christopher Plummer, Edward Asner, Paul Eiding. 96min. Seventy-eight–year-old curmudgeon Carl Fredericksen and eight-year-old Junior Wilderness Explorer Russell embark on the adventure of a lifetime in South America. While it unfolds on a grand scale, at its heart is a human story that will resonate with viewers of every age. Marrying sadness with triumph, Pixar have created another masterpiece. General release.