Film Index PROFILE
DÉBORAH FRANÇOIS Born 23 May 1987, Liège, Belgium Background While still at school in her Belgian hometown, 16-year-old François attended an open casting held by the Dardenne brothers. She was chosen ahead of 150 other hopefuls in the role of a teenage mother, whose new baby is sold by her boyfriend, and the film – L’Enfant (The Child) went on to win the Palme D’Or at Cannes. François then impressed in the revenge thriller The Page Turner, playing a young woman who coolly insinuates herself into the household of a female concert pianist. She also starred in the WW2 Resistance drama Female Agents, alongside Sophie Marceau, Julie Depardieu and Marie Gillain. Currently Two films featuring François are being released in Britain in quick succession. Firstly there’s The First Day of the Rest of Your Life, a French family saga, in which she plays a Parisian adolescent daughter rebelling against her mother. And Unmade Beds, the tender tale of two lost souls adrift in East London’s bohemian scene. On The First Day of the Rest of My Life ‘It was a really big success in France in the summer of 2008, and it was popular across different generations. People were able to identify with the family it portrayed. The tagline was “Cette famille est la votre”, which means “This family is yours”.’ On Unmade Beds ‘Before making Unmade Beds, I’d only come to London for a few days at a time. It was great to be able to spend a month there working on the film and the Argentinean director Alexis Dos Santos took us to lots of gigs and bars. I got a real sense of the atmosphere of the city.’ Interesting Fact François attended the same high school in Liège as fellow actress Marie Gillain. ■ The First Day of the Rest of My Life is on selected release from Fri 4 Dec, see review, page 49. Unmade Beds is on selected release from Fri 11 Dec, see review, page 50. 52 THE LIST 3–17 Dec 2009
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 Age of Stupid (12A) ●●●●● (Franny Armstrong, UK, 2009) Pete Postlethwaite, Piers Guy, Jamila Bayyoud. 90min. Marrying Britain’s honourable tradition of dystopian sci-fi with the eco documentary form, Armstrong’s film is an aesthetically pragmatic, ethically dogmatic attempt to save the world. More or less a documentary study telling six stories from four continents, the film’s strength lies in their variety, and the compelling use of sci-fi as a framing device, with Postlethwaite playing a character looking after the Global Archive in the future. ACE, Edinburgh. Aliens in the Attic (PG) ●●●●● (John Schultz, UK, 2009) Ashley Tisdale, Robert Hoffman, Austin Robert Butler. 85min. Likeably frenetic sci-fi adventure about a family’s attempt to fight off knee high alien invaders. Cineworld Parkhead, Glasgow; Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh. Alvin and the Chipmunks (U) ●●●●● (Tim Hill, US, 2007) Jason Lee, David Cross, Cameron Richardson. 91min. Likeable pre-school comedy featuring a bunch of pint sized chipmunk pop stars and their long-suffering human guardian (Lee). Odeon at the Quay, Glasgow. Autumn Spring (12A) ●●●●● (Vladimir Michalek, Czech Republic, 2001) Vlastimil Brodsky, Stella Zazvorkova, Stanislav Zindulka. 95min. Understated Czech comedy about the retired Fanda (Brodsky), who spends his days planning elaborate practical jokes with his friend Eda (Zindulka). Fanda’s wife Emilie (Zázvorková) is concerned that her husband is not facing up to the realities of his age, and the couple are forced to re-assess after Fanda uses their funeral fund to pay off debts. Part of Czech Cinema season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Bishop’s Wife (U) ●●●●● (Henry Koster, US, 1947) Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven. 105min. An almost classic holiday film about a bishop (Niven) who neglects his wife and parishioners to save his cathedral, until an angel (Grant) intervenes. Glasgow Film Theatre. The Box (12A) ●●●●● (Richard Kelly, US, 2009) Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella. 115min. See review, page 49. General release. Bright Star (PG) ●●●●● (Jane Campion, France/Australia/UK, 2009) Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Paul Schneider. 118min. This fictionalised account of poet John Keats’ love affair with Fanny Brawne is a disappointingly bland effort from Jane Campion, whose beautiful imagery and deference to the work of her subject cannot hide a lack of substance and the non-existence of any jot of chemistry between the two lead actors. Grosvenor, Glasgow; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Broken Embraces (15) ●●●●● ((Pedro Almodóvar, Spain, 2009) Penélope Cruz, Lluís Homar, Blanca Portillo. 128min. The auteur's most self-referential love letter to cinema yet presents the story of a ménage-a-quatre between filmmaker Harry (Homar), leading lady Lena (Cruz), her sugar daddy Ernesto (José Luis Gómez), and Harry's production manager Judit (Portillo). This labyrinthine tale of amour fou unfolds largely in flashback as Harry recounts his sorry story to Judit's son. Ultra-stylish and loaded with thematic weight. Odeon Braehead, Renfrew. Bunny and the Bull (15) ●●●●● (Paul King, UK, 2009) Edward Hogg, Simon Farnaby, Verónica Echegui. 101min. Inventive imaginary road trip from the Mighty Boosh team. Selected release. Carriers (15) ●●●●● (Alex Pastor/David Pastor, US, 2009) Lou Taylor Pucci, Chris Pine, Piper Perabo. 84min. See review, page 50. General release. Caught Short (E) (Various, UK) 70min. A montage of short works by emerging filmmakers, each with a Scottish
connection. Included in the programme is a selection of drama, documentary, animation and experimental works. A panel discussion will take place following the screening with BAFTA nominated writer and director Justin Molotnikov. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. A Christmas Carol 2D (PG) (Robert Zemeckis, US, 2009) Jim Carrey, Colin Firth, Gary Oldman. 95min. Computer animated version of Dickens’ classic. Selected release. A Christmas Carol 3D (PG) ●●●●● (Robert Zemeckis, US, 2009) Jim Carrey, Colin Firth, Gary Oldman. 95min. See above. Selected release. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (PG) ●●●●● (Andrew Adamson, UK/US, 2008) Liam Neeson, Tilda Swinton, Ben Barnes. 143min. 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, underground caverns and fierce battles. With a simplistic plot, and Caspian (Barnes) reduced to a pretty face, Disney may have finally brought Narnia to the big screen, but for a real journey of the imagination, stick to the books. Vue Ocean, Edinburgh. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2D (U) ●●●●● (Phil Lord, US, 2009) Voices of Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan. 90min. Vivid and likeable animated version of Judi and Ron Barrett’s 1978 children’s book set in the town of Chewandswallow, where the weather comes three times a day, at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Cineworld Parkhead, Glasgow. Coco Before Chanel (12A) ●●●●● (Anne Fontaine, France, 2009) Audrey Tautou, Benoît Poelvoorde, Alessandro Nivola. 110min. This sumptuously dressed biopic of the early years of Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel faithfully charts the rising hemlines and torn bustiers of a passionate woman repressed by society, with emotion- driven montages of dressmaking as Coco uses sewing machine and scissors to direct her restless energies into clothing. There’s nothing experimental or innovative here, but it provides undeniably classy entertainment. Odeon at the Quay, Glasgow.
✽✽ Cold Souls (12A) ●●●●● (Sophie Barthes, US/France, 2009) Paul
Giamatti, Dina Korzun, Emily Watson. 101min. A mind-bending premise revolving around the trading of souls reveals a marvellously sardonic commentary on the vapid nature of contemporary American society in Barthes’ highly promising debut feature. The central conceit has led some to compare the film with Being John Malkovich and the comparison is a favourable one for this clever existential comedy. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Cracks (15) ●●●●● (Jordan Scott, UK/Ireland, 2009) Eva Green, Juno Temple, María Valverde. 104min. See review, page 51. Selected release. Crime Is Our Business (15) (Pascal Thomas, France, 2008) Catherine Frot, André Dussollier, Claude Rich. 109min. Thomas’ Agatha Christie adaptation sees the crime hungry Beresfords – Prudence (Frot) and Bélisaire (Dussollier) – try to smoke out a killer from a throng of nasty siblings visiting their snowy Christmas chateau. Part of French Film Festival. Glasgow Film Theatre. Cryptic Nights Christmas Party (18) (tbc, UK, Various) 90min. In celebration of a great year of Cryptic Nights, the team will be laying on a banquet, a surprise film and a live set accompanied by live visual projections from DJ/performer/producer The Niallist. CCA, Glasgow. Dark Nature (15) ●●●●● (Marc de Launay, UK, 2009) Niall Greig Fulton, Imogen Toner, James Bryce. 80min. Grisly humour and gore aplenty as a family holiday to a remote Scottish community takes a nasty turn as a mysterious attacker begins a bloody onslaught. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow. David Holzman’s Diary (15) ●●●●● (Jim McBride, UK, 1967) L M Kit Carson, Eileen Dietz, Lorenzo Mans.
73min. Staged to seem like a documentary, McBride’s groundbreaking 1967 film tells the story of David Holzman (Carson), a young man obsessed with film and filmmaking. Newly unemployed and beset with worry, Holzman is struck with the idea that he could draw focus into his life by filming his every move. CCA, Glasgow. De Dana Dan (PG) (Priyadarshan, India, 2009) Katrina Kaif, Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty. 163min. Bollywood comic adventure in which a couple of chancers attempt to make enough money to impress their spoilt girlfriends by kidnapping a dog – but, surprise surprise, it all goes horribly wrong. Selected release. Death in Venice (15) ●●●●● (Luchino Visconti, Italy, 1971) Dirk Bogarde, Bjorn Andressen, Silvano Mangano. 128min. Ageing celebrated composer Von Auscenbach (the capable, slightly miscast Bogarde) comes to Venice in the midst of a creative crisis and becomes infatuated with a beautiful Polish boy who embodies the kind of physical and spiritual purity he’s been looking for in his work. Highly decorative attempt at the unfilmable, though the use of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony is highly affecting. Special screening in conjunction with University of Edinburgh Visconti course. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Descent: Part 2 (18) ●●●●● (Jon Harris, UK, 2009) Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Jackson Mendoza, Joshua Dallas. 93min. See Also Released, page 51. General release.
✽✽ Disgrace (15) ●●●●● (Steve Jacobs, Australia/South Africa, 2009)
John Malkovich, Jessica Haines, Eriq Ebouaney. 118min. See review, page 50. Selected release. Disney’s a Christmas Carol in IMAX3d (PG) ●●●●● (Robert Zemeckis, US, 2009) Jim Carrey, Colin Firth, Gary Oldman. 95min. Computer animated version of Dickens’ classic with visuals maxed out in IMAX and 3D. IMAX Theatre, Glasgow. Divided We Fall (12) ●●●●● (Jan Hrebejk, Czech Republic, 2000) Boleslav Polivka, Anna Siskova, Csongor Kassai. 123min. Czech black comedy that harks back to the good old days of Milos Forman’s A Fireman’s Ball and Jiri Menzel’s Closely Observed Trains. Nazi held Czechoslovakia is a strange place to be especially if you take in lodgers. Part of Czech Cinema season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Dorian Gray (15) ●●●●● (Oliver Parker, UK, 2009) Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, Rachel Hurd-Wood. 112min. One of the main problems in this version of Oscar Wilde’s only published novel is that the protagonists’ moral transgressions are spelt out in a rather literal manner, and the trips to various opium houses, prostitutes and orgies, seem less than shocking. The musical score is often overblown, the cinematography more polished than genuinely atmospheric, and the effects- laden climax disappoints. Odeon, Edinburgh. An Education (12A) ●●●●● (Lone Scherfig, UK, 2009) Peter Sarsgaard, Emma Thompson, Alfred Molina. 99min. Sarsgaard is on top form as seductive cad David, the older man responsible for educating bright but confused schoolgirl Jenny (Mulligan) in matters of love and life in swinging sixties London. With only a few tired stereotypes to detract from a superbly managed depiction of the central relationship, director Scherfig here combines romantic drama and the coming- of-age tale to wholly enjoyable effect. Cameo, Edinburgh.
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