www.list.co.uk/film DOCUMENTARY NO DISTANCE LEFT TO RUN (15) 104min ●●●●●
Taking its title from a song on their 1999 album 13 (believed to refer to Damon Albarn’s protracted split from his long term partner Justine Frischmann) this solid, occasionally compelling documentary revisits Britpop’s fabulous four on the brink of their 2009 reunion tour. Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace’s film is, however, something a little bit more interesting than a straight Blur concert film. Anchored by interviews taken between rehearsals and using much previously unseen archive material, No Distance Left To Run recounts the story of Blur from Colchester and Goldsmiths to implosion, separation, reunion and their euphoric return gigs at Glastonbury and Hyde Park. It’s a giddy, modern and fairly scruffy rock ‘n’ roll tale, one made more interesting by the fact that at its heart it is the story of friendships usurped by fame and success and an effective confirmation of that old cliché that time heals all.
Older and wiser – Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree give very honest accounts of how a childhood friendship (between Albarn and Coxon) turned into a JD Salinger-influenced band Seymour and then into Blur. Following their trajectory through the Britpop years the filmmakers wisely focus (in often unflinching fashion) as much on the fractious relationships between the members of the band as with the more famous one with Oasis. It’s a fascinating journey, one that leaves you feeling only admiration for this remarkable band. (Paul Dale) ■ Out now on selected release.
DRAMA STILL WALKING (ARUITEMO ARUITEMO) (U) 114min ●●●●●
Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda (Afterlife, Distance, Nobody Knows) confirms his status as his country’s most gifted talent with this moving and uplifting tale of death, family and dementia. Twelve years on from the accidental death of their
oldest son, retired doctor father Kyohei (Yoshio Harada) and mother Toshiko (Yui Natsukawa, excellent) are joined by surviving son Ryota (Hiroshi Abe), daughter Chinami (You) and their respective families for a day of banter, bickering and a non-stop buffet cooked by more-than-capable cook Toshiko.
has always ignored in preference for his work, old resentments come to the surface. Toshiko tries to cook everything better, and their surviving son Ryoto has issues, but there is some kind of healing in the fact that his adopted son has a bond with the old man. Throughout it all Toshiko remains implacable, sarcastic and undoubtedly the beating heart of the family. It’s hard to remember a better, more honest film
about the modern family where expectation and disappointment are inevitably mixed in the same cup. Koreeda’s brilliance is his ability to contain but never limit his remarkable cast as they progress through the mundane to soon forgotten realisations.
Initially bearing the weight of all too obvious At a time when western governments are
comparison to Yusujiro Ozu’s recently re-released Tokyo Story, Still Walking opens out into something more hopeful, truthful and relevant. Using fluid, unobtrusive camerawork and cluttered with dialogue marked by its homeliness and familial truth, Koreeda’s film is closer to something Mike Leigh might produce than anything from Japan’s golden age of cinema. As Kyohei struggles through the blanks of burgeoning dementia to connect with the family he abandoning their commitments to the dementia epidemic quicker than they are to imminent ecological disaster, Still Walking is a reminder of the power of family (no matter how dysfunctional) and its crucial role in any kind of cure. The challenge will be how to offer the necessary support with dignity and humanity. Still Walking offers both those things in abundance. A rare achievement. (Paul Dale) ■ GFT, Glasgow and selected release from Fri 22 Jan.
Reviews Film
ALSO RELEASED Armored (12A) 87min ●●●●● Dumb reinforced heist flick starring Matt Damon. See preview, page 46. General release from Fri 22 Jan. Toy Story 2 (3D) (U) 94min ●●●●● John Lasseter’s masterful sequel gets the silly glasses treatment. We’re just happy to see it back on the big screen – dimensionally enhanced or not. Selected release from Fri 22 Jan
Edge of Darkness (15) 116min (unable to review at time of going to press) Big screen, big budget version of celebrated 1985 British TV series adapted by Body of Lies and The Departed screenwriter William Monahan and directed by Martin Casino Royale Campbell who directed the original television series. Mel Gibson (pictured) and Danny Huston star. Reviewed next issue or before then at www.list.co.uk General release from Fri 29 Jan. Late Autumn (PG) 128min ●●●●● Reissue of lovely and poignant 1960 Yusujiro Tokyo Story Ozu drama about three friends’ attempt to find husbands for their late mate’s wife and daughter. Showing as part of Ozu season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Fri 29 Jan. Veer (15) 123min ●●●●● Hindi epic set during British rule in the 1870s when one clan (led by Bollywood beefcake Salman Khan) decides to take on the sadistic might of the British Empire’s divide and rule policy. Unsurprisingly the English don’t come out smelling of roses. The good news is there are no Scottish characters in the film. Selected release from Fri 29 Jan. 21 Jan–4 Feb 2010 THE LIST 49