www.list.co.uk/film which a family’s attempts at mourning are repeatedly interrupted. Selected release. The Double Life of Veronique (15) ●●●●● (Krzystof Kieslowski, Poland/France, 1991) Irène Jacob, Halina Gryglaszewska, Kalina Jedrusik, Aleksander Bardini. 110min. Two girls – one Polish, the other French – are born at the same time on the same day and come to discover that their fates are bound up together. Part of 25 Years of Filmhouse. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Drunken Angel (15) ●●●●● (Akira Kurosawa, Japan, 1948) Takashi Shimura, Toshiro Mifune, Michiyo Kiguri. 98min. A cocky young gangster comes to rely upon an alcoholic doctor in Kurosawa and Mifune’s first collaboration. Part of Kurosawa season. Glasgow Film Theatre. Etre Et Avoir (To Be and to Have) (U) ●●●●● (Nicolas Philibert, France, 2002) George Lopez. 104min. To Be and to Have documents one year at George Lopez’s one-room school house in the remote dairy farming region of Auvergne. Part of 25 Years of Filmhouse. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Extraordinary Measures (PG) ●●●●● (Tom Vaughan, US, 2010) Brendan Fraser, Harrison Ford, Keri Russell. 105min. Ford and Fraser add some high-powered star wattage to Vaughan’s otherwise formulaic medical drama about a father’s desperate attempt to save his children from a potentially fatal disease. Inspired by an article written by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Geeta Anand, as well as her subsequent book, Extraordinary Measures*. Vue Ocean, Edinburgh. Fantastic Mr Fox (PG) ●●●●● (Wes Anderson, USA, 2009) Voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Adrien Brody. 88min. Anderson’s inspired choice of stop- motion animation pays off in this beautiful and idiosyncratic adaptation of the well- loved children’s tale. While kids may enjoy it, Anderson’s typically arch humour is aimed more at their parents, who will also be impressed by the star-studded voice cast – Bill Murray as a badger lawyer anyone?. Vue Ocean, Edinburgh. Farewell my Concubine (15) ●●●●● (Chen Kaige, China, 1993) Gong Li, Leslie Cheung, Zhang Fengyi. 156min. The story of two Peking Opera actors and the woman who comes between them provides an intimately detailed story which is set to a constantly shifting backdrop of Chinese politics during the 20th century. The opera setting provides colour and spectacle, and questions how far a man will go for his art; the historical episodes give this Palme d’Or-winning film the flavour of a genuine epic. Part of 25 Years of Filmhouse. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Film Discussion Group Meet up with other film buffs to swap opinions and perceptions of both art house and big blockbuster recent releases. Held on the second Wednesday of every month. Glasgow Film Theatre. Fly Me to the Moon (U) ●●●●● (Ben Stassen, US, 2008) Buzz Aldrin, Adrienne Barbeau, Ed Begley Jr. 84min. A 3D film describing mankind’s first trip to the moon is a lively sounding prospect, and moments in Stassen’s animation provide a genuine wow-factor, but such moments of poetry are fleeting and the majority of this film insanely focuses on the uninteresting plight of three houseflies who stowaway onboard. IMAX Theatre, Glasgow. Four Lions (15) ●●●●● (Christopher Morris, UK, 2010) Benedict Cumberbatch, Alex MacQueen, Julia Davis. 101min. Post- 9/11 worthiness put aside, Morris hits the right note as he pokes fun at prejudices with some hapless British Muslims who want to blow themselves up as part of a misconstrued notion of Jihad. Vue Omni, Edinburgh. 4.3.2.1 (15) ●●●●● (Noel Clarke, UK, 2010) Emma Roberts, Tamsin Egerton, Ophelia Lovibond. 116min. With this second film about four girls who have the weekend from hell, Clarke pushes against British drama traditions, telling interconnected stories with a cast of oddball characters. But while the resulting mash-up is entertaining,4.3.2.1 is ultimately less than the sum of its parts. Cineworld Renfrew
Street, Glasgow. Furry Vengeance (PG) ●●●●● (Roger Kumble, US/United Arab Emirates, 2010) Brendan Fraser, Brooke Shields, Ken Jeong. 91min. A band of angry animals teaches an ambitious real estate developer (Fraser) a lesson when his housing development encroaches on their wilderness habitat in this likeably silly, family comedy with a welcome ecological message. Selected release. Get Him to the Greek (15) ●●●●● (Nicholas Stoller, US, 2010) Jonah Hill, Russell Brand, Sean Combs. 108min. Brand is matched up with Superbad’s Hill for a raunchy bromance in this LA-set music industry satire. The bearded comic’s self- parody gives way to annoying narcissism, but not before the film has hit enough targets to pass muster as a sharp lampoon of celebrity culture. General release. Grease (PG) ●●●●● (Randal Kleiser, US, 1978) John Travolta, Olivia Newton John, Stockard Channing. 110min. Over thirty years on, Grease is still the word, and still the way we are feeling. Cameo, Edinburgh. Greenberg (15) ●●●●● (Noah Baumbach, US, 2010) Ben Stiller, Rhys Ifans. 107min. Turning again to the withering, unacceptable and downright unpleasant face of educated America, Baumbach profiles Greenberg – an obnoxious and self-absorbed 40-year-old who has returned to Los Angeles after years away. Post Woody Allen’s comic acting heyday this is the most (squirming) fun you will ever have with a neurotic. Cameo, Edinburgh. Hana-Bi (18) ●●●●● (Takeshi Kitano, Japan, 1998) Beat Takeshi, Kayoko Kishimoto, Ren Osugi. 103min. Kitano, a mega-star in Japan, returns to the director’s seat for Hana-Bi, in which he stars as a cop suffering bouts of guilt. His wife is dying in hospital, his partner has been paralysed during a stakeout and he’s so far in debt to the Yakuza that he’s contemplating robbing a bank. The title, in Japanese, means ‘fireworks’, but this film doesn’t explode like Takeshi’s earlier films, Violent Cop and Sonatine. Instead, a more subdued atmosphere floats over a work that skillfully draws together its visual and emotional plains. Part of 25 Years of Filmhouse. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Happiest Girl in the World (15) ●●●●● (Radu Jade, Romania/Netherlands, 2009) Andreea Bosneag, Vasile Muraru, Violeta Haret. 100min. This debut feature from Romanian filmmaker Jude, about teenager Delia (Bosneag) who must travel to Bucharest to record a television commercial after winning a car in a competition, makes for a sympathetic study of the generational tensions within a family struggling to prosper in a consumer-driven society. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Heartbreaker (L’Arnacoeur) (15) ●●●●● (Pascal Chaumeil, France/Monaco, 2010) Romain Duris, Vanessa Paradis, Julie Ferrier. 104min. Monte Carlo-set light-hearted romantic comedy about a man who is paid to break up couples by any means necessary. The heartbreaker’s cynical attitude to love is questioned when he’s employed to stop the impending nuptials of Juliette (Paradis) to a seemingly perfect Brit (Lincoln). Selected release. Here Come The Girls (tbc) (Various, Various) 98min. Nine up-and-coming and established female filmmakers present a variety of shorts that look at all aspects of lesbian life and love. Featuring work from acclaimed writers/filmmakers Guinevere Turner (The L Word, Itty Bitty Titty Committee, American Psycho) and Roberta Munroe (How Not To Make A Short Film), actresses Nathalie Toriel (Finn’s Girl) and Lucy Liemann (Moving Wallpaper, Reggie Perrin) and British performance artists Bird La Bird, Dyke Marilyn and Split Britches. Glasgow Film Theatre. House of Games (15) ●●●●● (David Mamet, US, 1987) Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Lilia Skala. 102min. A workaholic psychiatrist, the author of a bestseller on compulsive behaviour, develops an obsession with a group of con
men and the scams they perpetrate. Attracted by the vicarious thrill of their games, she is eager to graduate from observer to participant. The movie starts slowly, but becomes a gripping and pleasurable thriller of serpentine twists, hard-boiled Chandleresque dialogue and surprise double-crosses. A Chinese box of a film. Part of Magic Cinema season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. I Am Love (15) ●●●●● (Luca Guadagnino, Italy, 2009) Tilda Swinton, Flavio Parenti, Edoardo Gabbriellini. 120min. An announcement made at the birthday celebration of an ageing Italian industrialist triggers a series of events that will impact the family’s lives forever in this film of rare formal grace. It is at this party that central protagonist Emma (Swinton) meets Antonio (Gabbriellini), a gifted chef, with whom she begins an illicit love affair which gives rise to new passions, emotions and a desire for liberation. Inspired and accomplished filmmaking with a confident aesthetic. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. I Can’t Sleep (15) ●●●●● (Claire Denis, France/Switzerland, 1994) Yekaterina Golubeva, Richard Courcet, Vincent Dupont, Alex Descas. 110min. Three people, connected by a serial killer, deal with life as immigrants in 1980s Paris. Camille, a Mauritian transvestite, his brother Theo and aspiring Lithuanian actress Daiga struggle with the pressure of balancing life as part of an expatriate community and trying to assimilate in their new home. Part of Denis season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. I Hate Luv Storys (12A) (Punit Malhotra, India, 2010) Sonam Kapoor, Imran Khan, Sammir Dattani. 134min. Bollywood romcom. Selected release. In The Mood for Love (PG) ●●●●● (Wong Kar-Wai, Hong Kong, 2000) Maggie Cheung, Tong Leung. 97min. In 60s Hong Kong, an adulterous romance is happening elsewhere. Kar-wai’s interest lies with the cuckolded, and the way that something even
Index Film
more intense, personal and fortuitous develops out of their shared ‘adulteree’ status. Kar-Wai offers a seductive surface texture that’s undercut by his trademark emphasis of the accidental over the clearly intentional. Subtly stunning filmmaking. Part of Summer Sundays screenings. Glasgow Film Theatre.
✽✽ Inception (12A) (Christopeher Nolan, US, 2010) Leonardo DiCaprio. 146min. Nolan’s new sci-fi thriller. Unable to review at time of going to press. See www.list.co.uk. General release. The Intruder (L’Intrus) (15) ●●●●● (Claire Denis, France, 2004) Michel Subor, Gregoire Colin, Yekaterina Golubeva. 130min. Director Denis takes us on a startling journey across the hemispheres in the company of a mysterious loner (Subor), who is looking for a new heart. Backed by Stuart Staples’ dissonant guitar score, The Intruder uses recurring symbolic images, while dissolving the boundaries between fantasy and reality. Who can resist a film in which a laughing Beatrice Dalle (credited as the ‘Queen of the Northern Hemisphere’), triumphantly powers a team of huskies across the snow-covered wilds? Part of Denis season. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Iron Man 2 (12A) ●●●●● (Jon Favreau, US, 2010) Robert Downey Jr, Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow. 124min. Favreau returns to direct Downey Jr as the man in the metal suit. As expected, the action is big, bold and brash, the first appearance of Rourke in his Whiplash guise at the Monaco Grand Prix is a masterpiece of flying debris and crackling electricity. But it is Downey Jr who steals the show, playing Tony Stark as Bruce Wayne minus the guilt, revelling in his wealth and the public’s adoration of his Iron Man persona. Lovingly made multiplex action fodder with street smarts, it won’t change the world but it’ll keep you giddily entertained for two hours. Showcase Cinema, Coatbridge, Glasgow.
THEATRE MUSIC FOOD VISUAL ARTS DANCE FASHION PERFORMANCE STREET ART COMEDY MERCHANT CITY FESTIVAL
22–25 JULY
merchantcityfestival.com Harry Stork
8–22 Jul 2010 THE LIST 55