Film INDEX PROFILE
FERNANDO TRUEBA AND JAVIER MARISCAL Background Javier Mariscal is a Spanish artist and designer who designed Cobi, the mascot for the Barcelona Olympics. Other iconic designs including the room chair that was used in the second series of Big Brother in the UK. Fernando Trueba was a film critic for the Spanish paper El Pais, which he’s now given up to concentrate on his successful filmmaking and producing career. The pair met when Trueba asked Mariscal to design the poster for his 2000 jazz documentary Calle 54. They hit it off immediately and Mariscal designed a number of album covers of artists Trueba produced. What they up to now? The pair have collaborated on Chico and Rita, an animated film that taps into their love of Cuba, jazz, and revolution. They wanted to work on a project that would enable them to have a closer collaboration that would combine Mariscal’s talents with graphic design and Trueba’s ability to spin a tale. The film tells the story of a Cuban artist who meets a singer and loses his girl because of his ego and jealousy.
What Trueba says about Cuba ‘I’ve been working a lot with Cuban musicians and it happened that Javier is in love with Cuban culture and he has been to Havana many times. The place touched me a lot and it’s a place that is like a beautiful girlfriend. Havana becomes a character in the movie and I think that the 40s and 50s was a golden era of music in Cuba. It wasn’t like a choice for us.’
Mariscal on the flashback storytelling structure ‘We did this because Chico is really alone and we could also tell the story of the people of Cuba and that there is a population outside of Cuba in America and inside Cuba and this film tells the story of two different Cuban people.’
Interesting Fact Trueba doesn’t play any instruments. Mariscal plays the guitar but only at home for his family. They are currently working on two more projects together. (Kaleem Aftab) ■ Chico and Rita, selected release, Fri 19 Nov. See review, page 43
46 THE LIST 18 Nov–2 Dec 2010
for their experiments, from director Landis who proved he had a deft touch with horror comedy in An American Werewolf in London. General release.
✽✽ Bus Palladium (15) (Christopher Thompson, France, 2010) Marc-André
Grondin, Arthur Dupont, Elisa Sednaoui. 100min. Comedy following a French rock group as they break up. Part of French Film Festival. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Capitalism: A Love Story (12A) ●●●●● (Michael Moore, US, 2009) 102min. Moore’s credibility has taken something of a dint since the populist, glory days of Fahrenheit 9/11 and Sicko, but his new opus sees him going for broke by taking on the whole capitalist system. But without his old pal George Bush in the White House, Moore simply doesn’t have anyone to focus his righteous ire on, meaning Capitalism: A Love Story comes in a day late and a dollar short. Cameo, Edinburgh. Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore 2D (U) ●●●●● (Brad Peyton, USA/Australia, 2010) Voices of James Marsden, Nick Nolte, Christina Applegate. 82min. Hairless sphinx cat Kitty decides to enslave humans. Likeable but instantly forgettable sequel to 2001’s live action adventure Cats & Dogs. Cineworld Parkhead, Glasgow; Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh. Ceddo (PG) ●●●●● (Ousmane Sembene, Senegal, 1977) Tabata Nidaye, Moustapha Yade, Ismaila Diagne, Matoura Dia. 120min. The Ceddo are a group of sub Saharan non- Muslim outsiders who defend their traditions against Islamic conversion, colonisation and the slave trade. Sembene’s masterful film delves deep into their culture with dramatic resonance. Recommended. Part of Sembene season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Certified Copy (12A) ●●●●● ( Abbas Kiarostami, France/Italy/Iran, 2010) Juliette Binoche, William Shimell, Jean- Claude Carrière. 106min. Kiarostami steers away from the experimentation of recent work, bringing a holiday feel to this quasi- romantic comedy. Shimell as author James Miller is pleasingly dry, while Binoche demonstrates why she deserved her Best Actress Prize at Cannes for her role in this intriguing enigma of a film. Cameo, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Change of Plans (12) (Danièle Thompson, France, 2009) Karin Viard,
Dany Boon, Marina Fois. 100min. French drawing room comedy touching upon themes of sex, romance and getting older. Ten friends meet for their yearly catch-up, although none of them know that none of the others want to be there. Part of French Film Festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Chico & Rita (15) ●●●●● (Javier Mariscal/Fernando Trueba, Spain/UK, 2010) Mario Guerra, Limara Meneses, Eman Xor Ona. 93min. See review, page 43. Selected release. Conversations with my Gardener (12A) ●●●●● (Jean Becker, France, 2007) Daniel Auteuil, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Fanny Cottençon. 108min. Successful Parisian painter (Auteuil) returns to the rural childhood home he has inherited in southern France and places an advert for a gardener. The first applicant (Darroussin) turns out to have been an old school friend and they talk freely about their respective life experiences. Adapted from Henri Cueco’s novel, this intimate two-hander might seem slight on paper, but it’s a surprisingly moving study of male friendship. Cameo, Edinburgh. Despicable Me 2D (U) ●●●●● (Pierre Coffin/Chris Renaud, US, 2010) Voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand. 94min. Universal’s latest offering is a good-humoured tale of a curmudgeonly aspiring supervillain (Carrell) whose wicked ways are transformed when the three orphaned girls he adopts to help him steal the moon end up capturing his heart instead. Engaging, if not quite a classic. General release. Despicable Me 3D (U) ●●●●● (Pierre Coffin/Chris Renaud, US, 2010) Voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand. 94min. See above. General release.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (PG) ●●●●● (Thor Freudenthal, US, 2010) Zachary Gordon, Steve Zahn, Rachael Harris. 92min. The inevitable adaptation of Jeff Kinney’s illustrated novel about wise- cracking schoolchild Greg (Gordon) may not be able to transfer all the charm of the literary bestseller but it is likeable, bright and funny. Selected release.
✽✽ Diva (15) ●●●●● (Jean-Jacques Beineix, France, 1981) Frederic
Andrei, Roland Bertin, Richard Bohringer. 117min. The twisted fate of two tapes, one an illegal recording of an American opera star, the other exposing a crime ring, is the central strand of this daffy Gallic cult favourite. Style oozes from every sprocket hole. Part of French Film Festival. Glasgow Film Theatre. Dream Home (18) ●●●●● (Pang-Ho Cheung, China, 2010) Josie Ho, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Eason Chan,. 96min. See review, page 44. Showcase Cinema, Glasgow. Due Date (15) ●●●●● (Todd Phillips, US, 2010) Robert Downey Jr, Zach Gilifianakis. 95min. This attempt to re- capture the success of previous Phillips/Galifianakis hit The Hangover falls flat with an anti-buddy roadtrip movie in which expectant father (Downey Jr) has to rush cross-country to the birth with annoying passenger (Galifianakis) in tow. Downey Jr is watchable, but he’s about the only thing that is. General release.
✽✽ Dumas (L’autre Dumas) (12A) (Safy Nebbou, France, 2010) Gérard Depardieu, Benoît Poelvoorde, Dominique Blanc. 105min. A fictionalised comedy about the great novelist. Part of French Film Festival. Glasgow Film Theatre. Easy A (15) ●●●●● (Will Gluck, US, 2010) Emma Stone, Cam Gigandet, Amanda Bynes. 92min. Reminiscent of John Hughes in his heyday, Gluck’s edgy high-school comedy stars sparky newcomer Stone as Olive, a gauche outsider who achieves popularity by telling a little white lie about losing her virginity that rapidly spirals out of control. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow; Odeon Braehead, Renfrew.
✽✽ Eden is West (15) (Costa-Gavras, France, 2009) Riccardo Scamarcio,
Odysseas Papaspiliopoulos, Léa Wiazemsky. 106min. Thriller/drama exploring the dangers faced by immigrants in modern Europe. Part of French Film Festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Eighth Day (15) ●●●●● (Jaco Van Dormael, France, 1996) Daniel Auteuil, Pascal Duquenne, Miou-Miou. 114min. The follow-up film by the director of Toto Le Heros will disappoint most, annoy many and win over only a few. Auteuil plays an uptight businessman whose life is transformed when he comes into contact with a man with Downs Syndrome (Duquenne). The film shifts its styles boldly from sentiment to comedy to drama, and its moments of bizarre magic realism give it a lift, but ultimately exemplifies the dreadful ‘handicapped people are touched by God’ cliché beloved of Hollywood. Part of the Psychiatry Ethics Film Festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Far (Loin) (18) ●●●●● (Andre Techine, France, 2001) Stephane
Rideau, Lubna Azaabal, Mohamed Hamaidi. 120min. Techine’s film brings together a truck driver who smuggles hashish, his girlfriend who dreams of a new life, and his quietly rebellious friend. Part of French Film Festival. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Forbidden (PG) ●●●●● (Frank Capra, US, 1932) Barbara Stanwyck, Adolphe Menjou, Ralph Bellamy. 85min. Melodrama about a smalltown librarian who falls for a tall dark stranger on a cruise to Havana. Part of Capra season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Check out the GreatOffers on page 6
✽✽ French Film Festival Shorts Programme (15) (Various, France, 1978-2010) 70min. Over an hour of French short films which include La Vieille Dame et les Pigeons from director of Belleville Rendez-vous, Sylvain Chomet, Homeland by Herve Gorree-Wery and 8 et des Poussières by Laurent Teyssier. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. From Beyond (18) ●●●●● (Stuart Gordon, US, 1986) Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ken Foree. 86min. Psychotronic adventure based on a story by HP Lovecraft, in which a group of scientists investigating the sixth sense accidentally open a portal to a horrific parallel universe. Glasgow Film Theatre. The Future’s Getting Old Like the Rest of Us (tbc) (Beatrice Gibson, UK, 2010) 48min. Experimentally structured film consisting of several monologues constructed from the transcripts of a series of discussion groups held in a Camden care home for the elderly. CCA, Glasgow. G-Force 2D (PG) ●●●●● (Hoyt Yeatman, UK, 2009) Voices of Bill Nighy, Will Arnett, Kelli Garner. 90min. Jerry Bruckheimer-produced comedy adventure about a covertly trained group of guinea pig special agents who are charged with saving the world from disaster. Simple minded and likeable enough. Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh.
✽✽ The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (15) ●●●●●
(Daniel Alfredson, Sweden/Denmark/Germany, 2009) Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist, Lena Endre. 146min. See review, page 43. Selected release. The Girl who Played with Fire (15) ●●●●● (Daniel Alfredson, Sweden, 2009) Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist, Sofia Ledarp. 129min. With Lisbeth Salander (Rapace) accused of murder, Blomkvist (Nyqvist) works to find out who is really guilty. Kept apart for most of the film, the duo’s chemistry isn’t given a chance to shine; yet the film is nonetheless engrossing, even if its major revelation is no real surprise. Glasgow Film Theatre. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (18) ●●●●● (Niels Arden Oplev, Sweden, 2009) Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Peter Haber. 152min. When investigative journalist Mikhael Blomkvist (Nyqvist) is called upon by an ageing Swedish industrialist to investigate the 40-year-old disappearance of his beloved great niece, his careful investigations get nowhere until a mysterious gothic Pippi Longstocking (Rapace) intervenes. The first of Stieg Laarson’s deservedly successful millennium thrillers receives a faithful but laborious film treatment. Glasgow Film Theatre. Girl, Interrupted (15) ●●●●● (James Mangold, US, 2000) Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Whoopi Goldberg. 127min. Ryder plays Susanna Kaysen, whose memoirs of her time spent in a mental institution in the late 60s provide the basis for this film, but the star of the show is Lisa (Jolie), a gorgeous, unpredictable sociopath who establishes herself as Susanna’s best friend and worst enemy. The film does veer too far into tissue territory, but this remains a sensitive and persuasive piece of work. Part of the Psychiatry Ethics Film Festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Golmaal 3 (12A) (Rohit Shetty, India, 2010) Kareena Kapoor, Ajay Devgan, Mithum Chakraborty. 125min. Third film in the Golmaal franchise, starring Kapoor as tomboyish heroine Daboo. Selected release. GRAMNet Screening: Arthur Balfour and Me & Arna’s Children (E) (Various) 90min Glasgow Refugee, Asylum & Migration Network presents Arthur Balfour and Me, the story of a Scottish politician’s intervention in the fate of a young asylum seeker from Palestine, and Arna’s Children, about a children’s theatre in the Jenin Refugee Camp in Palestine. CCA, Glasgow. 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. St Bride’s Centre, Edinburgh.