Film INDEX
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
About Elly (15) (Asghar Farhadi, Iran, 2009) Golshifteh Farahani, Shahab Hosseini, Taraneh Alidoosti. 119min. A seaside jaunt for a group of young, urban Iranians turns sour when the aloof outsider they try to set their friend up with suddenly disappears. Part of Middle Eastern Film Festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Alice in the Cities (U) ●●●●● (Wim Wenders, Germany, 1974) Rudiger Vogler, Yella Rotlander, Lisa Krezer. 110min. A despairing photojournalist travelling across the United States finds himself on a journey back to Germany in the company of a nine-year-old girl. In the search for her family, he finds himself becoming her surrogate parent and spiritual guide. Wise, perceptive and beautifully shot early Wenders. New 35mm print. Part of An Introduction to European Cinema. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. An Affair to Remember (U) ●●●●● (Leo McCarey, US, 1957) Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Cathleen Nesbitt. 114min. Romantic weepie with Grant as a wealthy bachelor (again!) and Kerr as the nightclub singer he falls for. Warmly sentimental, it was the ‘women’s movie’ that kept popping up in Sleepless in Seattle. Valvona & Crolla, Edinburgh. Animals United (U) ●●●●● (Reinhard Klooss, Holger Tappe, Germany, 2010) Voices of Ralf Schmitz, Thomas Fritsch, Christoph Maria Herbst. 92min. Well-meaning but cliché-ridden German animation for very young children with an environmental message that we humans should respect our planet and fellow creatures more. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow; Grosvenor, Glasgow. Barney’s Version (15) ●●●●● (Richard J Lewis, US, 2010) Paul Giamatti, Minnie Driver, Rosamund Pike. 133min. In another film in which an unappealing man is unfeasibly paired with a series of beautiful women, television director Lewis offers a rambling and unfocused exploration of the failed romantic history of a middle-aged cynical schlub, enlivened by solid turns from Giamatti and Pike. Selected release. Beautiful Thing (15) ●●●●● (Hettie Macdonald, UK, 1996) Glen Berry, Linda Henry, Scott Neal. 90min. Jamie, a teenager having a hard time at the local comprehensive, falls for neighbour Ste, who himself is on the receiving end from his ex-boxer dad. Serviceable adaptation of Jonathan Harvey’s hit play. First-timer Macdonald’s direction is unflashy, but attuned to the inner lives of these motley individuals, and the cast work wonders. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Biutiful (15) ●●●●● (Alejandro González Iñárritu, Spain/Mexico, 2010) Javier Bardem, Maricel Álvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib. 147min. Having been diagnosed with terminal cancer, Barcelona underworld hustler Uxbal (Bardem) has just months to put his chaotic life in order and make arrangements for his young children and unstable ex-wife (Alvarez). Sentimental but visually impressive storytelling from writer-director Iñárritu. Selected release. ✽✽ Black Swan (15) ●●●●● (Darren Portman, Mila Kunis. 107min. Aronofsky’s follow-up to The Wrestler is an intense and gripping portrayal of psychological meltdown. Young ballerina Nina (Portman) finds herself thrown into a maelstrom of conflict, backstabbing and mental manipulation when she is cast as the white swan in a lavish production of Swan Lake. Dark and powerful. General release. ✽✽ Blue Valentine (15) ●●●●● (Derek Cianfrance, US, 2010) Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams. 111min. An emotionally draining but extraordinary story of the decline of a marriage, following Dean (Gosling) as a man struggling to love his wife Cindy (Williams) who has grown Aronofsky, US, 2010) Natalie
54 THE LIST 3–17 Feb 2011
apathetic towards him. Claustrophobic and at times almost unwatchable, the pair put in astonishingly good performances in this brutal piece of filmmaking. Selected release. Breakfast at Tiffany’s (15) ●●●●● (Blake Edwards, US, 1961) Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen, Mickey Rooney. 115min. ‘How do I look?’ asks original waif Hepburn in the role of borderline schizophrenic Holly Golightly. ‘Very good, I must say I’m amazed,’ replies Peppard in the role of frustrated writer and part-time gigolo Paul Varjak in this adaptation from the novel by Truman Capote. The iconic Hepburn has never made neurosis look so good, and while the film may have numerous redeeming features (not least the exquisite cinematography by Franz F Plane and the swinging soundtrack by Henry Mancini), it is she who remains responsible for making it such a well-loved classic. Glasgow Film Theatre.
(Rowan Joffe, UK, 2010) Sam Riley, ✽✽ Brighton Rock (15) ●●●●● Helen Mirren, Andrea Riseborough. 106min. See feature, page 49 and review, page 51. Selected release.
Burlesque (12A) ●●●●● (Steve Antin, US, 2010) Cher, Christina Aguilera, Alan Cumming. 119min. Run-of-the-mill implausible sequinfest featuring Aguilera as a small-town girl who quits her waitressing job to make it as a singer and is taken under the grizzled wing of former dancer (and failing burlesque club owner) Cher. More than faintly ridiculous and an ill-advised directorial debut. Vue Ocean, Edinburgh. The Bus (15) (Tunç Okan, Switzerland/Turkey, 1976) Tuncel Kurtiz, Björn Gedda, Tunç Okan. 91min. Black comedy about a group of Turkish migrant workers on their way to Switzerland who are robbed and abandoned, in their bus, in the middle of a 24-hour shopping centre. Part of Middle Eastern Film Festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Caligula (E) (France, 2011) 85min. Le Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris presents a tale of a man in the grip of megalomania, danced to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Choreographed by Nicolas le Riche. Glasgow Film Theatre; Cameo, Edinburgh. Casablanca (PG) ●●●●● (Michael Curtiz, US, 1942) Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Dooley Wilson. 102min. You
Festival Focus
GLASGOW SHORT FILM FESTIVAL Returning for its fourth year, the Glasgow Short Film Festival presents a packed weekend of local and international films, workshops, panel discussions and parties with a special emphasis on bringing undiscovered and rare work to the fore.
New York’s punk scene is explored in No Wave Cinema, a collection of underground films made between 1976 and 1984, an event that festival director Matt Lloyd is particularly proud of. ‘Guest curator George Clark has done a massive job of seeking out 16mm prints from various libraries and archives in New York and elsewhere, and this will be a unique opportunity to see these films in the UK,’ he says.
Another highlight is the focus on Japanese auteur Naomi Kawase (pictured). At the age of 27, she became the youngest ever winner of the Camera d’Or at Cannes. Her unforgettable short films capture her immediate world with rare beauty and sensitivity. There will be two programmes of films by Kawase – the first exploring her relationship with the great aunt who raised her and the second about the father whom she never knew.
Alongside these special focuses run eight competition strands
showcasing short films from across the globe, including award-winning Romanian work The Cage. There will also be a screening dedicated to Digicult, the short film scheme which has been giving Scottish filmmakers a foot up into the film industry for ten years. The festival has gained a reputation for its laid-back vibe. Lloyd refers to it as having the air of a ‘three day continuous party’ with an ‘informal and inclusive atmosphere’. The DJs and live acts lined up (including LuckyMe, Optimo and Wounded Knee) are a testament to the festival’s celebratory spirit, although this year it’s accompanied by a poignant reminder of the political power of film. Lloyd has decided to dedicate the festival to Iranian director Jafar Panahi who was recently sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for attempting to make a film that was believed to be critical of the Iranian government. ‘It was less a considered decision than an instinctive response to the news of his imprisonment,’ he says. ‘We had already programmed his short film The Accordion, so it would have seemed blinkered, immoral even, not to make some kind of gesture of solidarity. We can do our bit to support an international movement to raise awareness of this appalling abuse of the right to freedom of expression.’ (Gail Tolley) ■ Glasgow Short Film Festival, CCA, Glasgow, Fri 18–Sun 20 Feb.
must remember this . . . Bogart being impossibly noble, Bergman torn between two lovers, Claude Rains playing both ends against the middle, devious Nazis, a fogbound airport, a piano-player tinkling that tune. A wonderful hill of beans. Glasgow Film Theatre; Scotsman Screening Room, Edinburgh. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 2D (PG) ●●●●● (Michael Apted, US, 2010) Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes, Tilda Swinton. 112min. Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund (Keynes) Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace (Will Poulter), where they meet up with Prince Caspian (Barnes) for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, and warriors before reaching the edge of the world. CS Lewis’ saga adaptation continues. Selected release. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 3D (PG) ●●●●● (Michael Apted, US, 2010) Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes, Tilda Swinton. 112min. See above. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow. Crispin Hellion Glover’s Big Slide Show It is Fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE. (18) (Crispin Glover, US. 2011) 180min. Actor and writer Glover presents his Big Slide Show, a reading of eight illustrated books he has made, with the pictures projected behind him, followed by a screening of It Is Fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE, the second film in his It trilogy and a Q&A session. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Dilemma (12A) ●●●●● (Ron Howard, US, 2011) Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Winona Ryder, Jennifer Connolly. 111min. When best friends and business partners Ronny (Vaughn) and happily married Nick (James) try to land a dream project that will launch their design company, their friendship is tested by secrets and lies. Mediocre and unfunny bromance that wastes the talents involved including Ryder and Connolly. Howard directs like a man distracted. General release. La Dolce Vita (15) ●●●●● (Federico Fellini, Italy/France, 1960) Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimee. 173min. Paparazzo Mastroianni mixes with the beautiful people of rich Roman society and is ambivalently shocked and fascinated by the vigour of their excessive decadence. Everything you ever wanted from a Fellini movie – black humour, grotesque sexuality, inspired visual imagination and the wonderful Marcello. Sloans, Glasgow. 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; Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh. Fei Cheng (Ghost Town) (E) (Zhao Dayong, China, 2009) 169min. Intense and beautiful portrayal of life in a financially destitute village in Yunnan province in southwest China. Part of China Takeaway Festival. CCA, Glasgow. ✽✽ The Fighter (15) ●●●●● (David O Russell, US, 2010) Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams. 115min. See review, page 51 and profile, page ??. General release. The Five Pennies (U) ●●●●● (Melville Shavelson, US, 1959) Danny Kaye, Louis Armstrong, Barbara Bel Geddes. 112min. Kaye plays ‘Red’ Nichols, a cornet player who moves to New York during the roaring twenties to pursue his dream as cornet player in a band, only to have everything fall apart when his daughter develops polio. Valvona & Crolla, Edinburgh. Future Shorts (E) (Various) 90min. An international initiative offering a monthly showcase of the finest short films from around the world. This month’s selection includes a music video from electro-indie scamps Klaxons, a colourful and crazy