list.co.uk/film Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (PG) (Walter Ruttman, Germany, 1927) 77min. Haunting documentary celebrating the rhythm of life over a single day in 1927 Berlin. Studying a cross-section of the populace that inhabited this lively city, the film conveys an appreciation of the joys and atmosphere of city life. With a live soundtrack from Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra. Part of The New Objectivity: Realism in Weimar Cinema season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Big Uneasy (12A) (Harry Shearer, US, 2010) 98min. Comedian Harry Shearer examines why New Orleans was so ill- prepared for Hurricane Katrina and how its repercussions shook the whole country. Part of the UK Green Film Festival. Glasgow Film Theatre. Billy Liar (12) ●●●●● (John Schlesinger, UK, 1963) Tom Courtenay, Julie Christie, Rodney Bewes. 98min. Vintage northern kitchen sink drama based on Keith Waterhouse’s popular book. An undertaker’s clerk slips in and out of a Walter Mitty-style fantasy world to escape the drudgery of life in a northern town. The spirit of the swinging 60s is captured in Christie, while Courtenay brings a warmth and sensitivity to the tale. Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh. Black Swan (15) ●●●●● (Darren Aronofsky, US, 2010) Natalie 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 both the white and black swans in a lavish production of Swan Lake. Macrobert, Stirling. Blitz (18) (Elliot Lester, US, 2011) Jason Statham, Paddy Considine, Aidan Gillen. 97min. See Also Released, page 57. Selected release. The Blue Dahlia (PG) ●●●●● (George Marshall, US, 1946) Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix. 95min. A pilot is suspected of murdering his
Dylan at the Movies
To mark his 70th birthday on 24 May, this five-film season celebrates Bob Dylan’s association with cinema from Fellini’s La Strada, a film he loved to go and watch as a young man in Greenwich Village, to the documentaries and films he took part in. As you would expect, Don’t Look Back, Renaldo and Clara and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid are all here and Todd Haynes’ mental biopic-of-sorts I’m Not There kicks things off nicely. Belle & Sebastian’s Stevie Jackson, songwriter and performer Rab Noakes and season curator Pasquale Iannonne will introduce the films. Don’t Look Back (pictured), screening on Dylan’s birthday, will be introduced by broadcaster and musician John Cavanagh and will be followed by a panel discussion with special guests including Senior BBC Music Producer Stewart Cruickshank. Ticket deals available. ■ GFT, Glasgow from Tue 3 May.
adulterous wife in this film noir scripted by Raymond Chandler. Sofi’s, Edinburgh. La Boheme (PG) ●●●●● (Robert Dornheim, Austria/Germany, 2008) Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazon, George Von Bergen. 114min. Decent film version of the classic opera. Macrobert, Stirling. Brief Encounter (PG) ●●●●● (David
INDEX Film
Lean, UK, 1945) Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway. 86min. Stiff upper lips and emotionally charged brushes of the hands are all that Johnson and Howard will allow themselves as their extra-marital ‘affair’ doesn’t develop much beyond unspoken longings at a railway station. Sofi’s, Edinburgh. Brother Bear (U) ●●●●● (Aaron Blaise/Robert Walker, US, 2003) Voices of Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, Rick Moranis. 85min. Soppy, uninspired take on an Inuktitut legend about a bear who wants to do more than just shit in the woods. The Hippodrome, Bo’ness. Burning in the Sun (12A) (Cambria Matlow, Morgan Robinson, US, 2010) 82min. Documentary about the travails of a young man attempting to bring solar power to rural communities in Mali, tying his story in with bigger questions about the responsibilities of government big energy companies to the communities they profit from. A Q&A with Mark Lazarowicz MP, Shadow Minister for International Development, and Nicholas Gubbins, CEO of Community Energy Scotland follows this screening. Part of Green Shoots Film Festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Burrow Me (15) (Laure Prouvost, UK, 2009) 90min. Experimental effort from artist Prouvost, in which viewers are welcomed into the underground lair of a child narrator. CCA, Glasgow. Cave of Forgotten Dreams 2D (15) ●●●●● (Werner Herzog, Canada/US/France/Germany/UK, 2010) 95min. Immersive documentary examining the Chauvet-Pont-d-’Arc caves in France’s Ardèche region that contain the oldest ever paintings created by humans, dating back 35,000 years. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Cedar Rapids (12A) ●●●●● (Miguel Arteta, US, 2011) Ed Helms, Anne Heche, John C Reilly. 87min. Likeable, well- written comedy about the unusual trajectory of naïve midwestern insurance agent Tim Lippe (Helms). General release.
28 Apr–26 May 2011 THE LIST 59