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The Night of The Hunter (PG) ●●●●● (Charles Laughton, US, 1955) Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lilian Gish. 93min. Mitchum is unforgettable in this atmospheric tale (sadly Laughton’s only film as director) in which he plays a psychotic priest chasing two children for the money stolen by their father. James Agee’s script and Laughton’s stark monochrome visuals mark out an allegorical conflict between good and evil but there’s plenty haunting imagery to make this a mesmerising cinematic experience. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. No Strings Attached (15) ●●●●● (Ivan Reitman, US, 2011) Ashton Kutcher, Natalie Portman. 107min. Two friends (Portman and Kutcher) fall into a casual sexual relationship, only to find that there are always strings attached. Reitman, director of Ghostbusters, makes his comeback with a sweet-and-sour confection that coasts by on personable leads, but stutters awkwardly through lame comedy. The Hippodrome, Bo’ness. Norwegian Wood (15) ●●●●● (Tran Anh Hung, Japan, 2010) Ken’ichi Matsuyama, Rinko Kikuchi, Kiko Mizuhara. 133min. The story of a directionless Japanese student and his relationships is one of Haruki Murakami’s more straightforwardly accessible tales, but Tran Anh Hung’s contemplative approach and sluggish pacing fail to translate it into substantial cinema. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Omar Amiralay Part 1 (15) (Omar Amiralay, Syria, Various) 58min. A double bill of one of Syria’s most important documentary filmmakers, Film Essay on the Euphrates Dam focuses on the creation of a dam, whilst A Flood in Baath Country deals with the aftermath when the Zayzun Dam collapses. With an introduction from the organisers of Reel Festivals 2011: Syria and Lebanon. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Omar Amiralay Part 2 (15) (Omar Amiralay, Syria, 1997) 72min. Second offering of documentaries from the Syrian. A Plate of Sardines tells Amiralay’s own story about how he first heard of Israel. There Are So Many Things Left to Say examines the ideals of Amiralay’s youth through a portrait of his journalist and playwright friend. Part of Reel Festivals 2011: Syria and Lebanon. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Oranges and Sunshine (15) ●●●●● (Jim Loach, UK/Australia, 2010) Emily Watson, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham. Future Shorts
105min. Set in 1986, this accomplished debut follows a social worker (Watson) as she uncovers a dirty secret from our wartime past – that children in care were shipped off to Australia. The ever- dependable Watson is a rock here, and the best scenes come between her and the two male leads. Like his father Ken, Loach directs simply and without fuss. Hippodrome, Bo’ness.
✽✽ Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi) (15) ●●●●● (Rachid Bouchareb,
France/Algeria/Belgium, 2010) Jamel Debbouze, Roschdy Zem, Sami Bouajila. 138min. See review, page 56. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Glasgow Film Theatre. Pandora’s Box (PG) ●●●●● (GW Pabst, Germany, 1929) Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner, Franz Lederer, Gustav Diessi. 132min. Jolly Teutonic silent film, in which a woman kills her boyfriend and goes on the game, only to run into an unfortunate scrape with Jack the Ripper. Surprisingly enjoyable piece, with a terrific performance from Ms Brooks. Part of The New Objectivity: Realism in Weimar Cinema season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid (18) ●●●●● (Sam Peckinpah, US, 1973) James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan. 106min. Bloody version of the Western legend, with Peckinpah and screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer reaching for a moody, brutal American tragedy. Dylan fans will want to catch him having a decent stab at acting. Part of Dylan at the Movies season. Glasgow Film Theatre. Paul (15) ●●●●● (Greg Mottola, Spain/France/UK/US, 2011) Seth Rogen, Simon Pegg, Jane Lynch. 103min. Efficient if unadventurous comedy about two English sci-fi nerds who encounter a real-life alien while on a road-trip through America’s UFO hotspots. The fantastically realised CG alien (Rogen) gets the best lines and makes the film worthwhile. Macrobert, Stirling. La Peau Douce (Silken Skin) (PG) ●●●●● (Francois Truffaut, France/Portugal, 1964) Jean Desailly, Francoise Dorlean, Nelly Benedetti. 117min. Truffaut’s effortless 1964 petit bourgeois romantic drama restored and reissued. A disillusioned middle-aged intellectual attempts to turn a casual affair with an air hostess into the love of his life. Glasgow Film Theatre. People on Sunday (Menschen am Sonntag) (U) (Robert Siodmak/Curt
Siodmak/Edgar G Ulmer/Fred Zinnermann/Billy Wilder, Germany, 1929) 74min. A roll call of the greatest talents in the German film industry, this silent film depicts a joyous inter-war Berlin, made all the more poignant by the knowledge of what was to come. Part of The New Objectivity: Realism in Weimar Cinema season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Perestroika (15) (Sarah Turner, UK, 2009) 115min. Poetic travelogue to the edge of Siberia’s vast nothingness. Stills, Edinburgh. Pina (U) ●●●●● (Wim Wenders, Germany/UK/France, 2011) 103min. Wim Wenders’ 3D documentary is rooted in newly filmed excerpts from four of Pina Bausch’s productions and interspersed with theatrical performance footage and interviews. It’s a beautifully assembled tribute: unsentimental, insightful and ravishing to look at, with something for everyone. Selected release. The Pipe (E) (Risteard O’Domhnaill, Ireland, 2010) 80min. Documentary about the clash between a group of farmers and fishermen from the west of Ireland and the multinational oil company that wants to build a pipeline through their land. Part of the UK Green Film Festival. Glasgow Film Theatre. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (tbc) (Rob Marshall, US, 2011) Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane. 141min. See Also Released, page 57. General release. Planeat (PG) (Shelley Lee Davies, Or Shlomi, UK/US, 2010) 87min. A documentary exploring the link between diet and disease, and the effects of animal- based diets on the environment. Part of the UK Green Film Festival. Glasgow Film Theatre. Plastic Planet (12A) (Werner Boote, Austria/Germany, 2009) 95min. Werner Boote traverses the globe, following plastic through its 100-year history and exploring this closed industry that grows unchecked. Part of the UK Green Film Festival. Glasgow Film Theatre. Point Blank (18) ●●●●● (John Boorman, US, 1967) Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, Keenan Wynn. 92min. Revenge- ridden Marvin is bent on justifying his dreamlike existence and turning the tables on the mysterious criminal organisation which employed him in this tense, well crafted thriller that boasts an imaginative
Following on from a three-month residency at a new venue, the Edinburgh faction of this globally connected organisation returns with more great short films. Oscar-winning animation The Lost Thing (pictured) will be showing along with Youth, a stirring tale of teenage alacrity. Canadian film Ce Soir inventively utilises the talents of Montreal band Monogrenade and Electric Light Wonderland is a gentle portrait of a father/daughter relationship. Curiosity turns more curious in Apricot, things get animalistic in El Extraño and there is even a clever reconstruction of an armed robbery in Incident by a Bank. The night will also include a live dance/music performance and a bar stocked with Williams Brothers beer. ■ Inspace, Edinburgh, Sat 7 May, 8pm.
INDEX Film
and influential treatment of time. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Portuguese Nun (15) ●●●●● (Eugène Green, Portugal/France, 2009) Leonor Baldaque, Ana Moreira, Adrien Michaux. 127min. Challenging minimalist drama from fêted French filmmaker Green about a young actress’ growing fascination with an old book of letters by a Portuguese nun. Cryptic but strangely rewarding. Glasgow Film Theatre; Macrobert, Stirling. Priest 3D (12A) (Scott Charles Stewart, US, 2011) Paul Bettany, Lily Collins, Cam Gigandet. 87min. Post-apocalyptic thriller starring Bettany as a priest who disobeys his vows to seek vengeance on a tribe of vampires, based on the graphic novel series by Min-Woo Hyung. See Also Released, page 57. General release.
✽✽ Le Quattro Volte (tbc) ●●●●● (Michelangelo Frammartino, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, 2010) Giuseppe Fuda, Bruno Timpano, Nazareno Timpano. 88min. See review, page 54. Selected release from Fri 27 May. The Queen (12A) ●●●●● (Stephen Frears, UK/France/Italy, 2006) Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell. 102min. A behind the scenes glimpse into the relationship between HM Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair in the aftermath of Princess Diana’s death. Macrobert, Stirling. Rabbit Hole (12A) ●●●●● (John Cameron Mitchell, US, 2010) Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Dianne Wiest. 90min. Shortbus director Mitchell’s third feature avoids the pitfalls of TV melodrama through excellent writing and memorable performances. Kidman and Eckhart play a couple grieving for their young son and struggling to hold things together. Macrobert, Stirling. Raging Bull (18) ●●●●● (Martin Scorsese, US, 1980) Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci. 129min. Middleweight boxing champ Jake La Motta finds it difficult to sustain his early success and as his career fades he declines into a travesty of his former self. De Niro’s stunning physical presence dominates Scorsese’s savagely bleak study of self-destructive machismo. Sloans, Glasgow. Rango (PG) ●●●●● (Gore Verbinski, US, 2011) Voices of Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin. 107min. Depp voices a wannabe swashbuckler chameleon in this animated action comedy. Selected release. Red Hill (15) ●●●●● (Patrick Hughes, Australia, 2010) Ryan Kwanten, Steve Bisley, Tom E Lewis. 95min. See review, page 54. General release. Red Riding Hood (12A) ●●●●● (Catherine Hardwicke, US, 2011) Amanda Seyfried, Lukas Haas, Gary Oldman. 100min. Clichéd adaptation of classic fairy tale from the team behind Twilight. General release. Rio 2D (U) ●●●●● (Carlos Saldanha, Canada/US, 2011) Voices of Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg, Will I Am. 95min. The team behind Ice Age heats things up in more tropical climes, as a domesticated macaw from small-town America goes on a Brazilian adventure. General release. Rio 3D (U) ●●●●● (Carlos Saldanha, Canada/US, 2011) Voices of Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg, Will I Am. 95min. See above. General release. Route Irish (15) ●●●●● (Ken Loach, UK/France/Italy/Belgium/Spain, 2010) Mark Womack, Andrea Lowe, John Bishop. 108min. Dark tale of a British soldier’s descent into brutality after a tour of duty in Iraq. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; The Hippodrome, Bo’ness. Scream 4 (15) ●●●●● (Wes Craven, US, 2011) Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette.111min. Craven is back in Woodsboro with a new chapter in the post- modern slasher series as Ghostface returns for some fresh meat. General release. A Screaming Man (Un Homme Qui Crie) (tbc) ●●●●● (Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, France/Belgium/Chad, 2010) Youssouf Djaoro, Dioucounda Koma, Emile Abossolo M’bo. 92min. See Also Released, page 57. Selected release.
28 Apr–26 May 2011 THE LIST 63