list.co.uk/film DANCE: FILM
This year’s Dance: Film festival theme is ‘insights’, with choreographer Bill T Jones under the spotlight in A Good Man and the late Tanja Liedtke seen in Life in Movement, while My Paths Through Dance explores the life of Mariemma, the woman who shaped 20th century Spanish dance. Also, Never Stand Still celebrates American dance festival Jacob’s Pillow, and The Rising Sun (pictured) follows Swiss hip hoppers Roc Kidz Crew. (Kelly Apter) ■ DANCE: FILM, various venues, Edinburgh, Sat 12–Sat 19 Nov. See list.co.uk/film for full article about Dance: Film11.
‘Lord of the Horse’. Part of Africa in Motion. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Perfect Sense (15) ●●●●● (David Mackenzie, Germany/UK/Sweden/Denmark, 2011) Eva Green, Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner. 92min. While a terrifying plague robs humankind of its senses one by one, a chef (McGregor) and a scientist (Green) meet and fall in love, each for the first time. Scottish filmmaker Mackenzie’s most accomplished film to date is either utterly depressing or gloriously exhilarating, depending on how you read it. Selected release. Pina (U) ●●●●● (Wim Wenders, Germany/UK/France, 2011) 103min. Wim Wenders’ 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. Part of Dance:Film 11. Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh. Pink Saris (tbc) ●●●●● (Kim Longinotto, UK, 2010) 100min. The Gulabi Gang are a group of vigilante women who resist the low status that is thrust upon them. Their champion, Sampat Pal, fought the discrimination and domestic abuse she suffered at the hands of her in-laws and has become a beacon of hope for the women of Uttar Pradesh. A Scottish Women's Aid event. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
✽✽ La Piscine (The Swimming Pool) (12A) ●●●●● (Jacques Deray,
France/Italy, 1969) Alain Delon, Romy Schneider, Jane Birkin. 123min. Deray’s 1969 romantic crime thriller starring Delon and Birkin is cleaned up and re-issued by the cine-buffs at Park Circus. Glasgow Film Theatre; Cameo, Edinburgh. The Place in Between (15) (Sarah Bouyain, France/Burkina Faso, 2010) Dorylia Calmel, Assita Ouedraogo, Nathalie
Richard. 82min. A young Burkinabe woman who has grown up in France goes in search of her mother in her home country, only to find that she has been living on the margins of French society. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Polyester (15) ●●●●● (John Waters, US, 1981) Divine, Tab Hunter, David Samson. 86min. Bad taste comedy starring Divine as a put-upon housewife whose unsavoury family are nothing compared to the bad smells she has to put up with. Screened as originally intended in glorious Odorama – with scratch ‘n’ sniff cards. Glasgow Film Theatre. Project Nim (12A) ●●●●● (James Marsh, UK, 2011) Bob Angelini, Bern Cohen, Reagan Leonard. 93min. Telling the story of a baby chimp taken away from its family and placed in a surrogate home in 70s New York, Project Nim proves deeply affecting through a mix of intelligent storytelling and expert direction. Cameo, Edinburgh. Radio Days (PG) ●●●●● (Woody Allen, US, 1987) Mia Farrow, Seth Green, Diane Keaton. 89min. Amiably laid-back family recollections of the early 1940s and the golden age of the wireless. Pot-pourri of modest charm held together by an armful of reliable performances from old lags and the usual flashes of wit and wisdom. A pleasant time-filler for both director and audience. Cameo, Edinburgh. Ratcatcher (15) ●●●●● (Lynne Ramsay, UK, 1999) William Eadie, Tommy Flanagan, Mandy Matthews. 93min. Seen through the eyes of 12-year-old James Gillespie, a sensitive boy haunted by the drowning of a neighbour’s son, Ratcatcher paints a bleakly realistic picture of Glasgow family life. Glasgow Film Theatre. Real Steel (12A) ●●●●● (Shaun Levy, US/India, 2011) Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lily, Kevin Durand. 126min. Rocky meets Transformers in this boxing ‘bots family drama/actioner. General release.
Red Road (18) ●●●●● (Andrea Arnold, UK, 2006) Kate Dickie, Tony Curran, Martin Compston, Nathalie Press, Andrew Armour. 114min. The first feature from Arnold about a CCTV operator who becomes obsessed with surveillance. Part of a project to make three films using the same characters and different directors, it won the Jury Prize at Cannes. Cameo, Edinburgh. Restless (tbc) ●●●●● (Gus Van Sant, US, 2011) Mia Wasikowska, Henry Hopper, Ryo Kase. 91min. See review, page 70. General release. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (12A) ●●●●● (Rupert Wyatt, US, 2011) Tom Felton, James Franco, Andy Serkis. 104min. Intelligent and at times exhilarating prequel to the 60s cult classic, adeptly handled by Wyatt, who mixes headline influenced narrative with all the visual spectacle required of a blockbuster. Selected release. The Rising Sun (PG) (Fabian Kimoto, Switzerland, 2010) 75min. Documentary following the Roc Kidz hip hop crew on a tour of southern Europe. Part of Dance:Film 11. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Robocop (18) ●●●●● (Paul Verhoeven, US, 1987) Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Ronny Cox. 103min. Slick and stomach-churningly violent futuristic thriller blending elements of Dirty Harry, Frankenstein and The Six Million Dollar Man. When diligent policeman Weller is shot to pieces by vicious hoods, his remains are mechanically reconstructed into a hi-tech law enforcement officer, but the human desire for revenge still beats beneath his mechanical exterior. A Psychotronic Cinema presentation. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Romantics Anonymous (Les Émotifs Anonymes) (12A) (Jean-Pierre Améris, France/Belgium, 2010) Benoît Poelvoorde, Isabelle Carré, Lorella Cravotta. 80min. Two painfully shy people attending a chocolate trade show are accidentally booked into the same hotel room in this bittersweet comedy. Followed by a Q&A with director Améris. Part of French Film Festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Glasgow Film Theatre. Route 132 (15) (Louis Bélanger, Canada, 2010) François Papineau, Alexis Martin, Sophie Bourgeois. 113min. A father grieving for his young son embarks upon a road trip to meet up with a disreputable old mate. Part of French Film Festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Rum Diary (15) (Bruce Robinson, US, 2011) Johnny Depp, Giovanni Ribisi, Aaron Eckhart. 110min. See Also Released, page 70. General release from Fri 11 Nov. The Science of Sleep (15) ●●●●● (Michel Gondry, France, 2006) Gael Garcia Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alain Chabat, Miou Miou. 105min. Welcome to the mind- bending world of Stephane Miroux (Bernal) who exists in a perpetual confusion between realities. Its quirkiness is likely to divide audiences, but it carries an intense and rare spark of inspiration and sincerity. macrobert, Stirling. The Secret of Kells (PG) ●●●●● (Tomm Moore/Nora Twomey, Ireland/France/Belgium, 2009) Voices of Evan McGuire, Christen Mooney, Brendan Gleeson, Mick Lally. 78min. Luscious and old-fashioned independent 2D animation inspired by Irish medieval manuscript The Book of Kells. Glasgow Film Theatre.
✽✽ Self Made (15) ●●●●● (Gillian Wearing, UK, 2010) 83min. Turner prize winner Wearing skilfully blurs the boundaries between documentary and fiction filmmaking in this intriguing proposition, where seven volunteers are first trained in method acting, before performing micro dramas drawing on their own personal experience. Emotionally affecting for both participants and viewers alike, Self Made reveals how acting can open up unexplored aspects of our own psyches. See review at List.co.uk. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Senna (12A) ●●●●● (Asif Kapadia, UK/France/US, 2010) 106min. Recently voted the greatest driver of all time and winner of 41 Grand Prix and three drivers’ championships, Brazilian Ayrton Senna was the last F1 driver to die behind the wheel. Exploring his life from 1984 to his death ten
INDEX Film
years later, this documentary incorporates previously unseen Formula One footage of the almost mythical man. Paisley Arts Centre, Paisley. Service Entrance (Les Femmes du 6ème Étage) (12A) (Philippe Le Guay, France, 2010) Fabrice Luchini, Sandrine Kiberlain, Natalia Verbeke. 106min. A man’s unexciting married life is turned upside down when a flock of lively Spanish maids moves into the sixth floor of his building. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Shall We Dance? (U) ●●●●● (Mark Sandrich, US, 1937) Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers. 116min. One of the later efforts in the Astaire/Rogers series at RKO, with the duo playing dancing partners who pretend to be married but are not. The dancing is as special as ever, but by this stage the partnership was beginning to repeat itself. Part of Dance:Film 11. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Shining (18) ●●●●● (Stanley Kubrick, US, 1980) Jack Nicholson, Shelly Duvall, Philip Stone. 146min. Kubrick’s overwrought, overlong horror film dispenses with much of the psychic apparatus of Stephen King’s novel to concentrate on the deeper horror of a family turning in on itself. Nicholson, with all the stops out, is bug-eyed and demonic as the writer cracking up violently in an isolated hotel, and the final scenes are, literally, chilling. Glasgow Film Theatre; Eastwood Park Theatre, Glasgow. The Silence (tbc) (Baran bo Odar, Germany, 2011) Ulrich Thomsen, Sebastian Blomberg, Katrin Sass. 118min. See Also Released, page 70. Cameo, Edinburgh from Fri 28 Oct. Sleeping Beauty (18) ●●●●● (Julia Leigh, Australia, 2011) Emily Browning, Rachael Blake, Ewen Leslie. 101min. Lucy (Browning) is hired by Clara (Blake) for the ‘sleeping chamber’, in which she is paid to be drugged and to allow a succession of elderly gents to do anything they desire to her short of ‘penetration’. Leigh’s purportedly feminist debut is crafted with controlled precision, but is often clumsy, pretentious and voyeuristic. Cameo, Edinburgh. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (12A) (Wayne Wang, China/US, 2011) Bingbing Li, Gianna Jun, Vivian Wu. 120min. Drama centring on the friendship of two girls in 19th century China. General release from Fri 4 Nov. Solutions Locales Pour un Désordre Global (Think Global, Act Rural) (PG) (Coline Serreau, France, 2010) 113min. Radical documentary probing the dubious and unsustainable practices of industrialised agriculture. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Sound it Out (E) ●●●●● (Jeanie Finlay, UK, 2011) 75min. In the UK over the last five years, a record shop has closed down every three days. This documentary examines the very last independent record shop on Teeside. Includes a Q&A with director Jeanie Finlay. Cameo, Edinburgh. Straw Dogs (18) ●●●●● (Rod Lurie, US, 2011) James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, Alexander Skarsgård. 110min. See review, page 68. General release from Fri 4 Nov. Tabloid (tbc) (Errol Morris, US, 2010) 87min. See Also Released, page 70. Selected release from Fri 11 Nov. Texas Killing Fields (15) (Ami Canaan Mann, US, 2011) Sam Worthington, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chloe Moretz. 105min. Thriller based on true events, as cops Worthington and Morgan track down a sadistic serial killer. General release. They Live (18) ●●●●● (John Carpenter, US, 1988) Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster. 94min. Returning to his B-movie roots, Carpenter’s classic is a spritely sci-fi satire with a decidedly 1950s feel. As recession grips America, drifter Piper discovers that the yuppies controlling the economy are in fact aliens, and they’re using subliminal advertising to keep the populace docile. Although the serious and political premise set up in the first half needs more of a follow-through, the knockabout action that follows is well handled, with entertaining results. Glasgow Film Theatre. 20 Oct–17 Nov 2011 THE LIST 73