Film INDEX
Nosferatu The Vampire (15) (Werner Herzog, West Germany, 1979) Klaus Kinski, Lisabella Adjani, Bruno Ganz. Disappointingly turgid remake of the expressionist classic, whose main redeeming feature is the splendid make-up and mesmerising presence of Kinski. See preview, below. Part of Herzog + Kinski. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Nutcracker and the Mouse King (E) (Netherlands, 2011) Anna Tsygankova, Matthew Golding. 140min. Festive production from the Dutch National Ballet, with choreography by Wayne Eagling and Tchaikovsky’s evocative score. Selected screenings on Fri 30 Dec. One Day (12A) ●●●●● (Lone Sherfig, UK/US, 2011) Jim Sturgess, Anne Hathaway, Jodie Whittaker. 107min. Broadly entertaining adaptation of David Nicholls’ much loved novel about student pals and almost-ran lovers Emma (Hathaway) and Dexter (Sturgess). An Education director Sherfig sacrifices a lot of the book’s charm and incidental detail for a kind of kaleidoscopic sweep through the last 20 years but it’s still enjoyable. macrobert, Stirling; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Osthi (12A) (S Dharani, India, 2011) Silambarasan, Githan Ramesh, Richa Gangopadhyay. 142min. Tamil remake of the Hindi mega-hit Dabanng, in which a crooked cop who still lives with his parents faces trouble from all quarters. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow.
✽✽ 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. See preview, page 85. Part of Ten for 11. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. La Piscine (The Swimming Pool) (12A) ●●●●● (Jacques Deray, France/Italy, 1969) Alain Delon, Romy Schneider, Jane Birkin. 120min. Deray’s 1969 romantic crime thriller starring Delon and Birkin has been cleaned up and re-issued by the cine-buffs at Park Circus. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (U) ●●●●● (Ronald Neame, UK, 1969) Maggie Smith, Celia Johnson, Robert Stephens, Gordon Jackson. 116min. The big-screen adaptation of Muriel Spark’s tale of an eccentric Edinburgh schoolteacher in the 1930s offers sharp characterisations and interesting period flavour. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Puss in Boots (U) ●●●●● (Chris Miller, US, 2011) Antonio
Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis. 90min. Puss (Banderas) and Humpty Dumpty (Galifianakis) attempt to steal magic beans from Jack and Jill, with Hayek as feline accomplice Kitty Softpaws. Given the slackening quality of the Shrek franchise, the surprise is that this imaginative romp is one of the year’s best animated family films. General release.
✽✽ Le Quattro Volte (U) ●●●●● (Michelangelo Frammartino, Italy/Germany/Switzerland, 2010) Giuseppe Fuda, Bruno Timpano, Nazareno Timpano. 88min. Part human drama, part anthropological study, Le Quattro Volte explores the interconnectedness of life in a hilltop village in Calabria, Italy. Carefully paced and without dialogue, it relishes in the small details of rural life, encouraging audiences to immerse themselves in the
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88 THE LIST 15 Dec 2011–5 Jan 2012
rhythms and traditions of the community. See preview, page 85. Part of Ten for 11. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Raymond Briggs Trilogy (U) (Various, UK, Various) 78min. Three short animations based on Raymond Briggs’ charming stories: The Bear, Father Christmas and The Snowman. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Romantics Anonymous (Les émotifs anonymes) (12A) ●●●●● (Jean-Pierre Améris, France/Belgium, 2010) Benoît Poelvoorde, Isabelle Carré, Lorella Cravotta. 80min. Jean-René (Poelvoorde) is a pathologically shy chocolate factory owner, while Angelique (Carré) is a pathologically anxious chocolatiere; how will they even start a conversation, let alone reveal their feelings to each other? Despite likeable performances and some amusing moments, this is far more saccharine than bittersweet. Selected release. The Royal Ballet Live: The Sleeping Beauty (E) (UK, 2011) 135min. The Royal Ballet performs its signature work, the classic fairytale of Aurora and her prince, in a version revitalised by Monica Mason and Christopher Newton in 2006 for the company’s 75th anniversary, and since reworked further by top choreographers. Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh; Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow. Saint (18) (Dick Maas, Netherlands, 2010) Huub Stapel, Caro Lenssen, Egbert Jan Weeber. 85min. Jolly old Saint Nick is revealed as a cold-blooded serial killer in this offbeat Dutch horror-comedy. Dundead double bill with Black Christmas. See preview, page 86. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. Santa vs the Snowman (PG) (John A Davis, US, 2002) Voices of Jonathan Winters, Ben Stein, Victoria Jackson. 32min. IMAX big screen presentation telling the story of a lonely snowman who is swept away by the magical wonders of Santa’s village. IMAX Theatre, Glasgow. Scrooge (U) ●●●●● (Brian Desmond Hurst, UK/US, 1951) Alastair Sim, Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison. 86min. Probably the best screen adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The story concerns the overly prudent businessman Ebeneezer Scrooge (Sim), Herzog + Kinski
who becomes a saint overnight. Dickens was never afraid to tackle the big issues: the threat to children’s lives, whether they are privileged or poverty-stricken, is one of the main themes; but none of the darkness gets in the way of a cracking tale. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Scotsman Screening Room, 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 years later, this documentary incorporates previously unseen Formula One footage of the almost mythical man. See preview, page 85. Part of Ten for 11. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee.
✽✽ A Separation (PG) ●●●●● (Asghar Farhadi, Iran, 2011) Peyman
Moaadi, Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat. 123min. A couple debate the ramifications of their impending divorce before a series of events unravel that will lead to a single tragic incident. This morally complex tale is a rich and thought-provoking consideration of the nature of judgement and the role of law. See preview, page 85. Part of Ten for 11. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (12A) (Guy Ritchie, US, 2011) Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Jared Harris. 129min. Holmes and Watson face their fiercest adversary, Professor Moriarty. General release from Fri 16 Dec. The Snowman (U) ●●●●● (Dianne Jackson/Jimmy T Murakami, UK, 1982) David Bowie, Peter Auty. 26min. Classic wordless animation based on Raymond Briggs’ children’s book. Double bill with Father Christmas. The Hippodrome, Bo’ness. Snowtown (18) (Justin Kurzel, Australia, 2011) Lucas Pittaway, Bob Adriaens, Louise Harris. 119min. In this true story, 16-year-old Jamie falls under the influence of his mum’s boyfriend, who just happens to be notorious serial killer John Bunting. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Take Shelter (15) (Jeff Nichols, US,
2011) Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham. 120min. A family man begins to suffer visions of a coming apocalypse prompting the question: are these the products of a decaying mind, or a terrifying insight into what’s to come? Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Thing (15) ●●●●● (Matthijs van Heijningen Jr, US/Canada, 2011) Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen. 102min. In this prequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 horror classic, Norwegian researchers in Antarctica discover a bloodthirsty alien which imitates human life-forms. Derivative and shapeless, with slack dialogue, vacuous characters and a less-than-impressive Thing, this is not so much homage as rip- off. General release. The 39 Steps (U) ●●●●● (Alfred Hitchcock, UK, 1935) Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Godfrey Teale. 85min. Hitchcock’s classic man-on-the-run thriller about the accidental immersion of insouciant Canadian Richard Hannay (Donat) into the murky world of espionage. Having been framed for murder, Hannay hightails it for the Scottish Highlands with the feisty Pamela (Carroll) in tow. The weight of history has made this wonderful film ripe for readings for symbolism, but at its heart it’s just a rattling good yarn. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (15) ●●●●● (Tomas Alfredson, UK/France, 2011) Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, John Hurt. 127min. Adaptation of John Le Carré’s Cold War thriller about a recently retired spy (Oldman) redrafted to investigate the truth behind fears that MI6 has been infiltrated by a Soviet double agent. With flawless performances from an all-star cast and wonderfully sure-footed, subtle direction, this is a real treat and the antidote to all those hyperactive spy movies of recent years. See preview, page 85. Part of Ten for 11. Selected release.
✽✽ Tomboy (U) ●●●●● (Céline Sciamma, France, 2011) Zoé Héran,
Malonn Lévana, Jeanne Disson. 84min. Something like a pre-pubescent cousin of The Virgin Suicides, this quietly beautiful film centres on a little girl who introduces herself to the children of her new neighbourhood as a boy. Powered by an incredibly convincing performance by 10-
The collaborations between director Werner Herzog and actor Klaus Kinski have produced some of the most striking films in either of their careers, most notably Aguirre, Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo. Both films also pushed the two men to the brink of insanity (if not over it), but the results speak for themselves. As a celebration of their fertile creative relationship, the Filmhouse is screening both films (plus the rather less excellent Nosferatu the Vampyre) over the New Year period. ■ Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Tue 27 Dec–Thu 5 Jan.