list.co.uk/film
Films screening in the next four weeks are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. See list.co.uk for the most up-to- date list of films screening. Film index is compiled by Laura Ennor. ✽✽ Indicates Hitlist entry
✽✽ 2046 (12A) (Kar Wai Wong, Hong Kong/China/France/Italy/Germany,
2004) Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Ziyi Zhang, Faye Wong. 129min. Fantasy love story about a novelist who dreams up a world in which people board a train to the future to escape their pasts. See caption, page 43. Part of Takeaway China. Gilmorehill Centre, Glasgow.
✽✽ 24 City (Er shi si cheng ji) (U) ●●●●● (Jia Hang-Ke, China/Hong Kong/Japan, 2008) Joan Chen, Tao Zhao, Jianbin Chen. 112min. Blending fictional and documentary storytelling techniques, this film follows three generations of characters from the provincial city of Chengdu, all of whom work at a state- owned airplane engine factory, which is to be closed down. An anthropologically rich and emotive work. See caption, page 43. Part of Takeaway China. Gilmorehill Centre, Glasgow. Las Acacias (12A) ●●●●● (Pablo Giorgelli, Argentina/Spain, 2011) Germán de Silva, Hebe Duarte, Nayra Calle Mamani. 86min. Minimalist Argentinean road movie about a middle-aged truck driver (da Silva) who gives a lift to a young indigenous woman (Duarte) and her baby daughter, and the bond that slowly develops between them. Beautifully naturalistic performances and Giorgelli’s sensitive direction prove that less can certainly be more. Selected release. Accident (PG) (Joseph Losey, UK, 1967) Dirk Bogarde, Stanley Baker, Delphine Seyrig. 105min. Losey’s continuing collaboration with Harold Pinter produced this wry examination of an Oxford professor’s liaison with one of his students, notable for fine performances and perceptively witty dialogue. Screening introduced by Dr Pasquale Iannone. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Acts of Godfrey (tbc) (Johnny Daukes, UK, 2012) Simon Callow, Celia Imrie, Harry Enfield. tbc min. Black comedy, written entirely in rhyming couplets, in which narrator Godfrey explains the sordid events that took place during a seminar at a country hotel. General release from Fri 27 Jan. The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn (PG) ●●●●● (Steven Spielberg, US/New Zealand, 2011) Andy Serkis, Jamie Bell, Simon Pegg. 107min. After buying a replica model ship at a flea market, Tintin (Bell) is embroiled in a world of subterfuge. Not since Indy’s third outing has Spielberg felt so fresh and unshackled; it feels like a hark back to the heyday of 1980s adventure cinema. General release. An African Election (12A) (Jarreth J Merz/Kevin Merz, Switzerland/US/Ghana, 2011) 89min. Exposing the skulduggery in Ghana’s 2008 presidential elections, this documentary aims to capture the intrigue and danger behind the scenes. macrobert, Stirling. Aguirre, Wrath Of God (15) ●●●●● (Werner Herzog, West Germany, 1972) Klaus Kinski, Cecilia Rivera, Helena Rojo. 93min. Seventeenth-century conquistadors, on a mission to explore the Amazon, court disaster when the zeal of their leader remains undampened after a number of encounters with hostile Indians. Excellent location work in this moving portrayal of tragic ambition, which sports an intense performance by Kinski. Introduced by Helen Wright from Glasgow University. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Alma Mater (E) (Various, UK) 90min. Annual touring programme of recent British video art from LUX, curated by ICA film curator Steven Cairns. Taking cultural identity as a starting point, the programme includes work by Steven Claydon, Torsten
Lauschmann, Clunie Reid, Rachel Reupke, Hannah Sawtell and Stephen Sutcliffe. Tramway, Glasgow. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (U) (Mike Mitchell, US, 2011) Anna Faris, Christina Applegate, Matthew Gray Gubler. 87min. The singing chipmunk trio and their friends the Chipettes find themselves marooned on a desert island. General release. Amélie (15) ●●●●● (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, France, 2001) Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Serge Merlin. 120min. Within Jeunet’s fantastical world — a reimagining of Paris’ oldest quarter, Montmartre — the eccentric adventures of his eponymous heroine unfold in a manner as complex as a Swiss timepiece when Amélie decides to bring happiness to deserving people by playing elaborately benevolent practical jokes on them. A film that celebrates all the little, great things in life. Sloans, Glasgow. Another Earth (12A) ●●●●● (Mike Cahill, US, 2011) Brit Marling, William Mapother, Matthew-Lee Erlbach. 92min. Sombre indie romance involving a planet beyond the sun which is an exact mirror of our own, even down to the lives of its inhabitants. Despite the loopy premise, the startling script by actress Marling and director Cahill is more interested in human interaction than space travel, leading to an effective double-whammy ending. Selected release. Apart Together (Tuan yuan) (12A) (Quan’an Wang, China, 2010) Lisa Lu, Feng Ling, Cai-gen Xu. 97min. When former lovers are reunited at the end of China’s civil war, they discover much has changed in this film made with support from the Chinese government. Features a discussion on changing political landscapes in China. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
✽✽ ARIKA12 Episode 1: A Film is a Statement (15) The first of three
experimental film festivals from Arika (behind past Instal and Kill Your Timid Notion festivals) features a series of informal screenings aimed at generating debate between filmmakers, artists, critics and audience. The programme includes films by a range of political, radical and philosophical filmmakers, including The Museum of Non-Participation, Lutz Becker, Nina Power and Hito Steyerl. See caption, page 71. CCA, Glasgow.
✽✽ The Artist (PG) ●●●●● (Michel Hazanavicius, France, 2011) Jean
Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman. 100min. This joyous, impeccably crafted crowdpleaser about the advent of the talkies melds the tried and tested plot of A Star Is Born to the comic exuberance of Singin’ In The Rain, with the result that it is almost impossible not to fall for its charms. Features an introduction and an informal discussion afterwards in the cafe. General release. L’Atalante (PG) (Jean Vigo, France, 1934) Michel Simon, Dita Parlo, Jean Daste, Gilles Margaritis, Louis Lefevre, Maurice Gilles. 89min. Vigo’s mesmeric, influential masterpiece of love, barges and delicate surrealism. Forget Young Adam, this is the best canal-based movie ever. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Awakening (15) ●●●●● (Nick Murphy, UK, 2011) Rebecca Hall, Dominic West, Imelda Staunton. 107min. It’s 1921, and Hall has set herself up as a ghost buster debunking false claims of the supernatural when school master West invites her to investigate the rumours of a ghost boy terrifying the pupils at a gothic boarding school. A classy British ghost story even though it relies on a few tricks that we’ve all seen before. Cameo, Edinburgh; macrobert, Stirling. Azur and Asmar: The Princes’ Quest (U) ●●●●● (Michel Ocelot, Spain/Italy/Belgium/France, 2006) Cyril Mourali, Karim M’Riba, Hiam Abbass. 99min. Childhood buddies Azur and Asmar become rivals and enemies in a medieval Maghreb. With the action taking place in North African Islamic architecture and over- populated bazaars, the colourful palatte of the animation and ‘Arabian Nights’-style storyline is a welcome throwback to the days before Pixar tore up the rulebook. A
compassionate and mature film based on classic legends rather than popular culture. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Badlands (15) ●●●●● (Terrence Malick, US, 1973) Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek. 94min. Rarefied, lyrical US filmmaker Terrence Malick’s stunning and mega-influential 1973 crime spree drama. Screening with short Msdiagnosis. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. Bande a Part (PG) ●●●●● (Jean-Luc Godard, France, 1964) Anna Karina, Sami Frey, Claude Brasseur. 95min. Self- conscious take on the heist movie as Frey and Brasseur persuade Karina to help them break into her employer’s house. We’re turned not into knowing viewers so much as sensitive, unsure spectators, as Godard here creates a meaningful film out of undermining specific, easily consumable, slick meaning. Great stuff. With an introduction by Dr Pasquale Iannone. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Banff Mountain Film Festival (E) (Various, Various) A collection of films selected as the best of their kind at this prestigious mountain festival. The films cover feats of skiing, climbing, white water rafting, and extreme mountain biking and many more daredevil activities from across the globe. The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh; Mitchell Theatre, Glasgow. Big (12) (Penny Marshall, US, 1988) Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia. 104min. Twelve-year-old Josh (David Moscow) has no luck with the school beauty because of his diminutive stature. However, upon discovering a neglected fairground wishing machine, he wakes next morning to find himself wrapped in adult packaging (Hanks). Of all the body-swap movies, Big is by far the most successful, because Hanks offers a most appealing characterisation as the dopey innocent at large, and because it treats the situation with a little intelligence. Sloans, Glasgow. 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. Introduced by Blair Young from The Forest of Black. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Boogie Nights (18) (Paul Thomas Anderson, US, 1997) Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore. 152min. Doing for porn filmmaking what Goodfellas did for gangsters, Boogie Nights charts the rise, fall and redemption of a fictional porn superstar (Wahlberg) against the enormous changes wrought in the industry between the 70s and 80s. Large-scale social commentary and small-scale human dramas account for the film’s epic feel, while the kitsch fashions and funky disco soundtrack create a film that is as ambitious as it is entertaining. Sloans, Glasgow. British Animation Awards (15) (Various, UK) 90min. A rare opportunity to see the fantastic range of animation made in Britain over the past two years. The audience gets to vote for the winners in three categories, via forms issued at each screening. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. The British Guide to Showing Off (15) (Jes Benstock, UK, 2011) 97min. British artist Andrew Logan leads us into the outrageous, anarchic and glittery world of his very own costume pageant: the Alternative Miss World Show. Followed by a Q&A with director Benstock. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Cars 2 (U) ●●●●● (John Lasseter, Brad Lewis, US, 2011) Larry the Cable Guy, Owen Wilson, Michael Caine. Pixar’s charmless sequel replaces the homespun values of the original with impressive racetrack backdrops, violent guns-and- missile action, and juvenile comedy from the belching, flatulent Mater. A mechanical slew of pop-culture gags indicate a considerable drop in the level of invention from Finding Nemo or Up. Glasgow Film
INDEX INDEX Film
Theatre, Glasgow.
✽✽ Chico & Rita (15) ●●●●● (Javier Mariscal/Fernando Trueba, Spain/UK,
2010) Mario Guerra, Limara Meneses, Eman Xor Ona. Beautiful Spanish adult animation relating the bolero romance of a young aspiring pianist and fledgling singer who fall in love in 1940s Havana and later meet again as their careers take them across the world from Paris to Hollywood. Part of Manipulate Visual Theatre Festival. Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh. The China Syndrome (PG) (James Bridges, US, 1979) Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas. 122min. A keen young reporter (Fonda) gets embroiled in all manner of trouble when she tries to expose some dangerous secrets surrounding an accident at a nuclear plant. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. City Lights (U) (Charles Chaplin, US, 1931) Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee. 87min. Chaplin plays a tramp who falls in love with a blind girl in this classic of silent cinema. Cameo, Edinburgh. City of the Living Dead (18) ●●●●● (Lucio Fulci, Italy, 1980) Catriona MacColl, Christopher George, Giovanni Lombardo Radice. 93min. Surreal and sublime zombie antics from Fulci, loosely based on the nightmare visions of HP Lovecraft. Dundead double bill with Snowtown. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. CJ7 (Cheung Gong 7 hou) (PG) (Stephen Chow, Hong Kong, 2008) Stephen Chow, Jiao Xu, Lei Huang. 87min. The comic and moving tale of what happens when a little boy gets a strange new supernatural pet. Directed by special-effects maestro Chow. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. The Conversation (12) ●●●●● (Francis Ford Coppola, US, 1974) Gene Hackman, Frederic Forrest, Cindy Williams. 113min. Harry Caul (Hackman) is a master of surveillance who works alone and is secretive to the point of paranoia. One day a routine wire-tapping job turns into a nightmare when Harry thinks he hears something disturbing in a conversation between a young couple. As he begins to worry that his tape may be used as a pre- emptive to murder, he breaks his own rigid rules by getting involved. Post Kent State, bang in the middle of the worst atrocities of Vietnam, Caul was a metaphor for the American middle-aged everyman, betrayed by his government, yet hated by a younger generation. A dark, existential thriller which has often been copied but never equalled. Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Coriolanus (15) ●●●●● (Ralph Fiennes, UK, 2011) Ralph Fiennes,
Gerard Butler, Brian Cox. 123min. Coriolanus (Fiennes) is a valiant Roman soldier whose contempt for the masses causes him to fall victim to the city’s scheming politicians. Fiennes, debuting as director, creates a powerful and resonant reimagining of Shakespeare’s tragedy. See review, page 65. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow; Cameo, Edinburgh. Cowboys and Aliens (12A) ●●●●● (Jon Favreau, US, 2011) Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde. Acoholic trouble maker Jake (Craig) is broken out of jail and forced to help grumpy old Arizona lawman Percy (Ford) when aliens start to attack. Dull, humourless and over written sci fi western from Iron Man director Favreau. Brunton Theatre, Edinburgh. The Darkest Hour (12A) (Chris Gorak, US, 2011) Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Max Minghella. 89min. Five young people lead the fightback against aliens. General release from Fri 13 Jan. The Deep Blue Sea (12A) ●●●●● (Terence Davies, US/UK, 2011) Rachel Weisz, Tom Hiddleston, Simon Russell Beale. 98min. Hester (Weisz) is torn between her respectable marriage to a kindly High Court judge (Beale, excellent) and a failing affair with dashing but boorish and callow RAF pilot Freddie (Hiddleston). Admirers of director Davies will be thrilled: his adaptation of Rattigan’s 1952 play is unashamedly old-fashioned but luscious and masterly. Cameo, Edinburgh; macrobert, Stirling.
5 Jan–2 Feb 2012 THE LIST 67