FILM list.co.uk/film
I’M SO EXCITED Pedro Almodóvar returns to the brassy style of his earlier fi lms
T he new comedy from beloved Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar begins with a message assuring us that the i lm ‘is i ction and fantasy, and has no connection to reality’; a provocation to assume the opposite is true, if ever there was one. But while there are possible political parallels to be drawn from this story of a passenger plane l ying in circles over Spain due to faulty landing gear, most UK audiences (this reviewer included) will take I’m So Excited for what it is on the surface: a camp piece of fun, arguably indulgent and occasionally misjudged in its casual depictions of sex, but ultimately won out by Almodóvar’s love of tall stories.
The opening scene sets the tone, as a husband-and-wife runway crew (a cameoing Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz) are distracted from i nal plane checks by news of her pregnancy. There is an air of the ridiculous
58 THE LIST 18 Apr–16 May 2013
to the scene but the details are delightful; the moment sets up the necessary plot detail of why the plane can’t land and gives us a perfectly-formed tiny story at the same time. So it goes throughout the i lm, as we i rst meet the ultra-camp cabin crew, then a soap opera-worthy set of business-class passengers, including Almodóvar regular Lola Duenas as a psychic woman convinced she will lose her virginity on the l ight. Despite how silly it all is – and at points it is Airplane!-level daft – there is much enjoyment to be had from Almodóvar’s ability to give every character a compelling story, and successfully resolve them all in under 90 minutes. And in case you wondered, yes, it has a musical number, and yes, it is hilarious. (Paul Gallagher) I’m So Excited (15) 90min ●●●●● Limited release from Fri 3 May.
HITLIST THE BEST FILM RELEASES & EVENTS
✽ The Great Gatsby Baz Luhrmann’s lavish adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s famed novel comes to our screens in May in all its sequined glory. See feature on Leonardo DiCaprio, page 21. General release from Thu 16 May.
✽ Italian Film Festival Celebrating its 20th anniversary with a focus on Roberto Rossellini and the films he made with Ingrid Bergman. See 5 reasons, page 62. Various venues across Scotland, until Thu 25 Apr.
✽ I’m So Excited A fun and frothy endeavour from the Spanish auteur of
high-camp, Pedro Almodóvar. See review, left. Limited release from Fri 3 May.
✽ Mud Jeff Nichols, one of America’s most
accomplished independent filmmakers, follows up the superb Take Shelter with this tale of two young boys who find a fugitive living on an island in the Mississippi. See interview, page 59, and review, page 63. Limited release from Fri 10 May.
✽ Dead by Dawn Scotland’s horror festival this year welcomes Frank Henenlotter, the
director of Basket Case and Brain Damage. See preview, page 60. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 26–Sun 28 Apr.
✽ White Elephant Expertly-handled
Argentinean drama about a group of priests working in the slums in Buenos Aires. See review, page 60. GFT, Glasgow, from Fri 10 May.
✽ Point Blank San Francisco-set noir from 1967 with Lee Marvin as a gangster in
search of a missing cash haul. Screening on a spick-and-span new 35mm print. See preview, page 64. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Thu 18–Sun 21 Apr; GFT, Glasgow, Mon 22–Wed 24 Apr.