fESTlVAL FILM
My Son The Fanatic ****
F The father-son relationship, that most
fragile of bonds, has rarely been so topsy-turvy than in Hanif Kureishi's adaptation of his own short story. Parvez is a put-upon but indomitable taxi driver who arrives home to unwind with a glass of malt only to find his Wife and son conspiring against him. It's whisky and Louis Armstrong versus the Koran and a mullah who giggles at cartoons. It’s (un)holy war. Those expecting Buddha Of Suburbia Part Two WI“ only be disappointed, but this is a thoroughly absorbing tale of love, friendship and morality in a northern town. (Rodger Evans) I My Son The Fanatic, Cameo 7, Sun 77, 8pm," Cameo 3, Sat 23, 70pm, £6 (£4).
Pusher
* ‘k * i it
The key characters are introduced with names flashed on screen, but this isn’t the Danish Trainspotting — this lot are more dangerous than a pub full of Begbies. Pusher bristles with documentary-like fervour as it mercilessly charts a week in the life of a Copenhagen drug-dealer, taking Frank (Kim Bodnia) from gangland king to pariah when a heroin deal goes wrong. Bodnia's performance is remarkable — Frank is a real lowlife, but one With a soft heart who's frustrated by his inability to show emotional or physical affection In a world of bad guys and worse guys, we feel for him. (Alan Morrison)
I Pusher, Cameo 7, Tue 79, 8pm; Cameo 7, Sat23, 70.30pm, £6 (£4).
Adam & Eva
* t fr it
'I wish mummy always had her period,’ chirps the phantom child in Adam's nightmare of domestic bliss, a condensed version of saccharine TV commercials starring himself, his partner Eva, and two spooky kids. His solution? Bed a succession of ill-suited women. babysitter, burns unit doctor and best friend. Eva, in turn, gets hitched to a stand-up comedian. The appeal of this madcap Swedish movie is its ability to cover so many bases — sooal satire, identity politics and sexual
\ . - I." h ‘. r n‘ \ ,3
V‘-
Trench warfare: Gillies Mackinon assembles his troopson the
comedy — while evoking sympathy for its anti-hero Adam, a perfect model of male insecurity. You'll weep tears of laughter and recognition at his predicament. (Deirdre Molloy)
I Adam 8! Eva, GFT 7, Thu 27, 8pm, £6 (£4).
House Of America
* t it
Some may be tempted to view Marc Evans’s House Of America as another in a series of 'nice soundtrack (Catatonia, Teenage Fanclub, Tom Jones) shame about the film' productions, but despite its flaws — chiefly a drawn-out middle third — the work has a generous heart. When they're abandoned by their father in a Welsh open-cast mining village, the Lewis family is split - older brother Sid and sister Gwenny see dad as a hero who followed his dreams, while mam and younger brother Boyo view him as a womanising bastard who fled his responsibilities. Slight but oddly moving. (Brian Donaldson)
I House Of America, Filmhouse 2, Fri 75, 8pm; Filmhouse 2, Sun 77, 7pm, £6 (£4).
Wednesday 19.7.61
* it
To be kind, this is filmmaking at its most stripped down. Being less kind, this is as dull as Dubrovnik dishwater. In tracking down inhabitants of the city formerly known as Leningrad, born on the same day, documentarist Victor Kossakovsky has assembled a collection of remarkably unremarkable characters who do the simple things very well indeed — shaving, waiting for contractions to begin, receiving treatment for a police beating, crossing the street, and debating the pros and cons of sweetened tea. This is about as exciting as it gets, unfortunately. One only for lovers of the grim and gritty. (Brian Donaldson)
I Wednesday 7 9. 7.67, Filmhouse 7, Mon 78, 4.30pm; Filmhouse 7, Thu 27, noon, £6 (£4).
Office Killer Hi 1:
Jobs are under threat at Constant Consumer magazine, putting pressure on everyone, but it’s ’freaky little mouse’ Dorine (Carol Kane) who snaps
set of WW1 drama
Regeneration (Cameo 1, Wed 20, 8pm: Cameo 1, Fri 22, 5.30pm).
34 tiicusi is—zi Aug i997
Face ****
Mean streets: Ray Winstone takes a hostage in Face
'Nothing is for free/Can't you see7/Everything has a price to pay.’ What goes around, comes around suggests Paul Weller in the song that opens Antonia Bird's first film on British soil since Priest - and that's certainly true for London gangster Ray (Robert Carlyle) when the aftermath of an armed robbery shakes'his trust in his colleagues and belief in himself. He and four others take almost £350,000 from a security firm. but when the divvied-up cash goes missing and people start getting killed, it's clear that someone on the inside reckons there‘s no honour among thieves.
Despite the scenario, this is more Isle of Dogs than Reservoir Dogs. Fred Tammes‘s photography is strong and unflashy; the acting likewise, with Ray Winstone, Stephen Waddington, Philip Davis and Damon Albarn creating real, distinctive characters. not just Bill-like stereotyped villains.
it's Carlyle who holds it together, though, giving the performance of his career. Bird concentrates on his face, his eyes, as he internalises his pain and struggles with his conscience. Ray is a unique, isolated, complicated figure, hanging onto the remnants of his politicised past — check the Ken Loach posters on his bedroom wall - and watching him is like being witness to a shattering early mid-life crisis. (Alan Morrison)
I Face, ABC 2, Fri 75, 8pm; ABC Wester Hailes, Fri 22, 8pm, £6 (£4).
in the most spectaCUlar manner. Killing off those colleagues who have been abusive to her, she stores the bodies in her basement. Office Killer gets better the darker and grosser it becomes until it's rivalling John Waters in the bad taste stakes. There’s top bitchy acting from Molly Ringwald and Jeanne Tripplehorn, but Kane’s grating performance is all quirks, vocal tricks and surface look With no believable character at the core. Only when the tone goes all-out bizarre does she begin to fit in. (Alan Morrison)
I Office Killer, Filmhouse 7, Mon 78, 7pm, Filmhouse 7, Fri 22, 7pm, £6 (£4).
Chasing Amy * 1i: it
Director Kevin Smith pulls himself up from the mess that was Mal/rats with a film that has the smart and outrageously funny dialogue that made Clerks so successful. Focusing on Holden (Ben Afileck), a cartoonist who falls for fellow artist Alysa (Joey Lauren Adams) only to find out she is gay, Smith takes both ObVIOUS and unexpected comedic routes and offers a more mature perspective on relationships than he has in the past. Unfortunately some scenes between
the leads turn particularly slushy, but ultimately the wealth of hysterically funny scenes and the director's frank insights into the male psyche Win out. (Niall Macpherson)
I Chasing Amy, Cameo 7, Sun 77, 70.30pm; Cameo 3, Fri 22, 7.30pm, £6 (£4).
The River
it t
80y meets girl. Boy plays drowned man in a film. Boy gets neck injury. Film becomes unfathomable A Taiwanese movie, The River intrigues at first but rapidly descends into not-much- happeningness. A number of scenes are illuminated by only the light of a cigarette, a number contain the most perfunctory of dialogue. Ultimately, the film is dragged below the level of surface interest by its own weighty ennui. The characters eat a lot, smoke a lot, have sex a lot and fret about a leak in the roof. A lot. A whole lot of sense it does not make. (Rodger Evans) I The River, Filmhouse 7, Sat 76, 7pm, £6 (£4)
STAR RATINGS mum * Unmissable * t * it Very good it t it Worth seeing it * Below average it You've been warned