Une chance a apprendre tout there is to know about l'arte francaise

Cities celebrate French art renaissance

Vivre sa Vie celebrates the recent renaissance of French art With a festival that brings together over 21 artists at various venUes across Glasgow and Edinburgh. There's an exhaustive series of exhibitions, events, talks, workshops and symposiums as well as a web-based. prOJect (at www.mediascotorg/closky/J and screenings that tie-in With the upcoming French Film Festival, of which Jean-Luc Godard’s New Wave classic, Vivre sa Vie, provides the festival With its name. See Art preView page 87.

FRIDAY 10 The author of Fight Club (the film adaptation of which is out now on video and DVD) and this generation’s Kurt Vonnegut, c0mes to Scotland to

give a reading from his new novel, /nvr51b/e Monsters. See prewew page ill, Borders, Glasgow SATURDAY 11 As musical legends go, Scott-Heron is one of the few still domg the rounds who can captivate a crowd With veritable ease and not sound like he’s repeating himself. Go see why they call him the originator of rap. See preView page 80. Arches, Glasgow SUNDAY 12 The film that caused more critical diVisions than Dancer In The Dark finally gets screen time in Scotland. We say: Bruno Dumont's

Uma Thurman in The Golden Bowl

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The councils in Glasgow and Edinburgh have cottoned on to the commercial benefits of the festive 'season and have produced beefed up programmes of entertainment in the run up to Christmas and Hogmanay. Glasgow is going all New York with an outdoor ice rink in George Square, Friday 1-Saturday 24 December, featuring a variety of themed skating sessions. Edinburgh is countering with a Capital Christmas programme, Wednesday 29 November to Sunday 24 December, including a parade, a German market. an ice rink, a big wheel, plus theatre, comedy and music from the likes of Ed Byrne and Courtney Pine.

enigmatic murder story is genius. See reVIew page 30. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. MONDAY 13 James Caan, Faye Dunaway, Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix act their socks off for James Gray in this top notch thriller centred arOund New York City's subway yards. See rewew page 29. Selected release. TUESDAY 14

The brothers Dickson and their six foot seven buddy Chns Chew may not have the grizzled looks of those antique blues men but they have the guitar skills to pay the bills, as their album Shake Hands With Shorty is testament. See prewew page 46. The 73th Note, Glasgow

The Yards, Mon 13

Uma goes from Pup to Prozac

Uma Thurman is not unfamiliar with playing the femme fatale: see her coke-snorting gangsta's mall in Pulp Fiction and leather- clad crimefighter in The Avengers. Though her new film, an adaptation of Henry James' The Golden Bowl, is a stately period drama her character. Charlotte Stant, still walks on the wild side. As she says, 'Charlotte is cultivated, but at the same time completely out of control. If she was a contemporary character, she would be on Prozac.’

No one can make up their minds about L'Humanité

Critics in quandary

Following last issue’s rant about critics being cut out of the loop, a new film shows that they can’t agree upon anything anyway. When the enigmatic murder story L’Humanite was screened at the Cannes and Edinburgh film festivals, it not only divided critics but had them altering their own Opinions (see the about-face taken by Sight And Sound, for example). Over a year later it finally reaches the general public (via Filmhouse, Edinburgh), a body not known to prevaricate.

WEDNESDAY 15

The Bush Theatre’s celebrated Irish two-hander, a hit on the 1999 Edinburgh Fringe, returns to Scotland after another successful London run. Mark O'Rowe’s play is a compelling tale of lowlife Dublin. See prewew page 68. Tron, Glasgow

THURSDAY 16 The world’s most famous ten-year-old brat (Bart Simpson) is unveiled before yOur very eyes and ears. Cartwright has published a book which goes behind the scenes and tells us of her starstruck meetings With Mel Gibson, Elizabeth Taylor and Tom Jones. Ay, carumba! etcetera. See feature 24. Borders, Glasgow; E/CC, Edinburgh.