Film index
Index continued
Merci Pour Le Chocolat fl’(il
.0. (Claude ('habrol. France. 300] l lsabelle Huppert. Anna Mouglalis. Jacques Dutronc. 9‘) mins. Old man of French cinema ('habrol has cast his favoured performer. Huppert. as a femme fatale named Mika. ()r is she" Sparky young piatio student. Jeanne (Mouglalisi. can't decide either when she comes to Mika's home to tneet husband Andre (Dutronci and his son. Andre. with whom she was nearly switched at birth. lltippcrt's heiress to a Swiss chocolate-iiiaking company is a stone—faced bUsinesswoman who gives little of herself away. It's that which creates the palpable sense of unease that pervades ('habrol's film. (EFT. (ilasgow; Filmhousc. Edinburgh. The Mexican ( (Si 00.. (Gore Verbinski. LS. 300] i Jtilia Roberts. Brad Pitt. Jatties (iantlollini. l23 mins. Though it pairs two of Hollywood's most bankable and attractive stars. Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts. The Mexican plays like a low budget indie film. Pitt's dumb dude Jerry is sent to Mexico by the mob to recover the eponymous cursed antique pistol. Of course. this supposedly simple task turns out to be anything but. not least because Jerry's having ‘relationship issues‘ with his girlfriend. the uptight Samantha (Roberts). Full of double crosses and unfortunate accidents. pltis a five star performance from The .S‘npranos" (iandolfini. the story twists and turns in a constantly amusing manner. Magnum Theatre. Irvine.
Microcosmos (t') 0000. (Claude Ntiridsatiy'/.‘vlarie Perennou. France. l995i 75 mins. A bug-eyed look at the world of insects. this French one-off falls somewhere between a narrativeless documentary and an ensemble piece for its array of tiny characters. What unfolds is a kind of life-in- a-day' between the blades of grass in an overgrown meadow. The award-winning macro-photography and imaginative sound
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evoke and surpass the artificial worlds created in all those science fiction mov ics. The Lumiere. Edinburgh.
The Monkey's Mask ( tsi ((‘ristina ('omencint. Atistralia. 2000i ()0 mins. Kelly .\fc(iillis finally comes out on screen in this erotic adaptation of Dorothy Porter's thriller. Hard-boiled Pl Susie Porter is hired by a rich family to find their missing daughter. Her investigations lead her to the girl‘s poetry class and .\lc(iillis' seductive lecturer. Stylish. steamy mystery. Part of the London Lesbian and (iay Film festival on Tour. (il’l‘. (ilasgow.
The Mummy Returns ( (2i 0.. (Stephen Sommers. LS. 2001 i Brendan Fraser. Rachel Weisz. John Hannah. 12‘) mins. The plot of the sequel to the smash hit period adventure revolves around Rick and Evie ()'(‘onnel|'s (Fraser and Weis/i pilfering of ancient Egyptian tombs, a dark cult located in the British Museum and the legend of a warrior who promised his soul to the god Anubis 5,000 years ago. Absurdly high octane action cinema. tipping the balance right over into comedy and sometimes farce. (iood ftiii. and a good deal more than a lazy sequel. (iencral release. Mysteries Of Egypt ( tfi (Bruce Neibaur. LS. 2001)()mar Sharif. Kate Maberly. mins. ()niar Sharif stars in the first National (ieographic film to appear in IMAX. imparting tales of tombs. treasures and the amazing achievements of this ancient civilisation. IMAX Theatre. (ilasgow.
Napier Degree Show Annual showcase of filmmaking work from students and graduates at the Edinburgh college. See review next issue. ('ameo & Filmhouse. Edinburgh.
0 Brother, Where Art Thou?( Di 0... (Joel (‘oen. LS. 2000) (ieorge (‘looneyz John Turturro. Tim Blake Nelson. I07 mins. Preston Sturges' Sullivan 's Travels and Homer's 'I‘lie ()(lvszvev are the starting points for this 30s-set screwball
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32 THE LIST 2t Jun—5 Jul 2001
comedy. Smooth-talking Everett l'lysees .\lc(iill ((‘looney I. simpleton Delmar (Nelson) and maladiusted Pete ('l‘urturroi are members of a chain gang on the run looking for buried loot. Their journey tip and down the state of Mississippi brings them into contact with assorted eccentrics based on Homer's mythological figures. A lighter work for the ('ocns. tnore Raising Artfuna than I'm-ea. but it's still a rare treat. A truly captivating confederacy of dunces. ('ameo d; ()deon. Edinburgh. 101 Reykjaviiu 18).... (Baltasar Kormakur. lceland. 2001i Hilmir Snter (iudnason. Victoria Abril. 88 mins. Hlynur ((iudnason) is a tvventysomething who still lives at home with his single mother. drinking the long day s away and surfing the internet for pornography. But Hlynur gets the wake tip call of his life when he beds his mother's beautiful Spanish friend. Lola (Abril ). only to discover she‘s his mum's lesbian lover. When the infidelity is revealed. the film becomes a comedy of unease. charting similarly queasy territory as David 0. Rtissell (Spanking 'I'lie .‘llankevl. It's a smarting black comedy with a snow - white background — and the pulsating score by Danton Albarn emphasises the film's cool credentials. Cameo. Edinburgh. 102 Dalmatians (U 000 (Kevin Lima. l'S/l'K. 2000) (ilenn (‘lose. (ierard Depardieu. loan (iruffudd. 90 mins. (‘ruella‘s back. And this time she's Ella. Thanks to a shot of mind-altering Pavlov ian treatment during her stay at Her Majesty's Pleasure. the larger than life baddie is released into the community as an animal- loving philanthropist. Only when Big Ben strikes twelve does the spell snap. letting her revert to character. her passion for Dalmatian fur renewed. [()2 is a generation on frotn the original cute canines. btit the shape of the story is virtually identical. while the script's too caught up in the machinations of the human world to give the dogs enough of a look in. ()deon. Dunfermline. A One And A No (Yi Yi)(15i 0... (Edward Yang. Taiwan. 2001 i Wu Nianzhen. Tnag Ru-yun. Elaine Jin. I73 mins. Remarkable study of a middle class Taiwanese family in crisis. A One Ant/A Tim unfolds in present day Taiwan. where company exec .\'J is having woman trouble: his mother-in-law's in a coma. his wife's left him for a religious sect and an old flame has appeared after 30 years. Meanwhile. NJ‘s son is having trouble at school and his daughter‘s finding her first love. Deservedly the winner of the Best Director Prize at Cannes. The Lumiere. Edinburgh. Pearl Harbor ( 15) .0 (Michael Bay. [78. 2001) Ben Affieck. Josh Hannett. Kate Beckinsale. 180 mins. Affieck and Harnett play lifelong buddies. Rafe and Danny. who end up in the American airforce as pilots. The boys are based in Pearl Harbor. Hawaii. bttt Rafe volunteers for a posting tojoin the Battle of Britain. though not before falling for nurse Evelyn (Beckinsalei. When Rafe is reported lost. missing-in-action. Danny slips into the bed of the fair Evelyn. And then jUst to bugger it all tip. Rafe returns frotn the 'dead' and the attack by the Japanese gets in the way of sorting love affairs out. Pearl Harbor is over-long and over-sentimental. and in going for the broadest audience Bay has laselined the unpleasantness of war away. lessening its impact. (ieneral release. Playtime (PGi COO. (Jacques Tati. France. l967i Jacques Tati. Barbara Dennek. Jacqueline Lecomte. ISZ mins. Monsieur Hulot. tussling with the modem world as Usual. follows a group of American tourists around a garish and hi-tech Paris of concrete and glass. L'ndervalued later Tati. with the actor Tati's slapstick of old overshadowed by Tati the director‘s masterly control of the widescreen frame. The Lumiere. Edinburgh. The Polish Bride ( 15) 0.0 (Karitn Traida. Netherlands. 1999) Monic Hendrickx. Jaap Spijkers. 90 mins. Set in Holland. Polish woman Anna Krzy‘zanowska escapes the clutches of two deeply unpleasant men and is found semi-conscioUs and taken in by the kindly Henk Woldring. who lives a lonely farm life. Slowly (well.
very slow ly actually i. their faltering. noti- tactile friendship grows into something much stronger and the true test of their devotion comes when danger is brought to their door. Part of Refugee Week. Filmhouse. Edinburgh.
Presque Rein (Almost Nothing) ( tsi (Sebastian Lifshitz. France/Belg(um. 2000i mins. Eighteen-ycar-old \fathteu is forced to endure family holidays to the seaside. but when the moody. handsome young Eric turns up one year things take a turn for the passionate. Dark drama. tnore complev than you'd think Pan of the London Lesbian and (Bay Film festival on Tour. (il’l'. (ilasgow; Filiiiliousc. Edinburgh.
The Princess And The Warrior( tSi 0. (Tom Ty kw er. (iermany. 2001 l Franke Potente. Benno Ftirmann. 135 mins. ln Run Lula Run. Ty kw er ruthlessly seized the attention of the cinema—going populace with his fast-paced. adrenalin-fuelled crime drama starring plucky Potente. Although bearing uncanny thematic similarities and once again starring Potente as a persev ei‘ing young woman in this case a shy and retiring psychiatric nurse unwittingly looking for love this follow -up manages to be the polar opposite of its fore-runner. ()verblown. long-w aided and frequently cringeworthy. this ineffectual. idealist romance disappoints. See review. Selected release.
Raiders Of The Lost Ark (l’tii 0.... (Steven Spielberg. l'S. NSI) Harrison Ford. Karen Allen. l l5 mins. Ford plays adventuring archaeologist Indiana Jones. who almost bites off more than he can chew when he turns tip the Ark of the (‘ovenant in Nazi-infested wartime Egypt. Return to the breathless excitement of the Saturday morning serial with this rollcrcoastcr of a lllUViL‘. probably better than either of its sequels. Tongue held very firmly in check. St Bride's (‘entrc. Edinburgh.
Real To Reel ( (5) (Various. t'ls’. Zoom
l 10mins. Now in its seventh year. Real To Reel showcases the raw talent of student filmmakers. This year's theme is James Bond. (il’l'. (ilasgovv.
Rembrandt ( I 2i 0.. ((‘hai'les Matton. France/llolland/(iermany. 2001 ) Klaus Maria Brandauer. Romane Bohringcr. Johanna ter Steege. 103 mins. .‘vlatton‘s biopic is as much an introduction to the work of the Dutch master as a revelation of his personal life. portraying Rembrandt‘s successes. loves and losses through a pictorial chronology of his life. His early fortuitoUs career as the leading portrait painter in Holland is well documented. as the film brings to life some of Reiiibrandt's most famous paintings. Rather than just reproduce Rembrandt's masterpieces. Manon has the works bear resemblance to the actors rather than the originals. Rembrandt may provoke heated debates about its accuracy. btit this fine-looking. well-acted film creates a fascinating celluloid account of the great master's art. The Lumiere. Edinburgh.
Room To Rent ( I5) (Khalid Al-Haggar. France/['K. 2000i ()5 mins. Young Egyptian screenwriter Ali (Said 'l‘aghmaoui) is determined to make it in London where he has been a student. But with no more money and no more home. having been thrown out of his lodgings. Ali moves in with a succession of colourful and eccentric friends (played by Rupert (irav'es. Juliette Lewis and Anna Massey). Written and co-produced by Scotland's Amanda Mackenzie Stuart. L‘GC Cinemas. Edinburgh.
Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book (P(ii .0. (Stephen Sommers. LS. W94) Jason Scott Lee. Lena Headey. Sam Neill. I I2 mins. Disney‘s new live action version of Kipling's well-loved stories doesn‘t have the appealing talking animals or songs of the I967 animated version. but it's a great matinee-style wheeze — imagine an early Tarzan movie crossed with an Indiana Jones adventure. Jungle boy Mowin meets up again with the British army regiment for whom his father was a guide. but finds himself forced to reveal to a group of soldier cads the whereabouts of some hidden treasure. (ireat