listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Miles Fielder
Films screening this fortnight are
The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert ( 18) C... (Stephan lilliott. Australia. I994) Terence Stamp. llugo Weaving. Guy Pearce. Ill-l mins. Two transvestites and a trans-sexual team up for a trip across the Australian outback for a drag show in Alice Springs. Serious issues pop up from time to time. but the emphasis is on the camp humour of the in-bus bitchiness and outrageous musical set-pieces. The Lumiere. Edinburgh.
Aguirre, Wrath Of God ( (5i oooo (Werner llerxog. W. 1972) Klaus Kinski. ('ecilia Rivera. 95 mins. 17th century conquistadors. on a mission to explore the Amazon. court disaster when the zeal of their leader remains undarnpened alter a number of encounters with hostile Indians. lixcellent location work in this moving portrayal of tragic ambition. which sports a characteristically intense [X'rformance by Kinski. (il’l‘. (ilasgow.
Alfie ( 15) 0” (Lewis (iilbert. l'K. mom Michael ('aine. lilenor Bron. Shelley Winters.
l 14 mins. Alfie ((‘ainei is clever wide boy who will not be beholden to one woman. Direct to camera he talks us through his many conquests. lle inevitably gets his corneuppance. but on the whole the ‘birds' come off worse. Put in context of what was happening in British cinema at the time. -‘ Saturday Ami Sunday .llor’riiiie. Bil/v Liar. 'I’liix Sporting life ~ Alfie look like the dated itiisogy‘nist romantic comedy it is. See review. (ll-T. (ilasgow; l‘lllilhnthe‘. lidinburgh The Lumiere. Edinburgh.
All The Pretty Horses ( IS) oooo (Billy Bob Thornton. LS 2001 i Matt Damon. Henry Thomas. Penelope Cruz. 1 lo mins. The year is 19-19. but Mexico continues to exert a gravitational pull on Yankees chasing a vanishing frontier. not least Damon's dispossessed young Texas cowboy John (irady (‘ole and best friend Lacey Raw lins (Thomas). The boys chase their dream until a (angle with the law leads them to take refuge on a ranch. where (‘ole's prowess at breaking wild horses wins him respect and piques the interest of the owner‘s high-spirited daughter ((‘ru/ i. 'l‘hornton's‘ film. adapted from (‘ormac McCarthy's bestseller. is leisurely paced and glorious to behold. with splendid w idescreen cinematography evoking the majesty of the western landscape. l’l‘ll Cinema. l‘alkirk; Adam Smith Theatre. Kirkcaldy.
Amores Perros (Love’s A Bitch) ( (xi 0.... (Alejandro (ionzale/ lrritu. Mexico. 2001 i limilio lichevar‘ria. (iael (iarcia Bernal. (ioya Toledo. 153 mins. lnarritu's debut feature is billed as ‘the Mexican l’ulp I-ieii'un'. a description which sells it short. The 'l‘arantino comparison is a useful starting point: the film tells three overlapping stories - a teenager drawn into the world of illegal dog- fighting. the infidelity of a middle-aged media executive and an elderly homeless man by- using shifting time-frames. tangentially linked characters and jagged verbal rhythms. l-‘ierce humanity underpins lnarritu's beautiful. grainy visuals and (iuillermo Arriaga Jordan's multi- layered script. The best lilm of the year so far. and unlikely to be surpassed. Selected release. Angel Eyes ( 15) .0. (Luis Mandoki. LS 2001 ) Jennifer l.ope/. Jim (‘av ie/el. Sonia Braga. l()2 mins. Angel lives follow s in the vein of all those supernatural romances that have come and gone since (i/iosi. l.ope/‘s hard. lonesome policewoman Sharon l’ogue is single and terrified of intimacy. One day she chases some drive-by gunmen and. at the point of being shot. is saved by a mysterious man ((‘aviezeli. He turns out not only to be the man .she encouraged to stay alive (did he or didn't he?) after a crash. but also the Right One to heal her fear of intimacy. A surprisingly warm film. affirming the healing power inherent in love. See review. (ieneral release.
Before Night Falls ( (5i oooo (Julian Schnabel. l'S. 3()()l i 130 mins. This biopic of the gay (‘uban author Reinaldo Arenas has been garlanded with praise and awards.
including a deserved Oscar nomination for leading actor Jav ier liardem. It‘s more recognition than its subject achieved in his lifetime. an irony the persecuted Arenas might have found wrny amusing. Schnabel's film is based on the memoirs Arenas dictated in exile in New York. terminally ill with Aids. before
his suicide in lWl). The painter turned director
finds a style in keeping with the man and his work. riiixirig truth. poetic hyperbole and
magic realism to iii/lying effect. l’l‘ll Cinema.
l‘alkirk: Adam Smith 'l‘healre. Kirkcaldy. Blade Runner: The Director’s Cut (l5! 0....(Ridley Scott. l'S. 1083i Harrison liord. Sean Young. Rutger llauer. 1 lo mins. ()ut go the pseudo-noir narration and the tacked-on happy ending; in comes a more defined sense that Deckard himself may be a replicant. The look and feel remain as powerful. and the acting is superb. A tlavv ed masterpiece is now a restored masterpiece. Filmhouse. lidinburgh.
Blow ( IS) .0. (Ted l)emme. l'S. lelili Johnii) Dem). Penelope (‘rii/. l-‘ranka l’otenie. l33 mins. The story of the rise and fall of drug smuggler (ieorge Jung (played by !)eppi_ who progresses from smuggling marijuana in the late-(ins to importing cocaine on an industrial scale in the 70s. It‘s a time of high jinks in more than one sense and l)emme finds a
sly lc to match. employing free/e framing and lurching moms. We could be in an episode of The .llunls‘t’i‘v. ll “Inn is intended as a modern morality play. however. then its ethics remain unclear. We never see the social costs (if his freebooting entreprciieur'ship; l)emme fails to give (is the wider picture. ()deon At The Quay. (ilasgow.
Blue Planet l l ’i (2001 l An awesome trip around. above and beyond our planet on the lMAX giant screen which prompted the llilxltlll's'lnll I’m! to write: ‘If a picture is worth a thousand words. one image from Blue l’luni’l is worth a /i|lion‘. l.\l.v\.\ 'l‘heatrc. (ilasgovv. Bridget Jones’s Diary l ISi oooo (Sharon Maguire. l’S/l 'ls'. Zlilil i Renee /.ellvveger. Hugh (irant. (‘oliii birth. (to mins. Brit/eel .Iom'v 'v Dam is that rare thing. an adaptation that vastly improves on an over-rated original. in (his case llelcn l‘ielding‘s bestselling new spaper column-cum-book. Jones has a rather nice iob. and looks rather nice. btit worries a lot about her appearance and career. In between weighing herself and ranting about the modern male. she entangles herself with nasty boss Daniel ('lcav er ((irant l. before taking up with nice Mark Darcy (l-irthi. On paper. Jones was a siiivelling. neurotic wreck. on film she's a snivelliiig. neurotic wreck who also happens to be consistently hilarious. And Xellvv cgcr adds a touch of warmth to w hat is essentially a wholly unsympathetic. brittle character. Selected release.
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin ( (5i
.0. (John Madden. l'K/l’S/l’raiice.
2001 i Nicolas ('age. l’enclope (‘ru/. John Hurt. Ill) mins. This adaptation of l.ouis dc liei'lilet'es' bestseller sees (irecce taken by the llaliari Army during World War ll. (‘aptaiii (’orclli and his squad (if opera enlhtisiasls arrive on the island of (‘ephallonirr causing much uproar. And when (he ('apiam is billeted to Dr lannis' (lliirti liouse. ('orelli and the Doctor's beautiful daughter. l’elagia ((Tll/l. fall in forbidden love. Madden has sltlek lU his guns and made a rnov ie at once distinctly liuropean and likely to appeal to .-\mcricaii audiences. ('ommcrcial. unfaithful to the book. but still head and shoulders abov c any of the eye candy lltilly wood has lU offer. Selected release.
Cats And Dogs (l’( il 0.. (law rencc (iutcrmaii. l'S. Inn] i Jefl (iiildlvlum_ lili/abeth l’ci'kins. Miriam Margoy les. b’," lllllis. This refreshing approach to cute talking pets lilms is a kind of subversive l.ovvn' meets .l/ixvlmr.’ ll)!/HH\l/’l(’. These dogs don't (list talk. they rise surveillance cqtiipriient and have a solemn mission to protect scientist (ioldblum as he invents a cure for dog allergies. The cats are evil. hell-bent on conquering the world; their special agents have deadly ninia skills and vicious weapons. The aiiiinatroiiic effects are of a pretty hiin standard. but it's the annual trainers you're iii real awe (ii. The occasional wander into sentimental territory and slow tag up ol pace can be lorgiven by the madly original idea. lively action sequences and kriockabout humour, (ieneral release.
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