Film index
The Iron Ladies ( 15) one (Yongyooth Thongkonthun. Thailand. 2000) Jesdaponi Pholdce. Sachapart Virakamin. Akkachai Buranaphanit. 104 mins. 'Ihongkonthoon‘s absolute charmer of a film is a gripping comedy based on the real-life story of the I996 Thai national volleyball championships. where one of the competing learns consisted of drag queens. gay men. post-op transvestites and one tolerant straight man. (‘onstantly surprising. and forever challenging stereotypes. The Iron Ladies is a well-acted ensemble piece which explores notions of acceptability. parental support and having the courage to be true yourself. It is fast paced and incredibly exciting. inducing the hysteria associated with such ball games. See review. l’ilmhouse. Iidinburgh.
Joint Security Area (the) (Park (‘han- Wook. South Korea. 2000) III) mins. A huge hit in Korea. this is an audacious attempt at focusing on life at the North/South border. I’ilmhouse. lidinburgh. Josie And The Pussycats (PG) 0.” (Deborah Kaplan. Ilarry Iilfont. US. 2001) Rachael Leigh (‘ook. Alan Cumming. Parker I’osey. 98 mins. Josie (smart/cute (‘ook on vocals and guitar) and her punk band The Pussycats are ‘discovered‘ by slimy MegaRecords manager Wyatt I‘rame (Cumming) and re- packaged as the next big pop sensation. But the presence of government grey suits suggests there's more to MegaRecords than the kind of obvious media manipulation we‘ve come to expect from. say. the backers of Hear‘Say. The performances in this film. based on the ()(Is Arr/tie comic are a joy and the satirical script by the co-dircctors is kitty-cat claw sharp. Selected release. Jules Et Jim (PG) .0000 (Francois 'l‘ruffaut. l-‘rance. l()()l ) Jeanne Moreau. ()skar Werner. Ilenri Serre. 105 mins. ’I‘ruffaut‘s early masterpiece. telling the comic-tragic tale of an eternal triangle straddling the First World War. Bohemian.
Inter-racial love sparks controversy in Le Secret
mercurial Parisienne ('atherine (Moreau) divides her affections between Jules (Werner) and Jim (Serre). whose deep friendship overrides their rivalry in love and their separation by war. But 'l‘ruffaut has a salutary fare in store for the threesome. which is both devastating and poetic. Powerful stuff. The Lumiere. Iidinburgh. Jurassic Park III (PG) 0.. (Joe Johnston. I'S. 200l ) Sam Neill. Tea Leoni. William II. Macy. ()2 mins. The fIimsy excuse to get the cast over to the Park is a young lad who has become stranded on the dinosaur island. An unofficial search party. headed by his parents (Macy and Leoni). hoodwink palaeontologist Dr (irant (Neill. reprising his role) into helping them out. Of cottrse. things go wrong as soon as they arrive and they are attacked by a Spinosaur. a new and improved T-rex. I-‘rom there on in the cast jump from one perilotIs situation to another. A complete retread of the first two movies with even more dinosaur attacks.
more ridiculous prcdicarnents and bigger monsters. General release.
The King Is Alive (15) «u (Kristian Levring. [IS/Scandinavia. 2001) Jennifer Jason Leigh. Janet McTeer. Romane Bohringer. 109 mins. The films released under the Danish manifesto (this is
the fourth) have enormoUs power in terms of
capturing raw. often physical emotion. In this category alone. Levring’s lilrn excels beyond all expectation establishing the direst of circumstances: a motley crew of tourists are stranded in the middle of the desolate Namibian desert. To lift the company's spirits while awaiting rescue. a retired actor suggests they stage a production of Shakespeare‘s most bitter tragedy. King Lear. What follows is an impressive and dramatic descent into madness as the desperate individuals frantically attempt to stay alive. U('l. Iidinburgh.
Kissed ( IX) 0... (Lynne Stopkewicz. Canada. l‘)()()) Molly Parker. Peter ()uterbridgc. Jay Bra/.eau. 7‘) mins. A young
emotional quest — the mystery surrounding the death of her father (Jolie‘s real-life father. Voight). But the film betrays a complete lack of narrative logic. leaving a jerky. fragmented tale that jumps from one ‘Ievel' to the next. Individual images. like the stone monkey warriors which spring to life inside the temple complex at Angkor Wat are spectacular. but completely lacking in excitement. Compared to the synthetic silliness of The Mummy. this just about makes the grade. Highland Theatre. ()ban; MacRobert Arts Centre. Stirling.
The Last Metro (PG) 0”.
(Francois Truffaut. France. I980) Cathen'ne Deneuve. Gerard Depardieu. Jean Poirct. 131 mins. In the occupied Paris of I942. Deneuve takes over the running of a Montmartre theatre while her Jewish husband is in hiding. Meanwhile the company includes a number of performers who are also in their own ways under threat from the Nazis. Glossy and well cast wartime drama. with Truffaut working in his most entertaining and commercial vein. The Lumiere. Edinburgh.
Late Night Shopping (15) oooo A (Saul Met/stein. UK. 2001) Luke de Woolfsoon. Enzo Cilenti. Kate Ashfield. James Lance. Heike Makatsch. 91 mins. Director Metzstein and writer Jack Lothian‘s debut is a romantic comedy filmed in Glasgow. though set in what could be any large city. about four slackers wasting their lives working night shifts in various menial jobs. Lothian has drawn on his own all-night shelf stacking experiences. turning out a wordy and witty script. Metastein brings to his creative partner‘s script a fine sense of pacing and handsome gloss finish courtesy of ace cinematographer Brian Tufano (Trainspotting. East 13 East). Long live Brit cinema. East Kilbride Arts Centre. East Kilbride; FI‘H Cinema. Falkirk.
Local Hero (PG) oooo (Bill Forsyth. UK. I983) Peter Riegert. Burt Lancaster. Denis Lawson. l I I mins. ()ne of Bill Porsyth‘s most sure-footed ventures. and one in which his eye for charm balances
necrophiliac works in a funeral home where she is able to fulfil her sexual desires. Stopkcwicr‘s brave examination of female sexuality is no perverse horror piece but a tender and often poetic film. Likewise. the
with his love for whimsy. An ambitious executive of an American oil company is sent to buy an entire Scottish town for a future drilling project. but soon finds himself falling in love with the place. while
art loving, comedy laughing, attraction visiting, theatre going,
hill walking, scotland touring, club dancing, beer swilling, sport crazy, filmwatching,
music listening, hotel staying
money spenders?
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32 THE LIST (5 Sop-20 Sop 2001
lead character is not a freak. but a confident woman. strong in her convictions. ('hallenging in its morality. perhaps. but romantic at the core. l'ilmhouse. lidinburgh. A Knight’s Tale (PG) coo (Brian llelgcland. LS. 200]) Ileath Ledger. Mark Addy. Paul Bettany. I32 mins. After his master dies halfway through a jousting tournament in medieval I-‘rance. peasant William Thatcher (Ledger) dons his suit of armour and drags begrudging pals Roland (Addy) and Wat (Alan Tudyk) across liurope towards victory. Writer-director IIelgeIand‘s (LA. ( 'mi/ir/enlial. I’avhark) film displays a playful sense of humour with its anachronistic soundtrack featuring Queen. David Bowie and other 70s rockers. and amusing allusions to the World (’up. And unusually it also emphasises character interaction so that the working class heroes are aided by Laura Fraser's widow-tumed- blacksmith and Bettany‘s scene-stealing gambler/ poet ‘(ieoff' Chaucer. General release
Lagaan (PG) 0000 (Ashutosh (iowarikcr. India. 200] ) Aarnir Khan. Gracy Singh. Rachel Shelley. 224 mins. New Bollywood movie from the world‘s largest film industry. Set in the early days of the Raj. [aqua/i pits Indian farmers against their colonial oppressors . . . over a game of cricket. This is a breakthrough for Bollywood cinema exports. having established crossover appeal for Hindi and non-Hindi speaking audiences. Showing in Hindi with linglish subtitles. ()deon At The Quay. Glasgow; I‘ilmhouse. lidinburgh. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider ( 12)
.0. (Simon West. US. 2001 ) Angelina Jolie. lain Glenn. Jon Voight. I00 mins. Jolie is amazing as the globe-trotting adventurer pitted against villain Manfred Powell (Glenn) and a secret cult known as The Illuminati. Meanwhile. (‘roft's search for the ‘clock of ages' is underpinned by an
being hoodwinked by the community. The Lumiere. lidinburgh.
Lucky Break ( 12) «0 (Peter (‘attaneo. UK. 2001) James Nesbitt. ()livia Williams. Timothy Spall. Bill Nighy. (.‘hristopher Plummer. l()7 mins. This prison escape comedy from The Full Monty’s Cattaneo showcases some great British acting talent and promises a lot of laughs. So when Lucky Break opens with the most pathetic attempt at a bank-robbery ever seen on screen. it‘s hard to suppress a loud wail of disappointment. But when the two sad culprits. Jimmy (Nesbitt) and Rudy (James). end up in HM Prison Long Rudford. things soon start to look up. A farce with no real social agenda. Lucky Break runs away from the realities of the British justice system and rnobilises some old social stereotypes. to have a good laugh. And cheerfully comic yet poignant; treacIy- sweet yet deeply ironic. it does succeed as a charming piece of escapist cinema. General release.
The Martins ( 15) 0. (Tony Grounds. UK. 200l) Lee livans. Kathy Burke. Linda Bassett. 86 mins. [Evans plays luckless dreamer and unemployed dad Robert in this big-hearted but over-reaching comedy about familial love in Hatfield. Burke is his long-suffering wife Angie. mother of their two kids. The Martins are the sort of shell-suited. foul-mouthed family you‘d cross the road to avoid. Robert tries to provide for them by entering competitions. and is convinced he has won an exotic family holiday through a local paper. When he Ieams he hasn't. a string of humiliations pushes him to steal the holiday from the winners. There are some nice moments which reveal the family‘s underlying wannth. but these are swamped by an unnecessarily hectic storyline that won‘t let the characters breathe. See review. General release.