Film index

Kiss Of The Dragon i 18) 0.. t('hrix Nahon. t'S/l‘rance. 2001 i Jet Li. Bridget l-‘onda. 'l'chek'y Karyo. 98 minx. l.i piayx a top Shanghai xecret agent it ho arriyex in l’arix to axxixt rutlilexx police hoxx 'l’cheky Karyo in nailing a (‘hinexe drugx lord. Naturally. Karyo ix the real Villain and within minutex l.i tindx hiinxeli iramed ior murder and on the run. l’onda tagx along ax the hooker-it ho-knoyy x-too- much. However. it .xeemx clear that neither xhe nor Karyo ,xayy the xcript heiore heing roped in by producer l,uc Bexxon. ax their partx are quite rixihle. In itx iayour. Nahon direch the action. ii not the drama. with aplomh. (ieneral releaxe.

The Lady Eve (ti 0...

tl’rexton Sturgex. t'S. l‘)-tl i Barhara Stanyyyck‘. Henry Fonda. ('harlex

(‘ohurir ()7 minx. llectic romantic iarce irom the handx down maxter oi the genre in \\ hicli a lady cardxharp and her iather are out“ itted on a tranx.-\tlantic liner by a ximpleton. lidinhurgh l’ilm (iuild. tidinhurgh.

Legally Blonde t 12» 0.. (Robert Luketic. LS. 3001 ) Recxe \Vitltet'xpoott. Luke \Vilxon. Selma Blair. 07 minx. [weal/y [flout/e ix adapted irom Amanda Broyy'n‘x unpuhlixhed noxel. an anthroimlt’gical xtud} oi the ‘law xtudent xpeciex' drawing on her experiencex ax a hlonde attending lit“ xclttml. By ctititt'itxt. Karen .\lc(‘ullah luv and Kirtxen Smith'x t/U 'I‘liiney I [lute .‘l/HIHI limi xcrccnplay iocuxex on the ‘cluelexx' nature oi protagonixt lillc \Voodx (Witherxpoon i. a ('aliiornia hahe \y ho iindx herxeli to he a iixh out oi Water When xlte iolloyy‘x ltet' hoyiriend to llaryard. lt alxo rexortx to a deeply com entional narratiye ahout honexty and integrity winning the day. 'l‘hux. Legal/y li/omle lackx the hile oi other teen xatirex xuch ax [flee/ion. another film xtarring Witherxpoon. but one \\ hich lived up to the 21c‘toi"x imprexxiye talentx. (iencral rcleaxe.

Eduardo de Noriega lets his passion get the better of him in the repressive haunted orphanage setting of Spanish ghost story The Devil’s Backbone

Little Otik (Otesanek) 1 IS) 0.. (Jan Syankmajer. ('Iech Republic/t 'lx'. 300th Veronika Xilkoya. Jan llartl. Jaroxlaya Kretxchmeroya. l3! minx. l'tilixing an old (’Iech iolk tale. Syankmajer ioctixex on a harren couple who go to e\treme lengthx to become parentx. When their ‘child' getx out oi control. xnacking on anything \yhich xttttttlilex into itx path. ltat'd decixionx need to he made. ('oining on like a croxx

hctyy een [Miser/mu! and I‘lu' Hem! In The

('t'l/ur. Sy'ankmaiei”x ey e ior a heatitiiully iramed image ix ilayy lexx ior the iirxt

2.790 . «v

HRlSTIVlAS CARDS GIFI'S

tuenty minutex_ hut \ycarx thin ax xoon ax the ox erlong. repetitiye xtory takex hold. .'\x an animated xhort. it \yon ha\c made a \yonderiul addition to ltix \ttt't‘ettltxt repertoire. Sec prey ieyy and rey ieu. l‘ilmhouxc. lidinhurgh.

Love Me Or Leave Me d’( ii 0... t('hat'lcx \‘idot'. l‘S. 1055i l)ot‘ix Hay. Jamcx Cagney. (‘ameron .\Iitchell. l2: minx. .laH-age tuncx xet up the Prohibition era atmoxphere ax l)orix l)ay xtarx ax real liie xinger Ruth lilting. manipulated hy a Syengali-like gangxtcr played hy .lamex (‘agney For once in an .\l( i.\l muxical. the chemixtry ix electric and tltc lo\e xtttt'y littx a hard enough edge to xtand up iour decadex later. (il'wll. (ilaxgmy.

Lovers Of The Arctic Circle t Ht 0... tJulio .\lcdcm. Spain. 1000) liele .\lartine/. Naiyya Nimri. Nancho Noyo. Iii-t minx. \Vhen eiglit<yeat¥old ()tto xpotx .>\na Ultlxlde tlte \clitiol gttlex. lllx lU\ c tit lit‘xl xight. hut liie'x tragedicx interyenc.

hoyy ey er. and the pair are xet apart - until yearx later \\ hen both are drau n. irrcprexxihly. to a l’innixh cottage .iuxt lttxide the Arctic (‘ircle .\lcdctn. \\ hoxc e\prexxiye xty le \yax honed in than. [he Red Squirrel and lie/Tu. hax craited a heguiling loy e xtory - ax xtrange and original ax it ix romantic - \yhich xurely placex .\ledem in the top rank oi liuropean dit’ectot'x. (’('.-\. (ilaxgoyy.

The Magic Flute t l ‘i O... Ilngmar Bergman. Suedcn. 107-1) .loxei Koxtlingcr. lrma t‘rrila. llakan llagcgard. 1351mm. ()riginally made ior Syy ediin 'l'\'. Bergman'x \ei‘xion oi .\lo/art ix xet in art actual theatre \\ here a modern audience \yatch an lh’th century periormance. 'l'he rexult ix xy mpathetically attuned to the talentx oi hix periormerx hut xtill a iairly irothy addition to the S\\ ede‘x canon oi iaithlexx anguixh. (iilmorehill( i l 2. (ilaxgoyy.

Majestic White Horses d’( it (loot l. (iiant xcreen prexentation. l.\l:\.\ ‘l‘hcatre. (ilaxgoyy.

QThe Man Who Wasn’t There (15) moo t.ltiel (‘oen. t'S. ltttit l Billy Boh 'l‘hornton. l‘rauccx .\lcl)ormand. Jamex (iandoltini. llo tiiiiix. Set in the ('aliiornian hackuater to“ n oi Santa Roxa circa the l‘Htix. I'ln' .llun li'liu Hityn'l III/It’l't' tttlxex itx cite l't'ttttt the cynical \yttt'ld oi pulp crime \\t’tlet‘x like .lamcx .\l. ('am. The tale turnx on a regular iella. 'l'hornton‘x mild mannered harher lid (’ranc. \yho ix unyyittingly the catalyxt tor a xpiralling xeriex oi e\entx heginning \\ ilh iniidelity and e\tortion and ending \\ ith.

\y ell. mayhc you can guexx. ‘l'he ('oen hrotherx‘ latext rcinyention oi a claxxic llollyyyood iilm genre ix their moxt auda cioux to date. inning liard-hoiled. xmall toyxn iilm noir \\ itli e\ixtcnttalixm and

metaphy xicx. lt'x a \yry humoured. retro xtyied. \yickedly -plotted. moody gem. Selected rclcaxc.

Marie-Line i l5) t.\lchdi (‘hareil lirance. 2001i .\luriel Rohin. \alerie Stroh. l'eiria l)eliha. ltiti minx. .\larie-line runx an all— iemale group oi night cleanerx ior a xupermarket. the tttaiot‘ity oi \y liom are illegal immigrantx. and heginx to iorm a cloxe relationxhip \\ ith her xtaii \y ho are under conxtant threat irom the authoriticx. l’art oi the l-iench l'llllt l-exti\al. (il-"l‘. (ilaxgoyy.

Me Without You i IS) .000 (ioldhaeher. t'K, littil t .-\nna l’riel. .\lichellc \Villiamx. ()liyer .\lilhurn. 107 ttiinx. 'l'hix Brit ilick hoaxtx a pair oi xtat‘ turnx irom l‘ricl and \Villiainx. their on xcreen relationxhip ax hcxt triendx .\larina and Holly remainx utterly com incing throughout itx ehh and ilou. irom I.ondon xuhurh xchoolgirlx in the Ttix through Brighton l'niyerxity xtudcnt ilatmatex in the Stix to ('entral l.ondon proiexxionalx touard the end oi that decade. (ioldhachet' dt‘exxcx her littlet‘x“ cct period drama immaculately. l)ra\\ ing on her oyytt paxt to co-yyrite the iilm \\ ith Laurence (‘oriat titiuu/erlum/i. xhe undercutx noxtalgia ior the era \\ ith gently mocking humour. l'( i(' Renireyy Street. (ilaxgoyy: t'( i(‘ ('inemax. tidinhurgh.

Memento: l5) 0.... ((‘hrixtopher Nolan. t'S. ltititti (itiy l’earce. (’arrie-:\nn .\loxx. Joe l’antoliano. llo minx. Beginning \\ here mox! other iilmx \yould end \\ ith an act oi \engeance. \\ ritcr-director Nolan tellx hix xtory hy gradually \yorking hackyyardx in time. l.conard Shelhy tl’earcei ix ohxexxed \y ith ayenging hix

\\ iiex rape and murder. 'l'rouhlc ix Leonard xuiierx irom a condition oi xhort -term memory loxx. and xo he rchex on an elahorate xy xtcm oi mementoex mapx. [itilttt'ttid\. littdy tttttttttx -~ to piece together the cluex in hix inyextigation. .-\ compelling. elliptical reconxtruction oi the reyenge thriller. \yhich xkiliully e\aminex the connectionx hetyy ccn memory. identity and perception. (Enrico. lidinhurgh.

A Monkey’s Tale t PG» .00. (Jean- l‘rancoix l.aguionie. t‘K/l-rance. ltititti \oiccx Ul- .lUllll llttt'l. .\lichael \lttt‘k. Rik Maya”. ‘0 minx. .\ monkey community torn apart hy poxtearthquake iloodx rem l‘tlild tltett' xhattercd liycx. Some ilcc ltl the treetopx \\ hile otherx xalyage \\ hat‘x leit on the ground. l)ecadex paxx and xuxpicion. ignorance and prciudice hrecd hatred. hut change ix iinally \yrought by a loyeahle rogue \x ho innocently tiucxtionx the regime. Animation \\ ith a inexxage that ixn‘t xchmalt/y. hut charming. (‘arlton. Stirling.

Moulin Rouge 1 12) moo ( Ba/ l.uhrmann. l'S. 2()t)l i li\yan .\lc(it‘cgor. Nicole Kitliii;iii. .liiii Broadhent. INS iiiiiix. l.ahrinanii\ ioltoyy up to Kit/Hen A" ./tl/i<'l ix a \yildly unrextrauied. gloriouxly catnp. lude ax hell muxical ioye xtory that re-

iny entx the iorin. irom the (iolden .v\ge

tSandra

llolly \yood xong and dance xpcctacularx tip. l,uhrmann hax tranxiormed the eponymoux l‘)th century l’arixian dancehall ctttn hrothcl into the raw capital oi liuropc. \\ca\ mg Itith century pop tttuxic hitx into the may dialogue oi the iilm xo that it hccomcx alttioxt opera. .\nd xpiralling around a iairy talc romance

hetu ecn .\l\‘(it'\‘}1tit“\ idealixttc poet and Kidman'x dance girl 1x a barrage oi riotoux imagery and dcxign. ’l'here'x no middle ground \\ ith l.uhrmann'x tilm; it you ahandon yourxeli to it it'll leayc you into\ic.ited \\ ith plcaxure. Selected releaxe. Mulholland Drive t t.x'i tl)a\ ltl l.y nch. IS. 30”] i Naomi \‘fattx. laura lilena llarring. .luxtin 'l'hcroux l-lo minx. l.y nch'x xpin on hrokcn dreamx in llolly \yood ix a tour de iorcc oi \yeird chillx and innate humour. ax coniounding ax hix /.ml Hie/nun and inexinerixing ax liim [nu/n. l’ai't oi the l.ondon l-iliii iexti\al on tour. (il‘mll. (ilaxgmy.

The Nine Lives Of Thomas Katz 1151 0.. tBen llopktnx. l'lx'. Itititii 'l'homax l‘ixhcr. lan .\lcNeicc. ’l'ohy .loncx. SS minx. .-\ pale xtranger pickx up a black cah on l.ondon'x .\125. the heginning oi the