Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Miles Fielder

Abandoned (Torzolt) (tbc) (Sopsils Arpad. Hungary. 2001 ) 90 mins. Autobiographical film detailing Arpad‘s childhood growing up in 1950s Hungary. GilmorehillG l 2. Glasgow.

About A Boy ( 12) (Paul and Chris Weill. L'K/L'S. 2002) Hugh Grant. Toni Collette. Rachel Weisz. 10] mins. Preview screening of the adaptation of Nick Horiiby's last novel from the people that brought us Bridge! Jones '.v Diary and with a little help from their American filmmaking cousins previoust responsible for .-Interi(‘m1 l’ie. (irant capitalises on the good fortune his Jones role brought him. here taking the lead as a single parent. Ster ('eiitui'y Cinema. Edinburgh.

The Affair Of The Necklace ( 12)

O ((‘harles Shyer. IS. 2001) Ililary Swank. Joely Richardson. Jonathan Pryce. I I8 inins. A French director might have relished the assault on monied privilege of the French court as represented by the real- Iife ‘affaire du collier’. in which a disgruntled countess exposed the extravagance of Marie .-\ntoinette and the country's (‘ardinal in an elaborate sting involving an outrageoust opulent piece jewellery. Shyer‘s immenser less interesting way into the story is to try to persuade its that (‘omtesse de la Motte- Valois is a righteoust vengeful victim of injustice. She lost her home and her daddy. so we'd better root for her runs the mov ie's central calculation. which becomes purely academic given the two hours of laborious plotting. swishy frocks and chokingly diabolical dialogue which ensue. Adam Smith. Kirkcaldy.

Ali G lndahouse ( 13).... (Mark Mylod. I'K. 2002) Sacha Baron (‘ohen. ('harles Dance. Michael (iaiiibon. 88 mins. Soda boy from Staines finks he can make it big. yeah‘.’ (often has taken his greatest invention: replete with gold and ‘nie Julie' and headed for the corridors of power. From Staines to Westminster and then the world wicked. All the old tricks. catch phrases - ‘Is it because I is black'.". play with misunderstandiiig and political incorrectness. are exploited to the max. It's fantastically hilarious. Full credit to the writers. ('ohen and Dan Ma/er. w ho have worked so hard to keep it fresh (and real. of course). Much respect. (ieneral release.

All 1 15) C... (Michael Mann. LS. 2002) Will Smith. Mario \‘an I’cebles. Jon V'oight. 154 (nuts. The trouble with Ali is that two and a half hours is not enough time

to relive the tale of the Sports Personality ()f

The Century. Iiven condensing it into the ten years from 1964. when Ali beat Sonny Liston to win the world title. to his victory in the Rumble In The Jungle against (ieorge Foreman still proves unsatisfying. The film urges us to forget what we thought we knew. steering the action away from the ring as much as possible. Yet there are still 30 minutes of ring time to appease fight fans. Magnum Theatre. Irvine.

Amelie 1 I5) 0.... (Jean-Pierre Jeunet. France. 200] ) Audrey 'I'autou. Mathieu Kassov III. Serge Merlin. I20 mins. As with his two previous French fantasies. I)eli('(llev.ven and The ('in ()r 1.1m ('liildren. Jeunet creates a fantastical world. here reimagining Paris' oldest quarter. Montmanre. Within it the eccentric adventures of his epony mous heroine (played by captivating elfin newcomer 'I‘autoti) unfold in a iiiaiinci' as complex as a Swiss timepiece w hen Amelie decides to bring happiness to deserving people by playing elaborate practical jokes on them. ('oiiiposed of many moments of absolute wonder. this is a film which celebrates all the little. great things in life. ('aineo iv Filinhousc. Iidinburgh.

America’s Sweethearts ( 12) so

(Joe Roth. LS. 2001 ) Julia Roberts. Billy

Gene Hackman's surveillance expert loses sight of the plot in Francis

(‘ry stal. (‘athet'ine Zeta-Jones. John (‘usack. 103 mins. This appears to be a case of life imitating an. America '.v Sweet/team revolves around a big-budget movie that threatens to sink the studio that produced it. Time ()I'( r Time is the last film made by Hollywood's leading romantic couple. ('tisack's liddie Thomas and Zeta-Jones's (iw en Harrison. But (iweii and Iiddie have broken up. Veteran publicist I.ee Phillips‘ ((‘i‘y stal) only hope of averting disaster is to convince the media at the foithcoming press

junket that Iiddie and (iw en are back

together again. To this end. he recruits (iwen's sister and long-suffering personal assistant Kiki (Roberts). On paper.

America '\ Siu'ellieurlv reads like a dream. Sadly. Roth's film is a stinker. ()deon. I)uiifermline: ()deon. Kilmarnock.

0 An Impossible Crime (Un delitto impossible) ( 15) (.-\ntonel|o (irimaldi. Italy. 200I ) ('arlo ('ecchi. Angela Molina. Ivano Marescotti. 9‘) mins. Murder story in which a powerful lawyer. Valerio. is poi- soned and the husband of his lover (another lawyer) is framed for the murder. while \'alerio's reputation is tarnished by a third corrupt law yer. Part of the Italian Film Festival. See feature. (iI’I‘. (ilasgow; Filmhouse. Iidinburgh.

Q And Your Mother Too (Y Tu Mama Tambien) ( 18) 0.00 (Alfonso (’uaron. Mexico. 2001) (iael (iarcia Bernal. Diego Luna. Maribel Verdu. 105 mins. In this upbeat. raunchy road movie Julio (Bernal) and childhood friend 'I'enoch (Luna) convince gorgeous older Spaniin woman I.uisa (Verdti) to join them on the road to an unspoilt beach known as ‘Ileaven’s Mouth'. The horny boys‘ plan is to get into I.uisa's pants. which. as it turns out. she is quite happy with. Of course. when Luisa sleeps first with Diego and then Jtilio. the emotionally immature boy-s fall out. and it‘s left to their more experienced partner to teach them something about Iov e. The cast give ('uaron flaw less perfor- mances. while the director and his co-writer brother (‘arlos ensure the drama is at once tender and boistet'oiis. feelgood and full of pathos. and wholly free of cliche. See Ica- turc and i'c\'iL'\\. Selected release. Apocalypse Now Redux ( IS) .000 (Francis Ford ('oppola. LS. I‘)7‘)/2()()I) Martin Sheen. Marlon Brando. Robert Duvall. 202 iiiins. (‘oppola's new. longer ctit of his Vietnam war masterpiece includes more of Duvall's era/y chopper commander Kilgore. a second encounter with the Playboy Bunnies. a new sequence set on a i‘eiiiote French plantation adding historical background and Brando expounding upon the insanity of war. It isn't an improvement. btit considering the cii'cuiiistances under

Ford Coppola's The Conversation

which it was filmed - iii the Philippines

w here everything from hurricanes to heait attacks plagued the cast and crew you want to see everything they got on film. New Picture House. St Andrews. Atanarjuat, The Fast Runnen 15) 0.00. (Zacharias Kunuk. (‘anada. 2001) Natar I'ngalaq. Iiugene lpkarnak. Peter Ilcnry .-\rnatsiaq. 172 units. This remarkable singular beautiful film is the first to be entirely in the Inuit language. It is quite simply as pure and perfect a piece of

index Film

narrative cinema as you are ever likely to see today. When an unknown shaman puts an evil spell on a group of nomadic Inuits living off the (‘anadian Arctic it takes twenty years before two brothers emerge to challenge the evil order. Director Kunuk never lets the stunning scenery overpower the many minute dramas being acted out by a mostly non-professional. though impressive cast. L'GC‘ Renfrew Street. Glasgow.

A Beautiful Mind ( 12) 000 (Ron Howard. LS. 2002) Russell Crowe. Jennifer Connelly. Paul Bettany. 135 mins. A Beautiful Mind once more presents C rowe with the opportunity to alternate his tough guy roles ((iludiumr) with ‘serious acting' (sec The Insider). Here Crowe plays John Nash. the mathematics genius during his college days in America in the I940s. but also a paranoid-schizophrenic. who was nevertheless awarded the Nobel Prize late in his life. On the negative side of the equation. Howard’s direction stinks. His efforts to make math interesting fail dismally. A for ()scars effort. but (‘ - for contribution to the field of biopic cinema. (ieneral release. Behind The Sun ( 12) 0000 (Walter Salles. Brazil. 2002) Rodrigo Santoro. Jose Dumont. Flavia Marco Antonio. I05 mins. In a remote northeastern province in Brazil circa |‘)|0. a deadly feud is being waged between two neighbouring families. Tonho fSattloro). the middle son of an impoverished sugar-cane farmer ( Dumont). is asked by his father to avenge the killing of his elder brother. A terrified Tonho fulfils his filial duty. but the cycle of violence resumes. (‘onvincingly acted and impressiver shot. Behind The Sun incorporates symbolic elements within the framework of an emotionally engaging storyline. It may draw on an array of sources. not least (ireek tragedy and the American Western. and yet in a world scarred by atavistic conflicts. the film's contemporary resonance is considerable. l'(i(‘ Renfrew Street. (ilasgow; I'(i(‘ ('iiiemas. Edinburgh.

I l April 7.45pm SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

I4 April 7.45pm EDINBURGH YOUTH ORCHESTRA

l8 April 7.45pm ANTIQUES DISCOVERY EVENING

20 April 7.45pm SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 22 April SOPHIE ELLIS BEXTER SOLD OUT

23 April 8.00pm SUSHEELA RAMAN

25 April 7.45pm SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

27 April 7.30pm AFGHAN REFUGEE BENEFIT CONCERT

28 April 8.30pm PHILIP CLASS

29 April 7.45pm NEW TOWN CONCERTS SOCIETY Paul Lewis

’. 1-2:") Apr 2002 THE LIST 33