Film index

Thirteen Days I 12) .00. (Roger Donaldson. IS 2001 ) Kevin ('ostiier. Bruce (ireenvvood. Steven ('ulp. l-ISmin. America and Rtrssia went head to head over the ('uban Missile (‘risis when the Soviets placed nuclear weapons on ('astro's isIand. Thirteen lhiv v dramatiscs the pressures for all-out war e\et'ted by the IS military on President John I‘ Kennedy. his brother Robert and his team of adv isoi's. ch by special aide Kenny ()'l)onnell ((‘ostnerr. I’or (‘ostner. the film is a welcome return to form. to movies of the statute of JFK and Hie (III/Ullt'lltlblt’fi. Times a little bit of poliin being applied to the Kennedy myth. bill that doesn't diminish the film's dramatic povv er. Rarely is

Ilolly wood as intelligent and as gripping in a \Itthe sitting. ()deon. .-\yt'.

Three Colours: Blue ( I5) 0000

(Kr/y s/tof Kieslow ski. France. 1993) Juliette Binoche. Benoit Regent. (‘harlotte Very. l00min. .-\ young woman tries to isolate her- self from friends and any notion of affection follow iirg the death of her composer husband and child in a car crash. btrt she cannot escape from the fragments of his unfinished composition. in which she played a major part. .-\n espressive and symbolic film that is also emotionally satisfying. Binoche's award-winning performance. in a film of profound beauty. is the best of her career. (il’I‘. (ilasgovv.

Three Colours: Red l 15)

(Kr/y s/tof Kieslovv ski. I’rance/Sw ill/Poland. 1904) Irene Jacob. Jean-Louis 'I‘rintignant. Uomiii. Kieslovv ski's tricolour trilogy comes to a close with what may be his greatest itttistet'piece. :\ Svs iss model (Jacob) disem - ers that a retired judge ('I‘rintigiiant) is listen- ing in to his neighbours' phone conversa- tions: but instead of denouncing him. she too opens up her innermost secrets. Superficial details are stripped away as the director con- centrates on parallel lives and interwoven destinies. (iI'mII. (iittsgim.

Three Colours: White t l5) 0... (Kr/y s/tof Kieslow ski. I‘rance/Sw itl/Poland.

I903) Xhigniew Xamachowski. Julie l)elpy. Janus/ (iajos. 91min. Another masterful piece of cinema by Kieslowski. much less lyrical and visually poetic than his most recent works. This time the theme of the tril- ogy is ‘equality‘. as a Polish hairdresser sets out to get revenge on his French ex-wife. (iI'VI‘. (ilasgovv.

Thunderpants (PG) 0. (Peter Ilewitt. I'K. 2002) Bruce (‘ook III. Rupert (irint. Ned Beatty. 95min. A crap kids‘ fiick that finds farting funny. not once or twice. but the whole film through. The ability to pass gas of epic proportions results in humil- iation and eventtral salvation for the film's eleven-year-old protagonist. Skip this hour and half of crap fart jokes. Selected release. The Time Machine (Subtitled ver- sion) (P(i) 0.. (Simon Wells. IS 2002) (itiy Pearce. Samantha Mumba. Jeremy Irons. 95min. Subtitled version for the hard of hearing. Director Simon WeIIs' remake of his great granddaddy's classic. But Wells Jnr completely fiuffs up the all- iiiiportant plot revelation: vvhy Pearce's time traveller can't change the past. Pearce ptrts in a watchable if somewhat affected perfor- mance as the eccentric scientist-explorer. but it‘s not enough to elevate the litm. which by the very nature of its source material should have been far more thought-provoking. I'(‘l. Iidinburgh.

Time Out (P(i) O... (Laurent (‘antet. France. 2002) Aurelicn Recoing. Karin \‘iard. Serge l.ivro/et. l.i-lmin. The original I‘rencli title. [Ilium/or (Ill 72'Mps translates literally as ‘tiine-table'. suggesting the struc- ture imposed by a working routine. ironically so. since this is a slow-burning study of a middle-aged office worker who, having lost his job. cannot bear to tell his family. so he simply invents a new one. But maintaining this fiction soon becomes a full- time occupation. Ilis wife. children and par- ents believe he is working for the IN. and his self-deception is so effective that when his father questions their effectiveness in

dealing with endemic third world poverty. he is personally offended. ('antet was inspired by a documented case. but it is a testament to his formal control and razor-sharp insight that his fictional ending is more quietly dev- astating than what happened in real life. ('ameo. Iidinburgh.

Training Day t IX) .0. (Antoine I'thllit. t.'S. 200l) l)enzel Washington. Iithan liawke. Scott tilenn. I20min. Washington has spent a career playing dignified heroes. but here he casts off his noble martyr per- sona with a riveting portrayal of a psycho- pathic and ruthlessly amoral LAPI) narcotics officer. This Bad Lieutenant Iias an idealistic rookie partner (Ilawke). who has just 2-1 hours to persuade his much-decorated veter- an colleague that he too has the necessary courage and street-savvy to work undercover. Propelled by Washington's swaggering. charismatic performance. 'l'mrnr'ng l)uv cruises towards distinction. only to be let down by a disastrous final reel. which lurch- es into preposterous action movie show- dovvns and shoot-outs. I'(‘I. Edinburgh.

24 Hour Party People ( 18)

(Michael Winterbottom. IX. 2002) Steve (’oogan. Paddy ('onsidine. Shirley Henderson. 1 l0min. The whole era/y tale of Factory records. the Hacienda and all things Madefiester is retold by writer I’rank (‘ottrell Boyce who has done something quite estra- ordinary turned Tony Wilson‘s dysfunc- tional adventure from 1970 to now into a post-modern romp that never takes itself too seriously. Boy'ce‘s regular collaborator. Winterbottom. directs like a man possessed by the conjoined spirits of Jean-Lire (iodard and Lindsay Anderson. and is more than up to the task using a variety of scratchy. quirky. punky devices to tell tales from a cantanker- ous city. Double top. ('(':\. (ilasgovv.

Vivre $8 Vie ( IS) (Jean I.uc (iodard. France. 1973) Anna Karenina. Sady Rebbot. Andre l.abarthe. 85 mins. In this tale in twelve parts we witness the decline and fall of ((iodard's then wife) Karina's prosti-

tute .\'ana as she gains increasing control of her consciousness btrt eventually loses her life. (iodard's project is based on this mind/body problematic: to live within the limitations of the exploited Iiesh. or the free- dom of the mind. In the film‘s most famous scene - Karina looking at Falconetti's face in Dreyer's The Passion omem UfA/T we see the way one can combine the beauty of mind and body in the spirit. It's of course what (iodard himself is trying to achieve in his many melancholy. reflective shots of Karina's face. See review. Iiilmhouse. Iidinburgh.

Waking Life t l5) (Richard l.inklater. IS 2002) Wiley Wigins. Iithan liawke. Julie l)elpy. I00min. This animated picture looks stunning. l.inklater has used a ‘rotoscoping' technique which involves filin- ing actors and then tracing over the images to make the movie look like a cinematic graphic novel. The animation is pivotal to the question posed by the central character. Mitch Kramer: what exactly is life'.’ Kramer cannot wake from a recurring dream in which he meets characters ranging from phi- losophy professors to taxi drivers who teII him exactly what life is about. Wonderfully innovative. (‘ameo. lidinburgh; Adam Smith. Kirkcaldy.

The Warrior ( I2) 0”. (Asif Kapadia. I'K/lndia. 2002) Irfan Khan. 86min. While leading an attack on a Northern India village. I.afcadia (Khan). the loyal lieutenant of a brutal feudal lord. pauses. sickened by the blood that stains him and renounces vio- lence. But the lord visits a terrible revenge on his family. Rather than rebuckling his sword and further tainting his already com- promised moral standing. I.afcadia flees into the mountains. The llii/‘r'im’s simplicity makes it seem like an archetypal yarn. but it Iias a personaIity that belies its lack of dia- logue. And. in an age of tongue-in-cheek jaunts. it's refreshingly uncompromising in its seriousness and beauty. (’ineworld. Falkirk.

EXCLUSIVE SCREENING FOR LIST READERS!

If you want to enjoy an exclusive List screening of Morgan Freeman and Ben Affleck’s new thriller. The Sum of all Fears. all you have to do is take your copy of The List down to the Odeon Cinema in Glasgow or Edinburgh from Thursday 5 August and get yourself two tickets. Screenings are at Glasgow Quay, Tuesday 6 August at 6.15pm for 6.30pm and at Edinburgh Clerk Street, Sunday 4 August at 10.15am for 10.30am.

BEN AFFLECK

//

Could terrorists actually detonate a weapon of mass destruction on United States soil? According to the CIA. at least 20 countries nearly half of them in the Middle East and South Asia already have or may be

developing weapons of mass destruction.

Moreover. it is a matter of public record that there were tens of thousands of them constructed and waiting on launching pads during; the Cold War. To this day. according to a published report. tort transportable warheads are still unaccounted for.

" " ~ 1- =m-r L'LESIIMELELEFEABS,.

DDEON

16 THE LIST ' 8 Aim; 2%)?

Starring Hen Attleck as CIA analyst Jack Ryan and Morgan l‘reeman as (IIA director William Cabot. the Sum of all I ears is a chillingly realistic portrait ’ol what could happen it one of those weapons fell into the wrong hands. I erily prescient in the current political climate, the film is a frightening depiction of how quickly fear can escalate into a paranoia that iii lit) (.lominates man's ability to reason.

Terms 8. Conditions j llre offer is i.llI)tt*(.I to .tV.’llI.‘tI)lI|Iy, lliere it. no cash .‘tltein.’ttive Ihit. voucher is; not V.tIl(I in (I()lI|tllt(IIl()ll With any other offer. Offer is; not available when l)oolsiii(i in advance by telephone or by lltIittltUI. Maxrinuni two ticlsets per reader. Offer is first come, first served