Q The Lord of the Rings: the TWO

Towers I l2x\l O... Il’cter .lacksnn. I'S/New /.ealand. ZIIIIZI l'.ll|.tll \Vnnd. Vigin .\Inrtensen. l.l\ 'I’yler. I‘Wmm. IIIe sccnnd part nf ,lacksnn‘s .IIIIIIItInIIs three part adaptatinn nl .IRR ‘I'nlkein‘s cpIc fantasy advcnttne might lack the storytelling verve nf the first film. but Ill terms nl' spectacle ll takes blockbuster filmmaking In the nest level. (‘nntintnng where The I'I'llIIII s/II/I N, [In Ring lelt nII. without any recap nl the stnry so far. [In Tun 'IIIII’I'I'v IIIllnw s three separate plnlllttcsi I'rndo‘s trek tn .\Indnt' III destrny the ring. his fellow Ilnbhtts' nIeetnIg with the Iints Iwalking. talking trccsI and the lItIman/clf/dwart cnmhn .I\ragnn. l.cgnlas and (iimili‘s part III the siege III the htnnan stronghold Ilelm‘s |)ccp by the e\ il wI/ard Satn‘aman‘s IIHIIIII strnng army. Ihc latter provides the hnnr lnng climas tn the film. and it‘s IIII aw csntne IIIIng tn helInId. But I'rndn‘s meeting with the rings pre\ Inus owner. (inllttm. alsn IIIIpresses here's II fully computer anInIIIlcd character that generates as much cmntInn as any nl the living performers. 'I‘IIe film suffers fI'nm Ik‘lltg IIIL' \L‘L‘Iintl act III IUII’sL‘lIlK tale. litll for Jackson‘s three lInIIr film \ IsInII. there's Ito way around that. (leneral release. Lucie Aubrac I IJI .00 It‘laude Ilcrri. l’rance. I‘I‘ITI (‘arnlc Bnnquct. Daniel .-\uteuil. I I5min. Based nn the real life story of II Resistance fighter who rescued her husband frnm the clutches nf Ihc (icstapn. Bcrrt‘s film Is a tale nI qtnet heroism in II thIIpcstIIntIs time. nI In\c nn tltc edge. It could pnssIhly use a few more dratttatic thrills In give it some pace. but as a picture nf occupied I't‘ance where the overriding cmntinn InIInIIg the penple was II desire tnch their nrdtnary lives hack.

1.1“ II .III/II'III Is a gentle and tnIIclnng success. (il'i'l'. (Ilasgnw.

Madame Sata I ISI Ils'arnn .'\IIII)ll/. Bra/II. .‘Hfll I lfl5mm. I.a/arn Ramns gives an clcctI‘Ily Ing perlnrmance as \Iadama Sata. the bandit. transvesIItc. street fighter. cnnk. IIern. cnnv Ict and father In sex en .Idnptcd children who was a nntnrintts gay pcrlnrmcr. (il’l. (ilasgnw.

Maelstrom I t5. 0.. IIII-ms \‘IIleneuvc. ('anada. ltltll I .\Iarie Jnscc (‘rn/c. Jean-Nicolas \crrault. Stephanie .\Inrgenstern. 88min. .I\ fishy tale lrnm Quebec. l-rnm Its slaughter slab IIII IIeg fish tells the story of Ilibiane ('hatnpagnc I(‘rn/eI. the IIeIn'ntIc daughter of II f'amnus IasIIInII dcsIgneI' wlIn. tipan Instng her grasp nn the family business. accidentally hits II man wlnle drtv ing drunk nne fateful rainy nIgIIt. 'l'hts strange. multiple award winning surI'ealIst lhrtller Is by turns stunningly pretentious. Inynus In watch and ridiculous. Beautifully shnt. tlInugh. with II wonderful sntmdlracls which shifts seImIIessly Irnm nIIe nl (irteg's adagtns In 'l'nm \Vatts. I'il'Il (‘mcma. I'alkII‘k.

Maids (Domesticas O Filme) Icen thc I 0.... Il'ernandn .\IcIreIles. \andn (Ilival. lira/II. Ifltll I I 15mm. .'\tlttpl;tllttli nf Ilre huger successful Bra/ilian play about the Ines nf fi\ e annesIIc seI‘\IIIIts in which lung bursting comedy slIdes intn nccasinnal tragedy. .v\n .IIIsnInte must. (il’l‘. (ilasgnw. Ci The Man without a Past (Mies Vailla Menneisyytta) I ISI 0...

I.-\kI KIIIII‘IsIIIIIkI. I'InIaIId/(iertnany/l‘t'ancc. IIHL‘I \Iarkkn l’eltnla. KIIII ()tttinen. ‘me. .\ man is mugged and disappears. nnly In my sterinusly reappear w ItII nn recnllectinn of ms prev Inus Me. He creates II new life Int' IIIIIIscII amnngst the homeless cnIIImnnIty. and falls in love wItII nnc nI Ins

soup servers. :\ cotnic depiction of II man's journey In make sense of himself and the wnrld. this In\ e-stnry is from one of I-Inland's best-known filmmakers. See

prev iew and review. I‘iltnhnusc. lidinbnrgh. The Master of Disguise IP(iI (Perry .v\de|In Blake. I'S. ZIIIBI Dana ('arvcy. Brent Spinner. Jennifer Iisposito. 80min. The more cynical among tis might suggest former Holiday Inn bnsboy ('arvey gets to play II master of disguise because he's mates with Adam Sandler. the executive producer of this film. ()II the other hand. perhaps (’arv ey was the right comedian to play Pistachio Disguiscy. Italian waiter- cnnI-man of a thousand faces. ()n the other foot. however. (’arvey's talent is spread thinner than a watered-down bottle of Bud; he hardly seems capable of pulling off. say. the hat trick of impersonations Peter Sellers accomplished in Dr .S'II'IIIIgI'IIII-I'. let alone conducting a comic run—in with evil mastermind I)ev|in Bowman tSpinncrI. Sec preview. Selected release.

Monsoon Wedding I ISI 00000 IXIira .\'air. India/I'K. 200] I Naseeruddin Shah. l.i|Iete I)ubey. Vijay Raaz. I l3min. ()n the eve nf the longed-for. cooling IIInnsnon season. the far-flung members of an upper-middle class Indian famin gather In Delhi for It typical Punjabi wedding. But as the big day dawns. the wedding cnntractnr‘s promises become more evasive. while the bride's hard-pressed father wnrries how he is going to pay for everything. Nair‘s sprawling. carnivalesque drama combines the colour and vibrancy of Bollywond with an earthy realism. And while she can be sharply satiric. .\'air treats her characters. high and low. without condesccnsinn. MacRobert. Stirling. Monster’s Ball I ISI .00 (Marc

I-nrster. I‘S. ZIIIIZI llalle Berry. Billy Bob ‘I’hnrntnn. Scan ('nmbs. l I Imin. Wallnw in the deep Snnth mire with this painful tale of death. bigntry and awkward rcdemptiott. 'l‘IIIs Is sn bleak it makes Strindberg's ,III's-s

index Film

”_"—l Julie look like a lake fttll of laughing I monkeys. Great performances though. Arts Centre. Iiast Kilbridc. Morvem Collar I IS; .0000 (Lynne Ramsay. ITK/(‘anadIL 2002) Satnantba Morton. Kathleen McDermott. 97min. Small town hedonist and check-out girl Morvem Callar (Morton) awakes one moming to find her boyfriend has committed suicide. When she finds the finished manuscript of her boyfriend's novel she puts her name on it. sells it to a publisher and goes on holiday with her best friend Lanna (McDemiott). Initially. the vacation is little more than a jaunt to Ibiza. but Callar soon finds her expectations of life change even as her friend remains devout to her shitheel life in a dead end town. Ramsey. co-screenwriter Liana Dognini and Morton have done a remarkable job of transposing this quirky. distant character and her awkward strange joumey to the screen. In an age of saccharine and spice and all things predictable this is surprisingly. brave cerebral filmmaking. FTH Cinema. Falkirk. Moulin Rouge (12) 0000. (Bar. Luhrmann. US. 2001) Ewan McGregor. Nicole Kidman. Jim Broadbent. 108mm. Luhrmann's follow-up to Romeo & Julie! is a wildly unrestrained. gloriously camp. lewd as hell musical love story that re- invents the form. from the Golden Age Hollywood song and dance spectaculars up. Luhrmann has transformed the eponymous 19th century Parisian dancehaII-cum-brothel into the rave capital of Europe. weaving 20th century pop music hits into the very dialogue of the film so that it becomes almost opera. And spiralling around a fairytale romance between McGregor's idealistic poet and Kidman's dance girl is a barrage of riotous imagery and design. There's no middle-ground with I.uhrmann's film; if you abandon yourself to it it'll leave you intoxicated with pleasure. MacRobert. Stirling.

i7 ii"; y 800 {IIII

": “(I/7 Pagan. 5,:7‘I'3ser'Its Lights Out: By Nine

Edinburgh Quartet

I9

Society present Nash Ensemble :1, It-izt'y 7 45pm

Brznttish Chamber Orchestra '.-:I‘/ 7 30pm

Emmier Chamber Orchestra

Clerk Street Edinburgh EH8 9J6 Box Office: 0I3l 668 20l9 www.queenshalledinburgh.co.uk

29 January 7.30pm DF Concerts Ltd present Love with Arthur Lee SOLD OUT!

I February 7.45pm The Queen's Hall presents The Three Scottish Tenors

3 February 7.30pm PLC presents Low

5 February 8.00pm Gilded Balloon presents

Dylan Moran

16—30 Jan 2003 THE LIST 31