Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Paul Dale
Adaptation ( t5) 0.. (Spike Jon/e. IS. 2003) Nicolas (‘age. Meryl Streep. ('hris ('ooper. l l-tmin. The co-creators of Being John .Ilulkovieh. writer ('harlie Kaufman and director Jon/e. would have us believe this story of Kaufman's efforts to adapt Stisan ()rleaii’s popular non-fiction book The ()rehid 'l'liiefto be true. Of course. it's an elaborate prank: the mix of fact and fiction. real life and reel life makes for a convoluted conundrum. But clever-clever as Kaufman's script is. it lacks the playfulness that made the mind-bending .Ilulkm-ieh such a joy. And unconventional as the plot is. it quickly becomes predictable. Ironically enough for a film so obsessed with plot. the standout element is a ixrformance. a remarkable one by the greatly undervalued ('ooper as the enigmatic rare flower collector. Edinburgh I'ilni (iuild.
All Tomorrow’s Parties ( lxi 0.. (Yu I.ik Wai. ('hina/l‘rance. 3003i Yong Won-('ho. Diao Yi-Nan. Wei Wei '/,hao. 07min. The l-‘alon (long cult was clearly the model for this audacious. futuristic thriller shot in a new high definition digital format. In a future post- apocalyptic century. continental Asia is ruled by an authoritarian sect planning to engineer a new society by re-educating societal misfits in propaganda driven ‘Prosperity ('anips'. \Yith the collapse of the sect five years later. two young lovers gain freedom and begin their search to rediscover life's true pleasures. Part of lilectric Shadow s. (llasgow‘s 3nd ()verseas ('hinese I-‘ilm liestival. See preview page 22. (’(El. Glasgow: 0 Amandla! ( 12m 0000 (l.ee Ilirsch. t'S. 2003i 103mm. See review page 35. (il‘ll: (i/(tsgnw‘. American Cousins ( 15) 000 (Don (lotttts. I'K. 2002i ()legar I‘edoro. Stephen (iraham. Dan llcdaya. Shirley Henderson. John llenshaw. Danny Nucci. (ierald Lepkowski. 93min. This likeable Mafiosi- on-the-run comedy romance drama sees Yankee mobsters (iino (Nuccii and Settimo (Iledeyai. take refuge in the (ilasgow cafe owned by their Scottish/Italian cousin. ('(i(' Ken/few Street. (ililigim'. American Splendor ( lSi ooooo (Shari Springer Berman/Robei't l’ulcini. IS. 2003) Paul (iiametti. llope Davis. Judah liriedlander. James l'rbaniak. l()lmin. ()ne of the finest independent films to come ottt of America in years. A eulogy to the life and times of comic strip writer llarvey I’ekar. a man obsessed with the mundanity of life in ('leveland. xlIltt’I'lt‘tllt Splendor appals and fascinates in its invention. invective and treatment of the humble. (’(i(' Ken/rew- Street. (iluxeow': ('umen. Edinburgh.
7 Tim
The Apprenticeship of Buddy Kravitz ( ISI 0.. (Ted Kotcheff. Canada. l‘)7-ll Richard Dreyfuss. Micheline |.anctot. Jack Warden. Randy ()uaid. I3lmin. In I048 Montreal. young Duddy (Dreyfusst finds his way quickly to the top, learning on the way that niceness is necessary loo. ()ver-simplilled but amusing. with an ()scar-nominated screenplay adapted by Mordecai Richler from his novel. Part of the North of IIoIly'woml. .\'ew ('anadian ('inema film season. Film/muse. Edinburgh. 0 Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress ( 12m 00 (out Siyiie. (‘hina/I’rance. 2002i 1 ltlmin. A couple of college students. l.ui and Ma ((‘hen Run. [in Yet. go to a remote mountain province as part of ('hairman Mao's re-education programme. The seamstress of the title they meet there receives a sentimental education from the boys through the reading of the selected works of Bal/ac. l-‘laubei't and Dumas. In Dai's adaptation of his own book the three characters enter a learning curve. The boy‘s come across a case full of banned French literature and find in the young seamstress a willing learner. A lovely looking. often enchanting film. Btit it is to wonder whether such films really can tell lls anything new or whether they're just happy telling yet another rite-of-passage story with only a vague historical or political edge. Part of the lilectric Shadows. (ilasgow 's 2nd ()verseas (’hinese l-‘ilm l’estival. See preview page 33. (ill. (ilusgoii‘.
Big Fish (PG) .0. (Tim Burton. l'S. 2003i liwau Me(iregor. Albert l-‘inney. Billy ('rudup. Jessica Langc. Alison l.ohman.
I lllmin. See review page 35. General release.
0 Bill Douglas Trilogy ( (2» 0000 (Bill Douglas. I’K. l‘)73t 48/55/7Smin. This trio of films about a boy growing tip in a harsh mining community represents perhaps the peak of Scottish filmmaking. Bare narrative. stark images. painful memories the distillation of feeling on screen is as close to poetry as cinema gets. Part of 5/50 screenings of ll\ e of the 50 best Scottish films ever made. (ii-“I. (i‘lmemv. l‘llnlltUllH’. Edinlmrgh.
Black and White l (Si 00 (('raig I.ahiff. Atistralia/l'l's'. 3003) Robert (‘arl_\'le. ('harles Dance. Kerry I-‘ov. (‘olin l’ricls. David Ngoomhuiarra. 09min. When Irish- Aiistralian lawyer David ()‘Sullivan ((‘arlylei is appointed by the court to defend an Aborigine named Max Stuart (Ngoombujarra). who has been arrested for. and confessed to. raping and murdering a nine-year-old white girl outside the desert town of ('eduna. the young legal eagle thinks it is an open arid shut case. But when ()‘Sullivan discovers the police beat a false confession otit of Stuart. the case becomes a crtisade for justice that takes the lawyer to the highest court on the land. The dramatisation of this significant moment in Australian legal history benefits from strong casting btit little else. lts lumpcn pace and unsurprising twists reveal it as little more than a worthy television movie. ('(i(’ Rl'llll'r'll‘ Street. (i/useou'; l'(i('. Edinburgh.
Mandela joins the merry mob to sing Amandla!
index Film
Blind Spot - Hitler’s Secretary (l’(il
(Andre Heller and ()thmar Schmiderer.
Aiisti‘ia. 2002i ()(lmin. Documentary feature
based on an exclusive interview with Traudl
Jtiiige. Adolf Hitler's private secretary frotn
autumn I042 until the collapse of the Na/i
regime. She worked for him at the
Wolf‘sschan/e in ()bersal/berg. on his
private train and. finally. in his bunker
outside Berlin. It was Junge to whom Ilitlci‘
dictated his final testament. In her first ever
on-camera interview. Sl-ycar-old Junge talks
about her unique life. .\'ow a furious
opponent of National Socialism. she is
fascinating. guilt ridden company
throughout this thought proyoking
documentary. Eilnihnuse. Edinburgh.
Bodysong ( ISI .0. (Simon
I’ummell. l'ls'. 2003i 83min. \‘isually
messed up film documentary essay in the
style of Is'oviuinivquivi that looks at the ogre
of modern war. The film's soundtrack is
composed by Radiohcad's Jonny
(ireenwood. I-‘ilnihuuie. Edinlnirgh.
Bright Young Things ( IS) 000
(Stephen I‘ry. l’K. 3003) Stephen (‘ampbell
Moore. Dan Aykroy d. Jim Broadbent. Simon
('allow. Stockard ('hanning. Richard li
(Brant. Iimily Mortimer. Ill-1min. Adapted
from lively n Waugh's cortiscating social
satire. lllt’ [fin/fey. l'lt'y‘s long-cherished pet
project scales the di/ly heights and plumbs
the grubby depths of a set of wild and well-
heeled partygoers. who the press have
nicknamed the ‘Bright Young Things'.
Among these unflagging hedonists is
aspiring writer Adam Sy me (Moot‘el who. ({ flat broke and poorly connected. struggles 2/ frantically to scrape together the readies required to marry his hopelessly fickle flapper girlfriend Nina (Mortimer). (‘ompromised. if Iikeablc. debut from I‘ry‘. this tries way too hard to appeal to an American audience. I'enella \Voolgar as dotty. w ell-meaning Agatha and Michael Sheen as the outrageously effcte .\Itles steal the show_ ('('I (‘lvde/nink.‘ ('(‘l Edinburgh. Edinburgh.
British-Chinese Shorts ((th A programme of shorts by (’hincse filmmakers based in the t‘ls'. l‘ilms include Xiaoulo (iuo’s I'll" and Near. Xu Shuiun's ('hinese Ilnnevmmw. Jane Wong's Dim Sun: and [hang Yun‘s .llv ('hinese Daughters. (ti-l. (ilitsgou‘.
Brother Bear (ti .0 (Aaron Blaise/Robcrt Walker. l‘S. 3003i Voices of Joaquin l’hoenis. Jeremy Stiai‘el. Jason Rat/e. Rick Moranis. Daye Thomas. DB Sweeney. 85min. Soppy. uninspired take on art Inuktitut legend about a bear who wants to do more than just shit in the woods. Ale/erred I‘i’lr’uye.
8098! 30 fl.) (Mike Slee. Ills. 3MB) 40min. Danie Judi Dciich narrates this giant screen 3D film which focuses on the life cycles of a praying mantis and a butterfly from their birth to their inevitable demise in the tropical rainforcsts of Southeast Asia. Selected release.
Chaos and Desire ( ISI (Manon Briand. (.anatla. 3002) l’ascale Bttssieres. (ieney in e Buiold. Jean-Nicholas \‘erreault l l-lmin A seisitiologist who works in Tokyo is sent back to her home town in Quebec where she is reunited with old friends and makes some new acqaintcnces. l’oetic drama. Part of the .\'orth of Hollywood. New ('anadian ('incma lllltl season. I'ihnhouse. Edin/mrgh..
0 A City oi Sadness ( lSi (ttou Ilsaio- llsien. 'l‘aiwan. 1080i Tony l.eung. llsiii Shu-l-‘en. (‘hen Sow n Yung. ISSmin. ('hinese boin director Ilou's touching portrayal of Taiwan's post war history won the IUS‘) (ioldcn lion in Venice and broadly depicts the lives of four brothers battling to retain their integrity as organised crime moves from the ('hinese mainland to influence the local community. llou's vision is a genuinely poetic deliberation of a people and their land. Part of lilectric Shadows. (ilasgow's 2nd ()verseas ('hinese Film Festival. Sec preview page 22. ('('.-I. (ilus‘guw:
Cold Creek Manor ( IS» 000 (Mike l~‘iggis, t'S/(‘anada. Joni) Dennis Quaid. Sharon Stone. Stephen Dorff. Juliette l.cw is. ('hristopher l’lummcr l lSmin. See review page 2-1. (ieneml release.
STER CENTURY
22’ \lill‘. f» I on 1’0"»:
THE LIST 27