Rear Window (t’( i) 0... (Alfred Hitchcock. IS. 195-“ James Stewart. (irace Kelly. Wendell (‘oreyu Raymond Burr. 1 12min. l.aid tip with a broken leg. Slim Jim takes to neighbour-spotting with binoculars and camera at the ready. Before long. he's getting hot under the collar about the dirty deeds done across the yard. ls it murder'.’ Or just naked voyeurism‘.’ ()ne of llitch‘s darkest mov'ies. with an intense. unrelenting claustrophobia derived from confining the lens to the apartment set. (iluxgmv Film Theatre. Glasgow". 0 The Return ( 12A) oooo (Andrei Zvyagintsev. IS. 2003) Vladimir (iarin. Ivan l)ithmnravov. Konstantin l.tt\'rt)ltClils‘0. Natalya Vdovina. [05min After an entirely unexplained l3 year absence. a father (l.iivronenko) returns home to his two adolescent sons Andrei ((iarini and Ivan (Dobronravovi. and suggests to their mother (Vdovinai that he takes the children on a fishing trip. The trio head otit by rowing boat to a little-known island. but the boys are unprepared for their dad's remote and brutally demanding nature. This oiiiiiiotis. sparse and laconic fable opens itself tip to various allegorical and metaphorical intemretations. he they religious, political. or ()edipal. which revolve around the conflict with paternal authority. linpressively shot by cinematographer Mikhail Kritchman in colour-drained tones and in long. carefully framed takes. which convey the harshly elemental nature of the film's universe. The Return is given real resonance by its three compelling lead performances. Scary beans. (I'Iay-gaii' I‘t'lni 'I'lieatre. (i/asgmr: l’i/m/iouye. Edinburgh. Rivers and Tides (Hit 000. (Thomas Riedelsheimer. t'K/(iermany. 2(X)l t 00min. ‘Art for me is a form of nourishment.‘ suggests sculptor Andy (ioldsworthy at the start of this meditative documentary. Audiences on the continent and in the IS have certainly found 'l'homas Riedelsheiiiier's film a rewarding chew: it's picked tip awards at the (ierman Film Awards. the San l-‘rancisco l‘ilni l’estival and the Montreal International of l'ilitts on Art. It is not difficult to see why: his works have a staying power because they are ephemeral. And while (foldsworthy 's speech is festooned with purple patches. he is also thoroughly down—to-earth. His work is concerned with nature and process and life. and it is hard to watch a carefully woven string of leaves slip from their pattern and snake downstream without feeling your sotil lift. l-‘i/nilmuse. Edinburgh. Road to Perdition ( lSt 000 Mendes. l'S. 2002i Tom Hanks. Paul Newman. Jtide Law. 1 17min. A Depression era gangster picture with solid American family values. It may also. like Mendes' absurdly overrated ()scar—winner ."lmeriean li’eautv'. fool cineiiia-goers into coiiftisiiig its moody self-iiiiportance for profound insight. l-‘or here are Big Stars. Big Themes (Fathers and Sorts. [.oyalty and Betrayal. Sin and Salvationt and Heavy Symbolism (Water 2 Death). Through (‘onrad llall's darkly glistening cinematography. many of the individual tableaux are impressively staged and stunning to behold. If only Mendes‘ empty. over-dressed spectacle had done justice to the fine photography and performances. ()rlemi at the Quay. (i/aygaii; (i/(tygmv‘. Scooby Doc 2: Monsters Unleashed (Hit 00 (Raja (iosnell. l'S. 200-1) l’reddie l’rinze Jr. Sarah Michelle (iellar. Matthew l.illard. l.iiida (‘ardellinL Seth (ireen. l’eter Boyle. ()Zmin. The second live-action film spawned by the l‘)7()s cartoon series is an amiable enough. if eminently forgettable romp. Where the first movie was pitched somewhere between tribute and send-up of the llanna-Barbera show. the sequel plays things pretty straight. The gags are a mix of pop culture intertextuality and low-brow silliness: (iellar's Daphne in a nod to her Btiffy role shows off her martial arts chops. while Shaggy and Scooby repeat the first movie's fart jokes. Younger viewers will be amused and grown-tips will find the experience relatively painless. (7(‘I ('lvr/ehaak.
(Sam
('lvr/e/mnk.‘ ('('I Edinburgh. Edinburgh. Secrets and Lies ( fit 0... (Mike Leigh. I'K. 190m Timothy Spall. Brenda Blethyn. Phyllis Logan. l-ltlmin. Leigh's l’alme I)'()r-winning follow tip to Naked is a bittersweet take on suburban domestic life. Young black optician llortense searches for the mother who pttt her up for adoption as a baby. btit is surprised to discover it‘s white working-class (‘ynthia (ientiiiiely emotional. with great performances by Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Timothy Spall. btit the show stopping turn comes from (‘annes w inner Brenda Blelhan. (i/avgaw I’t/m 'I'lieatre. (i/rtvgrm‘.
Shallow Grave ( (xi 0000 (Danny Boyle. l'K. I‘NJJ Kerry I‘ox. liw an Mc(iregor. (‘hristopher liccleston. 00min. 'l'hree lidinbtirgh flatmates find their new cohabitaiit dead with a stack of money under his bed. so after performing a little l)l\' on the corpse. they reckon all their worries are over. Btit the cops are closing in. there are two tlitigs after the money. and the psychological tension is beginning to show. Filled with dark humour and cynical one-liners. this Scottish thriller is bloody and intelligent enough to please the ctilt audience while remaining accessible enough to be a mainstream hit. ('(I'f. (Hawaii; Shrek 2 (l‘) .0. (Andrew Adamson. Kelly Asbtiry. (‘onrad Vernon . l'S. 200-4) Mike Myers. Iiddie Murphy. (‘ameron l)ial. Jtilie Andrews. Antonio Banderas. John (‘leese. Rupert liverett. Jennifer Saunders. ()Zmin. l’atchy. episodic sequel to [)reaiii\\'orks' inspired. satirical riff on Disney fairy tales. this fails to replicate tltc magic of the original. Back from honeymoon. swamp-dwelling Shrek and his bride. l’t‘itteess l'iona are im itcd to visit his iii—laws. King Harold and Queen l.illian. rulers of the kingdom of l’ar liar Away. Zorro-like assassin l’tiss iii Boots (Banderas) is hired to do away with the ogre interloper and restore the natural order. Bill the plotters have undei'estiiiiated l’iona‘s love. Shrek's sense of self-worth and the loyalty of their asinine sidekick. Donkey (Murphy). More contrived than clever. the iii-jokey movie parodies are funny btit la/y. 'l'he slapdash selection of tlilt‘ ic is often smeared on to disguise the erratic pacing. Nevertheless. the daI/ling fairytale ball finale will probably blind viewers to these many imperfections. (ieneral release. Silence Between No Thoughts (l’(i) 0.. (Babak l’ayami. lran. 3003) Maryam Moqadam. Kaiiialan .\'arouli. ‘)(imin. An executioner (Narotili) is told not to execute a condemned woman (Motiadamt because she is a virgin. Btit trouble arises when he is told to marry the virgin so she can be dcflow cred for execution. Mticli of Babak Seeret [fa/lat l’ay'ami's new film is too anibigtious for its own good. btit this is
WoodyiA
only a blip for this promising filmmaker. (i/uvumi I‘f/III 'I‘ltetttl‘e. (i/avgoit: l‘i/Ht/IUILH’. Iz'r/t'ti/iiu'e/i. Since Otar Left ( IS) 00.. (Julie Bertticelli. l‘rance/Belgium. 3()()3i listher (iorintin. .\'ino Khomasurid/e. l)inara l)i‘tikarova. 'l‘emur Kalaiidad/c. Rtistidan Bolqvad/e. Sasha Sarishv'ili. l)uta Skhirtlad/e. ltffimin. (irandma. daughter and granddaughter all live in a (ieorgiaii townhouse together. All they ever talk about is beloved l'ncle ()tai' who lives and works iii Paris and then one day new s of ( )tar's death arrives.unfurling a remarkable amount of deceit and emotion. Beautifully played and structured character study that manages to be uplifting. despite its maudlin themes. I'i/m/tauye. lir/iti/mre/i.
16 Years of Alcohol ( 1M 0000
(Richard Jobson. l'K. 2003i livv en Bremner.
l.atira l‘raser. Stisan lynch. llllmin. See review. page 26. (i/rivuuii' l'i/ni Theatre. (i/(lxgrm.
Slacker ( 15) C... (Richard l.inklater. l'S. l‘Nl t ()v'er ltltl 'l‘exans. t)7miii. l'ttelaissilitilile piece Ul iittlepelitlenl .'\iiiet‘letiil moviemaking which doesn‘t have a plot as such: instead it prov ides a snapshot ofover l()() ‘slackers' young. happy-go~ lucky drifters as they get through their daily lives. Structured as a monumental relay (each character briefly appears. meets the next. and so on). it has a loose. experimental. almost ial/y format that you‘ll either love or hate. (ii/tier». lir/i/iltiu‘g/i.
Space Station 30 (t'i ('l'oiti Myers. (‘anada/l'S. 2003i 47min. Narrated by Tom (‘rtiise. this big screen lM:\.\' presentation follows real astronauts into the big blue. Impressive. btit not as awesome as it should have been. I.lI.Il.\' 'l'lieatre. (ilavgmi; Spider-Man 2 ( l2:\i 0... (Sam Raimi. l'S.-\. 2004i Tobey Maguire. Kirsten Dunst. James Franco. 137mm. Peter Parker (Maguirei struggles to pay the bills. keep his job. get through college and woo sweetheart Mary Jane (Dunst). .-\s be is about to give tip. scientist l)i' ()tto ()ctav itis (Molina) turns into eight-limbed freak ‘l)oc ()ck‘ and New York needs a super hero. Raimi's excellent sequel to the webbed ones first film outing is a textbook example of superfreak superhero blockbuster lilmmaking. (ienera/ I‘e/euxe.
Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and . . . Spring ( l5) 0... (Kim Ki- l)tik. South Korea/(icrmany. 20th Oh Yeong-Su. Kim Ki-Duk. Kim Yeongr-Min. lfllmin. A monk living with his elderly Btiddhist master on a floating temple on a beautiful lake experiences the various stages of life. from childhood to adulthood. learning important lessons along the way and eventually acquiring a young disciple of his own. Set theatrically against the
index Film
Illen wishes he knew then what he knows now in Anything Else
metaphorical. painterly changing seasons. and featuring splendid perfiirmances. this film is so stunningly beautiful that it's likely to continue resonating in the memory for a long time. in fact. throughout spring. stiiiititcr. autumn. winter . . . and spring.
(‘( El. (i/avunti.
Stand By Me ( tSi 000 (Rob Reiner. 't'S. 103m River Phoenix. \Vill \Vheaton. (‘orey l‘eltltifitti. Jerry ()'(’oimers. Keifcr Sutherland. SSniin. Based on a Stephen King short story. this film recalls a childhood adventure for four small-town boys who discover the whereabouts of the corpse of a missing cltild tttitl decide it) get there before the local totighs. .\ chariiting rites of passage movie which Reiner directs with a sure touch. carefully avoiding sentimentality. (t i-l. Glasgow:
The Station Agent ( 15) .00
(Tom Mccarthy. l'S.-\. 3003) Peter l)inklage. Bobby (‘aniiavale. l’atricia ('larksoii. 88min. l)iiiklgigc"s t-‘mn is a train-obsessed dwarf. who has inherited a disused railway depot in rural New Jersey from an old business partner. He wants to be left in peace to do up the property. walk the tracks and count the trains that still pass through the area. llis solitude is disturbed. though. by two other lonely misfits. artist ()liv ia ((‘larksoni and garrtilous hot—dog salesman Joe ((‘aiiiiavalet. It's a sensitively acted. gently amusing and carefully crafted film. which nev er leaves its in much dotibt as to its final destination. Still. it's unafraid to meander along at its own relaxed tempo. and l)inklage provides an impressively understated lead performance. ()r/eaa. I'fr/t'tt/ture/i.
Stepford Wives ( l2:\l O. (l‘rank ()I. IS. Ziltut Nicole Kidman. Matthew Broderick. Bette .\litllet’. (iletilt ('lose. ('hristophcr \Valkcn. 93min. See review. page ZS. (ienet‘a/ release.
0 Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator l l5) (llclcit Sticklci'. l'S. zllllZ) Slinin. See review. page 25. Selected re/eave (iitiemi/irniei/ at time of going In /)I‘(’\.\’
The Story of the Weeping Camel (l’(it 0.. (Bayaiiibasuren l)avaa/l.ttigi l‘alorni. (ieriiiaiiy /Mongolia. 2003i Jancliiv .'\ylll‘/tltitl. (‘himetl ()hin. .'\lii:_‘;i;tl\;t/tli' (ionson. /.ev eliam/ .\'yam, 00min. .»\ camel delivers a snow -vv hite calf Botok btit relects her offspring. .\'oiiiadic shepherds send two youngsters. l)ude and ()giia. on an important quest to return w ith a violinist who will play music to heal the rift between mother and baby camel. ‘l'he patient observational approach by the filmmakers certainly pays dividends iii this fascinating ethnographic study of a conmttmity. .St'lt'i‘lt'i/ I't’lr'tlve.
L’.’ Jul 5» Aug; L’tltl-l THE LIST 35