GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL
SCHOOL DAZE
Tom Dawson meets Ryan Gosling, Oscar-nominated star of the powerful new drama Half Nelson.
amed after a wrestling hold in which an opponent‘s strengths are turned against themselves. the US indie Hal/Nelson is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the
Glasgow Film Festival. The directorial debut of
Ryan Fleck. whose partner Anna Boden acted as co-writer and editor. it represents an expanded version of the duo‘s award-winning short. GUH‘UIIHS. Brooklyn.
The film‘s central character is Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling). a white teacher in a predominantly black junior high-school in Brooklyn. He passionately teaches his African- American students about the civil rights movement. drawing on dialectics to illustrate his belief that history is the struggle between opposing forces. yet Dan himself is taking refuge in cocaine. After basketball practice. one of his female pupils. 13-year-old Dree (Shareeka Iipps). discovers him crashed out in a cubicle. clutching a crack pipe.
‘We were always trying to avoid the clichés of Stand and Deliver and Dangerous Mini/sf
Fleck told Filmmaker magazine. and Half
Nelson does succeed in avoiding the pitfalls which other films about inspirational teachers working in deprived inner-city environments have fallen into. The filmmakers adopt a low- key approach to their potentially melodramatic subject-matter. mainly shooting verite-style and focussing on the nuances in the friendship
examines the powerlessness felt by those on the left in contemporary America. Dan‘s parents were radicals back in the l‘)o()s. marching against the Vietnam War. His lessons highlight flashpoints in modern American history which are illustrated using archival clips — the Free Speech movement. the assassination of Mayor Harvey Milk. a landmark Supreme (‘ourt educational
HALF NELSON PROVIDES NO GLIB EXPLANATIONS FOR ITS CHARACTERS' PREDICAMENTS
that emerges between Dan and Dree. and on the relationship between the teenager and her
other surrogate father—figure. the drug-dealer
Frank (Anthony Mackie).
Gosling (the neo-Nazi in The Believer) gives an impressively understated (and deservedly Oscar-nominated) performance. conveying Dan‘s complex mix of charisma and immaturity. charm and self-destructiveness. and making us care about his plight. Like the recently released ()lrl Joy. Half Nelson
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desegregation decision. Dan‘s disillusioned idealism becomes a grim metaphor for all those in America despairing about life under Bush. ‘I don‘t know. I don‘t know.” sighs Dan when confronted by Frank over his actions. and it‘s to Hal/Nelson's credit that the film never tries to provide glib explanations for its characters‘ predicaments.
Half Nelson, Cineworld, Renfrew Street, Fri 23 Feb, 7.30pm.
Jun qua-am.“
DAY OF THE DEAD
Henry Northmore hides behind the sofa and peeks through his fingers at the programme for this year’s FrightFest.
The all-day marathon is a right of passage for any horrorphile; a chance to wallow in the garish glory of the most extreme cinematic genres. For the second year. GFF features FrightFest in association with Zone Horror.
Opening this year’s bill is David Arquette’s The Tripper, a loving homage to the classic 703 and 803 horror of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday 13th as a group of teenagers head into the woods. Needless to say, they are not alone . . .
Documentary S&Man looks at the world of underground horror cinema and examines whether gore-obsessed movies blur the line between fact and fiction. A child might be a window into darkness in The Messengers, the first Hollywood film from Danny and Oxide Pang (famed for Asian horror favourites The Eye series), a creepy tale produced by horror legend Sam Evil Dead Raimi. Turistas is every traveller’s tale gone wrong, a backpackers nightmare, a tropical Hostel. To round things off in style, there’s a new print of the blackest comedy horror classic Motel Hell. Sleep well.
I FrightFest, GFF, Glasgow, Sat 7 7 Feb.
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I Rescue Dawn Werner Herzog revisits his excellent 1997 documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly and remakes it as a thrilling drama starring
chameleon man Christian Bale.
Cinewor/d Fienfrew Street, Fri 76 Feb, 7.30pm 8. Sat 77 Feb, 2pm.
22 THE LIST 1~15 Feb 2007
I Scott Walker: 30th Century Man Revealing documentary about the mysterious and influential singer/songwriter Scott Walker. Grosvenor, Sat 24 Feb, 7 7.30pm; Gl—T Sun 25 Feb. 7.30pm.
I Never Still Scotland's international art magazine Map launches its new Spring issue with a celebration of new artists' films. Never Still brings together a roster of international artists known for their film work. CCA. Fri 16 Feb, 7.30pm, £2.50.
I This is England Shane Dead Man Shoes Meadows returns with a comic study of life. love. skinheads and racism in a time of war -- the Falklands War. Not to be missed. GFT, Tue 20 Feb, 8. 15pm.
I 'h‘ue North A brilliant Scottish cast (including Peter Mullan and Martin Compston) head up this impassioned film about the psychological and physical toll of people smuggling across the North sea. GFF, Sat 24 Feb, ’.3()pm.