Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Paul Dale
Alice (Po) oooo ('zecli Republic. 1988) Krist'yna Kohoutova. 85min. Hyper-real puppet and stop frame animation version of the (‘arroll classic by brilliant ('zech filmmaker Svankmajer. in which Alice makes her way through a harsh dreamscape. (‘rueL childlike and fantastical. Disney it definitely isn’t. Part of Svankmajer season. I-i'lni/muse. Ifdinlmrgli.
Amazing Grace (PG) 00
(Michael Apted. l'K/I'S. 2006) loan (lruffudd. Romola (larai. Youssou .\"l)our. l 18min. To mark the 200-year celebrations of the abolition of slavery. this solid biopic details how William \‘l'ilberforce ((iruffudd) persuaded the
House of (‘ommons to end the slave trade.
The film is however derailed by an irrelevant love interest ((iarai). staid dialogue and the presence of only one black character (N‘Dour). (iron-mm: (i/uvgmr:
Amnesia: The James Brighton Enigma ( IS) .0. (Denis Langlois.
Canada. 2005) Julian (‘asey. I)usaii Dukic.
l. Kalo (low. 90min. Interesting drama based on a true story about an amnesiae man who is found on a park bench in Montreal. After being taken into hospital he slowly remembers some key details as
Jan Svaiikmajer
(Jan Svankmajer.
a gay support group tries to lind out more. Part of the London Lesbian and (lay Film Festival on Tour. film/muse. lz‘i/iriliiu'gli. Apne ( 12A) 0.. (.-\iiil Sharma. liidia. 2007) l)harmendra. Sunny l)eol. Bobby l)eol. Shilpa Shetty. 138mm. See Bollywood round-up. page 3‘). Selected release.
Are We Done Yet? (PG) 00
(Steve ('arr. LS. 2007) Ice (‘ube. Nia Long. .-\leisha Allen. 01min. (irowling sourpuss Nick Persons ((‘thc) and his annoying step-kids try to fix up the family's new country home for his pregnant wife Suzanne (Long). But assorted wildlife. architectural faults and (‘huck Mitchell (.\lc(iinley) conspire against him in this crude remake of ll(' Potter's 1948 classic .llr Ilium/rues Built/s His Dream House. (ieneml release. Atanariuat, The Fast Runner ( )5) O... (Zacharias Kunuk. (‘anada. 200l ) .\'atar l'iigalaq. litigeiie lpkarnak. Peter llenry Ariiatsiaq. l72min. This remarkable and singularly beautiful film is the first to be performed entirely in the Inuit language. When an unknown shaman ptits an evil spell on a group of nomadic lnuit living off the ('anadian Arctic it takes 20 years before two brothers emerge to challenge the evil order. .-l( Iii/iri/mre/i.
De Battre Mon Coeur S’est Arrete (The Beat That my Heart Skipped) ( 15) O... (Jacque Audiard. l-‘rance. 200-1) Romain l)uris. Niels :\t'Cslt'tlp. l.inh-l)am Pham. limmanuelle l)evos. l0omin. (iaiigster and wannabe pianist Thomas (Dui'is) and
his friends spend their days and nights violently managing refugee squatted flats for greedy Parisian developers but his secret ambition is to become a concert pianist. Director Audiard and screenwriter 'l‘onino lleiiacquista's second feature together (their first was the superb Read My lips) is a stunning remake of James 'l'oback's l‘)78 small thriller lingers. ln opening tip 'l‘oback‘s wantonly machismo indie flick to include many of their favourite themes (mistreatment of refugees. marginal characters caught in vaguely llitchcockian melodramas etc) they have achieved something very unusual a remake that measures up to the original. ('(imen. Iii/Iri/mre/i.
La Béte (The Beast) ( is) O... (\Valerian Borow c/yk. l‘rance. l‘)75) Sirpa Lane. Lisbeth llummel. Pierre Benedetti. 08min. An American heiress discovers an 18th century diary and starts a series of sexual dreams involving a half bear. half wolf. l)elightfully scandalous erotic fairy tale from the great Polish auteur Borow c/yk. which is. as always. served tip with plenty of bestiality and lashings of l‘reud. (‘ocks. cum and pederast priests what more do you w ant'.’ Recommended for those who can stomach it. (iliisenw [Vi/m 'I'lieiilre. (i/usenw.
>i< Beyond Hatred ( IS) 0..
(Olivier .\ley rou. France. 2005) S’oinin. A considered look at the homophobic murder of l‘i‘ancois ('henu and the struggle of his family to make sense of. and eventually move on from. the mindless attack. Part of the London Lesbian & (lay l‘ilm l-‘estival on Tour. I'lllll/lilll.\l’. [xi/iii/iure/i.
Film
=§= Black Gold (1') 0000 (Nick Francis/Marc Francis. l'K. 200(3) 77min. A riveting attempt to underline the paradox that joins the S80bn global coffee industry with the impoverished birthplace of the bean: lithiopia. l-‘ollowing ('offee (‘oopct'alivc spokesperson “littlcssc .\leskela on a mission to save struggling coffee farmers from bankruptcy. this excellent documentary left audiences cowed and the local Starbucks empty at last year's Sundance Film Festival. (i/usgmv‘ I'i/m Tlh'lllll'. (ilris‘guvi‘; film/muse. Ifl/lll/Hll'fl/l.
Black Snake Moan ( IS) 000
((‘raig Brew er. l'S. 200m Samuel 1. Jackson. (‘hristina Ricci. Justin 'l‘imberlake. 1 15min. Rae (Ricci) ditches her military boyfriend ('l‘imberlake) for her drug dealer (David Banner) and a drunken spree until La/arLis (Jackson) tries to save her from herself tising a guitar. three chords and the truth. An unusually riveting dissection of race. religion and redemption through the blues. . . until the preposterous narrative begins to break down. (ii/lien. I'J/i'liliii/jeli.
=§= The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros ( IS) 0.. (.-\uraeus Solito, Philippines. 2005) Nathan Lopcl. Solimna (‘ru/. JR Valentin. I00min. Young Lope/ shines in the title role as a 12-year-old budding drag queen in the slums of Manila. While his family is protective of him. Maximo is forced into a dilemma when a handsome. honest policeman moves into the slums and the boy falls in love. Part of the London Lesbian & (iay l-‘ilm l‘estival on Tour. (ilusgmi' l'i'lni 'I'lieiiire. (l/iisemi:
To coincide with the DVD release of a selection of the Czech surrealist artist’s short film work (pictured), a welcome six film BFI touring programme stop-motions itself into both cities this fortnight. Svankmajer’s nightmarish, bizarre animations have been a huge influence on the work of Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam and the Brothers Quay among others. Having lived through the very worst years of state censorship in Soviet controlled Czechoslovakia, Svankmajer is a master of double meanings and parables. The shorts and features shown here stretch from 1968 through his much loved feature films Alice, Faust, Little Otik to his newest film Lunacy based on the writings of both Edgar Allan Poe and the Marquis De Sade. I Film/rouse, Edinburgh from Wed 27 Jun; GFT. Glasgow from Sun 7 Jul.
91 .J..'i 5» J.” 2’01)? THE LIST 45