Film
Films screening this tortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Paul Dale
Aap Kaa Surroor(l2A)eo~
(Prashant Chadha. India. 2007) Himesh Reshammiya. Hansika Motwani. Mallika Sherawat. l48minmin. HR (Reshammiya). a widely successful rockstar on the German leg of his world tour falls in love and gets messed up in a murder plot. Odeon Fort
K innaird. Edinburgh.
>i< Alice (PG) 0”. ~ (Jan Svankmajer. Czech Republic. 1988) Kristyna Kohoutova. 85min. Hyper-real puppet and stop frame animation version of the Carroll classic by bn'lliant Czech filmmaker Svankmajer. in which Alice makes her way through a harsh dreamscape. Cruel. childlike and fantastical. Disney it definitely isn‘t. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow.
Alien Adventure 30 (U) eeee (Ben Strassen. Japan. 200] ) Voice of John Boyle. Bouli Lanners. 37min. An alien race looking for a planet to colonise find earth and unfortunately enter a theme park where they cause much amusing mayhem. IMAX Theatre. Glasgow:
Apne (12A) .0. (Anil Shamia. India. 2007) Dharmendra. Sunny Deol. Bobby Deol. Shilpa Shetty. l38min. Ageing ex- boxer Baldev (Dharmendra) tries to vilify his tarnished reputation through training sons Karan and Angad (his real-life sons Sunny and Bobby Deol). Tragedy ensues and family loyalties are tested in this solidly entertaining drama. C ineworld Renfrew Street. Glasgow: Odeon Fort Kinnaird. Edinburgh.
>i< The Approach of Autumn ( PG ) O.” -» (Mikio Naruse. Japan. 1960) Nobuko Otowa. Jun Fujimaki. Kamatari Fujiwara. 79min. A shy young boy is
Mikio
brought to at Tokyo inn where his mother abandons him. leaving him to learn about adult life by watching the behaviour of the inn‘s adult customers and staff. Fascinating late Naruse melodrama. Part of Mikio Namse season. Film/rouse. Edinburgh.
Are We Done Yet? (PG) .0
(Steve Carr. US. 2007) Ice Cube. Nia Long. Aleisha Allen. 91min. (irowling sourpuss Nick Persons (Cube) 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 Chuck Mitchell (McGinley) conspire against him in this crude remake of “C Potter's 19-18 classic Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House. General release. Awarapan (15) CO. (Mohit Suri.
India. 2006) Kangana Ranaut. Shiney Abuja.
Shaad Randhawa. 150min. Based on the life of actress Parveen Babi. this film depicts the relationship between schizophrenic actress
Sana Azim (Ranaut). and the love of her life.
Aditya Garewal (Abuja). ()deon At The Quay. Glasgow.
The Balanda and the Bark Canoes (l2A) 0.. (Rolfde lleer/l‘ania Mehme/Molly Reynolds. Australia. 2006) 52min. A look at the humour and misunderstandings that arose when black and white Australian cultures met during the making of Ten Canoes. PIUs short documentary Kanyini. about the principle of connectedness in Aboriginal culture. Part of the London Australian Film Festival on Tour. Film/rouse. Edinburgh.
Belleville Bendez-Vous ( IZA)
O... (Sylvain Chomet. France. 2003) 81min. Diminutive. club-footed Madame Souza prepares her grandson. Champion. to be a world-beating cyclist. but during the Tour de France he is kidnapped and taken to Belleville. It's up to granny. Bruno the dog and the Belleville Sisters. an elderly song- and-dance trio. to perform a daring rescue. A rather special kooky cartoon from France
~koar‘.
. \
that shows Disney the door to real inspiration. Part of Animation Course. Film/louse. Edinburgh.
Bildwechsei Screening (tbc) (Various. Various, NOS-2006) l20min. A mixed programme of independent short films by female. lesbian. transgender. feminist or queer lilrnmakers from Scotland and beyond. For more information visit www.bildwechsel.org. ( '( 'A. (r‘lasgow. Black Gold (I) 0... (Nick Francis/Marc Francis. CK. 2006) 77min. A riveting attempt to underline the paradox that joins the $80bn global coffee industry with the impoverished birthplace of the bean: lithiopia. Following Coffee Cooperative spokesperson 'I'adesse Meskela on a mission to save struggling coffee farmers from bankruptcy. this excellent documentary left audiences cowed and the local Starbucks empty at last year‘s Sundance Film liestival. Glasgow I’ilm Theatre. (r'lasgott‘.
Bobby ( l5) .0. (limilio listevel. LS. 2007) Harry Belafonte. Joy Bryant. Nick Cannon. 1 l6niin. Writer-director listevez turns his attentions to the assassination of another Kennedy. JFK's little brother. The action takes place at the scene of the crime the Ambassador Hotel in LA on 5 June 1968 and follows the impact on 22 fictional characters. It's hit and miss. but does ably mix archive footage with fictional action in what is ultimately a hagiography. Vue Edinburgh ()eean. Edinburgh.
Bridge to Terabithia (P( i) 0.0 ((iahor Csupo. l'S. 2007) Josh llutcherson. Annasophia Robb. '/.ooey l)eschanel. 95min. Artistic kid Jess (llutcherson) is getting bullied at school and at home until outsider Leslie (Robb) moves in next door and the two begin to build an imaginary world in a nearby wood. This faithful adaptation of Katherine Paterson‘s coming of age children's book is worth a look for
Arriving in Scotland this month is BFl’s touring Naruse season featuring some of the great man’s very best films. The Japanese film director, writer and producer (pictured) made
some 89 films from the end of the silent era through to the late 60$. Often sidelined in favour of his better known contemporaries, Yasujiro Ozu and Kenji Mizoguchi, Naruse’s work remains fairly unknown outside Japan. This is a shame because he was a pioneer of what came to be known as kitchen sink dramas. His bleak, often pessimistic dramas, peopled by strong female characters, are powerful, unforgettable treats for anyone interested in Japanese cinema. Akira Kurosawa referred to Naruse’s films as ‘like a great river with a calm surface and a raging current in its depths’. Highlights include a new print of his 1960 masterwork When a Woman Ascends the Stairs and his brilliant 1956 all-female melodrama, Flowing.
I Frlmhouse, Edinburgh from Fri 6 Jul.
adults and kids alike. ()deon For! Kinnaird. Edinburgh.
>i< Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia ( IX) 0..” (Sam Peckinpah. Mexico/US. 197-1) Warren ()ates. lsela Vega. Robert Webber. 1 12min. Brilliant. nihilistic. unforgettable drama about an itinerant American piano player (Oates) in Mexico who becomes involved in a family feud and bounty for one unfortunate man’s head. A true masterpiece from one of the greatest periods of [IS cinema. A Psychotronic Cinema presentation. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow; I’ilrnhouse. Edinburgh.
The British Grand Prix: Live on the Big Screen (2007) 260mm. Well over four hours of live car racing on the big screen. Vue Edinburgh ()rnni. Edinburgh. Captivity ( l8) 0. (Roland Joffe. US/Russia. 2007) Elisha Cuthbert. Daniel Gillies. Pruitt Taylor Vince. 84min. Jennifer (played by archetypal damsel in distress Cuthbert) is a top American celebrity who is kidnapped and thrown into a cell (in Saw- like fashion). True to the ‘torture pom‘ genre. she has no idea why she has been captured. and when a second inmate ((iillies) appears. they find solace in each other‘s arms. Seleeted release.
The Caterpillar Wish ( IZA) 0.. (Sandra Sciberras. Australia. 2006) Victoria 'I'haine. Sacha llorler. Wendy Hughes. l00min. The loves. lives and labours of three generations as seen through the innocent wisdom of 15-year-old Emily ('Ihaine). Part of the London Australian Film Festival on Tour. Glasgow I-‘ilrn Theatre. Glasgow; film/louse. Edinburgh. Charlotte’s Web (U) 00. (Gary Winick. USA. 2006) Dakota Fanning. voices ofJulia Roberts. Sam Shepherd. Steve Buscemi. 97min. Chirpy tot Fem (Fanning) rescues Wilbur the pig from a cruel farmyard fate for lovable arachnid Charlotte to eventually save the day in a bittersweet finale that touches on practical matters of life and death. Somewhere between the cutesy Babe and ()rwell's political Animal Farm it should draw in children and nostalgic adults alike. ('ineworld Park/read. Glasgow; ( 'inewor'ld Edinburgh. Edinburgh. Wberworld 30 (PG) (Various. US. 2000) Jenna lilfman. Matt Frewer. Woody Allen. ~14min. Jenna Iilfman is the cyber- host who introduces us to various unrelated segments of cyber animation. The Simpsons and Ant; make 3!) appearances in a spectacular display of today's most impressive graphic technology. IMAX Theatre. Glasgow.
Dead Silence ( l5) 0. (James Wan. US. 2007) Ryan Kwanten. Amber Valletta. Laura Regan. 89min. See Also Released. page 40. Cineimrld Renfrew Street. Glasgow; ( 'inewor/d Edinburgh. Edinburgh.
Die Hard 4.0 ( l5) .0. (Len Wiseman. US. 2007) Bruce Willis. Timothy ()lyphant. Maggie Q. l28min. See interview and Also Released. page 40. General release.
>i< Distant Voices, Still Lives ( IS) .0... (Terence Davies. UK. l988) Freda I)owie. Pete Postlethwaite. Angela Walsh. Dean Williams. 85min. In the Liverpool of the late 40s and early 50s. a working class household perseveres through domestic violence. death and marriage. A brilliantly made tribute to the filmmaker Davies' family experience. and a requiem for a way of life now past. by one of the most gifted cinematic artists this country now possesses. New print. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow. Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing
( 15) .0. (Barbara Kopple/Cecelia
Peck. US. 2006) Natalie Maines. Martie Maguire. l-Imily Robison. 99min. See review. page 40. Glasgow ['7er Theatre. Glasgow.