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The pick of new Australian cinema arrives in Scotland courtesy of the LAFF national tour. Highlights include
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postwar immigrant experience drama Romulus, My Father (pictured), starring Eric Bana and Franka Potente, Oscar-winning cartoonist Bruce Petty’s semi-animated documentary examining current relations between the East and West, Global Haywire, Melbourne-set police procedural Noise, and popular down under rom-com All
My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane.
I Fr'lmhouse, Edinburgh; GFI'. Glasgow, from Tue 8 Jul.
Jazz on a Summer’s Day (PG) (Bert Stern. LS. 1959) 85min. Influential film frotn the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival features performances by Chuck Berry. Mahalia Jackson. Louis Armstrong and 'l'helonius .Monk. Glasgow I-‘ilrn Theatre. Glasgow. Jean De Florette (PG) (Claude Berri. France. 198(3) (ierard Depardieu. Yves Montand. Daniel Auteuil. l21min. Provence. during the 1920s. Depardieu's indotnitable hunchback struggles against itnpossible odds to tnake a success of his inherited fartnland. unaware that his neighbours are plotting to drive him front his lattd. Beautifully photographed. with flawless performances. this is a towering tribute to the highest aspirations of French storytelling. A BAT-TA winner for lilm of the year. .S'eotsrnan .S’ereening Room. Edinburgh. Journey to The Centre of The Earth 30 (PG) 0.. (liric Brevig. CS. 2008) Brettdan Fraser. Josh llutcherson. Anita Brietn. 92min. See review. page 52. General release/"rout I-'ri I I Jul.
Jules Et Jim (PG) 0000.
(Francois 'l‘ruffaut. France. 1962) Jeanne Moreau. ()skar Werner. Henri Serre. 105mm. French New Wave filmmaker ’l‘ruffaut‘s third film. tnade in 1962. was undoubtedly his masterpiece and released on a lovely new print still speaks to a contemporary consciousness. Set in the 1910s and 20s it is the story of a freewheeling love triangle between alpha female Catherine (Moreau). Austrian Jules (Werner) and Frenchman Jim (Serre). Glasgow Eilrn 'I‘heaire. Glasgow; Eilrnhouse. Edinburgh. The Kentuckian (PG) (Burt Lancaster. CS. 1955) Burt Lancaster. Dianne Foster. Diana Lynn. 104mm. Based on a novel by Felix Holt. this follows l820s-Texas bound widower F.1i (Lancaster) as he encounters both distracting desirables and backwoods villains on a dream-laden journey to the West. Part of Burt Lancaster season. I’ilrnhouse. Edinburgh. The Killers ( 12) (Robert Siodmak. CS. 19-16) lidmond O'Brien. Ava Gardner. Burt Lancaster. 105mm. All the markers of the classic film noir are here in abundance as insurance investigator O'Brien looks into the mysterious death of Burt Lancaster. Better than the Don Siegel remake. if only for the atmospherics. Part of Burt Lancaster season. Film/rouse. Edinburgh.
58 THE LIST 3~17 Jul 2008
Kung Fu Panda (PU) coo (Mark ()sborne. John Stevenson. ISA. 2008) Voices of Jack Black. Jackie Chan. Angelina Jolie. 91min. See review. page 50. General release.
La Scala Opera: Tristan und Isolde (PG) (Patrice Chereau. Italy. 2008) Ian Storey. Waltraud Meier. Michelle De Young. 270mm. Wagner‘s opera. filmed at La Scala. Milan and brought to the big screen in stunning digital clarity. Part of the La Scala ()pcra Series. I-‘ilrnhouse. Edinburgh.
The Lady Vanishes (t') 0000 (Alfred Hitchcock. CK. 2008) Margaret Lockwood. Michael Redgrave. Dame May Whitty. 95min. Hitchcock's wonderfully entertaining pan-litiropcan railway thriller feels as fresh today as it tnust have back in the appeasetnent years. Beginning in a fictitious liastern liuropean principality. an old lady does a disappearing act on a trait). Suspicious. a young man and woman investigate. Though often dismissed as one of Hitchcock's tnore lightweight films. this was and is an allegory of Britain when Blimpish complacency was believed to be the best deterrent to war. Seats/nan Ser'eening Roorn. Edinburgh.
Lars and the Real Girl (12A)
0... (Craig (iillespie. CS. 2007) Ryan (iosling. limily Mortimer. Paul Schneider. ltlotniti. Lars Lindstrom (Gosling) is a quiet and sullen young man. His brother (ius (Schneider) and (ius’ pregnant wife Karin (Mortimer) try to integrate him into the comtnunity with no success until Lars gets an untisual new girlfriend. By tums tender. thoughtful and open hearted. Iars and the Real Girl manages to be both ridiculous and joyous. (Mean A! The Quay. Glasgow.
The Last Laugh (Der Letzte Mann) (lf) 0... (FW Murnau. Germany. 1924) limil Jannings. 101mm. ()ne busy. rainy night a doorman takes a short rest after lugging a heavy suitcase in frotn the rain. tTnfortunately. his manager spots him and the next day he is replaced and re-assigned to the less strenuous but purely menial position. llutniliated. the old man struggles to carry on with his life. Classic. deeply moving silent. Part of the Modernity and Tradition season. Eilrnhouse. Edinburgh. The Last Mistress ( IS) oooo (Catherine Brcillat. France/Italy. 2007) Asia Argento. Fu'ad Ait Aattou. Roxane Mesquida. 1 l-lmin. Breillat's most accessible work to date is based on the 19th century ttovel by the controversial writer Jules-Amedee Barbey d‘Aurevilly. This is
no staid costume drama: in 1835 Paris dashing and dissolute Ryno de Marigny (Aattou) is engaged to the virginal heiress llermengarde (Mesquida) while still embroiled in a liaison with a scandalous Spanish courtesan Vellini (Argento). Glasgoti' Eilrn Theatre. (r'lasgoiv.
Love Story 2050 (tbc) (Harry Baweja. Australia/India. 2008) Priyanka Chopra. llartnan Baweja. Kurush Deboo. 138mm. Karan is a young. happy-go-lucky boy. Sana is the opposite. She is a sweet. shy girl who lives life by the rules. Despite their differences. they fall in love in this magical story. (Mean A! The Quay. Glasgow: Magnificent Obsession (PG)
0... (Douglas Sirk. US. 1954) Rock Hudson. Jane \‘l'yman. Barbara Rush. 108mm. Driven by guilt. Hudson gives up his playboy lifestyle to study medicine and operate on the widow he indirectly blinded. Love also blossoms. although he must assume another identity. Classic melodrama from the master of the genre. Part of the Trouble iii the 50s season. Glasgow I-‘ilni Theatre. Glasgow.
Mamma Mia! (PG) (Phyllida Lloyd. th/lTS. 2008) Meryl Streep. Pierce Brosnan. Colin Firth. 108min. See preview. page 4‘). General release.
Man on Wire (li) (James Marsh. CK. 2008) 1 18min. The story of one man's illegal high wire walk between the Twin Towers. Philippe Petit was a big story back in 1974 when he performed the feat. and Marsh's celebratory documentary aims to give him attention. No mention of the more recent history of the Towers. though.
( 'inetvorld Edinburgh. Edinburgh.
Mes Amis, Mes Amour ( 15) 00 (Lorraine Levy. France. 2008) Virginie Ledoyen. Bernadette Lafont. Florence Floresti. 106mm. See review. page52. ()ri Seleeled I‘elt'ii.s'('_/i'(rrrt Fri 4 Jul.
Midnight Talks (12A) .0. (Maciej Zak. Poland. 2007) Arkadius'l. Jakubik. Magdalena Rozc/ka. Marcin Dorocinski. 95min. Matylda (Rozczka). a Polish woman in her 30s. is desperate to have a child but is not looking for any sort of relationship. She puts an advert in the paper that is answered by Bartek (Dorocinski) and a bright optimistic romantic comedy ensues. Part of the Contemporary Polish Cinema season. Film/rouse. Edinburgh.
The Mist ( 15) 0... (Frank Darabont. CS. 2007) Thomas Jane. Marcia (iay Harden. Laurie Holden. l2bmin. See review. page 51. Seleeted release.
Mongol ( 15) .0. (Sergei Bodrov, (iermany/Kazakhstan/Russia/Mongolia. 2007) Aliya. Tegen Ao. Tadanobu Asano. 125mm. In the first of a planned trilogy on the Mongol leader’s life. Genghis Khan (Asano) suffers imprisonment. the tnurder of his father and the loss of his bride before waging war against his traitorous one-time ally. Although this sounds somewhat dry on paper. this is less the Khan of the history books than a carefully humanised leader. Cameo. Edinburgh.
National Treasure: Book of Secrets (PG) .0 (Jon Turteltaub. CS. 2007) Justin Bartha. Ty Burrell. Nicolas Cage. lZ-lmin. Exchange the religious sub-plot from The Do Vinei Code with sotne spurious blather about the history of the US Constitution and you have the successful formula for the National ’l‘reasure franchise. The second instalment has adventurer Ben Crates (Cage) chasing around various worldwide tourist traps while dodging the attentions of his rival Mitch Wilkinson (Harris). The shared object of their desire is a semi-mythical tome that supposedly contains the diaries of every American president. Returning director Turteltaub‘s serviceable adventure features a constant escalation of action. but the endless cheerleading for America proves tiresome. Glasgow l’ilrn Theatre. (r‘lasgott:
Nim’s Island (t7) so (Jennifer Flackett. 2008) Abigail Breslin. Jodie Foster. (ierard Butler. 95min. Adapted frotn Wendy ()rr's popular book about what happens when agoraphobic authoress Alexandra Ryder (Foster) is contacted by winsotne brat Nim (Breslin). whose scientist father Jack (Butler) has gone missing. Breslin and Butler adapt well to the frothy postmodern adventure but Foster's attempts at slapstick are etnbarrassingly crude and obvious. lessening any emotional impact. Empire Clydebank. ( 'lydebank.
Noise (18) (Matthew Saville. Australia. 2007) Brendan Cowell. Maia Thomas. Henry Nixon. 107mm. A young Melbourne cop finds his relationship slipping away dtie to frequent late nights spent working on a murder case. With a community beset by doubt and a young man steadily losing grip with normality. Saville's debut feature works at once as a wry meditation on contemporary Australian life and as a tense relationship drama. Part of the London Australian Film Festival on Tour. I'iIrnhouse. Edinburgh.
Paradise Now ( IS) 00000 (Hany Abu-Assad. France/(ierniany/ Netherlands/Israel . 2005) Kais Nashef. Ali Suliman. Lubna Azabal. Amer lllchel. 90min. The tale of two Palestinian car mechanics about to venture to Israel on a suicide-bombing mission. Paradise .‘v'ou- is pritnarily a buddy-buddy movie. The [K release date was postponed because of the 7/7 Lottdon bombings. and since then it's become the first Palestinian film to win a (iolden (ilobe award and receive an Oscar nomination. ACE. lz‘diriburgh. Persepolis (12A) .0000 (Vincent Paronnaud/Marjane Satrapi. France/CS. 2007) Chiara .‘vlastroianni. Catherine Deneuve. Danielle Darrieux. 96min. This adaptation of Satrapi's autobiographical coming-of-age graphic novel is an exceptionally moving piece of animated filmmaking. Chronicling the liberal outlook of young Iranian Marji. Satrapi refreshingly manages to portray a love of Iran without being revisionist or disguising any harsh truths about the regime. ()deon.’ Brae/lead. Renfr'ew.
Priceless (Hors de prix) (12A)
.0. (Pierre Salvadori. France. 2006) Audrey Tautou. (iad lilmaleh. Marie- (‘hristine Adam. 104mm. This frothy comedy set in the mildly tragic world of upmarket Riviera hotels. restaurants and boutiques sees Irene ('l‘autou) desperately gold digging frotn an aging sugar daddy. Meanwhile. luckless bar tender Jean (Iilmaleh) is developing a bit of a crush on this cynical young lady. but with no cash in his pocket shes just not interested. That is. until. he becomes a toy boy himself. Dominion. Edinburgh.