Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Paul Dale
* Indicates Listpicks entry
Abba: The Movie (U) 0..
(Lasse Halstrom. Sweden/Australia. I977) 95min. Made at the height of their popularity. the wafer thin plotline consists of the four Swedes being pursued across Oz by a Sydney journalist. Features a brief. heartstopping appearance by Lou from Neighbours as their bodyguard. No. it really does. New digitised print. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow.
Abraham Lincoln (PG)
.0. (DW Griffith. US. I930) Walter Huston. Una Merkel. William L Thorne. 90min. This presidential biopic leaves no aspect of Lincoln‘s life untouched. Griffith‘s first film in sound delves into Lincoln's early days as a lawyer. his tragic romance with Ann Rutledge and his devastating decision to declare war upon the South. Part of Take One: Action! festival. Film/rouse. Edinburgh.
Angel (15) .0. (Francois ()zon. France/UK. 2007) Romola (iarai. Sam Neill. Michael Fassbender. I l9min. Based on Elizabeth Taylor‘s I957 novel The Real Life ofAngel Deverell. this is the campest rags to riches story you will ever see. Impoverished young writer Angel (Garai) soon finds her lurid romantic fiction has made her the toast of London and as she accumulates wealth she becomes obsessed with caddish philanderer listne (Fassbender). Hilarious and thoroughly entertaining. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow. Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging ( 12A) .0. ((iurinder
Take One: Action!
(‘hadha. US. 2008) (leorgia (iroomc. Aaron Johnson. Alan Davies. l00min. After the disappointing Bride and Prejudice. writer/director (‘hadha takes a step into younger territory with this adaptation of two of Louise Rennison's books. The film lacks the sharp wit of slick American comedies such as ('lueless and Mean Girls. but earns points for featuring actresses. including lead (iroome. who really are the age of the characters they‘re playing. ('ineworld Reit/i'eit‘ Street. Glasgow.
Annie Hall (15) ooooo
(Woody Allen. L'S. I977) Woody Allen. Diane Keaton. Tony Roberts. 93min. Two decades before Set And The ('in had its first orgasm. Annie Hall was laying bare the tnores of modern. urban romance to devastating effect while also zoning in on the specific psyche of Allen Konigsberg: anti-Semitic paranoia. metaphysical angst. the search for true love. There‘s a highly charged on-screen electricity between Allen and Keaton. glorious vistas of the old New York and hilarious set pieces - Alvy lighting with lobsters. the scene of his childhood home below the rollercoaster - and a stream of one-liners to end them all: ‘I)on't knock masturbation: it’s sex with someone I love.‘ They really don't make ‘em like Annie Hall anymore. (‘ommemorative screening for producer (‘harles II Joffe. I’ilmhouse. Edinburgh. Approximater Infinite Universe: Film Programme (Ii) (Finland) 90min. Finnish musician. film-maker and curator Sami Sanpakkila presents a series of his short films alongside works by Pasi ‘Sleeping‘ Myllymiiki and Jonna Karanka. ('('A. Glasgow. Babylon AD ( IZA) O. (Mathieu Kassovitz. ITS/France. 2008) Vin Diesel. Michelle Yeoh. Melanie Thierry. 90min. Post apocalyptic thriller
Arguably the UK’s first film festival centred on the people and movies who have or are changing the world, Take One: Action is an ideologically inspiring panoply of
with I)iesel as Russian mercenary Toorop who is escorting a very special woman (Yeoh) to (‘hina This woman carries inside her the possibility of a spiritual future for all mankind. Silly. derivative and clearly hacked tip by the studios. this potentially interesting sci-fi is a frustrating. occasionally interesting affair. General release. Badlands ( 15) CO... (Terrence .‘vlalick. L'S. I973) Martin Sheen. Sissy Spacek. 94min. Rarefied. lyrical l'S filmmaker Terrence Malick's stunning and mega-influential I973 crime spree drama is brought back to life in a beautiful new 35mm print. Film/muse. [filinlna'gli Bamako (P( i) O... (Abderrahmane Sissako. Mali/IfS/France. 2006) Ai'ssa Ma'iga. Maimouna Ileleite I)iarra. Balla Ilabib I)embele. 1 17min. African political drama following a mock trial in the Malian city of Bamako between African civil society and Western fittancial institutions. Avoiding dour didacticism by contrasting the proceedings with snapshots of everyday life. this is more than an exercise in the iniquities of globalization. Part of Take One: Action! festival. l‘flntllt)ll.\‘(’. lit/in/na'gh. Bangkok Dangerous ( l8) 0. (Oxide Pang ('hun. IS. 2008) Nicholas Cage. Shahkrit Yamnarn. (‘harlie Yetmg. 98min. See Also Released. page 49. General release. The Banishment ( 12A) 0.. (Andrei Zvyagintsev. Russia. 2007) Konstantin I.avronenko. Maria Bonnevie. Aleksandr Baluyev. 157mm. See review. page 49. l-‘ilmhouse. Edinburgh. Ben X ( l5) 0.. (Nic Balthazar. Netherlands/Belgium. 2007) Greg 'I‘immermans. Laura Verlinden. Marijke Pinoy. 93min. This mock-documentary introduces its to teen Asperger‘s sufferer Ben. Moving backwards and forwards
screenings of new and classic films, question and answer sessions, audience discussions, video-making workshops, special schools events and much more. With involvement from a seriously diverse set of Scottish change-makers, ranging from Oxfam and Plane Stupid Scotland to Rediscovering Palestine, this is a unique opportunity to meet, greet and perhaps even get involved. The film aspect of the festival includes Naomi Klein’s 2004 documentary The Take, Lisa F Jackson’s heartbreaking The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo (pictured). There are also welcome screenings of Frank Capra’s Mr Smith Goes to Washington and Abderrahmane Sissako’s Bamako. Things kick off-with 40th Anniversary Screening of Lindsay Anderson’s remarkable revolutionary parable If... which will be followed by panel audience discussion chaired by the editor of The List’s film section, Paul Dale. www.takeoneaction.org.uk I Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh from Sat 73-Sat 27 Sep.
between his so-called life of bullying and high school torture and his escape into online role playing games. the film delivers a doom laden narrative. Balthazar's debut feature cleverly dodges and ducks where you would otherwise expect it to run straight. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow.
Black Gold (L') 0... (Nick
Francis/Marc Francis. UK. 2006) 77min. A riveting attempt to underline the paradox that joins the $80bn global coffee industry with the impoverished birthplace of the bean: Iithiopia. Following (‘offee (‘ooperative spokesperson Tadesse 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 Festival. Part of Take One: Action! festival. l"ilmhouse. Edinburgh. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas ( 12A) 0 (Mark Herman. US/UK. 2008) Vera Farmiga. David Thewlis. Rupert Friend. 93min. See review. page 48. Glasgow I'ilm Theatre. Glasgow; l‘iltttltUtM‘l’. Edinburgh. Carandiru ( 15) O... (Hector Babenco. Brazil Argentina. 2003) I.uiz Carlos Vasconcelos. Milliem (‘ortaz. Milton (‘oncalves. Ivan de Almeida. l45min. Based on the memoirs of Doctor I)rauzio Varella. who set up an AIDS-prevention programme in the late 80s at ('arandiru takes place in the notorious and now demolished Stio Paolo correctional facility. where I l l inmates were massacred in I992 by military police. In this. the most successful film ever at the Brazilian boxoffice. Babenco and his writers weave the inmates tales into a memorable tapestry. The detained men are neither glamorised nor judged. but presented as human beings. struggling to maintain their spirits in this most despairing of environments. The fiesta- Iike atmosphere of visitation day and the joy of a wedding are contrasted with the treatment of sex offenders and the killings of those who transgress the code of respect. Part of Latin American ('inema course. Glasgow l-‘ilm Theatre. Glasgow.
Cass ( l8) 0... (Jon S Baird.
UK. 2008) Nonso Anozie. Nathalie Press. I.eo Gregory. 108mm. Detailing the shenanigans of West Ham‘s notorious Inter ('ity (‘rew (I(‘F) during the Thatcher years. (‘ass stands alongside Alan (‘larke‘s hitherto untouchable hooligan yarn The Firm. at the top of the filmmaking table. Based on the true story of (‘ass Pennant. the most prominent black football hooligan to be accepted by white working class yobs as one of their own. (ass tells an eminently cinematic story. ('ameo. Edinburgh. Chamku ( 15) (Kabeer Kaushik. India. 2008) Bobby I)eol. Priyanka Chopra. lrfan Khan. l50min. Ilindi musical thriller about a secret agent trying to extricate himself and live a normal life. ()(leon At The Quay. Glasgow. Children Must Laugh (Mir Kumen On) (Ii) .0. (Aleksander Ford. Poland. 1936) 45min. Documentary chronicling Jewish life in Poland before WWII. Shown with three shorts: Jewish Life in Krakow. Jewish Life in I.viv and A Day in ll’arsaw. ('(‘A. Glasgow:
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