Film INDEX
Kirikou and The Sorceress (U) ●●●●● (Michel Ocelot, France/Belgium/Luxembourg, 2003) Voices of Antoinette Kellerm, Fezele Mpeka, Kombisile Sangweni, Theo Sebeko, Mabutho ‘Kid’ Sithole. 74min. Kirikou is impatient to get on with life, but as soon as he is born he learns a terrible truth: his family have been eaten up by the evil Karaba and the village is decimated. But fearless Kirikou is determined to fight her and rescue everyone. Charming animation. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Knut Asdam: Tripoli and Abyss (tbc) (Knut Asdam, Various, 2010) 67min. Two shorter films by Norwegian film and video artist Asdam. The first, Tripoli, is part architectural documentary and part historical drama, dealing with the destruction of an ambitious building project during the Lebanese civil war of 1975. The second film deals with the travels of a character through an ever-changing urban landscape. CCA, Glasgow. Kung Fu Panda 2 2D (PG) ●●●●● (Jennifer Yuh, US, 2011) Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan. 90min. Sequel to the popular animated comedy about the martial arts master in a chubby panda body (voiced by Black). Vue Ocean, Edinburgh. Life in a Day (12A) ●●●●● (Kevin Macdonald, US, 2011) 95min. This YouTube project, directed by Kevin Macdonald, asked people around the world to make a film of their life on a specific day, 24 July 2010. From the 80,000 videos submitted, Macdonald and his army of editors have meticulously crafted this overwhelmingly positive, indeed joyful mix of disparate lives. Macrobert, Stirling. Life in a Day (12A) ●●●●● (Kevin Macdonald, US, 2011) 95min. This YouTube project, directed by Kevin Macdonald, asked people around the world to make a film of their life on a specific day, 24 July 2010. From the 80,000 videos submitted, Macdonald and his army of editors have meticulously crafted this overwhelmingly positive, indeed joyful mix of disparate lives. Cameo, Edinburgh. Little Rose (Rózyczka) (15) (Jan Kidawa-Blonski, Poland, 2010) Andrzej Seweryn, Magdalena Boczarska, Robert Wieckiewicz. 118min. A beautiful informant is set the task of betraying a Jewish writer in vehemently anti-Semitic 1960s Poland, only to find her loyalties pulled in more than one direction as time goes on. Part of Play Poland festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Lynch (Lincz) (15) (Krzysztof Lukaszewicz, Poland, 2011) Leszek Lichota, Agnieszka Podsiadlik, Wieslaw Komasa. 81min. In 2005 a 60-year-old man was lynched by youngsters in a Polish village. The old man had been a habitual offender and had terrorised the town for years and this film explores the issues behind the story. Part of Play Poland festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Mammuth (PG) ●●●●● (Gustave de Kervern, Benoît Delépine, France, 2010) Gérard Depardieu, Yolande Moreau, Isabelle Adjani. 92min. Sporting flowing hair and an ample belly, Depardieu seems to be enjoying himself enormously as the boorish Serge, who discovers that his pension is in doubt. On a road trip to collect affidavits testifying that his claim is genuine, he pieces together the value of his past in a film that nicely balances melancholy with mischief. Macrobert, Stirling. Midnight Cowboy (18) ●●●●● (John Schlesinger, US, 1969) Jon Voight, Dustin Hoffman, Brenda Vaccaro, Sylvia Miles. 113min. Voight is the dim-witted Texan getting by in the Big Apple by acting as a gigolo for the rich ladies of New York, while Hoffman is the tubercular conman he befriends and helps through the cold winter in this seminal buddy movie, which helped both protagonists to major stardom in the early 1970s, set Schlesinger off on an intermittently successful career, and further shifted the censorship parameters of mainstream American film. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Miranda (15) ●●●●● (Marc Munden, UK, 2003) Christina Ricci, John Simm, 120 THE LIST 11–18 Aug 2011
Thumbsucker/Napoleon Dynamite Show us your awkwardness, teenage alienation and Ritalin dreams. Mike Mills’ odd satire of parental obsession and teenage stubbornness goes up against the greatest geek story ever told for a good old-fashioned indie double bill. ■ Cameo, Edinburgh, on Sun 14 Aug.
portrayal of childhood. Glasgow Film Theatre.
✽✽ Rise of the Planet of the Apes (12A) ●●●●● (Rupert Wyatt, US, 2011) Tom Felton, James Franco, Andy Serkis. 104min. See review, page 108. General release.
✽✽ The Salt of Life (Gianni e le donne) (12A) ●●●●● (Gianni Di Gregorio, UK, 2011) Gianni Di Gregorio, Valeria De Franciscis, Alfonso Santagata. 90min. See review, page 108. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Glasgow Film Theatre. Sarah’s Key (Elle s’appelaitlait Sarah) (12A) ●●●●● (Gilles Paquet- Brenner, France, 2010) Kristin Scott Thomas, Mélusine Mayance, Niels Arestrup. 111min. The life of a journalist in present-day Paris becomes entwined with that of a young Jewish girl who died in the Holocaust as she investigates a shameful chapter in France’s history. Unsurprisingly earnest and visually restrained, director Paquet-Brenner is aided by a fine ensemble cast in his creation of a real sense of moral ambiguity. Selected release. Senna (12A) ●●●●● (Asif Kapadia, UK/France/US, 2010) 106min. Recently voted the greatest driver of all time and winner of 41 Grand Prix and three drivers’ championships, Brazilian Ayrton Senna was the last F1 driver to die behind the wheel. Exploring his life from 1984 to his death ten years later, this documentary incorporates previously unseen Formula One footage of the almost mythical man. Macrobert, Stirling. A Separation (PG) ●●●●● (Asghar Farhadi, Iran, 2011) Peyman Moaadi, Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat. 123min. A couple debate the ramifications of their impending divorce before a series of events unravel that will lead to a single tragic incident. This morally complex tale is a rich and thought-provoking consideration of the nature of judgment and the role of law. Cameo, Edinburgh; Macrobert, Stirling. The Smurfs 2D (U) (Raja Gosnell, US, 2011) Hank Azaria, Neil Patrick Harris, Katy Perry. 102min. The little blue woodland creatures make their first 3D trip
Kyle MacLachlan, John Hurt. 90min. Simm plays Frank, a librarian who wears Hawaiian shirts and speaks his mind in a no-nonsense way. Of course, the object of his desire Miranda (Ricci) is not what she seems, and Frank is soon deeply involved with some crooked businessmen. The Film Council yet again pour our public money into the work of a first-time scriptwriter (Rob Young) who you wouldn’t trust to write a pre-school nativity play. John Hurt and Kyle McLachlan turn up to pocket a few grand from the public purse too. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Mr Popper’s Penguins (PG) ●●●●● (Mark Waters, US, 2011) Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino. 94min. Family comedy starring Carrey as Mr Popper, a humourless businessman who inherits six penguins. The penguins turn his posh New York apartment into a winter wonderland and they change his life in ways he never imagined. This likeable adaptation of popular book was controversially filmed on a refrigerated sound stage with real Emperor Penguins. General release. Potiche (15) ●●●●● (François Ozon, France, 2010) Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Fabrice Luchini. 103min. When Robert (Luchini) is taken ill, supposed trophy wife (the potiche of the title) Suzanne (Deneuve) steps in to take charge of the family business, rediscovering her power and potential. Featuring hidden depths and unexpected layers, nothing is quite as you might have expected in this irresistible Cinderella story. Cameo, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Project Nim (12A) ●●●●● (James Marsh, UK, 2011) Bob
Angelini, Bern Cohen, Reagan Leonard. 93min. See review, page 108. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Glasgow Film Theatre. Radio On (18) ●●●●● (Christopher Petit, UK/West Germany, 1979) David Bearmes, Lisa Kreuzer, Sandy Radcliff. 104min. In 1970s Britain, a factory worker drives from London to Bristol to investigate his brother’s death. The purpose of his trip is offset by encounters with a series of odd people. One of the seminal British films of the 1970s. Part of Summerhall@Fringe festival. Summerhall, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Raise Ravens (Cría Cuervos) (12) ●●●●● (Carlos Saura, Spain,
1976) Geraldine Chaplin, Mónica Randall, Florinda Chico. 110min. A fusion of the personal and political into a portrait of how fasicsm effects a middle-class family, foreshadowing Pan’s Labyrinth in its
to the big screen in this hybrid live- action/animation family comedy. When the evil wizard Gargamel chases the Smurfs out of their village, they’re forced through a portal, out of their world and into ours, landing in the middle of New York’s Central Park. Stuck in the Big Apple, they must find a way to get back to their village before the evil wizard finds them. General release. The Smurfs 3D (U) (Raja Gosnell, US, 2011) Hank Azaria, Neil Patrick Harris, Katy Perry. 102min. See above. General release.
✽✽ Super 8 (12A) ●●●●● (JJ Abrams, US, 2011) Elle Fanning, Riley
Griffiths, Kyle Chandler. 111min. A science fiction adventure harking back to the character-driven values of late 1970s and early 1980s films, particularly all those Spielberg classics, and it’s a potent reminder of why Close Encounters . . . and its like continue to stand the test of time. While Abrams’ rarely-seen monster is wrapped up in a suitably exhilarating tension, it’s the coming-of-age story and the endearing young characters at its heart that are really the masterstroke in this enjoyable homage to the way blockbusters used to be. General release. Transformers: Dark of the Moon 2D (12A) ●●●●● (Michael Bay, US, 2011) Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington- Whiteley, Josh Duhamel. 154min. Latest adventure in the Transformers franchise. Our shapeshifting heroes learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the moon, and a race against the bad guys to reach it and unlock its secrets ensues. Selected release. Transformers: Dark of the Moon 3D (12A) ●●●●● (Michael Bay, US, 2011) Shia LaBeouf, Patrick Dempsey, Hugo Weaving. 154min. See above. Selected release. The Tree (12A) ●●●●● (Julie Bertuccelli, France, 2010) Charlotte Gainsbourg, Morgana Davies, Marton Csokas. 100min. A fine study of loss in this psychological drama as a seemingly perfect family deals with the fallout of a tragedy, and the huge fig tree in their garden comes to represent their collective conscience. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. The Tree of Life (12A) ●●●●● (Terrence Malick, US, 2011) Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain. 138min. The lives of a 1950s family are contrasted with a history of life on Earth (including CGI dinosaurs). Soaring music, gliding camerawork, the frequent absence of dialogue and a constant sense of yearning gives The Tree Of Life the feeling of a heartfelt sermon urging a re-engagement with spirituality. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Who Needs a Heart (tbc) (John Akomfrah, UK, 1991) Caroline Burghard, Treva Etienne, Ruth Gemmell. 79min. Controversial drama by the Black Audio Film Collective charting the history of British Black Power through the story of a fictional group of friends moving in the same circles as the movement’s central figure, anti-hero Michael Abdul Malik, or Michael X. CCA, Glasgow. X-Men: First Class (12A) ●●●●● (Matthew Vaughn, US, 2011) James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence. 132min. The X-Men series goes back to the beginning of the saga to chart the early days of Professor X and Magneto, when they were plain old Charles and Erik. General release. Zookeeper (PG) ●●●●● (Frank Coraci, US, 2011) Kevin James, Rosario Dawson, Leslie Bibb. 104min. James plays zookeeper Griffin Keyes, whose beach-side wedding proposal is turned down by Bibb’s money-grabber. Helping him win her back are Dawson’s shy vet and the various animals he looks after. But no one can breathe life into the tedious script. General release.
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