Film INDEX
Elles (18) (Malgorzata Szumowska, France/Poland/Germany, 2011) Juliette Binoche, Joanna Kulig, Anaïs Demoustier. 99min. Binoche stars in this drama about young female students who turn to prostitution to fund their studies. macrobert, Stirling. Even the Rain (12) ●●●●● (Icíar Bollaín, Spain/France/Mexico, 2010) Gael Garcia Bernal, Luis Tosar, Karra Elejalde. 103min. Film director Sebastian (Bernal, bland) arrives in Bolivia to make an epic on the life of Columbus, but is so focused on history that he fails to appreciate present injustices. Laverty and Bolain’s well- intentioned drama is heavy-handed, but there are enough touching moments to make it worthwhile. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee; The Hippodrome, Bo’ness. A Fantastic Fear of Everything (15) ●●●●● (Crispian Mills, Chris Hopewell, UK, 2012) Simon Pegg, Paul Freeman, Amara Karan. 100min. See feature, page 86 and review, page 88. General release from Fri 8 Jun. Fantastic Mr Fox (PG) ●●●●● (Wes Anderson, USA, 2009) Voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Adrien Brody. 88min. Anderson’s inspired choice of stop- motion animation pays off in this beautiful and idiosyncratic adaptation of the well- loved children’s tale. While kids may enjoy it, Anderson’s typically arch humour is aimed more at their parents, who will also be impressed by the star-studded voice cast. Cameo, Edinburgh. Fast Girls (12A) (Regan Hall, UK, 2012) Bradley James, Rupert Graves, Lily James, Lenora Crichlow. 91min. Drama following the British female sprint relay team in their quest to win gold, focusing on the relationship between two ambitious young runners from very different backgrounds. General release from Fri 15 Jun. Flash Gordon (PG) (Mike Hodges, USA/UK, 1980) Sam J Jones, Max Von Sydow, Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed. 106min. A colourful, camp adventure starring Flash! (aaah, saviour of the universe, as the memorable Queen soundtrack has it). In a double bill with Highlander at DCA. Cameo, Edinburgh; Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. Free Men (Les Hommes Libres) (15) ●●●●● (Ismaël Ferroukhi, France, 2011) Tahar Rahim, Michael Lonsdale, Mahmud Shalaby. 99min. See review, page 89. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. The French Connection (18) (William Friedkin, US, 1971) Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey. 104min. Friedkin’s blistering crime thriller features one of cinema’s classic car chases and launched ‘Popeye’ Doyle, the prototype ‘bad cop’. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Future Shorts (E) (Various) 90min. An international initiative offering a monthly showcase of the finest short films from around the world. The summer programme is headed up by Grant Orchard’s A Morning Stroll, an animated story of an encounter between a New Yorker and a chicken, and as usual there’s beer, popcorn and DJs. Inspace, Edinburgh. Gagarinland (12A) (Vladimir Kozlov, France, 2011) 86min. This film examines the idolisation of Yuri Gagarin, from the people living in the town named after him to the curator who manages the museum dedicated to him and the governor planning a lavish theme park in his honour. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The General (U) (Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman, US, 1927) Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Glen Cavander, Frederick Vroom. 84min. An engine driver tries to get behind the Southern lines during the American Civil War in order to rescue a train. A silent masterpiece, containing some stunts that approach the realm of genius. Double bill with The Navigator. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Glyndebourne: L’Elisir d’amore (U) (UK, 2009) Ekaterina Siurina, Peter Auty, Alfredo Daza. A performance of Donizetti’s witty pastoral opera from the Glyndebourne Festival is broadcast on the big screen. Selected screenings. 94 THE LIST 24 May–21 Jun 2012
Glyndebourne: The Cunning Little Vixen (U) (Melly Still, UK, 2012) Emma Bell, Lucy Crowe. 125min. Janácek’s humorous final opera is brought to the stage (and the screen) by the Glyndebourne Festival. Selected screenings. Goodbye First Love (Un Amour de Jeunesse) (15) ●●●●● (Mia Hansen- Løve, France/Germany, 2011) Lola Créton, Sebastian Urzendowsky, Magne-Håvard Brekke. 110min. Vain, drippy, lugubrious teenager Camille (Créton) falls in and out of love with dumb puppy Sullivan (Urzendowsky). Lots of nice shots of breasts and landscapes don’t alter the fact that this is about unlikable people exchanging faux- profundities. Might work as aversion therapy for people who think they miss being young. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. The Goonies (PG) ●●●●● (Richard Donner, US, 1985) Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen. 112min. Seven kids go in search of buried treasure and are hotly pursued by vicious villains vying for the loot. Scotsman Screening Room, Edinburgh. The Gospel of Us (12A) (Dave McKean, UK, 2012) Michael Sheen, John- Paul Macleod, Hywel Simons. 119min. Sheen stars as a Christ-like figure in this Passion story set in Port Talbot, Wales. Filmhouse screening followed by a Q&A with director McKean. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Great Expectations (PG) ●●●●● (David Lean, UK, 1946) John Mills, Bernard Miles, Finlay Currie. 118min. Lean’s adaptation of the Dickens novel remains cinema’s definitive version, even after half a century, featuring photography and design at their best. Special screening in celebration of Bo’ness’ annual Victorian Street Fair, introduced by Dr Sarah Edwards. The Hippodrome, Bo’ness. Gutted (tbc) (David Peat, UK, 2004) Late photographer David Peat’s BBC Scotland documentary focuses on the plight of the fishing industry. Part of the David Peat season. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. The Harsh Light of Day (tbc) (Oliver S Milburn, UK, 2012) Dan Richardson, Giles Anderson, Sophie Linfield. 90min. After intruders brutally beat his wife to death and leave him paralysed, a writer finds himself a prisoner in his own home and unable to accept that the police have not found his wife’s killers. Selected release from Fri 8 Jun. High Art (18) (Lisa Cholodenko, US, 1999) Ally Sheedy, Radha Mitchell, Patricia Clarkson. 102min. A refreshingly intelligent tale of doomed lesbian love, writer/director Cholodenko’s debut feature chronicles the complex romance between ambitious picture editor Syd (Mitchell) and once famous photographer Lucy Berliner (Sheedy). Lock Up Your Daughters screening, introduced by a special guest. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Highlander (15) ●●●●● (Russell Mulcahy, UK, 1986) Christopher Lambert, Beatie Edney, Sean Connery. 111min. A handful of immortals battle through the centuries to win a mythical prize. A curious mixture of romance in 16th-century heather and car chases in present day New York, the film is an inelegant, often ludicrous, but enjoyably daffy adventure. Double bill with Flash Gordon. See entry above, left. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. Himizu (18) (Shion Sono, Japan, 2011) Shota Sometani, Fumi Nikaido, Tetsu Watanabe. 129min. Adapted from the manga comic of the same name, Himizu tells the story of 14-year-olds Sumida and Keiko living in the aftermath of Japan’s 2011 tsunami. After killing his father, Sumida embarks on a campaign to kill evil- doers in society before breaking free of this violent cycle with the help of Keiko. Selected release from Fri 1 Jun. The Horse (La Horse) (tbc) (Pierre Granier-Deferre, Italy/France/West Germany, 1970) Jean Gabin, Danièle Ajoret, Michel Barbey. 90min. In one of the better examples of Gabin’s later films, he plays a patriarchal landowner who takes on a gang of drug dealers, with dire consequences. Part of the Jean Gabin season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
How I Spent My Summer Vacation (15) ●●●●● (Adrian Grunberg, US, 2012) Mel Gibson, Peter Stormare, Bob Gunton. 95min. A nameless crook (Gibson) crashes his car and is thrown into the sordid Tijuana prison El Pueblito. Star and co-writer Gibson revels in an enjoyable, controversy-free action-comedy with the zing of Lethal Weapon, that even the most ardent Mel-hater would find hard to dislike. Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh; Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow. Hugo (PG) (Martin Scorsese, US, 2011) Asa Butterfield, Chloe Moretz, Ben Kingsley. 127min. Scorsese films Brian Selznick’s book for youngsters, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, with Butterfield as the young orphan thief who becomes embroiled in a mystery involving a stolen key, a cryptic drawing and a mechanical man, courtesy of accomplices Isabelle (Moretz) and shopkeeper Georges (Kingsley). macrobert, Stirling. The Hunger Games (12A) ●●●●● (Gary Ross, US, 2012) Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth. 142min. An adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ dystopian thriller of a novel that successfully transcends its teen-fiction origins, with excellent cast and direction. Showcase Cinema Glasgow, Glasgow; Showcase Cinema Paisley, Paisley. I Am Nasrine (tbc) (Tina Gharavi, UK, 2012) Micsha Sadeghi, Shiraz Haq, Christian Coulson. 88min. British-made drama about a brother and sister from a comfortable Iranian home who are sent to live in the UK, just before the tragedy of 9/11 strikes. Part of Refugee Week. Paisley Arts Centre, Paisley. If I Were You (15) (Joan Carr-Wiggin, Canada/UK, 2012) Marcia Gay Harden, Leonor Watling, Joseph Kell. 115min. Comedy in which two women see to sort out their unhappy lives by adopting a pact to each do what the other tells them to. The twist is that the older of the two knows that the young party girl she has befriended is her husband’s mistress. The two are cast in an amateur production of King Lear, a play that cuts right to the heart of their wrangles with love, loyalty and mortality. General release from Fri 8 Jun.
✽✽ Ill Manors (18) ●●●●● (Ben Drew, UK, 2012) Riz Ahmed, Natalie Press, Mem Ferda. 121min. See review, page 90. General release from Wed 6 Jun. Indecent Proposal (15) ●●●●● (Adrian Lyne, US, 1993) Demi Moore, Robert Redford, Woody Harrelson. 117min. Suave bastard Redford offers poverty- stricken yuppies Moore and Harrelson a million dollars if he can sleep with the lady and dilemma ensues. Killer base material, but Lyne makes a toweringly abominable film out of it. Cavernously empty stuff. Sloans, Glasgow. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (PG) ●●●●● (Steven Spielberg, US, 1981) Harrison Ford, Karen Allen. 115min. Ford plays adventuring archaeologist Indiana Jones, who almost bites off more than he can chew when he turns up at the Ark of the Covenant in Nazi- infested wartime Egypt. Return to the breathless excitement of the Saturday morning serial with this rollercoaster of a movie, which is probably better than either of its sequels. Tongue held very firmly in cheek. Sloans, Glasgow. The Innkeepers (15) ●●●●● (Ti West, US, 2011) Kelly McGillis, Pat Healy, Sara Paxton 102min. A New England inn is about to close down for good, when its final two employees (Paxton and Healy) decide to indulge in some ghost-hunting. Writer- director West allows time for character development and the build up of suspense, creating a genuinely disconcerting chiller. General release from Fri 8 Jun. Jaws (PG) ●●●●● (Steven Spielberg, US, 1975) Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss. 125min. Cracking shark adventure from the days when Spielberg movies were scary. See the citizens of Amity scream! Watch the bodycount pile up! Hear the authorities declare the water perfectly safe! Do it all in 3D! General re-release from Fri 15 Jun. Jeff, Who Lives At Home (15) ●●●●● (Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass, US, 2011) Jason Segel, Ed Helms, Judy Greer.
83min. Jeff (Segel) is a sweet-natured thirtyish loser whose brother Pat (Helms) ropes him into tracking Pat’s possibly adulterous wife (Greer). Diversion (rather than hilarity) ensues, and the film’s tendency to elevate Jeff’s charming hopelessness over the values of those awful people with jobs and families feels somewhat disingenuous and pandering. macrobert, Stirling; Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh; Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow. Jewish Film Club (Various) 90min. Running since 2006, the Jewish Film Club brings a range of documentary, features and shorts to the CCA, with a focus on contemporary cinema. CCA, Glasgow. Jo Nesbo’s Headhunters (Hodejegerne) (15) ●●●●● (Morten Tydlum, Norway, 2011) Askel Hennie, Synnøve Macody Lund. 101min. Roger (Hennie) is a successful headhunter living beyond his means, who supplements his income with a double life as a gentleman thief, until one of his victims (Coster- Waldau) fights back. Tyldum’s adaptation of Jo Nesbo’s novel is somewhere between a Road Runner cartoon and a Coen Brothers thriller: breathlessly, outrageously entertaining. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Johnny English Reborn (PG) (Oliver Parker, US/France/UK, 2011) Rowan Atkinson, Dominic West, Rosamund Pike. 101min. Atkinson reassumes the role of the inept anti-Bond. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Le Jour se Lève (PG) (Marcel Carné, France, 1939) Jean Gabin, Jacqueline Laurent, Arletty. 93min. Gabin’s masculinity and ‘boy-next-door’ charm are put to good use as a tragic working-class hero in this pre-war film which features groundbreaking use of flashbacks. Part of the Jean Gabin season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Kosmos (12A) (Reha Erdem, Turkey/Bulgaria, 2010) Sermet Yesil, Türkü Turan, Serkan Keskin. 122min. A small- town thief appears to turn over a new leaf after he rescues a child from drowning, cures an ill woman and decides that he wants to fall in love. Selected release from Fri 15 Jun. Late September (tbc) (Jon Sanders, 2011) Jan Chappell, Douglas Finch, Bob Goody. 87min. Drama about the tensions among a group of friends in their late middle age. Selected release from Fri 15 Jun. Laura (U) ●●●●● (Otto Preminger, US, 1944) Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb. 88min. A detective (Andrews) becomes fascinated with the eponymous femme (Tierney), who as the story begins is dead – or at least appears to be. Preminger’s terrific film noir is a murder mystery in which it’s neither clear who did it, nor who is the real victim. A masterpiece. Cameo, Edinburgh. Let the Right One In (15) ●●●●● (Tomas Alfredson, Sweden, 2008) Kare Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragna. 114min. Adapted from his debut novel by Swedish horror writer John Ajvide Lindqvist, this chilling coming of age story breathes new life into a tired vampire genre. A work of nuance, sophistication and calmness – the blood soaked poetry of which is not easy to forget. Geek Film Night screening introduced by Denise Mina, who chose the film, in conversation with Mark Millar. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (U) ●●●●● (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, UK, 1943) Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr, Anton Walbrook. 163min. In Powell & Pressburger’s poignant masterpiece, Clive Candy (Livesey, superb) starts out as a hot-headed Boer War hero and ages 40 years into a portly Home Guard general who keeps falling for the same kind of girl (Kerr, luminous). Spry and delightful after nearly 70 years, it’s presented here in a crisp digital restoration. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (15) ●●●●● (Wes Anderson, US, 2005) Bill Murray, Anjelica Huston, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett. 118min.