All articles by Allan Hunter – Page 61
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Reviews
Somersault
Dir/scr: Cate Shortland.Australia. 2004. 106 minsA haunting little story ofsex, guilt, love and all the confusion in between, Somersault marks aquietly impressive feature debut from writer-director Cate Shortland after astring of award-winning shorts. The interaction between a number of complex,interestingly developed characters is set against the unusual beauty of remoterural ...
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Reviews
Nobody Knows (Daremo Shiranai)
Dir/scr: Kore-edaHirokazu. Japan. 2004. 141mins.A nightmare scenario ofparental neglect is rendered as a plaintive neo-realist ode to childhood inthis long-gestating project from writer-director Kore-eda Hirokazu. Inspired bya true event from the late 1980s, NobodyKnows offers a closely-observed portrait of four youngsters seeking tomaintain some semblance of normality after their mother ...
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Reviews
Aftermath (Lad De Sma Born)
Dir: Paprika Steen.Denmark. 2004. 100 minsAn award-winning presence in a string of Dogme films (Festen, Mifune,Open Hearts etc), actress Paprika Steen takes a very different stylisticapproach in her assured directorial debut. Aftermath is a polished, mournfulexamination of grief distinguished by its careful compositions, deeply feltperformances and rigid avoidance of sentimentality.Its ...
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Reviews
Exiles (Exils)
Dir/scr: Tony Gatlif.France. 2004. 103minsDirector Tony Gatlif'syearning to return to the land of his childhood is the guiding motivationbehind Exiles, a polished road movie journey of self-discovery thattakes place between France and Algeria. Unfortunately, it is the local colour,vibrant locations and use of music that linger in the memory rather ...
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Reviews
The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers
Dir: Stephen Hopkins. US. 2004. 129 minsA tour de forceperformance from Geoffrey Rush is the star attraction and saving grace of The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers, aflashy, highly selective biography of the late comedian. Sellers signaturecharacter was the defective detective Inspector Clouseau but Chance in Being There appears ...
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Reviews
2046
Dir/scr: Wong kar-wai. HongKong. 2004. 128 minsThe title may suggest aspace age drama but Wong Kar-Wai's long-awaited 2046 proves to be anelaborate, languorous continuation of In The Mood For Love that revisitsthe Tony Leung character as he once again struggles with the impermanence andimpossibility of true love. The restraint and ...
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News
Motorcycle revs up embattled Cannes
Last month, festival programmer Thierry Fremaux promised thatCannes 2004 would be a festival of Confirmations and Discoveries. TheFestival's reputation depended on it after widespread criticisms of the eventin 2003. It has been touch and go at times but the competition titles have justabout delivered on his promise.Walter Salles' stirringly compassionate ...
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Reviews
Look At Me (Comme Une Image)
Dir/scr:Agnes Jaoui. France. 2004. 110minsFiveyears after her hugely successful directorial debut Le Gout Des Autres,Agnes Jaoui rewards her impatient admirers with Look At Me (Comme UneImage), a wise and witty ensemble exploration of individuals attempting toovercome their own insecurities and the wounding tyranny of other people'sexpectations. Reminiscentof vintage Woody Allen, ...
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Reviews
The Assassination Of Richard Nixon
Dir:Niels Mueller. US. 2004. 103minsLastyear at Cannes, Mystic River marked out Sean Penn as an early best actorOscar contender. This year, The Assassination Of Richard Nixon doesexactly the same. Currently in the prime of his career, Penn adds to his recentrun of outstanding work with a performance that captures every ...
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Reviews
Fahrenheit 911
Dir/scr: Michael Moore.US. 2004. 112minsA generation ago, thedogged, unwavering efforts of investigative journalists Bob Woodward and CarlBernstein helped to dislodge a president from power. Times change but couldhistory repeat itself with Fahrenheit 911' Probably not, but MichaelMoore's blistering documentary offers such a comprehensive assault on thefailings, lies and deceptions of ...
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Reviews
Life Is A Miracle (Zivot Je Cudo)
Dir:Emir Kusturica. Fr-Serb-Mont. 2004. 154minsExperiencingan Emir Kusturica film is like being stone cold sober in a room of drunken,overwrought revellers. Life Is A Miracle is no exception. A boisterousbear hug of a film, it explores the bitter ironies of the Bosnian-Serbianconflict with an irrepressible appetite for the joys and sorrows ...
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Reviews
The Calcium Kid
Dir:Alex De Rakoff. UK-US-Fr. 2004. 89mins.Orlando Bloom's post-Lord Of The Rings appeal will be sorely testedby The Calcium Kid, a title fight mockumentary that packs a puny punch.A world removed from the genre-defining classics of Christopher Guest and histroupe, this uninspired effort has more in common with parochial British farelike ...
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Reviews
Bad Education (La Mala Educacion)
Dir/scr: Pedro Almodovar. Spain. 2004. 104 minsPedro Almodovar's status as Europe's most distinctive and bankable auteur is effortlessly maintained with Bad Education, a rich fusion of film noir and melodrama spun with all the intricacy of a spider's web. Autobiographical memories and Almodovar's trademark preoccupations with death and desire are ...
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Reviews
Death In Gaza
Dirs: James Miller/ Misha Manson-Smith. UK/US. 2004. 80minsJames Miller was considered one of his generation's most observant witnesses to war. An Emmy-winning journalist who had reported from Bosnia, Lebanon and Iraq, he was shot dead by an Israeli soldier in May 2003. Miller was just 34 and had been working ...
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Reviews
Blind Flight
Dir: John Furse. UK. 2003. 96 minsExceptional performances from Ian Hart and Linus Roache lend a compelling authority to the true story of hostages Brian Keenan and John McCarthy. Both actors get under the skin of two very different characters, capturing their individual personalities but also illuminating the common humanity ...
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Reviews
Hush Hush Baby (Shouf Shouf Haibibi)
Dir: Albert ter Heerdt. The Netherlands. 2004. 88minsThe ever expanding borders of the European Union have pushed immigration to the top of the political agenda. Hush, Hush Baby touches on some of the serious global issues surrounding the topic but is generally happy to settle for broad, knockabout comedy and ...
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News
Sylvain Chomet does tartan jig
Oscar-nominated animator Sylvain Chomet is reported to be considering establishing a base in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh.Chomet, an Oscar contender for The Triplets Of Belleville, will be working with Four Way Pictures, the Scottish company established by Robert Carlyle, Antonia Bird, Irvine Welsh and Mark Cousins.The Triplets Of Belleville ...
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Reviews
Silmido
Dir: Kang Woo-suk. South Korea. 2003. 133 minsIf Quentin Tarantino ever gets around to his men on a mission flick, he could do worse than cast an eye over Silmido. Kang woo-suk's muscular tale of Death Row desperados combines brawn and brain to compelling effect. The political complexities of a ...
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Reviews
Twin Sisters (De Tweeling)
Dir: Ben Sombogaart. Netherlands. 2002. 135minsProving that Miramax doesn't have a monopoly on well-crafted, Oscar-friendly literary adaptations, Twin Sisters is a sweeping version of the European best-seller by Tessa de Loo. A straightforward account of twin sisters separated by family circumstances and the bitter divisions in wartime Europe, it should ...
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News
Scotland's New Found scheme to back two more features
The New Found Films scheme has announced that it will finance two further low-budget Scottish digital features.The scheme, run by Scottish Screen, Scottish Television and Grampian Television, offers production companies a budget of £300,000 to make a feature that has relevance to Scotland and is capable of international release.The first ...