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All articles by Allan Hunter – Page 64
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Reviews
8.17pm, Darling Street (20.17, Rue Darling)
Dir: Bernard Emond. Canada. 2003. 101minsInexplicable tragedy prompts a soul-searching quest for the meaning of life in 8.17pm Darling Street, a modestly effective but resolutely glum second feature from writer-director Bernard Emond whose debut, La Femme Qui Boit also screened in Critics' Week in 2001. Addressing the guilt of those ...
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Reviews
Vodka Lemon
Dir: Hiner Saleem. France/Italy/Switzerland/Armenia. 2003. 84minsThe bittersweet realities of a post-Communist world are threatening to create a mini movie genre. A good deal of the sly humour in Good Bye, Lenin! stemmed from a nostalgic longing for life before the fall of the Berlin Wall. In Vodka Lemon, a snowy, ...
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Reviews
Touching The Void
Dir: Kevin Macdonald. UK. 2003. 106 minsAn extraordinary story of human survival is transformed into an exceptional human interest documentary in Touching The Void. Director Kevin Macdonald's first theatrical project since the Oscar-winning One Day In September is as dramatic and compelling as any Hollywood fiction but carries a much ...
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Reviews
Underworld
Dir: Len Wiseman. US-UK-Germany-Hungary. 2003. 121 mins.A laughable exercise in Gothic gloom and pulpy horror movie cliches, Underworld is strictly for genre fans. The potential novelty of an age old blood feud between vampires and werewolves quickly fades in a film that sticks rigidly to the tried and trusted elements ...
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Reviews
Shattered Glass
Dir: Billy Ray. US. 2003. 99 mins.An utterly absorbing dramatisation of contemporary true events, Shattered Glass is a welcome reminder of the serious-minded venture that was once more prevalent in mainstream American cinema. A modern morality tale that reflects the clash between ambition and integrity, it recalls the kind of ...
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News
Girl With A Pearl Earring
Dir: Peter Webber. UK/Luxembourg. 2003. 95 mins Crafted with all the delicate judgement and fine brushstrokes of an Old Master, Girl With A Pearl Earring is an exquisitely understated period drama rich in atmosphere and emotion. A faithful adaptation of the Tracey Chevalier best-seller, this marks an auspicious feature debut ...
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Reviews
Girl With A Pearl Earring
Dir: Peter Webber. UK/Luxembourg. 2003. 95 mins Crafted with all the delicate judgement and fine brushstrokes of an Old Master, Girl With A Pearl Earring is an exquisitely understated period drama rich in atmosphere and emotion. A faithful adaptation of the Tracey Chevalier best-seller, this marks an auspicious feature debut ...
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Reviews
Bright Young Things
Dir: Stephen Fry. UK. 2003. 105 mins Actor, author, wit and incomparable awards host, Stephen Fry can now add auteur to his considerable list of achievements. The renaissance man of British entertainment, Fry has captured all the anxious, frazzled spirit of Evelyn Waugh's novel Vile Bodies in an exuberant directorial ...
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Reviews
Afterlife
Dir: Alison Peebles. UK. 2003. 104 minsMaterial that might seem hackneyed or maudlin in less skilful hands emerges as a moving, emotion-charged drama in Afterlife. The story of a journalist torn between professional ambition and family responsibilities is distinguished by intelligent writing, sensitive direction and stand-out performances from Kevin McKidd ...
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News
Edinburgh closes with Splendor
It may have been a tough year for securing titles and attracting talent but the 57th Edinburgh International Film Festival closed in style on Sunday with the British premiere of Sundance prize-winner American Splendor. Earlier in the day star Paul Giamatti and cartoonist Harvey Pekar, the subject of the film, ...
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Reviews
Solid Air
Dir: May Miles Thomas. UK. 2003. 113minsA doleful examination of social injustice and family heartache, Solid Air is a remarkably polished and painfully personal second feature from BAFTA-winning Scots director May Miles Thomas. Dedicated to her father and others who have suffered from asbestos-related illnesses, the film's unrelenting intensity creates ...
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News
Arthouse films benefit from Edinburgh exposure
Speaking at last year's Edinburgh premiere of All Or Nothing, Mike Leigh declared that he could think of no better event in Britain to launch a new film. His words might yet come to be seen as the guiding ethos of this year's Festival where Jim Sheridan's warm-hearted family drama ...
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Reviews
Intermission
Dir: John Crowley. Ireland. 2003. 106minsAn abrasive, sour-tasting ensemble piece, Intermission is a giddy Irish attempt to muscle in on the kind of territory previously mined by the likes of Amores Perros and Happiness. Ambitious in its scope, it has a confident swagger to its execution but lacks the originality ...
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News
Stroke Of Genius tees up in Scotland
Scottish-based production company McDongall films is to co-ordinate the Scottish element of the $15m US indie biopic Bobby Jones - Stroke Of Genius, which starts shooting in St Andrews on August 24. Directed by Rowdy Herrington, the LLC, Dean River Productions film stars Jim Caviezel as the legendary American golfer ...
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News
Eastwood's Mystic River pulls out of Edinburgh
The critically acclaimed Clint Eastwood thriller Mystic River has been pulled from the Edinburgh International Film Festival (Aug 13-24) programme. One of the Festival's star attractions, the film was set for two sell-out screenings next week but has been withdrawn by distributor Warner Brothers who have claimed 'unforeseen scheduling conflicts' ...
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Reviews
Wondrous Oblivion
Dir: Paul Morrison. UK. 2003. 106minsA poignant, warm-spirited coming-of-age drama, Wondrous Oblivion represents a significant advance in the career of writer-director Paul Morrison. Oscar-nominated for his melodramatic Welsh language feature debut Solomon And Gaenor (1998), Morrison now reveals a much more assured touch in balancing personal dilemmas with wider social ...
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Reviews
Calendar Girls
Dir: Nigel Cole. UK. 2003. 108minsThe timing could not be more auspicious for Calendar Girls. A summer of under-performing one hit wonders suggests an audience that is weary of empty spectacle and hungry for old-fashioned entertainment. Calendar Girls isn't cutting edge. It can't boast state-of-the-art effects. It hasn't been inspired ...
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Reviews
Charlie: The Life And Art Of Charles Chaplin
Dir: Richard Schickel. US. 2003. 125minsAn admiring portrait of an artist who helped create the language of film comedy, Charlie: The Life And Art Of Charles Chaplin does an honourable job of covering the many facets of a complex and controversial figure. A straightforward mixture of talking heads and extensive ...
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Reviews
Japanese Story
Dir: Sue Brooks. Australia. 2003. 107minsA seemingly conventional mixture of life-changing road movie and cross-cultural romance becomes something much more interesting and intense thanks to an unexpected plot twist in the final third of Japanese Story. It may come too late for some viewers who will have already lost patience ...
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Reviews
Kiss Of Life
Dir: Emily Young. UK-Fr. 2003. 86minsA slender but soulful feature debut from award-winning shorts director Emily Young, Kiss Of Life attempts to grapple with the big issues of life, death, love and family. An overly cerebral approach to what could have been quite emotionally-charged material means that the film feels ...