All articles by Jonathan Romney – Page 46
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Reviews
Lilo & Stitch
Dirs: Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois. US. 2002. 85mins.Lilo & Stitch may not push the animation envelope much, but with its modestly scaled story and retro cartooning techniques, this endearing ugly duckling tale could still give Disney its biggest traditionally animated summer hit in years. The film's $35.3m opening weekend US ...
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Reviews
10
Dir: Abbas Kiarostami. Iran/France 2002. 94 mins. In competitionA defiantly no-frills exercise even by his ascetic standards, 10 is Abbas Kiarostami's triumphant vindication of digital video's potential to produce a kind of cinema that cannot be achieved by other means. This is screen minimalism at its most uncompromising: 10 sequences ...
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Reviews
Unknown Pleasures (Ren Xiao Yao)
Dir: Jia Zhang-Ke. China 2002. 113 mins. CompetitionA film about teenage aimlessness that evokes its subject only too well, the third feature by Jia Zhang-Ke, director of Xiao Wu and Platform, is a loose, funky digital venture that undoubtedly feels as if it captures the authentic beat of contemporary Chinese ...
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Reviews
REVIEW: Demonlover
Dir: Olivier Assayas. France 2002. 129mins. Screened in CompetitionDemonlover is the latest victim of the French tradition whereby a highly respected director over-reaches drastically, eliciting critical calumny and press-show booing - something that has happened in Cannes to the likes of Beineix, Carax and Kassovitz. It is a shame to ...
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Reviews
The Man Without A Past (Mies Vailla Menneisyytta)
Dir: Aki Kaurismaki. Finland. 2002. 97mins. Screening in CompetitionA low-life comedy-drama guaranteed to leave the viewer feeling high, the latest from Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki has all of his distinctive features: poker-faced humour, stripped-down and highly composed visuals, and a humanist romantic sensibility. All combine to make The Man Without ...
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Reviews
The Man Without A Past (Mies Vailla Menneisyytta)
Dir: Aki Kaurismaki. Finland. 2002. 97mins. Screening in CompetitionA low-life comedy-drama guaranteed to leave the viewer feeling high, the latest from Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki has all of his distinctive features: poker-faced humour, stripped-down and highly composed visuals, and a humanist romantic sensibility. All combine to make The Man Without ...
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Reviews
REVIEW: Kedma
Dir: Amos Gitai. Israel/France/Italy 2002. 100 mins.Following films such as Kadosh and his last Cannes entry Kippur, Kedma is the latest of Amos Gitai's provocative inquiries into Israeli history and identity. Set in 1948, seven days before the creation of the state of Israel, Kedma proposes a return to historical ...
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News
London Film Critics applaud Moulin Rouge
Moulin Rouge claimed three of the main awards bestowed by the London Film Critics Circle on Feb 13 at London's Dorchester Hotel.The film's stars, Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman won British actor of the year and International actress of the year respectively, while the movie itself was awarded international film ...
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News
France's UGC to enter UK distribution market
French major UGC is planning to give foreign-language films a massive boost in the notoriously tough UK market by launching a UK distribution presence early next year.Plans for the initiative are being hammered out by UGC International executive Louisa Dent, who will oversee acquisitions for the venture. Dent, who declined ...
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News
Chan's biggest opener in four years is no accident
Golden Harvest allowed no mishaps with the release of Jackie Chan's latest title, The Accidental Spy. Teddy Chan's US$25m action-comedy, which opened over the highly competitive Chinese New Year period on 49 screens, has proved Chan's biggest opener in four years, taking US$1.78m in its first week on release. January ...
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News
Korean murder mystery breaks admissions record
A murder mystery film thought to be Korea's first film shot on Super-35mm, has become the country's highest grossing film with 5.8 million admissions.Tipped for a slot at next month's Berlin International Film Festival, possibly in competition, Joint Security Area portrays the secret friendship between a group of North and ...
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News
Kuratorium budget to be slashed
German public film funding body, the Kuratorium of Young German Cinema, is facing a 12% budget cut, which it claims could jeopardise its future existence. The Wiesbaden-based fund has played a key role in the last 35 years in launching of the careers of German film-makers such as Roland Emmerich, ...
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News
Hallmark taps German fund for feature, TV slate
German fund specialist ALCAS is launching a Euros216.6m operating fund to back three TV mini-series and two feature film projects from US-based producer Hallmark Entertainment.Shooting has already begun at the UK's Pinewood Studios on Hallmark's $90m feature Dinotopia, which will also be distributed in a three-part TV version. The project ...
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German culture minister Naumann quits post
Michael Naumann, the German culture minister who oversaw the controversial departure of Berlin International Film Festival chief Moritz de Hadeln, has stepped down after just two years in the job.Julian Nida-Ruemelin, the City of Munich's Arts Officer, is to succeed him. Naumann, a former publishing executive in Germany and the ...
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News
ALCAS launches fund for Paramount quartet
German fund specialist ALCAS is offering the investing public a slice of four upcoming Paramount features including the next film in the Tom Clancy franchise, The Sum Of All Fears, and Ben Stiller comedy Zoolander.Investors are being invited to contribute at least $43,000 (DM100,000) to a $280m (DM650m) fund, which ...
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News
MBP backs Sides with second fund
German finance house MBP has launched its second tranche of investment, through which it will back Istvan Szabo's $10.5m Taking Sides amongst other projects. The Munich-based outfit plans to raise up to $42.7m (DM100m) from German individuals seeking to lessen their tax burden by the end of 2001. Taking Sides, ...
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Hannover Leasing throws $150m into Rings trilogy
Munich-based leasing company Hannover Leasing (HL) has established a $150m (DM350.5m) fund to finance the third installment in New Line Cinema's $270m The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, The Return Of The King, which Peter Jackson is directing.Private German individuals looking for a way to reduce their tax burden in ...
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Victory Media to finance EM.TV internet venture
Private German film fund Victory Media plans to co-finance EM.TV & Merchandising's proposed internet platform Junior Web through its 16th MultiMediaFonds.The fund, which plans to raise the necessary capital from private individual investors by mid-December, will channel about $29m (DM66m) into the web-site and about $25m (DM57) into co-producing nine ...
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Germany's NSF, MME unveil plans to float
Despite the stormy times currently besetting the capital markets, another two German production outfits - Me, Myself and Eye Entertainment (MME) and Neue Sentimental Film (NSF) - are planning to join the 30-odd media companies listed on Frankfurt's Neuer Markt exchange.Hamburg-based MME has employed Commerzbank to co-ordinate the flotation of ...
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News
Arranque pacts with Helkon subsidiary
Hamburg-based production outfit Arranque Film has concluded a first-look deal with KinoFilm Muenchen, a subsidiary of German production and distribution group Helkon Media.Arranque Film was founded by German actor Kai Wiesinger, his sister Kati Wiesinger and wife Chantal de Freitas in 1999 to develop projects for cinema and TV. This ...