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Daily:
Day 7 - 15 February
Competition
Love's
Labour's Lost
by Kenneth Branagh
Gotta
sing, gotta dance! That's the message behind Kenneth
Branagh's adaptation of Shakespeare's romantic comedy.
The
action has been updated to the late 1930s, and Branagh's
screenplay interweaves the original text with music
from Irving Berlin, George Gershwin and Cole Porter.
Also
in competition:
Augusti
Villaronga's The
Sea
is a horror film, but dressed in another visual guise,
here a period pic. Set in Mallorca around the time of
the Civil War, two boys witness an execution, the subsequent
revenge and a schoolmate's suicide. "
Shot right after Not One Less, his
Venice prizewinner, The
Road Home shows another side of Zhang Yimou.
In earlier films, his romantic streak has always been
offset by an underlying fatalism, but here in a
celebration of the values he fears China is losing
he gives it free rein.
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Flower
Power
Why
the raining frogs? "I was just trying to be cool... we wanted
it to be cats and dogs but we couldn't afford it," Paul Thomas
Anderson quipped when asked about the astonishing scene in
Magnolia in which thousands of amphibians fall
from the sky. (Producer Joanne Sellar hurried to reassure
the international press that no real-life frogs were squashed.)
Press
conference
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Streaming
video
Julianne Moore received a Valentine's gift at the Magnolia
press conference
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Competition
Love's
Labour's Lost Dir: Kenneth Branagh. Cast: Kenneth
Branagh, Natasha McElhone, Alicia Silverstone. Four
handsome aristocrats swear they'll give up the temptations
of the flesh for three years and devote themselves to
study. Then they
meet a princess and her beautiful companions and their
resolution slowly crumbles. 93 mins.
Wo
De Fu Qin Mu Qin (The Road Home) (China)
Dir: Zhang Yimou. Cast: Zhang Ziyi, Sun Honglei, Zheng
Hao. Businessman Luo Yusheng returns to his village
in northern China to attend his father's funeral.
100 mins +
short Sentinelles. 8 mins.
El
Mar (The Sea) (Catalan) Dir: Augustí
Villaronga. Cast: Roger Casamajor, Bruno Bergonzini,
Angela Molina. Two boys witness an execution, after
which the son of one of the dead men vows revenge
on the son of his father's killer. 107 mins.
Retrospective
Test
Pilota Pirxa (Poland/USSR) (1978) Dir: Marek
Piestrak. Cast: Sergej Desnnickij, Ferdynand Matysik.
The commander of an expedition to Saturn can no longer
distinguish between human beings and robots in the ship's
crew. German version. 95 mins.
Cherry
2000 (US) (1986) Dir: Steve De Jarnatt. Cast:
Melanie Griffith, David Andrews, Pamela Giley. In
the future, human relationships are so complicated
that robot substitutes are preferable. 93 mins.
The
Stepford Wives (US)
(1975) Dir: Bryan Forbes. Cast: Nanette Newman, Katherine
Ross, Paula Prentiss, Peter Masterson. The wives in
a quiet little neighbourhood are almost too good to
be true... 115 mins.
Android
(US) (1982) Dir: Aaron Lipstadt. Cast: Klaus Kinski,
Don Opper, Brie Howard. A scientist on a deserted space
station is working on the creation of a pair of perfect
human beings. German/French subtitles. 80 mins.
Alraune
(German) Dir: Henrik Galeen. Cast: Brigitte
Helm, Paul Wegener, Ivan Petrovich. Live musical accompaniment:
Aljoscha Zimmermann. The romanticism of monsters and
the melancholy of the artificial. (1927). German subtitles.
128
mins.
Natalie
Granger (1972) Dir: Marguerite Duras. Cast:
Jeanne Moreau, Lucia Bosé, Gérard Depardieu.
Two French women live in a villa in the suburbs and
go through the daily monotony of life until a
young man arrives... English subtitles. 85 mins.
Homage:
Robert De Niro
Taxi
Driver (US) (1976) Dir: Martin Scorsese.
Cast: Robert De Niro, Cybill Shepard, Jodie Foster.
Probably De Niro's most famous performance, as
the psychotic taxi driver Travis Bickle.114 mins.
Raging
Bull (US) (1980) Dir: Martin Scorsese.
Cast: Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty.
The rise to fame of a brutal middleweight boxer,
based on the autobiography of Jake La Motta. 129
mins.
Panorama1
Fandango
(Germany) Dir: Mattias Glasner. Cast: Nicolette
Krebitz, Moritz Bleibtreu, Richy Müller.
English subtitles. 103 mins. +
short G. 5 mins.
Saltwater
(Germany) Dir: Conor McPherson. Cast: Peter
McDonald, Brian Cox, Conor Mullen. 94 mins. + short
English Goodbye. 12 mins.
Hanele
(Czech Republic) Dir: Karel Kachyna. Cast: Lada
Jelinkova, Mirloslav Noga, Jiri Ornest. Hanele,
from a Hassidic village, falls in love with a 'city
boy' and a conflict ensues between Jewish people
of different religious factions. English subtitles.
85 mins. +
short Lejania. 8 mins.
The
Promised Land (Russia) Dir: Aleksandr Rechwiaschwili.
Pieced together from archive footage, the story of
East European Jews who long to return to Palestine.
52 mins. +
short Lux Aeterna. 10 mins.
The
Times Of Harvey Milk (US) (1988) Dir: Rob
Epstein, Richard Schmeichen. The story of one of
the most important figures in the American gay rights
movement. 87 mins.
+
short Song From An Angel. 5 mins.
The
Life Before This (Germany) Dir: Jerry Ciccoritti.
Cast: Stephen Rea, Sarah Polley, Catherine O'Hara.
91 mins. +
short Routemaster Dir: Ilppo Pohjola.
16 mins.
Kennedy
Et Moi (Kennedy And Me) (France)
Dir: Sam Karmann. Cast: Jean-Pierre Bacri, Nicole
Garcia, Sam Karmann. Depicts the dynamics of a family
in which the father is undergoing a mid-life crisis.
Eng. subtitles. 86 mins. +
short 2 Divided by 3. 7 mins.
Yek
Rouz Bishtar
(One More Day) (Farsi)
Dir: Babak Payami. Cast: Leila Sa'adi, Ali Hosseini.
A man and a woman's daily meetings appear to be coincidental.
Eng. subtitles. 75 mins. + short Monette.
9 mins.0
Rifleman
Of The Voroshilov Regiment (Russia) Dir:
Stanislav Govoruchin. Cast: Michail Uljanorv, Anna
Sinjakina, Vladimir Semago. A retired soldier takes
revenge on the men who raped his grand-daughter.
Eng. subtitles. 100 mins. +
short Pis' Mo V Ameriku Dir: Kira
Muratova. 21 mins.
Chill
Out (German) Dir: Andreas Struck. Cast:
Sebastian Bloberg, Tatjana Blacher, Barnaby Metschurat.
A twenty-something love triangle in Berlin 's
hip district of Prenzlauer Berg. Eng. subtitles.
90 mins. +
short Puta De Oros. 14 mins.
L'Ombra
Del Gigante (The Shadow Of The Giant)
(Italy) Dir: Roberto Petrocchi. Cast: Margherita
Buy, Arnaud Arbessier, Marisa Solinas. A captain
and his wife have been stationed in a fortress to
guard a mysterious prisoner. No one knows how long
the prisoner has been locked up, but he stirs the
emotions of those who are forbidden to see his face.
Eng. subtitles. 97 mins.
Night
Waltz The Music Of Paul Bowles
(US)
Dir: Owsley Brown. With: Paul Bowles, Philip Ramey.
Author and literary cult figure Bowles reveals
a lesser-known side of his artistic spirit. English.
80 mins. +
short Sparklehorse. 5 mins
The
Virgin Dir: Diego Donnhofer. Cast: Joey
Kern, Kirsty Hinchcliffe, Glen Cruz. Follows three
people on their drug-fuelled wanderings. 90 mins
+
short One Night. 12 mins
Segunda
Piel (Second Skin) (Spain) Dir: Gerardo
Vera. Cast: Javier Bardem, Jordi Molla, Ariadna Gil.
A love triangle becomes deeply tangled. 106 mins.
Se
Quien Eres ( I Know Who You Are) (Spanish)
Dir: Patricia Fierreira. Cast: Miguel Angel Sola,
Ana Fernandez, Roberto Enriquez. A neurologist tries
to piece togther the past of her mysterious patient,
but when his former bosses begin to doubt his amnesia,
it puts him in danger, as he was involved with terrorist
attacks. 100 mins.
Paragraph
175 Dir: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman. Relates
the history of the German anti-homosexuality law,
which was used to prosecute West German homosexuals
until 1969. 81 mins.
Fremdgehen
(Stepping Out) (German) Dir: Eva Heldmann.
Eng. subtitles. Centres on a female protagonist
who wanders the long corridors of a military barracks
in search of sex and pleasure. 64
mins +
short Subterranean (Homesick Blues)
10 mins.
Forum
Zone
M (Germany) Dir: Eduard Schreiber. A region
east of Moscow is known for strange phenenomena.
Some say aliens have landed there, others consider
this ridiculous but everyone in the village
talks about it, even the children. 100 mins
Truths:
A Stream (Japan) Dir: Masahiro Tsuchihashi.
Cast: Yoko Tamashita, Hiroaki Umano. Kyoko receives
a surprise visit from her ex-boyfriend, who has
come to commit suicide. 182 mins.
Saluzzi
(Argentina) Dir: Daniel Rosenfeld. With: Dino Saluzzi.
A famous bandoneon soloist performs on tour. 68
mins.
Atarashii
Kamisama (The New God) (Japan)
Dir: Yutaka Tsuchiya. A thrilling standoff between
a left-wing progressive film-maker and ultra-nationalist
punk rockers devoted to the emperor. English subtitles.
99 mins.9.00
The
Punishment (Austria) Dir: Goran Rebic.
Deals with another aspect of the Balkan War.
100 mins.
Leçons
De Ténèbres (France) Dir:
Vincent Dieutre. A homosexual man goes on a
nightly search for lost beauty. 77 mins.
The
Worlds Of Mei LanFang
(US) Dir: Mei-Juin Chen. English subtitles. 90
mins.
The
Litter On The Breeze First Love
(Hong Kong) Dir: Eric Kot. Cast: Wai Wai. English
subtitles. 93 mins.
Guo
Hai Suidao (Cross Harbour Tunnel)
(Hong Kong) Dir: Lawrence Wong. Cast: Martin Kam,
Anthony Teoh. Eng. subtitles. 93 mins.
Cheung
Fo The Mission (Hong Kong) Dir: Johnnie
To. A failed assassination attempt on Triad boss
Lung brings five killers of diverse backgrounds
together. 81 mins.
Une
Journée D'Andréi Arsenewitch
(France)
Dir: Chris Marker. 55 mins. Buenos
Aires Zero Degree (Hong Kong) Dir: Kwan
Pun-Leung, Amos Lee. Eng. subtitles. 58 mins
Heimkehr
der Jäger (Austria) Dir: Michael Kreihsl.
Cast: Ulrich Tukur, Julia Filimonow. Franz copies
master paintings. He is unbalanced by small events
and, being a thin-skinned individual, is prone to
knee-jerk behaviour. 90 mins.
Wüste
(Germany) Dir: Ebbo Demant. A journey across three
continents in search of the spiritual power of deserts
in such places as Egypt, Jordan and the US.
Zoe
(German) Dir: Maren-Kea Freese. 79 mins
Running
Out Of Time (Hong Kong) Dir: Johnnie To.
Cast: Andy Lau, Lau Ching-Wan. English subtitles.
92 mins.
Shiro
(The White) (Japan) (1999) Dir: Katsuyuki
Hirano. A man and his bicycle are ready to take
an adventure 2, 328 kilometres long.118 mins
Pelon
Maanitiede (Geography Of Fear) (Finland)
Dir: Auli Mantila. Cast: Tanjalotta Raikka, Pertti
Szeholm. Tum accidently kills two thugs. 95 mins.
Kinpatsu
No Sogen (Across A Gold Prairie)
(Japan) (1999) Dir: Isshin Inudo. Cast: Yusuke Iseya,
Chizuru Ikewaki. An 80-year-old man has spent years
confined to his house due to a heart condition.
One morning he wakes up believing to himself to
be 20 again. 96 mins.
Ein
Mensch wie Dieter Golzower (German)
Dir: Barbara and Winfried Junge. The life story
of Dieter, who joins the army and dreams of sailing
the seven seas.122 mins.
New
German Films
Fußball
ist unser Leben (Soccer Rules!)
(Germany) Dir: Tommy Wigand. Cast: Uwe Ochsenknecht,
Ralf Richter, Oscar Ortega. Three friends
are obsessed with football. English subtitles.
92 mins.
Schnee
in der Neujahrsnacht (Snow On
New Year's Eve) (Germany) Dir: Thorsten
Schmidt. Cast: Jürgen Tarrach, Tamara
Simunovic, Hannes Jaenicke. A radio DJ challenges
his listeners to make the last night of
the century a night of small miracles
and they respond. English subtitles. 100
mins.
Absolute
Giganten (Gigantic) (Germany)
Dir: Sebastian Schipper. Cast: Florian Lukas,
Frank Giering, Antoine Monot, Julia Hummer.
Three best friends from Hamburg share one
final, frantic night together before saying
goodbye forever. German, English subtitles.
81 mins.
Nichts
als die Wahrheit (After The Truth)
(Germany) Dir: Roland Suso Richter. Cast:
Kai Wiesinger, Götz George, Karoline
Eichhorn. A young lawyer is obsessed with
Mengele, Auschwitz's 'angel of death'. English
subtitles. 128 mins.
Kinderfest0.
Dokhtari
Ba Kafsh-Haye-Katani
Dir: Rassul Sadr Ameli. English subtitles. 110 mins.0
Rang-E-Khoda
(The Colour of Paradise) Dir: Majid Majidi.
A blind boy experiences sight which reawakens
his senses. 88 min
Man
Van Staal (Man Of Steel) Dir: Vincent
Bal. A mixture of tragedy and comedy. A 13-year-old
boy becomes a man of steel in his dreamworld,
where he encounters his dead father. 85 mins.
Tri
Brata (Three Brothers) (Kazakhstan/
Japan) Dir: Serik Aprymov. English
subtitles. 119 mins. +
short Pugalo.
15 mins.
Sondervorführung:
Kruimeltje (Netherlands) Dir: Maria
Peters. English subtitles. 119 mins.
Manolito
Gafotas (Manolito Four Eyes)
(Spain) Dir: Miguel Albaladejo. A family lives
in a working-class Madrid neighbourhood. 90
mins.
Mr
Rice's Secret Dir: Nicholas Kendall. A cancer-stricken
boy overcomes his fears and makes a miraculous discovery
which resurrects his will to live. 92 mins.
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