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The Rest Of January's Theatrical Releases
The big movies out this month include The Theory Of Everything, Birdman, Enemy, Into The Woods, Foxcatcher, Taken 3, Kingsman: The Secret Service. American Sniper, Point And Shoot, Testament Of Youth, Wild, Whiplash, Ex Machina, The Gambler and A Most Violent Year. But here we review a selection of the other new releases. Remember to keep an eye out because we'll be adding more each week.
THE GREEN RAY
Dumped by her boyfriend, let down by a pal and dividing her summer between the beach, the Alps, and staying in Paris, Delphine (Marie Rivire) feels suffocated by the attention of well-meaning couples, irked by the chit-chat-up lines (this is France) of various guys. The standout entry in Eric Rohmers six-film Comedies And Proverbs series, 1986s The Green Ray presents a fascinating portrait of a woman wed now recognise as depressed. As ever with Rohmer, he observes more in the quiet moments than most directors would find in pages of dialogue. Out 2 January Jamie Graham
DYING OF THE LIGHT
Nicola s Cage is Evan Lake, a CIA chief who, after being forced into early retirement by illness, goes hunting for the terrorist that tortured him decades earlier. Sleep-directed by Paul Schrader from his own script, this revenge thriller is a mess of stereotypes and Dammit! dialogue. While Alexander Karim makes a charismatic Bin Laden avatar, Cage twitches and roars in just about the least subtle depiction of dementia ever attempted. It should be noted that Schraders original edit was recut by the distributor his original version may not have been any better, but it cant have been any worse than this one. Out 2 January Emma Morgan
ARE YOU HERE
Mad Men creator Matthew Weiners switch to the big screen retains the men and madness, but forgets style and substance. Owen Wilson plays Steve, a shallow TV weatherman who heads home to support pal Ben (Zach Galifianakis) when the latters dad dies. With a premise that resembles a once-removed take on Elizabethtown and Garden State, could Weiner be satirising the get-back-to-your-roots comedy-drama sub-genre? If only. Instead, its an awkwardly sincere, snoozy addition to the country-fried canon. Out 2 January Simon Kinnear
THE LAST OF THE UNJUST
A further offcut from the 350 or so hours of interviews Claude Lanzmann shot for his epic holocaust documentary Shoah (1985), Unjust features a single respondent: Benjamin Murmelstein, last President of the Jewish Council in the Nazis show ghetto of Theresienstadt. His job was to negotiate with the jailers, leading some survivors to accuse him of collaboration. He justifies himself with unfailing fluency; and which of us, in his place, could have done better? As testimonial its invaluable; as cinema, less so. Over three-and-a-half hours of interviews with one man makes for an arid viewing experience. Out 9 January Philip Kemp
NATIONAL GALLERY
Veteran documentarian Frederick Wiseman (the recent At Berkeley) delivers another of his institutional portraits in the form of this extended visit to the Trafalgar Square landmark. As concerned with the daily admin and upkeep of the gallery as it is with (frequent) lectures on the paintings, this offers a truly fascinating glimpse of the daily hassle it takes to offer you some of historys finest artworks for free. Bear in mind, though, that this is every bit as much of a theatrical must-see as Interstellar the meditative pace may make your smartphone that bit too much of a temptation at home, and itd be your loss. Out 9 January Andrew Lowry
EREBUS: INTO THE UNKNOWN
A mountain, a plane crash, a mystery, men at work In its taut, fuss-free orchestration of compelling ingredients, Charlotte Purdys take on a tragedy reminds us how gripping focused docu-making can be. In 1979, a sightseeing plane crashed on Antarcticas Mount Erebus, killing 257 passengers. The street cops ordered to find the bodies knew nothing of deadly snowy terrain, so what follows sees Purdy marshalling moving talking-head reports and impressive dramatic recreation to fold a teasing investigation into a semi-survivalist tale of everyday men facing the worlds scariest monster: wayward, indifferent nature. Herzog would approve. Out 9 January Kevin Harley
PAPER SOULS
Writer Paul (Stphane Guillon) pens funeral orations to preserve memories of the deceased. But when Emma (Julie Gayet) commissions him to write about her husband, Paul miraculously conjures the dead man (Jonathan Zacca) back to life. Vincent Lannoos cutesy, serio-comic drama doesnt qualify as a zombie flick. Instead, its a Frankenstein patchwork of cloying sentimentality that is too benign to mine its inherent dark humour. Contrived from the start, the storys ever-changing internal logic exists only to serve its paper-thin platitudes about moving on from tragedy. Out 16 January Simon Kinnear
DUCK SOUP
The Marx Brothers go to war in the quartets finest film, the wellspring for future military satires from Dr. Strangelove to Team America. Groucho plays Rufus T. Firefly, unlikely ruler of Freedonia, Chico and Harpo are the spies sent to topple him (and Zeppo, in his final role, is well, never mind about that). The wisecracks, slapstick and surrealism never stop in a lean 68 minutes, directed and edited by Laurel and Hardy veteran Leo McCarey with such demented pace and freeform structure it makes much modern comedy look risk-averse. Difficult to pick a highlight, but Groucho and Harpos immaculately performed mirror scene will never get tired. Out 16 January Simon Kinnear
BEYOND CLUELESS
Where Room 237 added a comic slant to fan theories of The Shining, Beyond Clueless does the opposite, sucking the fun from the teen-movie genre via a clip-show thesis that offers little insight. Morosely narrated by Fairuza Balk, its more hypnotic video installation than doc, dryly highlighting the hormonal horniness and social expectations within coming-of-age tales rather than the vicarious entertainment. More lesser-known titles (e.g. Idle Hands, The Rage: Carrie 2) are recapped than classics; John Hughes movies and Heathers are notably absent. Students of the genre are better off either watching the movies or heading to the librarys film-studies section. Out 23 January Emma Morgan
LE MAISON DE LA RADIO
Doc-maker Nicola s Philibert scored a huge hit with tre Et Avoir (2002), his charming study of a tiny French primary school in the Auvergne. This one is unlikely to enjoy such universal appeal, since few outside France will be familiar with its subject matter, but its still highly watchable. Were shown 24 hours in the life of Radio France, Gallic counterpart of BBC Radio: the staff, the announcers, the interviewees, the performers, the outside broadcasts. High point is Composition aux lastiques by Pierre Bastien, a guy who makes music with Meccano, a wonky 45rpm turntable, rubber bands and assorted junk. Its a delight. Out 23 January Philip Kemp
TRASH
Stephen Daldry and Richard Curtis join forces for this South American Slumdog Millionaire, adapting Andy Mulligans novel about three Rio street kids (Rickson Tevies, Eduardo Luis, Gabriel Weinstein) embroiled in a conspiracy involving murder, corrupt politicians and brutal law enforcers. Rooney Mara and Martin Sheen play the white liberals trying to do the right thing, though both are overshadowed by the trio of Brazilian whippersnappers. Props to Daldry for drawing fine, energetic performances from them (shades of his 2000 hit Billy Elliot), but the Curtis-ification of the story leaves it feeling too neatly tied up. Even the landfills look clean. Out 30 January James Mottram
AU REVOIR LES ENFANTS
French New Wave veteran Louis Malle waited until well into his career to do justice to a pivotal moment from his childhood, in his autobiographical, award-winning drama from 1987. Gaspard Manesse plays Malles alter-ego Julien, a schoolboy in Nazi-occupied France who befriends new kid Jean (Raphal Fejt), only to learn the latters life-threatening secret. Strip away the historical context, and this would still be a keenly observed, charming study of boyhood amid the rough-and-tumble of school days. Yet the undercurrent of wartime tension is unmistakable, and the directors personal stake in the material brings a deeply poignant sense of anger and regret. Out 30 January Simon Kinnear
PELO MALO
The title translates as bad hair, hinting at the unusual scope of writer/director Mariana Rondns social-realist drama. Nine-year-old Junior (Samuel Zambrano) lives on a Venezuelan housing estate with his single mum Marta (Samantha Castillo) and baby brother. She worries about work, he obsesses with straightening his hated curly locks putting the two on collision course over her fears about his sexuality. A plausible portrait of how minor battles are waged when the war cant be won, brilliantly acted and emotionally tough, though it suffers from a low-key, overly repetitive narrative. Out 30 January Simon Kinnear
NO MANIFESTO: A FILM ABOUT MANIC STREET PREACHERS
Starting in 2005, this amateurish doc from Michael Moore acolyte Elizabeth Marcus aims to capture the real Manics: sturdy yawping frontman James Dean Bradfield, fucking grumpy dog-lover bassist Nicky Wire and sweet gun-nut drummer Sean Moore. Clips from their 90s heyday and items from Wires archive are a treat, and they still give great soundbite (We grew up in an optimum time to be angry). Sadly the wobbly, out-of-focus footage, endless sofa shots and camera-hogging fans neutralise any allure. Out 30 January Emma Morgan
I AM YOURS
Mina (Game Of Thrones Amrita Acharia) is 27, divorced, living in Oslo, a Norwegian of Pakistani immigrant stock. She has a demanding six-year-old son, censorious parents, a stalled acting career, and her attempts to find a satisfying sex life seem doomed to disaster. The feature debut of director Iram Haq, this paints a sympathetic picture of a woman struggling with the competing demands of inherited and adopted cultures, of parenthood and personal needs and making a whole series of ill-fated choices. Its all underscored by Acharias intensely felt performance. Out 30 January Philip Kemp
TALES OF THE GRIM SLEEPER
Nick Broomfields tenacious docu-methods open up a writhing can of worms in this portrait of a South LA serial killer. How did Lonnie Franklin Jr kill so many women and evade arrest? Because authorities didnt care about victims who were, mostly, black prostitutes. Shakier talkers aside, many interviewees here provide potent oral histories of poverty, racism and neglect. Garrulous former crack-addict Pam leads the way, but Broomfields moving expos hits hardest in comments like this one: I was out there, says an ex-prostitute. That doesnt mean Im nothing. Out 30 January Kevin Harley
