Issue 698

Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present

A luminous and life-affirming documentary about the Serbian performance artist

While visiting New York’s Museum of Modern Art in May 2010, I found Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovic sitting opposite me. She was in the middle of the performance piece, which gives Matthew Akers’ documentary film its title, sitting silently…

Lis Rhodes: Dissonance and Disturbance

Showcase of artist's film work from last four decades

‘It is dangerous to step out of line – and lethal not to,’ declared Lis Rhodes, British filmmaker and artist, whose work is political, feminist, visually rich and powerfully poetic. Tramway showcases a cross section of her films from the last four…

Where Do We Go Now?

A mix of drama, comedy and musical numbers from Lebanese auteur Nadine Labaki

Lebanese director Nadine Labaki’s debut Caramel was an excellent slice-of-life comedy that offered a human and humorous perspective on contemporary life in Beirut. For her second film she takes ambitious leaps on all fronts, mixing intense drama, broad…

Friends with Kids

Hit-and-miss comedy starring Adam Scott and Jennifer Westfeldt

A hit-and-miss comedy with a silly, but interesting, idea behind it: Jason (Adam Baker) and Julie (Jennifer Westfeldt, also the film’s writer and director) are best friends who decide, based on their married friends’ post-baby relationships, that having…

Artist Alex Simpson works across painting, sculpture and printmaking

Recent commissions include miniature porcelain sculptures for Guinness

In 2010 Alex Simpson graduated with a first class honors degree in Illustration from the University of Brighton, where she received the John Vernon Lord Sketchbook Prize. Alex is a multi disciplinary artist who works intuitively across painting…

Revisiting: The Apartment

Comic charm and caustic humour ensure Billy Wilder’s Oscar-winning film is as appealing as ever

When it was first released back in 1960, The Apartment was a commercial and critical success, securing 10 Oscar nominations and five wins, among them Best Director and Screenplay for its director Billy Wilder and his co-writer IAL Diamond. Four decades…

Elliot Gould and Jim Broadbent to appear at Edinburgh International Film Festival

The stars will head juries for the festival's competitive categories

We knew the film line-up, and now we know who the jury judges are for the 2012 EIFF. Announced today, the list includes talent such as Elliot Gould, Jim Broadbent and Ewen Bremner. Academy Award winner Broadbent is excited about assuming his new role…

Revisiting: Jaws

Spielberg’s thriller returns to the cinema, restored and digitally remastered

Just as the pursuit of its colossal predator cries out for a bigger boat, the much-televised Jaws demands to be seen on a bigger screen – and here’s your chance. Restored and digitally remastered to mark Universal Pictures’ 100th anniversary, Steven…

Rock of Ages

Camp and frequently bizarre 80s-set musical with an all-star cast

With its campometer cranked up to eleven, Rock of Ages is Mamma Mia! in a mullet. This maniacal jukebox musical is based on Chris D’Arienzo’s Broadway and West End hit and features a star cast jettisoning their dignity to sing for their supper. Adam…

Tributes paid to Dundee Rep stalwart Robert Paterson

Tributes have been paid to Robert Paterson, a long-serving member of the Dundee Rep Ensemble, who has died suddenly at the age of 55. Paterson performed in more than 50 productions as part of the highly acclaimed ensemble, taking on numerous ecelctic…

Kosmos

A beautiful but often impenetrable metaphysical drama from Turkish filmmaker Reha Erdem

An icy blast of metaphysical Turkish drama, Reha Erdem’s beautiful, often impenetrable Kosmos delights and frustrates in equal measures. With a growing reputation on the European festival circuit, and as a commercials director, Erdem has constructed a…

The Harsh Light of Day

Impressive low budget debut from Oliver S Milburn about a vigilante occult writer

Cross-pollinating existing genres is an effective way to gain attention, and 23-year-old auteur Oliver S Milburn pulls the trick off with The Harsh Light of Day, a vigilante/vampire thriller. Milburn’s debut is a slight, unpolished micro-budget, yet the…

Late September

Quiet, minimalist drama about the collapse of a three decade long marriage

Unlike teenagers, the growing numbers of older people in today’s society are woefully under-served by cinema, an omission which Jon Sanders’ ultra-low budget feature Late September attempts to redress. Sanders has directed before, with 1999’s…

John Maus - A Collection of Rarities and Previously Unreleased Material

Off-kilter compilation from Ariel Pink and Animal Collective keys-man

Remastered rarities, demos and previously unreleased tracks are generally the preserve of the socially ostracised. Don’t own a stained raincoat and a couple of Can bootlegs? Don’t care. We make an exception for cult hero and part time-Ariel Pink and…

DIIV - Oshin

Wan, dreamy, melancholic, reverb-doused racket from young New Yorkers

The thimble-deep musical gene pool at hipper-than-thou Brooklyn indie label Captured Tracks overfloweth not with the arrival of the debut album by DIIV (formerly Dive), the latest soundalike gang of scruffy young New Yorkers making a wan, dreamy…

Dirty Projectors - Swing Lo Magellan

Difficult and adventurous album mixes discordance and accessibility

(Domino) Fresh from his recent collaboration with Björk, Dave Longstreth appears to have had his mind further opened by several degrees. Upon early listens this album appears to be a work of flawed but undoubtedly ambitious genius, certainly when you…

Kotki Dwa - Staycations

Sprightly delights fill album recorded in National Trust properties

And there we were thinking indie was dead and buried, when all the while Kotki Dwa were round the back of the bike sheds pashing it into life. Produced in collaboration with the National Trust and recorded in many of their historic properties…

Meursault - Something For The Weakened

Cohesive, gorgeous and forceful album from Edinburgh chamber-folk ensemble

You would break your heart – or part with it – for that album title alone, would you not. And that’s before we speak of ‘Hole’, the greatest desolate / optimistic ballad since Smog’s ‘Rock Bottom Riser’. ‘Hole’ slowly burns at the centre of Something…

Slam - Collecting Data

Remixes and new material by Glasgow production duo over last four years

Bookending a prolific four years for Glasgow techno icons Slam, Collecting Data gathers a comprehensive selection of the duo’s remixes and their own material from the period, over two CDs. The first highlights their more house-flavoured output; deep…

David S Ware/Planetary Unknown - Live at Jazzfestival Saalfelden 2011

Free jazz with a strong connection to folk and gospel roots from new quartet

(Aum Fidelity) ‘Out, push it all out into the unknown! Unknown is best’. How apt that Edwin Morgan’s poem ‘At Eighty’ should come to mind upon hearing this extraordinary set from David S Ware’s new quartet. Their elevated group playing is testament to…

The View - Cheeky For a Reason

Further variations on a theme from punk-pop Dundonians

Despite singer Kyle Falconer’s enthusiastic description of his band’s fourth album as ‘Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours as done by The Clash’, it’s more the case that anyone listening to it will know exactly what they’re getting. That’s not a bad thing, mind…

Van Dyke Parks - Song Cycle/Discover America/Clang of the Yankee Reaper

First three 60s-70s vintage solo albums reissued

Until its completion and re-release last year, lyricist and songwriter Van Dyke Parks’ best-known work – the co-composed Beach Boys album Smile – had never seen the light of day. As such, his first three 60s-70s vintage solo albums are now the work of a…

Ebo Taylor - Appia Kwa Bridge

76-year-old Ghanaian highlife legend mixes finger-picking with grainy voice

A happy consequence of the archival boom in 1970s African pop is the return of 76-year-old Ghanaian highlife legend Ebo Taylor. Appia Kwa Bridge might not be innovative, but neither is it a dry exercise in retromania. Despite their scholarly name…

Alex Hutton Trio - Legentis

Sheffield-born pianist showcases folk and classical influences

Sheffield-born pianist Alex Hutton laid out his melodic and compositional strengths on his earlier Songs from the Seven Hills, and they are in evidence again here, but within a wider range of stylistic references. Hints of bands like E.S.T. or The Bad…

Hannes Riepler - The Brave

Austrian guitarist's debut album as player and composer

Austrian guitarist Hannes Riepler has been resident in London for half a dozen years now, and first caught my attention as a sideman with the Andre Canniere Sextet. This debut album as leader makes a strong case for his abilities as both player and…