DIRECTED BY Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
STARRING Max Von Sydow, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Eusebio Poncela
Opens April 11, Cert 15, 108 Mins
Coming on like a cross between David Fincher's The Game and M Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable, the debut feature from writer/director Fresnadillo is a twisted, ingeniously constructed thriller.
A former Uncut film of the month, shamefully under-promoted by the British film industry. Imaginatively based on the cult BS Johnson novel, it stars Nick Moran as a misanthropic bank clerk who elects to wreak vengeance on society for perceived injustices. A sort of Billy Liar with fire in its belly, it's intense, inventive and, finally, explosive.
Brilliant comedy about snobbery and class, set in 1947: with food rationing (and the black market) still in operation, chiropodist Michael Palin and his piano teacher wife Maggie Smith discover the only way to climb the social ladder is to steal a pig. Great cast, but Alan Bennett's screenplay's the real star.
Celso Fonseca is a Brazilian singer-songwriter who has worked with the likes of Caetano Veloso, Milton Nascimento and Gilberto Gil, as well as appearing on Bebel Gilberto's worldwide hit Tanto Tempo. Billed as his first international album, Natural is a pleasant affair of light bossa/samba, laidback in style and chilled-out in performance. The problem is that no translation of the lyrics is provided, which makes the "international" claim puzzling Mood music at best, then, for non-Brazilians.
