St Magnus Centre, Kirkwall, 12 April 2007

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies THE TIRED old cliches of the inspirational teacher/pupil relationship are refreshingly reinvented in ‘Half Nelson’. This is not the kind of formula fare like ‘Dangerous Minds’ or ‘Coach Carter’ that encourages you to cheer the triumph of the underdog. Instead, it offers a haunting snapshot of the unlikely friendship that […]

Glen Urquhart Public Hall, 13 April 2007

Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, until 28 April 2007

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies THE SPECTACULAR ‘Curse Of The Golden Flower’ (Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia) is the concluding film in director Zhang Yimou’s ‘wushu’ trilogy. Following on from ‘House Of Flying Daggers’ and ‘Hero’, it is a much darker and more oppressive film. It feels like a mixture of grand opera […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies POLITICIAN and media mogul Silvio Berlusconi casts a long shadow over the recent history of Italy. Nanni Moretti attempts to confront his influence and his legacy in the wide-ranging satire ‘The Caiman’, a huge European success just before Berlusconi’s fall from power a year ago. Typically, Moretti’s tale operates on […]

Aviemore Highland Resort, 24 March 2007

Perth Theatre, and touring 2007

The Ironworks, Inverness, 27 March 2007

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies IF YOU THINK there is nothing left to add to the legacy of great films on the Second World War, then ‘Days Of Glory’ (12A) will make you think again. This is a film that can stand alongside Steven Spielberg’s ‘Saving Private Ryan’ (1998) or Sam Fuller’s ‘The Big Red […]