Edinburgh Arts

Let's start with Munich, Spielberg's latest. It was well worth seeing, leaving me with the feeling that Spielberg's got to the stage when he should be sticking to serious material and leaving traditional blockbuster fare well alone (with the possible exception of Indy IV, should it ever come into being). The 70s milieu was faithfully realised, the performances superb and even the final image of the World Trade Center wasn't so obvious as to render it grating. Spielberg can be subtle and thought-provoking; long may he remain that way.

Memoirs of a geisha which left me with the distinct impression of skating over the surface of the book (which I haven't even read) as many of the relationships, not to mention the portrayal of the geisha, seemed far too simplistically rendered. Add to that the inexplicable casting of (admittedly excellent) Chinese actresses in a film about Japan - sure to leave many viewers, myself included, in a state of confusion when it comes to differentiating between the two cultures - and the whole experience left a sour taste in the mouth.

There was an element of this in The constant gardener, though more than likely intentionally so, as despite the very good acting, the lasting impression lay in the film's damning indictment of the West's cavalier attitude towards the Third World. As with Brokeback mountain, the scenery was gorgeous, and the tragedy of a man only truly understanding his wife after her murder made it all rather bleak. Quite how the elderly woman sitting behind us could utter a contemptuous "what rubbish!" as the end credits appeared, I do not know.

My mother then saw Keeping mum last Monday morning, thoroughly enjoying the black comedy despite my reservations about it being (the swearing apart) comfortable Sunday afternoon sort of viewing. The calibre of the acting helped no end - Maggie Smith the main draw, though Mother was equally impressed by Rowan Atkinson's ability to play a role straight, with no comedy mugging - but I would still consider this film to be no masterpiece, however fun.

It would be inaccurate to describe Matthew Bourne's Edward Scissorhands as ballet, combining as it did Danny Elfman's film score, ensemble pieces reminiscent of Grease and West side story with occasional pieces of more classical dance, the highlight of which was unquestionably the topiary pas de deux at the end of the first act. As ever, Bourne's choreography brought tremendous wit to the piece - the "24 hours in suburbia" which introduced the town was masterful - and the dancing superb, with a special mention for the show-stealing neighbourhood nymphomaniac Joyce. I cannot recommend this enough: do catch it if you possibly can.

That particular run of culture came to an end on Wednesday with Liz Lochhead's translation (into Scots) of Molière's Tartuffe at the Lyceum. The wit of the verse aside, this playwright's comedies are difficult to pull off at the best of times, relying on stock characters and situations, but this was a better attempt than most. It did drag occasionally, though the character of Dorine (the comedy serving wench, as my friend Peter put it) could always be relied on for a good laugh. Oddly, the production did not make full use of its set (a beautifully-realised 1920s townhouse) but this was still good fun, if very much a piece of its time.

I cannot end without mentioning the special edition DVD of Lady and the tramp. I'm a sucker for cocker spaniels (even cartoon ones, it seems!) so this was a must-buy, but even then, how could anyone fail to be entranced by this? Cast your minds back to the spaghetti kiss or the classic "we are Siamese if you please" and let your memories do the rest ... Beyond the film itself, the extras include fascinating extracts from Disney's TV programmes of the period which highlight many aspects of film's development, from vocal casting (some disparity in ages, to put it mildly) to the reasons for the setting. A delight through and through.

(16th February 2006)