Paramount sessions 1-7 September

25 Courtenay Place, Po Box 6232 Wellington. Ph 384 4080. Fax 384 4408. www.paramount.co.nz

PROGRAMME 1st September-7th September

YOUNG ADAM (R18) 98 minutes
Thurs-Sat: 1.15pm, 6.50pm, 8.45pm
Sun: 1.15pm, 3.10pm, 5.05pm
Mon & Tues: 1.15pm, 6.50pm, 8.45pm
Wed: 12.45pm, 8.45pm

FESTIVAL EXPRESS (M) 90 minutes
Thurs-Sat: 12.55pm, 2.45pm, 4.35pm, 6.25pm, 8.15pm
Sun: 1.25pm, 3.25pm, 5.15pm, 7.00pm
Mon: 12.55pm, 2.40pm, 4.25pm, 8.25pm
Tues & Wed: 12.55pm, 2.45pm, 4.35pm, 6.25pm, 8.15pm

THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY (M) 137 minutes
Thurs-Sat: 1.00pm, 3.30pm, 6.00pm, 8.30pm
Sun: 1.40pm, 4.10pm, 6.40pm
Mon-Wed: 1.00pm, 3.30pm, 6.00pm, 8.30pm

HEIGHTS (M) 93 minutes
Thurs-Sat: 3.10pm, 5.05pm
Sun: 6.50pm
Mon-Tues: 3.10pm, 5.05pm
Wed: 2.45pm, 4.40pm

YOUNG ADAM

Young Adam is a thriller that is not really a thriller. Ewan McGregor plays Joe, a seemingly harmless young man who prefers reading a book to drinking at the pub. He is currently employed by husband and wife Les and Ella (Mullan and Swinton) on their barge that they pilot through the rivers and canals of Scotland. The film opens with Joe and Les dragging the scantily clad body of a woman from the water. Within hours Les is down the pub boasting about the find, which has made the local papers. Joe stays on the barge with the intention of seducing Ella. The pair are soon embroiled in an intensely sexual relationship which leads to Ella announcing her intention to divorce Les. Joe then cools their relationship and turns his attentions to Ella’s newly widowed sister. Meanwhile the investigation into the body Joe and Les discovered takes an unsettling turn.

FESTIVAL EXPRESS

In 1970 a Canadian music promoter organized a series of concerts across the country. With unique insight he hired a train to move the entire event from one city to the next, throwing together some of the greatest musical talent of all time. It was evident from the start that the concerts would be a financial disaster, but the organizers kept going, allowing the musicians a unique opportunity to meet and jam together. Outside the concerts protesters demanded that the music be given free and clashed with police. But the concerts went on and the film shows performances from such legends as The Grateful Dead, The Band and The Flying Burrito Brothers. But the highlight is Janis Joplin, two months before her death, giving a performance of Cry Baby for the ages.

THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY

"Bui Doi", meaning less than dust, is a term used for Vietnamese children with American fathers. Binh (Damien Ngyuen) is one of these unfortunates. In a small Vietnamese village Binh is treated like a slave by his foster family. When a relative lets slip that his mother is still alive in Saigon, he packs his bags and sets off. Armed only with a photograph of her and his American father in front of a distinctive building, Binh amazingly manages to find his mother and half brother, Tam. But a tragic accident makes staying impossible, and Binh embarks on what turns out to be an epic journey to find his American father.

HEIGHTS

Over 24 hours five central characters are involved in each other's lives, if only they knew it. Diana (Glenn Close), an actress currently portraying Lady Macbeth is the mother of Isabel (Elizabeth Banks), a photographer who is engaged to Jonathan (James Marsden). Meanwhile, Jonathan has been contacted by Peter (John Light), who is interviewing the subjects of a British photo exhibition in which a photograph of Jonathan suggests that Isabel should think twice, or three times, before marrying him. At an audition, Diana meets Alec, (Jesse Bradford) a young actor who lives in the same building as Isabel and Jonathan...

ENDS

© Scoop Media