Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/679878
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 15 MAY 2016 38 This Week IN CINEMAS TODAY Embassy Cinemas Valletta Tel. 21 227436, 21 245818 Captain America – Civil War (12A) 10:30, 14:15, 17:45, 20:50 Bastille Day (15) 10:30, 14:00, 16:15, 18:25, 21:00 Mother's Day (PG) 16:00, 18:35, 21:15 The Jungle Book 10:35, 13:45, 16:10, 18:30, 20:50 Despite the Falling Snow (12A) 10:30, 13:50, 16:05, 18:20, 20:50 Eye in the Sky (15) 10:20, 14:00, 16:20, 18:40, 21:05 Valletta Living History (U) 10:00, 10:45, 11:30, 12:15, 13:00, 13:45, 14:30, 15:15 Eden Cinemas St Julian's Tel. 23 710400 Bad Neighbours 2 (15) 14:00, 16:15, 18:30, 21:00, 23:25 Desert Dancer (12) 14:00, 18:30 Zootropolis (U) 14:00, 16:15, 18:30 The Jungle Book (PG) 14:00, 18:25 Criminal (15) 14:00, 16:25, 18:50, 21:15 Captain America: Civil War (12A) 14:00, 18:00, 20:45, 21:10, 23:15 How to Be Single (15) 14:05, 16:25, 18:45, 21:05, 22:35 Robinson Crusoe (PG) 14:05, 16:20, 18:30, 20:30 Despite the Falling Snow (12A) 14:15, 16:30, 18:30, 21:00, 23:10 Eye in the Sky (15) 14:15, 16:30, 18:45, 21:05, 23:20 Leonardo Da Vinci: The Genius in Milan (PG) 14:15, 16:30, 18:45, 21:05 Purple Rain (15) 14:15, 18:30, 21:10 Mother's Day (PG) 14:30, 18:00, 20:45 The Jungle Book (PG) 16:10, 20:50 Paper Souls (12) 16:15, 20:50 London Has Fallen (15) 23:10 Empire Cinemas Bugibba Tel. 21 581787, 21 581909 Bad Neighbours 2 (15) 11:15, 13:35, 16:00, 18:30, 20:45 Bastille Day (15) 11:05, 13:40, 16:10, 18:35, 21:00 The Jungle Book (PG) 11:10, 13:45, 16:00, 18:30, 20:50 Captain America: Civil War (12A) 11:00, 14:00, 18:00, 21:05 Eye in the Sky (15) 10:50, 13:40, 15:55, 18:20, 21:00 Robinson Crusoe (PG) 10:45, 13:30,16:00, 18:30 Mother's Day (15) 10:45, 13:30, 16:00, 18:30 Despite the Falling Snow (12A) 10:55, 13:30, 16:05, 18:15, 20:55 ORIGINALLY released in 2014 in Germany and the US, Desert Dancer features Maltese actress Marama Corlett in one of her most prominent big screen roles thus far – and she's among a glob- ally diverse coterie of actors to populate debuting director Rich- ard Raymond's production. It's a shame that this – otherwise pretty international – endeavor about the challenges of cultural expression in Iran boasts virtually no involvement from Iranian tal- ent among its cast and crew. But a regrettable dearth of rep- resentation is sadly not the most immediate problem of this well- meaning but dramatically poor mix of topical drama and redemp- tive fable. Desert Dancer tells a familiar story in a unique setting for popu- list world cinema. In the run up to Iran's turbulent 2009 election, a group of brave young people risk their lives in honour of their art form of choice. Dancing be- ing illegal in Iran, the film focuses on the real-life figure of Afshin Ghaffarian (Reece Ritchie) and his friends, who challenge this restric- tive government edict by forming an underground dance company. Hacking into YouTube to learn the ropes from all the greats – Mi- chael Jackson, Pina Bausch, Gene Kelly and Rudolf Nureyev – they decide to set up a performance deep in the desert, away from the watchful eyes of the of the military police. Spurred on by fellow arts stu- dent Ardavan (Tom Cullen), Af- shin is a beacon on hope in a chal- lenging situation, leveraging their fellow dancer Mona's (Marama Corlett) wavering commitment to the cause after hey boyfriend, Naser (Neet Mohan) is attacked by the morality police. Further compounding the situation is Af- shin's budding relationship with enigmatic but troubled dancer Elaheh (Freida Pinto). That all the characters in the film speak in a kind of generalised 'Middle Eastern' English accent – mixed into the sound design with the jarring crispness of an overdub – is rather telling. This is a sleek production aiming for maximum global exposure and which wants to have just enough local flavour to be seductive, but not too much so as to alienate the unadventur- ous movie-going masses. As often happens in these situ- ations however, these best laid plans often go tits up, as strained attempts at broad appeal are often sniffed out as just that by the audi- ence. Raymond is not an incom- petent director, and manages to balance out the mandatory dance sequences while making sure to get on with the story. The trouble is that the same story – penned by Jon Croker – is so riddled with clichés that it defangs any topical bite the film may have had. Afshin is your friendly neigh- bourhood plucky young hero – you'd be hard pressed to distin- guish his overarching character beats to that of Spider-Man or Luke Skywalker, and the trajec- tory of his stealth dance troupe follows the familiar high/low/ high/low/high rhythm typical to biopics about artists (particularly musicians). The film's potential to educate a mass audience – particularly the younger generations who might have otherwise thrilled to Glee and the Step-Up series – about the knotted political situation in Iran, is hard to fault. However, with zero effort to lend real tex- ture to the drama, and with an ultimately cynical approach to crafting story, Raymond ultimate- ly presents something of a hollow bauble. By Teodor Reljic Stealth dancing ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ DANCE OF LIFE ★ ★ ★ ★ DANCE, DANCE BABY ★ ★ ★ DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT ★ ★ DRUNKEN DANCING ★ DUNCE FILM Frieda Pinto and Reece Ritchie dance their way to freedom in this politically interesting but dramatically pat 'true story' ERT DANCER (12) ★ ★ ★ Maltese actress Marama Corlett is Mona