Amsterdam Weekly: Vol 5 Issue 13, 27 March-2 April 2008

Volume 5, Issue 13

27 MARCH - 2 APRIL 2008 We’re serious

‘We need your help.’ page 3

FREE

www.amsterdamweekly.nl

Unf*ck us Turn to page 3

www.amsterdamweekly.nl/forsale Thisd Feature page x What you see is what you get page 4 What you get is what you bought page 5 ART: Trapped between two worlds p. 9 / FILM: We can all agree on Bruce Lee p. 18

Short List . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Music/Clubs . . . . . . . . . .10 Gay & Lesbian . . . . . . . .11 Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Dining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Classifieds/Comics . . . .21

27 March-2 April 2008

In this issue and...

We’re celebrating our fourth anniversary by putting a new spin on usergenerated content. We’re serious. You the readers are the only ones we want to sell our content to. Corny but true.

It’s in your hands folks. And while, of course, we do hope to sell out the paper for the coming three weeks, we are also a bit curious to see how the pages will look with missing blocks on the page. It could be quite arty. Sure, we might end up cannibalizing ourselves. But on the other hand—who knows?—maybe this concept we’re introducing is a new business model! Just kidding. It’s all about keeping it free for the future. And getting as many people involved as possible. For example, we can’t decide whether to make the campaign t-shirts say: ‘Amsterdam Weekly. I totally bought it.’ or ‘I bought this paper and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.’—so please cast your vote. And keep an eye on www.amsterdamweekly.nl/blog to see how our campaign is coming along.

Thanks.

On the cover ARE YOU BUYING IT?... WE ARE.

Next week Just how good or evil is advertising?

Letters Got an opinion? We want to hear it. inbox@amsterdamweekly.nl

Amsterdam Weekly BV De Ruyterkade 106, 1011 AB Amsterdam Tel: 020 522 5200 Fax: 020 620 1666 www.amsterdamweekly.nl General info: info@amsterdamweekly.nl Agenda listings: agenda@amsterdamweekly.nl Advertising: sales@amsterdamweekly.nl Classifieds: classifieds@amsterdamweekly.nl PUBLISHER Todd Savage EDITOR Steve Korver ASSISTANT EDITOR Nina Siegal AGENDA EDITOR Steven McCarron FILM EDITOR Julie Phillips

Amsterdam Weekly

In the publishing world, it turns out that it’s hard to be free. Tja...

So, while we hatch more secret plans to stay alive, we’re coming to you—the reader—for help.

The plan is to sell you our editorial space for the next three issues.

Each page is divided into 204 blocks and each block costs €5.

COPY EDITOR Mark Wedin EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Sarah Gehrke EDITORIAL INTERNS Sulakshana Gupta, Robin Kawakami ART DIRECTOR Bas Morsch PRODUCTION MANAGER Karen Willey PRODUCTION DESIGNER Russell Joyce PRODUCTION INTERN Denis Koval SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER Carolina Salazar ACCOUNT MANAGERS Marc Devèze, Simone Klomp, Floortje Mennen

So, hey... buy a few. It’s clean, safe, simple and cheap.

FINANCE ASSISTANT Simone Choi DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Patrick van der Klugt FINANCIAL ADVISER Kurt Schmidt (Veresis Consulting) PRINTER Corelio Printing Amsterdam Weekly is published every week on Wednesday and is available free at locations all over Amsterdam. Subscriptions are available for €60 per six months within the Netherlands and €90 per six months within Europe. Agenda submissions are welcome, at least two weeks in advance. New contributors are invited to visit Amsterdam Weekly’s website for contributor guidelines. Contents of Amsterdam Weekly (ISSN 1872-3268) are copyright 2008 Amsterdam Weekly BV. All rights reserved.

Then we can go back to being free.

Are you buying it? www.amsterdamweekly.nl/forsale

3

Amsterdam Weekly

4

27 March-2 April 2008

Want to read next week’s paper?

You, the readers—yep, all 45,000 of you—can make the content of the paper visible. For the first time in the history of free newspapers, we will only print what our readers pay for.

The more you buy, the more there will be to read and therefore the more fun your week will be.

That’s the plan for the next three weeks.

We ask you to encourage your friends, colleagues, family and pets to do the same. Buy a page as a group (see p.12). Buy a heart-shape for your secret love. Buy a mouse-shape for your cat. Anything goes.

And while you’re shopping, we invite you to post a message on the website. Or send us photos, drawings, paintings, collages—you name it—that express the weird and wonderful things that happened to you after doing something you read about in the Amsterdam Weekly. We will publish these stories in the fourth and final issue of this campaign.

Bad Sale

Good Sale

* Example with previous issue

www.amsterdamweekly.nl/forsale

Amsterdam Weekly

27 March-2 April 2008

Two lovely ways to shop 1. Go to: www.amsterdamweekly.nl/forsale Select the section of the paper you would like to buy blocks in. If you like the Agenda, buy Agenda. If you like the page 3 photography, buy page 3. Your choice.

Once you have selected all your blocks, proceed to check out. You can either pay via your Dutch bank account (iDeal) or via credit card (Paypal).

You can buy any number of blocks: from one to infinity.

Infinity would be real sweet.

After the transaction is complete, the blocks are yours.

Show them to your friends!

You can buy blocks on different pages.

And do leave us a message and a story.

2. Visit us Come by during office hours at De Ruyterkade 106, just east of Centraal Station on the IJ side.

(It’s the building with ‘Weekly’ written in big white letters.)

What’s in it for me?

Glad you asked. Besides the blocks and a warm fuzzy feeling for helping a free paper survive, here’s what you get when you buy: 1 block ....................................................€5..................................................................credit on website 3 blocks ..................................................€15................................................................1 party invite / credit on website 10 blocks ................................................€50................................................................1 party invite / credit on website / 1 Weekly T-shirt 25 blocks ................................................€125..............................................................1 party invite / credit on website / 1 Weekly T-shirt / 1 book by Weekly contributor 50 blocks ................................................€250..............................................................2 party invites / credit on website / 2 Weekly T-shirts / 1 book by Weekly contributor / Special issues from the Weekly archives / Credit on sponsored pages 200 blocks (full page equivalent)........€1000............................................................4 party invites / credit on website / 4 Weekly T-shirts / 1 book by Weekly contributor / Special issues from the Weekly archives / 1/4 page print advertisement for own use / Credit on sponsored page 600 blocks (3 full pages equivalent) ..€3000............................................................4 party invites / credit on website / 4 Weekly T-shirts / 1 book by Weekly contributor / Special issues from the Weekly archives / Full page print advertisement for own use / Credit on sponsored pages Beyond the standard freebies with every purchase, we’re giving away different goodies every week for the next three weeks to everyone who buys a block: This week we’ve got Crumpler bags, gift certificates from The Amsterdam Beauty College and a vegeterian haggis. Mmmm.

Plus, the first three first full pages sold will win a ride for seven friends on Eric Staller’s amazing Conference Bike. See www.conferencebike.com.

What’s next?

We need support to transition from having investors— who are now retiring—to becoming a viable business model in the short term. So we’re building up new partnerships, expanding our web presence, pumping up the interaction and barking up new advertising trees.

Rrrrrr. We should be standing on our own two feet in

no time. But feel free to call your rich Tante Agaath. Or pass memos to your company heads. Let them know we are a great way to reach out to 45,000 internationallyoriented readers. Then tell them to contact our publisher at todd@amsterdamweekly.nl.

www.amsterdamweekly.nl/forsale

5

6

Amsterdam Weekly

27 March-2 April 2008

27 March-2 April 2008

Amsterdam Weekly

7

SHORT LIST

Pepijn van den Nieuwendijk, Saturday, KochxBos Gallery

THURSDAY 27 MARCH

FRIDAY 28 MARCH

World: Ljiljana Buttler & Mostar Sevdah Reunion

Film: Fake-Festival

The story of how sevdah found its place on the world music scene is closely linked to the atrocities that characterised Balkan life in the 1990s. With the war for independence in Bosnia-Herzegovina as a backdrop, music editor Dragi Sestic of a local radio station in the scenic city of Mostar discovered the often pained and passionate blues-like music of his native country with its ethnic melting pot of Serbs, Croats and Bosnians. Having vowed that, once war was over, he would get the world to hear what they had to offer besides violence and bloodshed, Sestic moved to Amsterdam as a result of his marriage to Dutch photographer Pascale van Bemmel. At the end of the century, Mostar Sevdah Reunion was launched internationally. As Sestic put veterans such as gypsy music legends Saban Bajramovic and Ljiljana Buttler into the international limelight, his project evoked comparisons with Ry Cooder’s Buena Vista Social Club. But now, after some ten years, MSR seem to be in a league of its own, not in the least because fresh musicians have come aboard who even flirt with latin sounds. (Peter Bartlema) Bimhuis, 21.00, €20.

Let’s face it, we’re all a bunch of suckers who enjoy being suckered. And what artform relies more on smoke, mirrors and the occasional deft sleight of hand than cinema? For two harmless evenings of enjoyable fakery, head out to Filmhuis Cavia, one of the cosiest little cinemas in Amsterdam, and come prepared to be flabbergasted. The six films on display include F for Fake, a brilliant documentary that caused viewers a serious information overload when it came out, directed by the legendary Orson Welles. Representing the proud national tradition of fibbing are three titles of two of the most controversial Dutch film-makers around: Cyrus Frisch and Lodewijk Crijns, while the Dutch-Palestinian documentary Ford Transit caused a stir when it turned out to contain a shot of fiction. Finally, The Forbidden Quest is a reconstruction of an expedition to the South Pole, using film footage from that era. So don’t be a flake and fake! (Luuk van Huët) Cavia, 19.00, €4/film, €8/night, €10 two-day festival pass. Until 29 March.

Film: Amnesty International Film Festival

Anniversary: Bitterzoet, Sugar Factory, Pacific Parc

Most people watch films to escape harsh reality. After all, films are not only very good to temporarily repress our problems big or little, they can also often serve to make us feel as if we, too, can be like the people on the big screen. Bad day at the gym? You should throw in a feel-good sports movie. Feeling a bit thick? Go see a thriller involving secret agents and you’ll find yourself sharply scanning the traffic for potential bad guys and believing you can speak nine languages. Lovesick? Dirty Dancing might help. But then there’s also ways of filmwatching that help not to escape reality, but to learn more about it. The bad version of this is called reality TV. The good version is the Amnesty International Film Festival. For the tenth time now, an extensive programme with documentaries, feature films, lectures and debates, all centred on the topic of human rights (with this year a special focus on China and gay rights), has been put together. This is good. For if we understand the problems instead of trying to forget about them, we might be able to try and make some changes after all. (Sarah Gehrke) Kriterion, Studio K and Tropentheater, various times and prices. Until 30 March.

Anniversaries can be a complicated thing. Take the Easter weekend for example: The anniversary of Jesus dying and getting up again takes place on the first weekend after the first full moon or after the beginning of spring. Very confusing. And then, sometimes, all of a sudden it starts snowing and you really get your holidays and seasons all mixed up. Club anniversaries are, luckily, a bit easier to determine. And with the same delighting regularity with which Easter guarantees Ben Hur on TV and Bach on the radio, a club anniversary guarantees one helluva party with lots of funky extras. Bitterzoet’s High Five, on 29 March, is hosted by MC Fit and Melodee and features DJs Nelson and Djosa, Louis Bordeaux, DJ SP and a live performance by Dimlite. Sugar’s three-year bash stretches over three days, from 28 to 30 March, and boasts too many great things to list here. And Pacific Parc even intend to carry on the celebrations of their Third for a whole week, starting on the 28th. Good on you! And: Happy Anniversary, kids! May you grow and prosper. (Sarah Gehrke) Bitterzoet, Sugar Factory and Pacific Parc, various times and prices.

8

Amsterdam Weekly

27 March-2 April 2008

SATURDAY 29 MARCH Art: Pepijn van den Nieuwendijk In their own words, Kochxbos gallery has ‘this fascination for the surreal, for the thrilling combination of beauty and uneasiness.’ Their new show, Salon Printemps 2008, with the work of Pepijn van den Nieuwendijk (AKA Cirque de Pepin) just proves their point. Centrepiece is the monumental three-dimensional ceramic, The lady and the dwarf, for which Van den Nieuwendijk used 400 kilos of clay. It was inspired by a Rubens painting of the same two figures. Apparently in the 16th and 17th centuries it was very fashionable in high society to employ dwarfs. The statue is surrounded by allegorical ceramics and oil paintings with more or less well-known characters and animals. For example, a dodo returns to earth as the Messiah, only to discover that the human race has disappeared.

Heavy stuff, indeed, but Van den Nieuwendijk’s work also has a lighter, humorous side, depicting passionate cardinals, ugly intellectuals and cute little blue birds. Freaky styley!

(Floris Dogterom) KochxBos Gallery (Wed-Sat 13.00-18.00). Until 17 May.

World: Caspian Hat Dance Local six-piece Caspian Hat Dance are specialists in Balkan-fuelled wedding music. But they are also known for beginning their gigs by singing in German a capella, calling upon all anarchists to unite. Yes, they like to shake things up. But their stated goal is simple—to create a certain atmosphere: ‘You arrive just as the sun is setting and the landscape is getting dark. You wonder briefly how you ended up at a remote village wedding in Romania but can’t seem to remember. Half the guests are crying, half are laughing, most are drinking and every last one is dancing. The bride is delirious, the moon is gently relentless and the tambourines are spinning you around and around. The musicians play for hours on end, stopping occasionally only to suck on a bleeding finger… It’s really just chaos… Just before you pass out under a tree, you hear yourself mutter a phrase you never heard before: “Caspian Hat Dance”...’ Now these mutterings of madness can not only be enjoyed in a club like this evening but also in the form of a new CD, We Say No Talk. Make it so.

(Steve Korver) Nomadome, 21.00, €5.

SUNDAY 30 MARCH Pop: Lavalu One of the many birthday songs that will be sung for Sugar Factory during their three-day birthday bash will come from Lavalu. This twosome from Arnhem play some pop, some jazz, some funk and some triphop on a piano and the drums—and they’re usually accompanied by guest musicians, so don’t be surprised if you find a sax and a viola on stage too.

Singer and pianist Marielle Woltring is sometimes like a much less annoying Tori Amos, and sometimes like a female Conor Oberst—but luckily, in both cases there’s quite a lot of her own personality thrown in, too. Drummer Yonga Sun and viola regular Oene van Geel are both past winners of the Dutch Jazz Competition and bring on a well-balanced mix of professionality and original flavours. And first album Now has earned much critic’s approval.

In short, our little birthday child Sugar is definitely in for a treat tonight. (Sarah Gehrke) Sugar Factory, 21.00, €9.50.

World: Yasmin Levy This stunning Israeli singer has devoted herself to preserving and reinvigorating Ladino, a Sephardic language that began to fall into disuse once the Jews were forced out of Spain more than five centuries ago. In a way, she’s following up the scholarship and mission of her late father, an ethnomusicologist who studied Ladino music and published an important songbook. On her recent album Mano Suave, a raft of cultures collide, suggesting the music’s common roots—flamenco, Turkish, Balkan and Moroccan sounds all dance together in rich, varying combinations. She’s hardly the only contemporary singer committed to Ladino songs, but few have the tradition’s Arabic elements so explicit. Still, Yasmin Levy doesn’t let historical fidelity turn her music into a museum piece. Rather, it throbs with contemporary vitality, riding on a voice that could seemingly nail any style.

(Peter Margasak) Bimhuis, 21.00, €18.

TUESDAY1APRIL Rock: Kaizers Orchestra These Norwegians put out one of the best debuts of 2003—Ompa til du Dør (‘Oompah til you Drop Dead’)—and soon developed into the ultimate festival and party band blending Eastern European flavoured rock with Tom Waits quirkiness and using as instruments ‘whatever junk they find along the way’. But in recent years, they’ve mellowed and have become poppier.

Their latest album Maskineri uses not junk but a marimba as new instrument of choice along with the guitar, bass, drums basis. Still a great live act, Kaizers Orchestra exhibit more of their original edge in their choice of opening acts: the singer/songwriter/accordion-player Geoff ‘The Whiskey Rabbi’ Berner. His klezmer-based tunes drip with politics, sex and drink and his motivation is simple: ‘I want to drag klezmer music kicking and screaming back into the bars.’

Bless. (Steve Korver) Paradiso, Grote Zaal, 19.30, €17 + membership.

Send details and images for listing consideration at least two weeks in advance to agenda@amsterdamweekly.nl.

Amsterdam Weekly

27 March-2 April 2008

9 ‘He’s like a migrant who arrives in a place where he’s not at home.’

Fiona Tan captures an old man’s fragmentation of identity with engaging art cinema.

HALF A MAN IN A HALFWAY HOTEL ART/FILM Lapse of Memory Filmbanktour #17: Sugar is Sweet, Filmmuseum 27 March, 19.30, €6.50-€7.80

By Marinus de Ruiter

With Lapse of Memory, her latest film, video artist Fiona Tan parallels her life as an immigrant to that of an elderly man

suffering from senile dementia. Born in Indonesia and raised in Australia, 42year-old Tan has been living in Amsterdam for over 20 years. Still, she feels like the man in her film, who tries in vain to construct his identity from loose bits and pieces. ‘He symbolises a large group of people’, says Tan. ‘He’s like a migrant who arrives in a place where he’s not at home.’

Known for her film and video installations based on documentary footage, Tan is one of the most successful artists working with moving images in the Netherlands today. In recent years she did art commissions all over the world and showed her work at major international contemporary art exhibitions like the Venice Biennale and Documenta.

Lapse of Memory deviates from Tan’s oeuvre in the sense that it’s produced and structured like a narrative film, whereas her other work is more poetic or photographic.

As an artist in residence in Berlin in 2002, she created a series of films of people living in the city that resemble still photographs or slides. In other cases, she put footage taken from television or historical film archives in a different light through repetition, montage or by using voice-over.

Identity is a major theme in Tan’s art.

She is fascinated by how personal identities and realities are shaped and twisted by cul-

ture, media and history. As a child of a Chinese father and a Scottish-Australian mother, she’s especially interested in the cultural juxtaposition of East and West and the possibility of thinking past this dichotomy. It’s the conceptual thread that links Lapse of Memory to her earliest works, despite the fact that it is the first Tan film with an overt cinematic style, featuring a professional on-screen actor.

Twenty-seven minutes in length, Lapse of Memory depicts a day in the life of a bewildered old man, played by Johan Leysen, who lives alone in a large building that is a strange mixture of Eastern and Western architectural styles. Tan’s voice-over explains the man’s dementia. He has forgotten where he comes from and he only remembers fragments of his life. Out of instinctive habit, he does Tai Chi exercises every morning, but at the same time he doesn’t even know his real name.

‘It’s not at all clear whether he’s Western or Eastern,’ says Tan about her main character. ‘He has attributes of both cultures, like the building he lives in. In a way, I am him. The film is about the possibility to construct or to compose your own identity.’

During the film, Tan’s voice explains the Groundhog Day-like situation the man is in, perfectly capturing the state of senile dementia. ‘He feels lost in his various selves, his possible biographies,’ the voiceover comments. ‘They trap him into a scenario which he does not want to live.

This place can only serve him as a halfway hotel. [He] is waiting for a story which he can make his home.’

The idea for Lapse of Memory cropped up after Tan was invited for the Brighton Photo Biennial. Originally the festival invited her to work with the local historical film archive. On a tour past the various locations, Tan was struck by one of the city’s landmarks, the Brighton Pavilion, which is one of the best kept examples of ‘Chinoise’ architecture.

‘It represents how Westerners saw Asia in the 1900s, as a sort of kitsch Disneyland,’ says Tan. ‘I didn’t know the building but when I saw it, I felt that it could not be a coincidence. I had to do something with it because I felt a connection with my background, growing up in the West as a child of a Chinese father. But when I finally had the permission to film inside the building, I chose not to portray it in a documentary style because I didn’t want it to look like a tourist impression.’

Working in a fictional style, with a professional actor, also had its practical reasons. The Brighton Pavilion is a museum which is under very strict care. ‘We weren’t allowed to touch a thing and we were only able to film at night’, says Tan. ‘Because of these restrictions I couldn’t just work with any person. Fortunately I was able to work with a very good actor and working with him was great.’

Leysen plays his character as tragic in his solitude and at the same time comical in his erratic behaviour. Despite the long, slow shots and heavy theme, the tension between Leysen’s convincing portrayal of a brittle old man and Tan’s light, distancing commentary through voice-over makes the film a very engaging, yet short cinematic experience that stays with you for a long time.

Amsterdam Weekly

10

27 March-2 April 2008 Pop/Rock: De Nachtbrakers Indie pop and rock from the Deccapods (UK), Gentlemen Like To Play and Starring Lisa. Winston Kingdom, 21.00, €6 Jazz: Guus Janssen Last night Guus Janssen played piano in the Concertgebouw with the ASKO Ensemble.

Tonight he returns to improvising with his own music.

Bimhuis, 21.00, €14 Experimental: Now Hear This! Improv noise from Action Beat (UK) and Whale Oil. OT301, 21.00, €5 Rock: Alamo Race Track Fresh from performing at SXSW in Austin, Texas. These locals have been hotly tipped for international success for years now and so far it’s been a bit mild, but they still have the live arsenal to make magic happen. Cafe Pakhuis Wilhelmina, 22.00, €7.50 Soul: Juicebox Raw Amsterdam soul party. Maloe Melo, 22.00, €5 Bluegrass: Whiskey Puppy Boot stompin’ banjo pluckin’ bluegrass trio. Mulligans, 22.00, free

Sunday 30 March Big band: Jazzmania Big Band Eighteen piece ensemble featuring the best of the Muziekschool Amsterdam. Bimhuis, 14.00, €8

Claw Boys Claw, see Friday

MUSIC More listings at www.amsterdamweekly.nl.

Send listing suggestions at least two weeks in advance to agenda@amsterdamweekly.nl

Thursday 27 March World: Hamid El Kasri A student of Moroccan gnawa style since he was a child, the music of this master impressively fuses the influences of the north of the nation with that of the south. Paradiso, Grote Zaal, 19.15, €14.50 + membership Heavy: Amsterdam Underground Collective Raucous goodies from Birds of a Feather, True Colors (BE), Outlive and New Morality. Winston Kingdom, 20.00, €5 World: Orkest Tomy Varadi Hungarian gypsy music.

Badcuyp, Zuidpool, 20.00, €4 Jazz: Dee Dee Bridgewater’s Malian Project Jazz singer Bridgewater invites a collection of international guests to blend the sounds of American jazz and blues with the traditional sounds of Western Africa. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €34/€40 Jazz: Bucket Big Band Casablanca Muziek, 20.30, free

Friday 28 March Latin/Jazz: Gente Boa Parsley Club, 19.00, €10 Pop/Rock: Friska Viljor Melodramatic Swedish indie rock. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 19.30, €9 + membership Rock: Claw Boys Claw Old school Amsterdam psychedelic rock ’n’ roll and garage punk. Recently reunited after skipping out on this decade, they’ve finally got a new product to shift and singer Peter te Bos is still commanding audiences like a man possessed. Support from The Cuties. Paradiso, Grote Zaal, 20.00, sold out

Classical: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Performing works by Keuris, Schnittke and Stravinsky; conducted

by Dennis Russell Davies, with pianist Maki Namekawa.

Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €25/€35 Jazz: Michael Moore / Will Holshouser / Han Bennink New York accordion virtuoso Will Holshouser combines swing, bop and freestyle improv with traditional accordion styles, such as tango, zydeco and klezmer.

He’s in Europe for a series of concerts with virtuoso Dutch drummer Han Bennink and world class saxophonist/clarinettist Michael Moore. Bimhuis, 21.00, €15

Pop/Rock: Nyman, Mirco Winston Kingdom, 21.00, €5 Rock: Marjos & The Hi-Tones Country and rock ’n’ roll.

Maloe Melo, 22.00, €5

Jazz: Willem Breuker Kollektief Okay, so Breuker isn’t actually performing tonight. Instead, he’s ably replaced by soprano saxophonist Frans Vermeerssen.

What’s more, the ensemble are joined by world champion whistler Geert Chatrou. Bethaniënklooster, 20.30, €15 Hiphop: Giovanca Soulful hiphop grooves and sassy vocals. Recently she was heard duetting with nu-jazz popper Wouter Hamel, but tonight she launches her own CD, Subway Silence. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 21.00, €10 + membership Jazz: Ljiljana Buttler & Mostar Sevdah Reunion This Bosnian gyspy/blues vocalist enjoyed a mythic status in her homeland. See Short List. Bimhuis, 21.00, €20 Pop/Rock: Subbacultcha! Acoustic pop from Belgian singer-songwriter Sukilove and a set from Sonja van Hamel, better known as the singer of ’60s-esque pop band Bauer. Bitterzoet, 21.00, €6 Reggae/Dancehall: Sugar Minott Old school reggae performer. Also billed are Big Youth, The Mighty Diamonds and Ras Remo. Melkweg, The Max, 21.00, €20 + membership World: Haytham Safia and Friends Mix of ethnic improv and experimental world music. Badcuyp, Noordpool, 21.30, €8

Classical: New Masters on Tour Works by Hindemith, Brahms and Liszt, performed by upcoming internationals, cellist Håkon Samuelsen, and pianists Mirsa Adami and Miroslav Kultyshev. Concertgebouw, Kleine Zaal, 14.30, €25 Classical: Hexagon Ensemble Works by Carl Reinecke, August Klughardt and Ludwig Thuille.

Bethaniënklooster, 15.00, €16.50

Opera: Rolando Villazón This Mexican tenor is always in high demand, so there’s a bit of a buzz since he’s playing twice in town this week. He’ll be tackling popular arias by Verdi, Massenet and Tchaikovsky, with backing by the Rotterdam Philharmonisch Orkest.

Het Muziektheater, 20.00, €45/€85

World: Neco Novellas African soul with other worldly influences picked up along his journey. Sugar Factory, 21.00, €10

Willem Breuker Kollektief

Classical: Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest Performing Bruckner’s swansong, his Ninth Symphony; conducted by Claus Peter Flor. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 14.15, €28/€33

Pop/Rock: The Beatclub Bietkelder Retro rock and pop with a killer vibe. Playing live are The Timeflies, with ABC DJ Charley Rhythm and special guest, Marquee.

Paradiso, Kelder, 22.00, €7/€12.50 after 00.00 Pop/Rock: The Do A girl from Finland. A boy from Paris. Together they produce a melodic mix of guitar pop styles reminiscent of The Cardigans. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 22.00, €8 + membership Pop/Rock: The Girls Bouncy guitar pop. Cafe Pakhuis Wilhelmina, 22.00, €7.50 Soul: Nilfisq Dynamic soul, funk and hiphop.

Badcuyp, Noordpool, 23.00, €8

Saturday 29 March Jazz: Peter Cincotti Jazz pop pianist from New York.

Paradiso, Grote Zaal, 20.00, €17.50 + membership Classical: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (See Friday) Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €25/€35 World: Ek Is Oek Important A benefit for South African children featuring six diverse bands: Marancha, Melly Fluous, Tribal Countdown, Robert Rettich & Dave Duba, Karima and Joy Wielkens. Melkweg, Oude Zaal, 20.30, €10 Classical: The Amsterdam String Quartet Three string quartets by Haydn. Muziekgebouw, 20.30, €20 World: Caspian Hat Dance Acoustic gypsy folk, Balkan rockin’ beats and a real international flavour, with these locals presenting new album We Say No Talk. See Short LIst. Nomadome, 21.00, €5

Kimmie Rhodes Singer-songwriter: Kimmie Rhodes The Queen of Austin. This talented songstress has penned songs for the likes of Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris.

Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 16.00, €10 Experimental: 3xLive DIY dance from Violet Violet (UK), classical meets indie with NY duo Christy & Emily, and old Brit punks Nightingales. OCCII, 20.00, €6 Classical: Leif Ove Andsnes Works by Beethoven, Sibelius, Grieg and Debussy by the Norwegian master pianist. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €34/€42 Latin/Jazz: Trio Nuevo A jazz tango programme.

Concertgebouw, Kleine Zaal, 20.15, €19 Singer-songwriter: Simone White Twee for tweeness’s sake folk pop. You’ve probably heard her ‘The Beep Beep Song’ on car adverts and the like. Maybe your ears exploded at the sound of her sugar-coated thin voice or your memory self-destructed in order to forget the musical torture. Or maybe you just threw the remote at the TV screen before retreating to the Fleetwood Mac recesses of your record collection.

Paradiso, Grote Zaal, 20.30, €15 + membership Rock: I Am Kloot There’s an understated confidence in the way this Mancunian band write and perform.

Popular across the world, they arrive with no real bombast or hype, just a strong execution of guitar pop that earns them new fans on each tour. Melkweg, The Max, 21.00, €15 + membership Pop: Lavalu Nu pop? Jazz pop? Poppin’ J Hawkins? It doesn’t really matter what you call it. Fronted by Marielle Woltring, this bunch are tight, bright and on the brink of moving beyond the Amsterdam club circuit.

See Short List. Sugar Factory, 21.00, €9.50 Pop/Rock: Rooney It’s hard to escape the football connotations of the name, so more bland Brit rock is conjured up in the mind. But instead, these Californians are revisiting melody bursting ’80s pop. Melkweg, Oude Zaal, 21.00, €13 + membership World: Yasmin Levy A distant relative of the Sephardic Jews driven out of Spain in the Middle Ages and who spread out through Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, Levy sings in Ladino—a language now threatened with extinction. See Short List. Bimhuis, 21.00, €18 Pop: dbClifford Soulful pop singer from Toronto. Who said Canadian’s ain’t got no rhythm? Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 21.30, €7.50 + membership

Amsterdam Weekly

27 March-2 April 2008

Monday 31 March Pop/Rock: Lightspeed Champion Formerly a member of noisy indie headcases Test Icicles, Brit songwriter Devonte Hynes just released his debut album Falling Off the Lavender Bridge, a fairly solid and diverse pop effort, veering from country and folk to soft rock.

Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 20.00, €9 + membership World: Youssou N’Dour One of the most famous African singers on the go. He is, of course, most famous for the Western crossover hits with Peter Gabriel and Neneh Cherry, but he’s always active, and most recent album, Rokku Mi Rokka, featured in Rolling Stone’s ‘Top 50 Albums of 2007’. RAI, 20.00, €42-€46 Classical: Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest (See Sunday) Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €28/€33 Rock: Van Der Graaf Generator More prog rock than the average human bladder can handle. Melkweg, The Max, 20.30, €25 + membership Soul/R&B: Dwele Smooth contemporary Detroit soul.

Paradiso, Grote Zaal, 21.00, €18 + membership Electro rock: Hadouken! Snarling indie punk aided by squealing synths and electronics. Melkweg, Oude Zaal, 21.00, €12 + membership Jazz: Phil Woods Quintet Sax player Woods is one of the worthiest heirs to the throne of Charlie Parker and for decades has been the torch-bearer of the inventiveness and passion that characterises true bebop.

Bimhuis, 21.00, €20 Soul: The Clipsters Electrifying ten-piece vintage ’60s soul outfit from Amsterdam. Sugar Factory, 21.00, €10 Experimental: DNK-Amsterdam Weekly concert series for new live electronic and acoustic music, with sets from Taylan Susam and Mark Bain. OT301, 21.30, €5

Tuesday 1 April Rock: Kaizers Orchestra The cult Norwegian rockers known for their incendiary live shows. See Short List.

Paradiso, Grote Zaal, 19.30, €17 + membership Pop/Rock: Miracle Fortress Shimmering indie rock from Montreal. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 20.00, €7.50 + membership Rock: Velvet Revolver See, this is what happens when old rockers get bored and still have enough fame clinging to them to keep them off the reunion circuit.

Heineken Music Hall, 20.00, €35 Big band: Jargon An elastic ensemble which blends a grand string section with electric guitars and computers.

Badcuyp, Noordpool, 20.30, €6

CLUBS Thursday 27 March Rock ’n’ Rave Indie electro pop and rock for vixens and minions. Club 8, 22.00-03.00, €5 Zimple With Bart Skils, Melbarbatana and Domi & RudeLife. Flex Bar, 22.00-04.00, €12 Poptrash Three decades’ worth of rock, electro and hiphop with The Punchout DJs and guests. Melkweg, Oude Zaal, 23.00-05.00, €5 Wildvreemd 2.0 With the classic line-up of Carlos Valdes, 2000 and One, and Steffi, plus performances and live painting. Sugar Factory, 23.00-05.00, €8.50

Friday 28 March 5 Jaar Bitterzoet Appletree Records lead this party, so expect loads of fresh hiphop and plenty of birthday surprises. See Short List. Bitterzoet, 21.00-05.00, €10 Fok Stijl With DJs Frankie D & Trailertrash and a live set from Sleurhuthonden. Club 8, 22.00-04.00, €5/€7 Sappig Juicy hiphop and dance sounds. Escape, 23.00-05.00, €15 T.N.T. A trip back in time. Odeon, 23.00-05.00, €12 Via Brasil Beats, samba, bossa and much more as Kindred Spirits get their Brazilian hat on once again. With a special performance by Brasilectro 301, featuring samba diva Lilian Vieira. Sugar Factory, 23.00-05.00, €10 ADHD Sessions The ‘Brooklyn, New York Edition’, with minimal, techhouse and techno sets from Bas Mooy, Blanda, Dave Ellesmere, Enthousiaste Gasten, Maarten Alberti & Christoph Voorn and many more.

Studio 80, 23.00-06.00, €12 Linke Soep Extra long edition with Joseph Capriati, VolDaan, Robert Powlson, Flow and Hay-T. Flex Bar, 23.00-07.00, €8 klinch Featuring the regimental electro of German producer/DJ Anthony Rother. Support from Michael von L and Estroe. Melkweg, Oude Zaal, 23.00-late, €14 + membership Major League A drum & bass feast featuring bone shaking sets from Aphrodite, Bad Company, Limewax, Mindscape, Pamb & Harsh and Dreazz. Melkweg, The Max, 23.00-late, €14 + membership

Electronica: Calvin Harris Electro pop. Probably best known for the 2007 hit single ‘Acceptable in the ’80s’.

Melkweg, Oude Zaal, 20.45, €10 + membership

Seen A sensory audio-visual clubbing treat. Paradiso, 23.59-05.00, €12.50

Singer-songwriter: Open Mic Cafe Sappho, 21.00, free

Saturday 29 March

Ska: De Hardheid Nine-piece Dutch ska outfit. As is usually the way, they blaze a better trail on stage than on record. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 22.00, €6 + membership

Wednesday 2 April Classical: Lunch Concert The RCO preview tonight’s main performance. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 12.30, free Opera: Rolando Villazón (See Friday) Het Muziektheater, 20.00, €45/€85 Classical: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Wagner’s Tannhäuser Overture; Strauss’s Tod und Verklärung; and Beethoven’s Eroica; conducted by Daniele Gatti. Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 20.15, €25/€55 Contemporary: Nieuw Ensemble Tackling the ‘playfulness and absurdism’ of Italian composer Franco Donatoni. Muziekgebouw, 20.30, €22 World: Kultur Shock Mariachi gypsy folk insanity from the Balkans. Studio K, 21.00 Jazz: Luciano Biondini / Michel Godard / Ernst Reijseger Accordion versus tuba versus cello. Well, they are effectively playing for the same team, but it’s an unusual combo in this collaboration. Bimhuis, 21.00, €15 Soul/Hiphop: Philly Sounds Three talented artists from Philadelphia: Jaguar Wright, Bahamadia and Hezekiah.

Melkweg, Oude Zaal, 21.00, €17.50 + membership Contemporary: Trytone in Zaal 100 Experimental jazz projects and concepts, featuring Big Grin and other guests. Zaal 100, 21.00, €5 Folk: Birds Of Wales There seems to be a PR campaign in place to convince us that Canadians rule in every corner of the music industry. At the end of a busy pro-Canuck week, this twee pack from Toronto deal in folk rock. Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 22.00, €6 + membership

Material Girl A girly clubbing experience complete with make-up and hair stylists plus goodiebags. The Mansion, 21.00-03.00, €13 5 Jaar Bitterzoet An extra long birthday special with guest spots from Bitterzoet regulars and faves. See Short List. Bitterzoet, 21.00-06.00, €10 Fire! Featuring Michel de Hey, Arjuna Schiks (live), Marnix and Dauphin vs Spinnin’ Negro. Westerunie, 22.00-04.00, €17 Fuck Yeah (It’s a Poptrash on Saturday) Yes, all that Thursday party fun but on a Saturday. Club 8, 22.0004.00, €5/€7 Kit Cat Klub An old club. A new name. A strong DJ line-up including Sven & Tettero, Terry Toner, Freddy Spool, Lupe, De Man Zonder Schaduw, Onno and Marcello. Club Home, 22.00-05.00, €12 Rebel Up! Soundclash Diasporic sounds from the global underground: mestiza beats, gypsy funk, roots, Arabic, African rhythms, Latino, Asian and gritty electronics. As always, profits go to charity. OCCII, 22.30-04.00, €4 GO!CRUNC The burlesque edition. Hotel Arena, 23.00-04.00, €15 De Revolutie Clubhouse, hiphop and funk. Odeon, 23.00-05.00, €14 Sugar Bash The Factory turns three. Does it matter what the entertainment is tonight? You already know it’ll be one of the best parties in town. See Short List.

Sugar Factory, 23.00-05.00, €12.50 We Love With Danger (FR), Beesmunt Soundsystem and Rogerseventytwo & The Walk. In the bar, it’s the Melomanics Remixed. Flex Bar, 23.00-05.00, €9 All is One A tripped out psychedelic party with Egbert Jan Weeber, Arjuna Schiks (live), Kareem Raïhani and Tommy van Huystee. Ruigoord, 23.00-06.00, €10

Bla Bla Minimal, techno and house with live sets from Monoblock, Kouam Djoko, Le Chien Perdu and Rauwkost. Studio 80, 23.00-late, €12 Gloss… Featuring Bodyrox (UK), Sidney Samson, Ricky Rivaro, Dekky and Issie Star. The Powerzone, 23.00-late, €12.50 Gemengd Zwemmen Two rooms of swimmingly diverse noise. In The Max, it’s a WickedJazzSounds special; in the Oude Zaal, there’s alternative dance, pop, rock and indie hits. Melkweg, 23.59-late, €9/€11

Sunday 30 March Salsa Lounge For all your Sunday salsa requirements. Hotel Arena, 17.00 -01.00, €18.50 Caput #3 Growling electro from Intifida Soundsystem, DJ Rob, Drugstore Lad and P•Y•T. Club 8, 22.00 -03.00, €10 WickedJazzSounds Jazz, hiphop, broken beats, nu-jazz, funk and Afro sounds, as vinyl collides with live musicians. Sugar Factory, 23.00-05.00, €9.50

Monday 31 March Cheeky Monday True skool jungle and drum & bass, featuring players from the local and international scenes. Winston Kingdom, 21.00-03.00, €6

Tuesday 1 April Funky Junkie A wild cross-section of funk sounds from DJ Koldun, who invites a selection of live musicians to improvise. Winston Kingdom, 22.0003.00, €5

GAY& LESBIAN Edited by Willem de Blaauw.

Friday 28 March Film: A Jihad for Love As part of the Amnesty International Filmfestival, Kriterion screens A Jihad for Love, a documentary from Parvez Sharma about the life experiences of gay muslims in various countries. After the screening there’s a debate about homosexuality and muslims, with Radi Suudi (Dutch Muslim Broadcast Organisation), PvdA-member Samira Bouchibti and others.

Kriterion, 19.00, €7

Saturday 29 March Party: (Z)onderbroek Drop your pants and dance!

Afternoon party for those who love to dance, prance and cruise around in their sexy underwear. It’s a cat-walk of briefs, Y-fronts and shorts, plus action upstairs. DJs Abraxas and PopEye spin the decks, while guys show of their pecs (and more). Club La, 16.00-20.00, €8 Party: SUMO Organised by Laughing Buddha Agency, this is a new gay/mixed party, with DJs Eric de Man, Natarcia, Lat Höger. Music style: Detroit meets Tokyo mood, uplifting old skool and soulful House. Ladies get in free before midnight. Club Chi, 23.00-05.00, €10 Party: Pink Istanbul Special Turkish gay party, to celebrate Instanbul’s growing gay scene, for gays, straights, Turks and anyone else who likes to party to something different. Apart from (Turkish) DJs spinning techno, ethnic fusion, minimal and pop, there will be dance performances and art on display. Paradiso, 23.00-late, €12,50

Wednesday 2 April Film: Gay Classic Movie: Ronda Nocturna In this movie by Edgardo Cozarinsky, set in Buenos Aires,we follow a day and a night in the life of 19year-old Victor, rent boy and small time drugs dealer. We see him pick up clients, going to the gym and do other activities to pass the time. Before the main movie there’s the short Color Me Bad, an awarded Dutch TV & Film Academy exam project about a Moroccan boxer who falls in love with his trainer. Pathé De Munt, 20.30, €9

11

2

FREE

www.amsterdamweekly.nl

We’re serious

27 MARCH - 2 APRIL 2008

Volume 5, Issue 13

page 3

‘We need your help.’

name

number of blocks

Get together with your friends and colleagues to help fill in our empty spaces. And if you fill a full page of 200 blocks then you will be rewarded (see page 5).

Head to www.amsterdamweekly.nl/forsale to complete your purchase.

We are totally buying it at €5 per 3.75 cm

Yes!

ART: Trapped between two worlds p. 9 / FILM: We can all agree on Bruce Lee p. 18

Thisd Feature page x What you see is what you get page 4 What you get is what you bought page 5

www.amsterdamweekly.nl/forsale

Turn to page 3

Unf*ck us Short List . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Music/Clubs . . . . . . . . . .10 Gay & Lesbian . . . . . . . .11 Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Dining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Classifieds/Comics . . . .21

TOTAL

Free tickets!

Go to www.amsterdamweekly.nl to win tickets to one of these nightlife events.

To advertise your club night or concert, contact Simone Klomp at 020 522 5200 or Simone@amsterdamweekly.nl.

Amsterdam Weekly

27 March-2 April 2008

STAGE Opening Performance: Varekai Yet another Cirque du Soleil touring monster. This one is based loosely on the Greek myth of Icarus, and as you’d expect, features acrobatics and theatrical circus trickery on a scale most wouldn’t dare.

Under the Grand Chapiteau, (Daily), €25-€74 Theatre: Angels in America The Pulitzer-award winning, and somehow surreal, play by Tony Kushner about fear, death, hope and love. On weekdays the play is split over two consecutive days, on Friday and Saturday it’s brought together in one marathon session. By Toneelgroep Amsterdam. In Dutch.

Stadsschouwburg, (Thur 20.15, Fri 18.00, Sat 16.00), €12-€25; €17.50-€39 marathon Dance: On the Move Het Nationale Ballet showcases a work by Alexei Ratmansky. His ballet Russian Seasons is inspired by the seasonal changes of the Russian Orthodox calendar, but, above all, the work is an ode to and highly individual interpretation of the art of dance. Also featuring Mark Morris’ Sandpaper Ballet and Harald Lander’s Études. Het Muziektheater, (Thur, Sat 20.15, Sun 14.00), €16-€33.50 Comedy: Girls Comedy Night The Amsterdam comedy circuit can get a bit boyish at times, so breaking up the monotony this weekend are Kristel Zweers, Pien Ankerman, Nathalie Baartman, Jennifer Evenhuis and Floor van der Wal. In Dutch Comedy Theater, (Thur-Sat 20.30), €14.50 Theatre: LAS/medea A tale about the destructive battle between two people. Medea and Jason share love, war, hatred and happiness. By ps Theater. In Dutch.

NDSM-werf, (Thur-Sun 20.30), €7

Ongoing Theatre: Spring During the John Everett Millais exhibition, Olivier Provily presents a piece about five young women moving through time. Shreds of poetry and music underscore their unfulfilled longings. The weather and the passing of the seasons are also interwoven throughout, as the public watch from behind glass. Van Gogh Museum, (Fri 20.00), museum entry cost Music/Dance: Aditi Mangaldas Indian performer Mangaldas attempts to bring new substance to the traditional Indian Kathak. In an elegant and poetic manner, she integrates influences from modern dance, flamenco and Indian martial arts.

KIT Tropentheater, (Fri 20.30), €18 Comedy: easylaughs Comedy improv in English. Two knee-slapping shows every Friday night. CREA Muziekzaal, (Fri 20.30, 22.30), €8, €5 (late night) Music/Dance: Music/Dance 301 Improv from the likes of Andy Moor, Colin Mclean and Hilary Jeffrey, with dancer Alexandra Manasse and guests. OT301, (Fri 21.00), €5 Music/Dance: Bombay A vibrant collaboration from Tropenmuseum Junior, Plan Nederland and Huis aan de Amstel. De Kauwgomballenfabriek, (Sat 19.30) Dance: Royal Ballet of Cambodia Traditional Cambodian dance performance featuring forty dancers and musicians. Working closely with the Cambodian Royal Family, the choreography was originally by Queen Kossamak Nearyrath Sereivoddhna but has been reworked by Princess Norodom Buppha Devi. KIT Tropentheater, (Sat 20.30, Sun 15.00), €30 Dance: Sold Out A physical and humorous dance performance by Finnish choreographer Eeva Muilu.

Melkweg Theater, (Sat, Sun 20.30), €9

PANL Sony Alpha Awards, see Opening

ART More listings at www.amsterdamweekly.nl.

Opening Het Oog Photography students in the third phase of their courses present selections of their best works.

Fotogram (Mon-Thur 09.30-21.00, Fri, Sat 09.30-17.00), opens Friday, until 23 April Kunst3Daagse A national celebration of art, this year the theme is ‘Taste’. Numerous local galleries will be contributing events (Beeldend Gesproken, Galerie Wies Willemsen and Galerie Hof en Huyser are starting points), as well as across the country, if you fancy a daytrip. See www.kunst3daagse.nl. Various locations (Fri-Sun), opens Friday, closing Sunday PANL Sony Alpha Awards Prize-winning photography from the world of advertising, editorial and fashion. Also featured is the results of the PANL Sony Masterclass.

Oude Kerk (Mon-Sat 11.00-17.00, Sun 13.00-17.00), opens Friday, until 20 April The Digital View Exploring the influence of digital media and techniques on contemporary art, featuring a selection of national and international artists. Arti et Amicitiae (Tues-Sun 13.00-18.00), opens Friday, until 27 April The Little Room Downstairs An exhibition showing the work of Servet Kocyigit, Seamus Cater, Sami Kallinen and Anthea Bush. Punt WG (Thur-Sun 13.00-18.00), opens Friday, until 6 April Field Work—Part One As a two-part exhibition and an ongoing discussion, Field Work conjectures two parallel, interconnected, and yet differently orientated trajectories that encompass art, nature and ecology. Featured are works by Allora & Calzadilla, Andrea Geyer, Marine Hugonnier, Lasse Lau and Jason Middlebrook. SMART Project Space (Tues-Sat 12.00-17.00), opens Saturday, until 17 May Jacek Laskus: Of Women Persuasion Digital stills by the cinematographer and photographer, expressing his admiration and possible fear for the female gender.

Gallery WM (Thurs-Sat 14.00-18.00), opens Saturday, until 4 May Mediaal Featuring paintings by Congo artist Vitshois Mwilambwe Bondo, an installation by Marlijn Franken and photography by Olivier Middendorp. Atelier 408 (Wed-Sun 12.00-17.00), opens Saturday, until 20 April

Music/Theatre: Een Carmen Matthijs Rümke directs Het Zuidelijke Toneel in this refreshing take on the Carmen story. With it, he takes inspiration from O Amor Natural, the documentary by Heddy Honigmann about Brazil’s relationship with poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade, and to their own sexuality. Mezzosoprano Lucia Meeuwsen takes the lead role. Stadsschouwburg, (Sun 20.15), €12-€23

Performance: Good Cop, Bad Cop A psychological peak at group behaviour as theatre group Kassys present a show that’s 50 per cent mime and 50 per cent film. De Brakke Grond, (Tues, Wed 20.30), €12

Sit: Unwired Documenting the process of an Amsterdam street artist stepping away from his computer and getting back to black-and-white basics. GO Gallery (Wed-Sat 12.00-18.00, Sun 13.00-17.00), opens Saturday, until 11 May Territorial Phantom Employing a whole mix of attitudes and forms, the international artists represented here respond to the concept of occupying and possessing space with a series of multidisciplinary multimedia works. Montevideo/Time Based Arts (TuesSat 13.00-18.00), opens Saturday, until 12 May Gegarandeerdt: De Lading Dekkend Twenty young artists from different disciplines show their work surrounded by other weekend entertainments.

Westerunie (Sun 14.00-21.00), opens Sunday

Museums Taryn Simon—An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar In her second of two shows at Foam, award-winning photographer Simon assumes the dual role of shrewd informant and collector of curiosities, compiling an inventory of what lies hidden and out-ofview within the borders of the US. Foam (Sat-Wed 10.00-18.00, Thur, Fri 10.00-21.00), until 6 April Ruth van Beek: Reconstructions Van Beek collects random snapshots, passport photos, slides and albums, as well as pictures from newspapers and old books. By folding and cutting the material she gives the images new meaning. Foam (Sat-Wed 10.00-18.00, Thur, Fri 10.00-21.00), until 9 April Bisj Poles—Sculptures From the Rainforest An exhibition of 58 bisj poles from New Guinea, brought to life in a thrilling combination of light, sound and film.

Tropenmuseum (Daily 10.00-17.00), until 13 April Alexandra Bircken: Units Brit artist Bircken adopts an unorthodox approach to sculpture. She constructs wobbly armatures of bent twigs and tree branches and then stretches between them brightly coloured wools and other materials. Stedelijk Museum CS (Daily 10.0018.00), until 13 April Hidden Afghanistan A deluxe exhibition presenting a ‘not war-torn’ vision of this nation at the crossroads of civilisations in central Asia. At its core, 250 archaeological objects will be displayed. Nieuwe Kerk (Fri-Wed 10.00-18.00, Thur 10.00-22.00), until 20 April Anton Heyboer Diverse works in a career overview of this renowned eccentric, who died in 2005. Included are photo collages, etchings, drawings and cartoons.

Jan van der Togt Museum (Wed-Sun 13.00-17.00), Amstelveen, until 4 May Art Nouveau The best of French and Russian art nouveau.

Hermitage Amsterdam (Daily 10.00-17.00), until 5 May MAGNUM Photos 60 years This collection uses photographs, books and texts to illustrate the history of MAGNUM year by year, giving visitors the opportunity to view work by 83 photographers. Stedelijk Museum CS (Daily 10.00-18.00), until 12 May

Comedy: Caveman Peter Faber’s acclaimed solo show that sees him get primal. Comedy Theater, (Mon 20.30), €14 Theatre: 10 Geboden (Deel 1) Reworking of Krysztof Kieslowski and Krysztof Piesiewicz’s The Decalogue, which was a mini-series inspired by the Ten Commandments. In Dutch. Stadsschouwburg, (Mon, Tues 20.15), €12/€23

Pepijn van den Nieuwendijk: Salon Printemps 2008 Monumental three-dimensional ceramic objects and oil paintings. See Short List. KochxBos Gallery (Wed-Sat 13.00-18.00), opens Saturday, until 17 May

Menso Groeneveld Menso Groeneveld: White Motivic Sounds Paintings exploring the boundaries between music, sound and visual expression. AYAC’S (Fri, Sat 13.00-17.30), opens Saturday, until 26 April

Lucas Lenglet: A Canary in a Coalmine Lenglet continues a series of installations in which he explores the ambiguities of ‘the architecture of security’. His work can be regarded as a visualisation of the increased state of vigilance in Western society, though at the same time he uses the aesthetic means of the sculptor to create a sort of dramaturgy of trust to accompany it.

Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam (Tues-Sun 11.0017.00), until 12 May

15

16 John Everett Millais He was the foremost painter of the English Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and Britain’s most successful artist of the latter half of the 19th century. His jewel-like, highly detailed paintings exude a dreamy, serene atmosphere, and this exhibition comprises some 100 works, covering all aspects of Millais’ career. Van Gogh Museum (Mon-Thur, Sat, Sun 10.0018.00, Fri 10.00-22.00), until 18 May Maria Sibylla Merian & Daughters—Women of Art and Science Containing the most important and influential natural history art from the Netherlands in the 17th century, this exhibition features more than a hundred rarely displayed masterpieces, including original drawings, watercolours, gouaches, prints and books.

Rembrandthuis (Mon-Sat 10.00-17.00, Sun 11.00-17.00), until 18 May Tobias Rehberger: the chicken-and-egg-no-problem wall-painting The first major Dutch retrospective of works by German artist Tobias Rehberger, who in the mid-’90s gained an international reputation for objects and installations at the interface of fine art, design and architecture. Stedelijk Museum CS (Daily 10.00-18.00), until 25 May Edwin Zwakman: Fake But Accurate A retrospective of well-known Dutch photographer Zwakman, in which his three latest series can be seen together for the first time.

Huis Marseille (Tues-Sun 11.00-18.00), until 25 May Jessica Dimmock—The Ninth Floor An exhibition of socially-engaged photography by the young American photographer. This disturbing portrait series features a group of young heroin addicts living in a ninth-floor apartment in Manhattan, New York. Simultaneously sympathetic and ruthless, Dimmock takes a disconcertingly close view of her subject. Foam (Sat-Wed 10.00-18.00, Thur, Fri 10.00-21.00), until 1 June Daniel & Geo Fuchs: STASI—Secret rooms This exhibition opens up the hidden rooms once used by the STASI, the infamous East German secret service, in a series of monumental photos. While much of the former DDR infrastructure has been destroyed or given an entirely new function, the clandestine spaces that Daniel and Geo Fuchs photographed are still in their original condition. Foam (Sat-Wed 10.00-18.00, Thur, Fri 10.00-21.00), until 4 June Superheroes and Schlemiels Superman, Maus, The Rabbi’s Cat and many other heroes and anti-heroes from the art of comics feature in this exhibition of comics and graphic novels by Jewish artists. Joods Historisch Museum (Daily 11.00-17.00), until 8 June Kurt Lubinski: Photographer in Exile Documentary portraits by this German photographer, who gained a significant reputation as a successful photojournalist for his worldly travel reportages in the ’20s and ’30s. Joods Historisch Museum (Daily 11.00-17.00), until 8 June

Galleries Uitbraak The Meneer de Wit showcase exhibition, featuring diverse contemporary works by the complex’s artists.

Meneer de Wit (Wed-Sun 14.00-18.00), closing Saturday Levi van Veluw, Laetitia Gendre Featuring Landscapes, a four-piece photo series, plus video work and other photos by Van Veluw. Fast Fade to Grey Grey Grey

by Gendre is a drawing installation. Ronmandos (WedSat 12.30-17.30), until 5 April Guide to ruined Buildings in the Netherlands XIXXXI Century Lara Almarcegui’s photos often explore neglected or overlooked sites, where the planned and unplanned use of the urban space becomes visible.

Ellen de Bruijne Projects/Dolores (Tues-Sat 13.0018.00), until 5 April Henk Langeveld Drawings from the past 25 years, by the artist who began his career designing posters for Melkweg and the Vondelpark Theatre. De Nieuwe Anita (Daily), until 5 April

Amsterdam Weekly Jason Eden Collages by the American artist, inspired

by Playboy. Galerie Rademakers (Tue-Sun 11.00-17.30), until 20 April Barbara Wijnveld A series of self portraits utilising varied painting and drawing techniques. Galerie Bart (Thur, Fri 11.00-18.00, Sat 12.00-17.00), until 26 April Lalla Essaydi In the photography series Converging Territories, Essaydi brings different worlds together.

Her memories of youth in Morocco are her most important source of inspiration; in particular the punishments she received when crossing the barriers of acceptable behaviour. Witzenhausen Gallery (Elandsstraat) (Thur-Sat 12.00-18.00), until 26 April Wubbo de Jong A selection of photos by De Jong, who spent 28 years working as a photographer for Het Parool. Blow Up Gallery (Thur, Fri 14.00-18.00, Sat 13.00-18.00), until 2 May Chris Shaw: Life as a Night Porter Shaw spent 10 years working in London hotels, all the while using his camera to both document the hotel’s unexpected human spectacles and keep himself awake through the long hours of his shifts. Hup Gallery (Tues, Thur, Fri 10.00-17.00), until 1 June Hairbusiness: Heads and Tales An interactive multimedia installation bringing to life the intimate world of the hairdresser, where guards are let down—both physically and emotionally—as you stare into the mirror. Imagine IC (Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat 11.00-17.00, Thur 11.00-21.00), until 14 June

EVENTS Talk: Afghanistan NU A varied evening featuring speakers from various disciplines involved in the recent developments in present day Afghanistan. Nieuwe Kerk, (Thur 20.00), museum entry cost Film/Music: Salon Unmuted A screening of Germanborn director Ernst Lubitsch’s 1920 silent movie Sumurun, only this time it features a live soundtrack performed by Simone Giacomini (laptop, electronics) and Alfredo Genovesi (guitar, electronics). GoetheInstitut Amsterdam, (Fri 20.00), €5 Event: What’s Up? Monthly arena for Amsterdam creatives to present their new work and ideas. Pakhuis de Zwijger, (Fri 20.30), free Festival: Nowhere Filmfestival A collection of short films created by young professionals and students. Not just about the screenings, the fest comes with a healthy dose of DJs, VJs and partying. See www.nowhere.nl. Cultuurpand Nowhere, (Fri-Sun), various prices Party: Typisch Pacific Restaurant/bar/club Pacific Parc celebrates its third anniversary with a week of special events. From rock ’n’ roll to soaking surf guitars to retro soul and pop to groovy jazz. See www.pacificparc.nl and Short List. Pacific Parc, (Fri-Wed), free Book fair: Nationale Boekenstuntdag One for the book collectors, with 60 sellers from around the country converging to sell their wares. RAI, (Sat 11.00-17.00), free Music/Dance: Salszo A Cuban salsa spectacular, with live performances from the likes of the legendary Adalberto Álvarez and his 16-piece band, demonstrations, dance workshops for beginners, and a salsa-tinged afterparty with DJs. No Limit, (Sat 17.00-01.00), €12.50 Lecture: The Future of ‘Breed Meat’ With biologist and philosopher Cor van der Weele, and a workshop titled ‘Design Your Own Meat’ by food blogger and expert Debra Solomon. Plus an apple concert by sound artist Ivan Kadelburg. Restaurant As, (Sun 16.00), free (excl food)

To Burn Oneself with Oneself: The Romantic Damage Show Romanticism is back with a vengeance.

Romantic themes exert an almost universal attraction, which is why they resurface at regular intervals. But what’s really going on? De Appel (Tues-Sun 11.0018.00), until 6 April

Quiz: Broeinest Activists like to have fun too. Tonight there’s ping pong and a quiz. If it all gets too gleeful, that’s followed by a screening of the film Brad, about a US activist film-maker who was killed last year in Oaxaca, Mexico. Plantage Doklaan 8-12, (Mon 20.00), free

Kris Dewitte: Still Project Blending her love of film and photography, Dewitte presents shots and portraits of the world’s biggest film stars and directors. Melkweg Galerie (Wed-Sun 13.00-20.00), until 6 April

Discussion: Women Inc Weekly talk show highlighting specific female issues. Tonight, special guests Margriet van der Linden, Naema Tahir and Ebru Umar discuss their latest projects. In Dutch. Pakhuis de Zwijger, (Mon 20.00), free

Wyman Shoots His fine art photos have been shown across the world over the past couple of years—even previously in Rotterdam. Now The Rolling Stones’ bassist brings his work here. Yoshiko Matsumoto Gallery (Wed-Sar 13.30-18.30), until 12 April It Ain’t Necessarily So A synthesis of Rogi Wieg’s poetry and Elizabeth Kleinveld’s photography, which together tell the story of the transformative effect of having to rebuild anew in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Dikker&Thijs Fenice Hotel (Mon-Sat 17.00-23.00), until 20 April

Discussion: Masters of Intervention ‘Designing new futures: engineering creative thinking’. In cooperation with the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies and local authorities, the Office for Social Engineering presents the most original contemporary thinkers on intervention in four monthly meetings. In this episode, Michael Shamiyeh and Andrew Bullen have a conversation on social engineering and the limits of social interventions. Can we engineer a happy society? Felix Meritis, (Tues 20.00), free

ADDRESSES Amstelkerk Amstelveld 10, 520 0060 Amsterdams Centrum voor Fotografie Bethaniënstraat 9, 622 4899 Amsterdams Historisch Museum Kalverstraat 92, 523 1822 De Appel Nieuwe Spiegelstraat 10, 625 5651 ARCAM Prins Hendrikkade 600, 620 4878 Arti et Amicitiae Rokin 112, 624 5134 Atelier 408 Herengracht 408 AYAC'S Keizersgracht 166, 638 5240 Badcuyp 1e Sweelinckstraat 10, 675 9669 De Balie Kleine-Gartmanplantsoen 10, 553 5151 Bethaniënklooster Barndesteeg 6, 625 0078 BIHP Keizersgracht 335, 622 4511 Bimhuis Piet Heinkade 3, 788 2150 Bitterzoet Spuistraat 2, 521 3001 Blow Up Gallery Hazenstraat 67, 665 3435 De Brakke Grond Nes 45, 626 6866 Cafe Pakhuis Wilhelmina Veemkade 576, 419 3368 Cafe Sappho Vijzelstraat 103, 423 1509 De Cameleon 3e Kostverlorenkade 35, 489 4656 Carhartt Store Hartenstraat 18 Carré Amstel 115-125, 524 9452 Casablanca Muziek Zeedijk 26, 06 1220 0519 Centrale Bibliotheek Oosterdokskade 143, 523 0900 Club 8 Admiraal de Ruyterweg 56B, 685 1703 Club Home Wagenstraat 3-7, 620 1375 Club La Kerkstraat 50-52 CoBrA Museum Sandbergplein 1-3, Amstelveen, 547 5050 Comedy Theater Nes 110 Concertgebouw Concertgebouwplein 2-6, 671 8345 Consortium Veemkade 570, 06 2611 8950 Cotton Club Nieuwmarkt 5, 626 6192 CREA Muziekzaal Turfdraagsterpad 17, 525 1400 CREA Theater Turfdraagsterpad 17, 525 1400 Cruise Inn Zuiderzeeweg 29, 692 7188 Cultuurpand Nowhere Madurastraat 90, 462 3510 Desmet Studios Plantage Middenlaan 4A, 521 7100 Dikker&Thijs Fenice Hotel Prinsengracht 444, 778 1947 Ellen de Bruijne Projects/Dolores Rozengracht 207A, 530 4994 Escape Rembrandtplein 11, 622 1111 Felix Meritis Keizersgracht 324, 626 2321 Flex Bar Pazzanistraat 1, 486 2123 Foam Keizersgracht 609, 551 6546 Fonds BKVB Brouwersgracht 276, 523 1523 Fotogram Korte Prinsengracht 33, 624 9994 Frascati Nes 63, 626 6866 Galerie 23 Nieuwe Herengracht 23, 623 9215 Galerie Bart Bloemgracht 2, 320 6208 Galerie de Rietlanden Exposities Rietlandpark 193, 419 4705 Galerie Gabriel Rolt Elandsgracht 34, 785 5146 Galerie Hof & Huyser Bloemgracht 135, 420 1995 Galerie Masters Eerst Jan Steenstraat 131, 470 1067 Galerie Rademakers Prinsengracht 570-572, 6225496 Gallery WM Elandsgracht 35, 421 1113 Gemeentemuseum Stadhouderslaan 41, Den Haag, 070 338 1111 GO Gallery Prinsengracht 64, 422 9580 Goethe-Institut Amsterdam Herengracht 470 Grolsch Music Cafe ArenA Boulevard 242, 365 2035 Heineken Music Hall ArenA Boulevard 590, 0900 300 1250 Hermitage Amsterdam Nieuwe Herengracht 14, 530 8751 Hotel Arena ’s-Gravesandestraat 51, 850 2400 Huis Marseille Keizersgracht 401, 531 8989 Hup Gallery Tesselschadestraat 15, 515 8589 Imagine IC Bijlmerplein 1006-1008, 489 4866 In Fusion Gallery Haarlemmerplein 33, 620 0905 Jan van der Togt Museum Dorpsstraat 50, Amstelveen, 641 5754 Joods Historisch Museum Jonas Daniel Meijerplein 2-4, 531 0310 Kauwgomballenfabriek, De3 Paul van Vlissingenstraat 8, 560 8910 KIT Tropentheater Mauritskade 63, 568 8711 Kriterion Roetersstraat 170, 623 1708 KochxBos Gallery 1e Anjeliersdwarsstraat 3-5, 681 4567 Maloe Melo Lijnbaansgracht 163, 420 4592 The Mansion Hobbemastraat 2, 616 6664 Melkweg Lijnbaansgracht 234A, 531 8181 Melkweg Galerie Marnixstraat 409, 531 8181 Meneer de Wit Postjesweg 2, 616 3680 Montevideo/Time Based Arts Keizersgracht 264, 623 7101 Motive Gallery Elandsgracht 10, 330 3668 Mulligans Amstel 100, 622 1330 Muziekgebouw Piet Heinkade 1, 788 2010 Het Muziektheater Amstel 3, 625 5455 NDSM-werf TT Neveritaweg 15, 330 5480 De Nieuwe Anita Frederik Hendrikstraat 111, 06 4150 3512 Nieuwe Kerk entrance on the Dam, 638 6909 No Limit Geldershoofd 80 Nomadome Danzigerbocht 93 OCCII Amstelveenseweg 134, 671 7778 Odeon Singel 460, 624 9711

27 March-2 April 2008 OT301 Overtoom 301, 779 4913 Oude Kerk Oudekerksplein 23, 625 8284 Pacific Parc Polonceaukade 23, 488 7778 Pakhuis de Zwijger Piet Heinkade 179-181, 788 4444 Paradiso Weteringschans 6-8, 626 4521 Paradiso, Kelder Weteringschans 6-8, 626 4521 Parsley Club Ter Haarstraat 20 Pathé De Munt Vijzelstraat 15, 0900 1458 Patronaat Zijlsingel 2, Haarlem, 023 517 5858 Plantage Doklaan 8-12 Plantage Doklaan Podium Mozaïek Bos en Lommerweg 191, 580 0380 The Powerzone Spaklerweg, 681 8866 PRIK Spuistraat 109, 06 4544 2321 Punt WG Marius van Bouwdijk Bastiaansestraat 15, 618 7848 RAI Europaplein 22, 549 1212 Rembrandthuis Jodenbreestraat 4, 520 0400 Restaurant As Prinses Irenestraat 19, 644 0100 Ronmandos Prinsengracht 282, 320 7036 Ruigoord Ruigoord 15, 497 5702 SMART Project Space Arie Biemondstraat 107-113, 427 5953 Stadsarchief Amsterdam Vijzelstraat 32 Stadsschouwburg Leidseplein 26, 624 2311 Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam Rozenstraat 59, 422 0471 Stedelijk Museum CS Oosterdokskade 5, 573 2911 Studio 80 Rembrandtplein 70, 521 8333 Studio K Timorplein 62, 692 0422 Sugar Factory Lijnbaansgracht 238, 627 0008 Suzanne Biederberg Gallery 1e Egelantiersdwarsstraat 1, 624 5455 Tropenmuseum Linnaeusstraat 2, 568 8200 Tropentheater Linnaeusstraat 2, 568 8500 Under the Grand Chapiteau Next to ArenA (P2), 621 1288 UvA: Special Collections Library Oude Turfmarkt 129, 525 2141 Van Gogh Museum Paulus Potterstraat 7, 570 5200 Van Zijll Langhout Brouwersgracht 161, 06 2825 9620 Ververs Gallery Hazenstraat 54 Volta Houtmankade 334-336, 628 6429 Vondelkerk Vondelstraat 120 Westerunie Klönneplein 4-6 Winston Kingdom Warmoesstraat 129, 623 1380 Witzenhausen Gallery (Elandsstraat) Elandsstraat 145, 644 9898 Yoshiko Matsumoto Gallery Weteringschans 37, 06 1437 0995 Zaal 100 De Wittenstraat 100, 688 0127

27 March-2 April 2008

Amsterdam Weekly

Sheeba’s breasts Restaurant Azmarino Tweede Sweelinckstraat 6, 647 7587 Open: Tues-Sun, 17.00-late, Cash, PIN I recently made the good move of swaggering into Restaurant Azmarino, whose Ethiopian/Eritrea delights provided a dining experience that is at once elegant and rustic.

In line with this seductive combination of normally opposite traits, is the opportunity to dine in style while using one’s fingers. Of course, you can use eating utensils, but why deny yourself the fun? No one lances you with the evil eye or the ‘bad fish’ expression for boorish manners.

In fact, everyone else was eating from a large communal dish at their own tables, doing the same. The warmth, the laughter, the sheer cosiness of it all added magic to the timelessness of a socially universal event: feasting.

Owner Mek had a dream. He wanted to turn his hobby into a restaurant. He learnt how to prepare traditional dishes from his mother who cooked daily for his father and seven brothers back in Eritrea (which boasts a 3,000-year-old African cooking heritage from the Kingdom of Abyssinia). Today, he and his Dutch ladyfriend have created a great harmony between Africa and Europe in the restaurant. A lowered, wooden slat ceiling, with rough stucco whitewashed walls, creates an ethnic atmosphere, while hanging, woven basket lampshades illuminate the tables.

The menu contains ten meat dishes, all halal—in line with the Coptic Orthodox Church’s (famous for the amazing colourful icons with wide-eyed saints in sight of God) forbidding of

THE UNDERCOVER GLUTTON Seeing as I felt married to my seat, I opted for the Wedding Dish, which boasted eight items to feast upon and two folded enjeras. pork and cloven-hoofed animals to be eaten.

Prices range from €10-€11 for meat dishes, while the mixed meat dish is €15 and the personal choice dish is €17.50.

There are ten vegetarian dishes to choose from (€9-€9.50); the combination dish is €13.50; the personal choice, €15. Every night has four new changing items to add to the feast.

17

Seeing as I felt married to my seat, I opted for the Wedding Dish, which boasted eight items to feast upon and I was brought a woven basket containing two folded enjeras (those large, bubbly holed sourdough pancakes cooked on one side) and large platter was placed before me; I felt like King Solomon about to feast off of Queen Sheeba’s breasts. There were an additional three pancakes as a base. The meats were cooked with berbere (a reddish chilli spice mix) and Abyssinian butter (clarified butter), the basis of the cuisine.

These included a doro wot (a marinated chicken leg sauteed in butter and coated in a spicy tomato sauce), kay wot (traditional stewed beef in berbere, tomato and onion), kitfo (minced beef marinated in mitmita, a very spicy, chillibased powder, then fried in niter kibbeh, an herb-rich butter, with spinach and goat cheese thrown in the mix) and the usual boiled egg and large dollop of sour cream. Oh, the sights and smells of it all.

The vegetarian dishes had a pumpkin sauce with tomato, onions and spices, and curried lentils (or more precisely, lentils in berbere spice). Also tempting was the alicha, a vegetable stew of potatoes, beans and carrots in a curry sauce. All are served on the pancakes. I was served chicken, lamb and beef fillet steak cubes (served with goat cheese), all fried in butter with the Abyssinian spices and sliced green paprika strips. The meal was wonderfully tasty and very reasonably priced.

Because of its one-big-platter-for-all style, Restaurant Azmarino is an excellent venue for groups, family dinners, students, celebrations or, naturally, one big guy with a big big belly.

The Eritrean music was lively and it filled me with pleasure to observe the diners, bobbing, nodding and tapping their heads, feet and fingers to the rhythms. It’s all about being open to new influences.

Amsterdam Weekly

18

27 March-2 April 2008 Tarrick Tyler, second from left.

The CinemAsia Festival opens with a mockumentary that searches for the new Bruce Lee and Hollywood stereotypes

WE CAN ALL AGREE ON BRUCE LEE FILM Finishing the Game: The Search for a New Bruce Lee Opening film for CinemaAsia 2008 2-13 April, www.cinemasia.nl, Rialto

By Steve Korver

In 2005, a life-size bronze statue of Chinese-American martial arts star Bruce Lee was unveiled in the Bosnian city of Mostar.

It was meant to unify a city fractured by

the wars in former Yugoslavia. One of the organisers stated: ‘We will always be Muslims, Serbs or Croats. But one thing we all have in common is Bruce Lee.’ So true. Lee could pop a 100-kilo opponent back almost five metres with a one-inch punch, and he could throw grains of rice in the air and catch them with chopsticks while in mid-flip.

Bruce Lee was the most influential martial artist of the 20th century. In the early ’70s, his starring roles in films

like Fist of Fury, Way of the Dragon and Enter the Dragon made him a cultural icon. His status only increased when he died under mysterious circumstances in 1973 at age 32, leaving just 12 minutes of footage behind for what would have been his last film, Game of Death.

This year’s CinemAsia film festival, along with some 70 other Asian-rooted films never before shown in the Netherlands, is screening as its opening film the Hollywood production Finishing the Game: The Search for a New Bruce Lee. This ‘mockumentary’ by director Justin Lin (Better Luck Tomorrow, Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift) begins in the aftermath of Lee’s death, when the studio is scrambling to find a suitable substitute so they can finish Game of Death. In fact, the studio did exactly that: Robert Clouse, the director of Enter the Dragon, ‘finished’ the film in 1978 with the use of body doubles and a new script and cast.

But Finishing the Game is not that story. Instead, it’s a Spinal Tap-style ‘behind-the-scenes’ parody of Hollywood’s first flirtation with martial arts films. It follows a series of Lee-wannabes as they go through the casting process.

There’s Breeze Loo, a minor kung fu star who denies being a Lee-rip off: ‘That cat was always wearing a yellow jumpsuit. I wear a blue one.’ There’s a slightly crosseyed Indian doctor who dreams of being a martial arts legend. There’s Tarrick Tyler, who rants about his exploitation as a ‘yellow man’ but is actually very, very Caucasian. And then there’s Troy Poon, a vacuum cleaner salesman who has a lot of experience playing ‘Chinese food delivery boys’ and had a brief moment of fame as a TV cop with the catchphrase: ‘I ain’t gonna do your laundry.’

Yes, it’s all quite corny. But the excellent, albeit over-the-top, art direction does suggest that the film was actually made right after Lee’s death, and the film also does a great job of capturing the Bmovie business and its unorthodox casting process. Plus, the parodies of 1970s TV shows and chop-socky films —Fists of Führer, for example—are hilarious.

The lampooning of Asian stereotypes in Hollywood is probably the film’s strongest point, and one that echoes parts of Lee’s own life. Lee was the one who came up with a TV show in which a Shaolin monk would wander the Wild West. But the studio cast not him but white actor David Carradine in Kung Fu, claiming that audiences were not ready for a Chinese leading man.

And that can be regarded as a universal shame. Who would you want to be: Carradine or Lee?

Five-Word Movie Review

FILM

Edited by Julie Phillips.This week’s films reviewed by Massimo Benvegnù (MB),Angela Dress (AD),Don Druker (DD),Sarah Gehrke (SG), Andrea Gronvall (AG),Luuk van Huët (LvH),JR Jones (JJ),Dave Kehr (DK),Marie-Claire Melzer (MM),Mike Peek (MP),Julie Phillips (JP),Bart Plantenga (BP),Gusta Reijnders (GR),Jonathan Rosenbaum (JR),Marinus de Ruiter (MdR), Bregtje Schudel (BS),Isabel Serval (IS) and Ted Shen (TS).All films are screened in English with Dutch subtitles unless otherwise noted. Amsterdam Weekly recommends.

Festivals Amnesty International Film Festival The annual festival of films on human rights issues continues through 30 March. See Short List. In various languages with English subtitles (or in English with Dutch subtitles). Kriterion, Studio K

LIFE AND CUISINE OF ELVIS Dutch Directors’ Film Weekend Filmmuseum

Banishment

(4 Elements) comes Carlos Marcovich’s enigmatic Mexican-Cuban mockumentary Who the Hell is Juliette?, while from pop culture fan Michiel van Erp (Pretpark Nederland) comes the BBC film The Burger and the King: The Life and Cuisine of Elvis Presley. The directors will be on hand to explain their choices. Filmmuseum

the verdant landscape devolves from pastoral to sinister in the space of a phone call. In Russian with Dutch subtitles. (AG) 150 min. Rialto

Fake-Festival Two days’ worth of mockumentaries and other sneaky stuff. See Short List. Cavia

The Bucket List Jack Nicholson is a billionaire Scrooge with terminal cancer, sharing a room in his own hospital with auto mechanic Morgan Freeman— a family man endowed with all the kind, redemptive wisdom Freeman can bring to this piece of Hollywood claptrap. Class barriers vanish as the two become best friends and Nicholson bankrolls a spree in which they indulge their deepest romantic whims: parachuting, car racing and flying across the globe while sampling the emblems of the good life found in TV commercials. I don’t know if Rob Reiner is the one to blame for this atrocity, but he directed and co-produced. (JR) 97 min. Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt, Pathé Tuschinski

CinemAsia The Asian film festival runs April 2-12.

See review above. In various languages with English subtitles. Rialto

New this week

Dutch Directors’ Film Weekend A series of ten films, each chosen by a prominent Dutch director.

Aside from a Gus Van Sant film (Elephant, chosen

by Mijke de Jong) and the inevitable Scorsese (Raging Bull, chosen by Joram Lürsen), most of the directors claim European influences. Hanro Smitsman (Skin) presents Emir Kusturica’s Time of the Gypsies); Dana Nechushtan (Nachtrit) chose Mathieu Kassovitz’s La Haine. There’s also a Godard (Les Carabiniers) and a Bertolucci (Il Conformista). The most unexpected choices come from the two documentarists on the list. From Jiska Rickels

The Banishment A chilling domestic drama from Russia, directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev (The Return). The film opens with a shady urban character (Alexander Baluev) seeking his younger brother’s help in sewing up his bleeding arm. When the brother (Konstantin Lavronenko) vacations with his kids and troubled wife at the family’s country place, she suddenly blurts out that the child she’s carrying isn’t his. Spare dialogue and long takes add to the sense of foreboding, with Lavronenko (who won the best actor prize at Cannes) keeping his character so buttoned-up you could burst from anxiety watching him consider his revenge, while

De Bloedbruiloft This documentary by Hans Fels chronicles the staging of the opera Blood Wedding in Haiti. 93 min. Het Ketelhuis

Empties Josef, a teacher, burns out and calls it quits at age 65. But he’s not ready to give up his working life altogether. So he takes a job as a bottle collector in a supermarket, which allows him to chitchat with the

customers all day. While his wife feels abandoned, Josef flourishes—until a machine takes over his work.

Charming and bittersweet, this film by Jan Sverák (Kolja) deals with old age and its many alienations. It’s hard enough for a man if he can no longer pee in a nice, forceful curve, but what if he feels he has nothing left to offer to the world? Empties is a little slow in the middle but makes up for it with a fantastic finale in a hot air balloon. (MP) 100 min. Cinecenter Lars and the Real Girl If someone had told me this was directed by the guy who did Mr Woodcock and revolved around a sex doll, I wouldn’t have gone near it. But Lars and the Real Girl is both hilarious and poignant, with a Capraesque humanity that caught me completely off guard. An awkward young man in a small Minnesota town (Ryan Gosling) invites his older brother (goofy Paul Schneider) and sister-in-law (Emily Mortimer) to meet his new fiancée, but to their horror and embarrassment she turns out to be made of rubber. The local psychiatrist advises them to play along with his delusion, and eventually the close-knit religious community, moved by concern for the brothers, joins in. I’m not sure there’s still that much compassion in the world, but in keeping with the spirit of the movie, I was willing to pretend. Craig Gillespie directed a script by Six Feet Under writer Nancy Oliver.

(JJ) 106 min. Kriterion, The Movies

Amsterdam Weekly

27 March-2 April 2008

Bucket List

Reservation Road A powerful Christian parable, painful but illuminating, about crime and redemption, adapted by John Burnham Schwartz from his own novel with the help of director Terry George (Hotel Rwanda). A Connecticut lawyer (Mark Ruffalo) kills the son of a local professor (Joaquin Phoenix) in a hitand-run accident and struggles to work up the courage to turn himself in, while the grief-stricken father, frustrated by the police’s inability to find the culprit and bent on revenge, hires the lawyer to pursue the possibility of a civil suit. The setup is more than a little far-fetched, but the real meat of this film is moral paradox: how the lawyer, eaten up by guilt, becomes a better father to his own son while the professor ultimately neglects his daughter and wife (Jennifer Connelly) in his obsessive pursuit. (JR) 102 min. Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt, De Uitkijk

Still playing Aleksandra Russian master Aleksandr Sokurov (Father and Son, The Sun) places himself in the position of an old woman questioning the motives of men of war. Aleksandra, played by the opera singer Galina Vishnevskaya, goes to visit her grandson, who is stationed in Grozny with the army. For both the soldiers and the viewers she is a disarming presence at the base, with her dry, motherly comments about the macho habits and phallic-looking weapons she comes across. Aleksandra is based on a marvellous idea its lack of story development makes it less poignant than it could have been, but it’s still a moving addition to the impressive Sokurov oeuvre. In Russian with Dutch subtitles. (MdR) 92 min. Filmmuseum

Atonement Based on the novel by Ian McEwan, adapted by Christopher Hampton and directed by Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice), Atonement tells the story of a single tragic lie with horrendous consequences. This genre-melding film opens in 1935, when 13-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis accuses her older sister’s boyfriend of a crime he didn’t commit. Five years later, at the start of the Second World War, the young man is released from prison on the condition he join the army. In 1999, Briony as a dying novelist still feels she has to atone for bearing false witness. Starring Keira Knightley, James McAvoy and Vanessa Redgrave, Atonement is one beautiful film. (GR) Cinecenter Auf der anderen Seite Two coffins pass through the Istanbul airport for the people left behind, life takes unexpected turns. Fatih Akin’s new film tells the story of six people in Germany and Turkey whose lives are connected by two deaths: the widower Ali and his son Nejat a woman named Yeter, her daughter Ayten, who meets a girl called Lotte and Lotte’s mother (Hanna Schygulla). After a sad film about love, Gegen die Wand, Akin has made an optimistic film about mortality, families and forgiveness. The film seems heavily edited—it’s clear the director had a lot more material—but the episodic character of the film saves it from appearing pieced-together.

Akin’s screenplay won top honours at Cannes. In German with Dutch subtitles. (SG) 122 min. Rialto Away from Her ‘Not another Alzheimer movie!’ you might say. Yes, another loving husband is going to check his wife of many years into a nursing home, then try to piece their memories together through the cracks of her illness. Yes, he’ll bring flowers. Yes, he’ll read to her. Yes, there will be flashbacks. But Away from Her, the directorial debut of actress Sarah Polley (based on a short story by Alice Munro), is that rare thing, a gripping, powerful drama filled with fabulous performances. Julie Christie hasn’t had a role to shine in like this in ages her piercing blue eyes let us in on Fiona’s troubled soul, but also give us one more glimpse into her timeless beauty. (MB) 110 min. Cinema Amstelveen, Studio K The Band’s Visit In this year’s art-house hit, the

Alexandria Ceremonial Police Band, a small combo specialising in traditional Arab repertoire, flies from Egypt to Israel to play at the opening of a cultural

19

Empties

centre. When their guide fails to meet them at the airport, they take the wrong bus and end up in the wrong city. To their rescue comes beautiful Dina (Israeli superstar Ronit Elkabetz), the owner of the only café in town, who sees the band’s arrival as both a business opportunity and a chance to relieve the local boredom. Directed with a firm hand by Eran Kolirin, who also wrote the original screenplay, The Band’s Visit gently lets you inside its unique sense of humour. The moment when the band is finally allowed to play its repertoire is the cherry on top of an appealing cinematic dessert. (MB) 87 min. Rialto, Studio K

Caramel

Layale’s beauty salon in Beirut is a shabby affair: the water regularly gets shut off, the power goes out, and hot caramel is used as a primitive form of waxing. Meanwhile, five women connected to the shop struggle with various social pressures surrounding their love affairs. Extramarital affairs, lesbian relationships, dominant mothers, sex before marriage and sex after menopause are difficult barriers to overcome in a religious hot zone like Beirut. Director Nadine Labaki, who also plays Layale, portrays her love/hate affair with the war-struck city in a highly entertaining way, with lots of meaning hidden under the cosmetic surface. In Arabic/French with Dutch subtitles. (MdR) 95 min. Rialto

Control In this biopic on singer/songwriter Ian Curtis, photographer and video director Anton Corbijn dares to be critical: Ian isn’t a tragic hero, but a bit of

a wimp who uses his band as an escape from his own incompetence as a husband and father. The film is beautifully shot in black-and-white, though the stark contrasts and grey hues serve mainly to underline the desolation of the Manchester suburbs, and of Ian himself. (BS) 119 min. Melkweg Cinema

Earth This full-length documentary version of the British TV series Planet Earth follows a polar bear family, a herd of elephants and two humpback whales in their daily struggle for survival. Directed by Alastair Fothergill (Deep Blue) and Mark Linfield. 96 min.

Pathé Tuschinski, De Uitkijk

The Darjeeling Limited Sometimes you travel through life with some extra baggage. In the case of the Whitman brothers, it’s a luxury Louis Vuitton set that looks colourful and flashy even in India. A year after their father’s funeral, Francis (Owen Wilson), Peter (Adrien Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman) meet aboard a train for a journey of spiritual healing.

The fact that they have not spoken to each other in a year doesn’t prevent them from getting straight into the family’s old dynamics, which involve manic tics, substance abuse and sexual escapades. But soon both the emotional and the physical baggage starts to fall away. Film-maker Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums), much like his characters, has found his grown-up voice. This delicious curry comedy is a rich plate for film-goers, entertaining and poignant, just as it should be. (MB) 108 min. Kriterion

Giorni e nuvole Elsa (Margherita Buy) and Michele (Antonio Albanese) are a middle-aged couple who seem to have it all: a beautiful house, a 20-year-old daughter and good friends. Elsa gently restores an ancient fresco and long-hidden angels appear. Out of the blue, Michele tells her that he lost his job two months ago, whereupon the couple’s situation rapidly worsens. They have to sell their apartment they start quarelling about money. Director Silvio Soldini (Pane e Tulipani) shows us a strong woman again: after the first shock, Elsa makes the best of it while Michele lets himself go. But despite fine performances by Albanese and Buy and a nice rhythm, this sober drama stays flat and unsurprising. In Italian with Dutch subtitles. (GR) 115 min. Pathé Tuschinski, Rialto

Definitely, Maybe A divorced New York ad man (Ryan Reynolds) gives his insufferably precocious 10year-old (Abigail Breslin of Little Miss Sunshine) a lengthy account of his early love life. This highly uneven comedy by writer-director Adam Brooks might be easier to take if it were less infatuated with its own cuteness. (JR) 112 min. Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt

Heimatklänge Stefan Schwietert’s documentary opens with the Swiss musical cliché: man on a mountaintop, exuberantly yodeling. This enduring ‘Heidiland’ image keeps coming back to haunt this film about three performers whose work couldn’t be less like the stereotype. Avant-garde vocalists Erika Stucky, Noldi Alder and Christian Zehnder have all in their own way managed to take back yodeling for art and soul. Schwietert has a talent for letting artists

Special screenings Ali: Fear Eats the Soul Rainer Werner Fassbinder takes Douglas Sirk’s Hollywood melodrama All That Heaven Allows and pushes it over the brink: it becomes the story of a May-December romance between a Moroccan guest labourer and an aging German widow. This 1974 film stands as one of Fassbinder’s sturdiest achievements, posed between the low-budget funkiness of his early features and the mannerism of his late period. In German with English subtitles. (DK) 94 min. De Nieuwe Anita

L’Armée des ombres This 1969 thriller about the

French Resistance by Jean-Pierre Melville (Le Samourai) is a great film but also one of the most upsetting ones around. A resistance leader (Lino Ventura) gradually discovers that he and his comrades must betray their own humanity for the sake of their struggle, though in the end their efforts are mainly futile. With Simone Signoret in one of her best performances. In French/German/English with English subtitles. (JR) 145 min. De Roode Bioscoop Bobby Old-fashioned in both its liberal humanism and its commitment to classic Hollywood storytelling, Emilio Estevez’s fictional account of the 1968 shooting of Robert Kennedy is also a fine example of old-fashioned studio craft. Deftly juggling over a dozen characters, ranging from hotel personnel and guests to Democratic Party volunteers, Estevez offers a sharp cross section of the issues and attitudes surrounding Kennedy’s presidential campaign. Without privileging any member of the talented cast, he gives many of them chances to shine, especially Sharon Stone, Freddy Rodriguez (from Six Feet Under), Laurence Fishburne and Martin Sheen. The film’s premise that RFK was America’s last chance to save itself is a bit hard to buy, but the passion and thoughtfulness with which Estevez builds on it are stirring nonetheless. (JR) 119 min. Pathé Tuschinski Death of a President A 2006 pseudo-documentary, by British director Gabriel Range, about the assassination of George W Bush in October 2007.

Predictably, the nearest Muslim is found, charged and convicted on flimsy forensic evidence which the CIA is ‘encouraged’ to provide. The film is sharply edited, and the combination of authentic

footage and CGI tricks can be uncannily convincing. It captures the anger of American anti-war protest, but the predictability of the plot lends a going-through-the motions element to the proceedings. Made for television, it doesn’t transfer well to the big screen. (AD) 93 min. De Uitkijk End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones Singer Joey, bassist Dee Dee and guitarist Johnny Ramone died in such quick succession that it almost seemed staged, as if some celestial voice had counted off ‘1—2—3—4!’ This 2003 profile by Michael Gramaglia and Jim Fields follows the punk pioneers from their early days as glue-sniffing losers in Queens to their epochal debut at CBGB in 1974 and through their 22-year career. The story unfolds in standard ‘behind the music’ fashion, but it’s also genuinely sad: few bands have burst onto the scene with such a perfectly realised look, sound and philosophy or been more trapped by their own meatheaded genius. Showing in an odd double bill with Gauguin: The Full Story, a 2005 documentary on the 19th-century rebel artist. (JJ) 108 min. OT301 Pursuit of Happyness Failure is one of the most potent American subjects, largely because of the drama implicit in Americans’ denial of it. This inspirational movie tells the true story of an unsuccessful salesman in San Francisco (Will Smith) who assumes custody of his young son and contrives to switch professions. Smith is resourceful in the role, though the story stretches one’s credulity about his character’s resourcefulness. Gabrielle Muccino directed with Thandie Newton and Jaden Smith (the star’s son). (JR) 117 min. Pathé ArenA Request! VJ Fenno Werkman screens rare, obscure, nostalgic and otherwise unique pop music clips and film fragments. Rialto Ronda Nocturna This 2005 film by Edgardo Cozarinsky follows the hustler Victor (Gonzalo Heredia) on his nightly rounds through Buenos Aires. Showing in Pathé’s Gay Classics series. In Spanish with English subtitles. 82 min. Pathé De Munt

The Science of Sleep Michael Gondry’s latest flick is a bit more lightweight than his previous efforts, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. The Science of Sleep is a rumination on love and longing, in this case

the love felt by the dopey Stéphane for his lanky neighbour Stéphanie, which he expresses by presenting her with all kinds of inventive doodads.

While Stéphane is cocksure and confident in his cardboard-riddled dreams, he turns into a clunky kid in real life. Gondry’s inventive low-fi aesthetic is always appealing, as are the two leads, Gael García Bernal and Charlotte Gainsbourg. In Spanish/ English/French with Dutch subtitles. (LvH) 105 min.

Kriterion Songs from the Second Floor Working with no script and mostly non-professional actors, Swedish director Roy Andersson tells the story of a middle-aged businessman so worn down by caring for his mentally ill son that he decides to burn down his factory. The lugubrious, impressionistic music is by Benny Andersson of Abba. In Swedish with Dutch subtitles. (TS) 98 min. Filmmuseum Sophie’s Choice Meryl Streep plays a Holocaust survivor with a secret in Alan J Pakula’s 1982 film.

157 min. Kriterion

The Spirit of the Beehive A sensitive 1973 mood

piece by Victor Erice centred on small children in a Spanish village in the 1930s. The extraordinary child actress Ana Torrent (Cria Cuervos) made her debut here at the age of five. Erice excels in precise evocations of childhood feelings—there is one particularly dumbfounding moment of lyrical, joyful horror.

In Spanish with English subtitles. (DK) 95 min.

De Roode Bioscoop Sumurun This 1920 drama by the young Ernst Lubitsch, still working in Germany, stars Pola Negri as a Baghdad dancing girl courted by a lascivious sheikh and the hunchback (played by Lubitsch himself) who is the leader of her troupe. It is screening in a new series of silent films with improvised live acoustic and electronic music. With English intertitles. (DK) 103 min.

Goethe-Institut Amsterdam Uit het hart van Odessa André Schreuders’ music documentary follows Russian-Dutch performer Alex Kopyt, of the Amsterdam Klezmer Band, as he returns to his home city in search of his musical roots. Interview with the film-maker (in Dutch) follows. In Russian with Dutch subtitles. 60 min. Rialto

20

Amsterdam Weekly

Lars and the Real Girl explain how and where they find inspiration he follows the three musicians to key sites, where they reflect on their lives and their art. A highly watchable music documentary, gorgeous and engaging. In German with Dutch subtitles. (BP) 82 min. Filmmuseum

Horton Hears a Who For once, a Dr. Seuss adaptation that stays true to the nonconformist spirit and open-minded moral of the book. Even the CGI, though it loses Seuss’s primary colours, captures the feeling of his curvy, loopy forms (JP) 86 min. Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt How to Get Rid of the Others Danish director Ronow Klarlund delivers an uncompromising and hilarious critique on right-wing populist conservatism in this political satire in which Denmark is turned into a fascist state. Drug addicts, the disabled, the unemployed and other social rejects are executed for their failure to contribute to society. When a former government official (Louise Miertiz) blows the whistle, she too is imprisoned in a school gymnasium to await death, along with six other misfits. But if the prisoners can still prove to the charming but cruel army officer in charge that they have done something for the common good, he will have to let them go. (IS) Melkweg Cinema I’m Not There Todd Haynes’s ambitious and daring new film is a biopic in the sense that it depicts the main events in Bob Dylan’s life and career. But they are not told in chronological order, and Haynes uses six different actors to play the singer. The different performers (including Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale and the black actor Marcus Carl Franklin) and the constant moving back and forth in time don’t make it easy to identify with any of the Dylans. But simple identification is probably not what Haynes is after. His film is not about Dylan himself, but about the mythmaking around a pop star. I’m Not There has its moments, but in the end it’s more an interesting audiovisual lecture than an overwhelming cinematographic experience (MM) 135 min. Kriterion, The Movies

Juno Juno (Ellen Page) is 16. Juno is full of life and sarcasm. Juno is pregnant. Oops. She gives up the thought of abortion after hearing that her baby has already developed fingernails and instead starts looking for adoptive parents. She finds the perfect couple in Mark and Vanessa. They’re wealthy, nice and Mark might even qualify as cool, since he shares Juno’s taste in music and splatter movies. Ellen Page is beyond perfect as the wisecracking but friendly Juno, who’s bright, yet young and naïve enough to think that there is no harm in spending time with the adoptive father of her unborn child. Add a solid script and a great soundtrack and there you have it: this year’s independent American masterpiece. Directed by Jason Reitman (MP) 92 min. Cinecenter, Kriterion, The Movies, Pathé De Munt, Studio K Lady Chatterley In the hands of Pascale Ferran, and in French, DH Lawrence’s classic novel becomes an almost spiritual film about the transforming power of love and sex. The first time Constance Chatterley (Marina Hands) and her gamekeeper Parkin (Jean-Louis Coullo’ch) do it, things are a bit clumsy—and they both remain fully clothed. Their growing intimacy is shown by their increasing lack of garments, until, by the end of the film, we see them not only completely naked but dancing around in the rain, and feel we have gotten to know them. In Hands’s brilliantly natural, Césarwinning performance, Lady Chatterley is both funny and moving: you can’t help feeling for her. Hands has moved Lawrence’s novel past the pornographic and the feminist to the human level. (MM) Rialto Margot at the Wedding Starting with his latest film’s title, Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale) pays obvious homage to all those Eric Rohmer tales about family, relationships and summer vacations. Add some Chekhovian gloom, a ’70s soundtrack, and enough hysterical East Coast intellectuals for a half dozen Woody Allen films, and you have a pretty good idea what Margot at the Wedding is all about. Margot (Nicole Kidman), a divorced short story writer with adolescent son in tow, travels to the family summer house

27 March-2 April 2008

De Bloedbruiloft where her sister Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is planning to get married to ne’er-do-well Malcolm (Jack Black). Ancient wounds reopen, and the conversation switches to parental abuse, scrotum size and Literature imitating Life. And we get to see Nicole Kidman climbing a tree. The end result is more unsettling than entertaining. (MB) 93 min. Cinecenter, Het Ketelhuis

Mio fratello è figlio unico Accio Benassi (Elio Germano) feels like the least valued member of his family.

Perhaps correctly: Accio isn’t his real name, but a nickname meaning ‘pain in the ass’. So Accio does everything possible to live up to his name, including leaving the seminary and joining the Fascist party.

Luckily the viewer realises—even if Accio himself does not—that his actions are driven not by idealism but provocation. He is no more a serious fascist than his socialist brother Manrico (Riccardo Scamarcio) is a saint. A lighter, less portentous version of La Meglio gioventù—also focusing on two brothers in turbulent Italy. Daniele Luchetti directed. In Italian with Dutch subtitles. (BS) 118 min. Cinema Amstelveen, Rialto The Mist Forget the two Stephen King adaptations that gave Frank Darabont his Oscar nominations: the humanitarian touch displayed in The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile has become a sucker punch in the gut in the gloriously misanthropic The Mist. When a supermarket in a small rural town becomes enveloped by a mysterious fog, the bargain hunters soon fall prey to mysterious tentacled critters and other assorted nasty pieces of otherworldly fauna.

Even more trouble brews when the local Christian fundamentalist starts preaching the Apocalypse. The ending is a bit glib, but the rest is full of nail-biting suspense. (LvH) 127 min. Pathé ArenA

Naissance des pieuvres Céline Sciamma’s ravishing and unnerving debut feature takes us through the teenage agonies of its three female protagonists, the 15-year-olds Anne, Marie and Floriane, as each experiences her own particular sexual awakening one summer in the suburbs of Paris. The focal point is the local swimming pool, where Floriane is the leader of a synchronised swim team. The film tells its story predominantly through close-ups of the girls’ faces as they act out their emotional and physical dramas: Anne and Floriane stand on the threshold of a heterosexual adult world, whereas Marie is in love with Floriane. In French with Dutch subtitles. (AD) 85 min.

Cinecenter No Country for Old Men The Coen Brothers’ latest brings Cormac McCarthy’s novel to the big screen, and it’s a shock to the system, simultaneously elegiac and terrifyingly violent. A subversion of the classic lawmenchase-outlaw genre, the film is shot like a cross between a Western and a horror flick. A Texan named Llewellyn Moss (Josh Brolin) takes off with millions in cash he’s found at the site of a drug deal gone wrong.

Tommy Lee Jones is the laconic Sheriff Bell, trying to bring Moss in Javier Bardem is Chigurh, the Terminator hitman dispatched by the cartel. The Coens give us none of the usual male-bonding, hunter-and-hunted nonsense: Chigurh, Bell and Moss are entirely alone, each in his own way, particularly Moss as the slaughter inevitably catches up with him. A stunning piece of cinema. (AD) 122 min. The Movies, Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt, Pathé Tuschinski The Other Boleyn Girl Love, sex, ambition, rivalry and intrigue are the keywords of this bodice-ripper set in 16th-century England. Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) and her sister Mary (Scarlett Johansson) are seen only as commodities by their scheming father and uncle. Both girls compete for the love of King Henry VIII, and both end up in his bed, but only the manipulative Anne will marry him and become queen. The sumptuous props and costumes and the vibrant colour schemes are sure to please periodmovie fans. But the film focuses on the relationship between Anne and Mary at the expense of the historical context: the divorce of Henry VIII from Katherine of Aragon and the subsequent rift between England and the Catholic Church are mentioned only in passing. The result feels romanticised and oversimplified. Directed by Justin Chadwick.

(GR) 115 min. Pathé De Munt, Pathé Tuschinski

Persepolis A satisfying adaptation of the autobio-

graphical graphic novel about a girl coming of age in Iran during the Islamic revolution in the 1970s, struggling with everything from tight headscarves to bomb threats. In a cute and comical hand-drawn style, the book’s writer and illustrator, Marjane Satrapi, and her co-director, Vincent Paronnaud, draw parallels between a girl’s passage from innocence to puberty and the violent transition of a civilised country into a fundamentalist state. Even a denunciation from the Iranian government couldn’t stop the screening of this irresistible and intelligent charm offensive. The English, as opposed to the French, version is showing voices include Catherine Deneuve, Sean Penn and Iggy Pop. Subtitled in Dutch. (MdR) 95 min. Rialto

Professione: Reporter Known in English as The

Passenger, this 1975 film is a masterpiece, one of Michelangelo Antonioni’s finest works. Jack Nicholson and Maria Schneider star as a journalist who trades one identity for another and the woman who becomes his accomplice and, ultimately, the moral center of his adopted world. Less a thriller (though the mood of mystery is pervasive) than a meditation on the problems of knowledge, action for its own sake, and the relationship of the artist to the work he brings into being. Next to this film, Blow-Up seems a facile, though necessary, preliminary. By all means go. In English. (DD) 116 min. Filmmuseum

Rendition They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but sometimes good intentions pave the red carpet to your tasteful local cinema. This is the case with Rendition, an overzealous attempt at heavy-handed Hollywood screenwriting designed to impart to American audiences that torture = bad.

While it’s a noble thing to make a film that counterbalances the interrogation porn of 24, and it’s nice to jazz it up with great actors (Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep), anybody who has been following the news should know all this already. And as always, the truth in this matter is far more insidious and noxious than fiction. Directed by Gavin Hood, apparently as a transitional project between his art-house hit Tsotsi and the upcoming X-Men: Wolverine. (LvH) 120 min.

Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt The Spiderwick Chronicles The rebellious Jared and his twin brother (both played by Freddie Highmore) move into a dilapidated mansion along with their sister and newly divorced mom. In the attic, Jared finds Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You and discovers the existence of brownies, (hob)goblins and sprites, not to mention the ogre Mulgarath (Nick Nolte), who wants the Field Guide to rule the world. The children’s battle against Mulgarath’s army is of course a metaphor for a dysfunctional family pulling together. But except for some enchanting moments, much of the film gets lost in chaos and chase scenes. Directed by Mark Waters based on the books by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. (GR) 97 min. Kriterion, Pathé De Munt Stellet Licht The films of Mexican director Carlos Reygadas are an acquired taste. Not everyone will warm to his distinctive visual style, his use of an amateur cast and his uncompromising depiction of human nature. But if you’re looking for something out of the ordinary, Reygadas certainly delivers. His third feature, Stellet Licht (‘Silent Light’), starts at dawn and ends at dusk it’s a meditative and languid tale about a married farmer, in a small Mennonite enclave in northern Mexico, who falls for another woman and thinks it might be a sign from God. In Plautdietsch with Dutch subtitles. (BS) 127 min. Rialto TBS A convicted murderer escapes from a psychiatric ward and kidnaps a 13-year-old girl in this thriller by Pieter Kuijpers (Van God Los, Dennis P). A great performance by Theo Maassen isn’t quite enough to save the film, but it might still make it worth watching.

In Dutch. 88 min. Het Ketelhuis

There Will Be Blood An epic film of intimate proportions about a ruthlessly ambitious oil baron who comes into conflict with a charismatic young preacher in the California desert in the early 20th century. A powerhouse performance by Daniel Day-Lewis as

Daniel Plainview netted him a rightly deserved Academy Award, but Paul Dano’s performance as the weaselly Eli Sunday is also impressive to say the least. Don’t let the sprawling length or the emotional investment the film asks of its viewers deter you: There Will Be Blood is a true masterpiece that any serious film lover simply cannot afford to miss.

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia). (LvH) 159 min. Cinecenter, The Movies, Pathé De Munt, Pathé Tuschinski Tiramisu Bookkeeper Jacob (Jacob Derwig) has a new client, the talented but loud stage actress Anne (Anneke Blok). Her paperwork is a mess. Her life isn’t much better: her ex (Gijs Scholten van Aschat) has found a younger girlfriend and Anne is so heavily in debt that she needs to sell her houseboat. It sounds like the setup to a romantic comedy. Instead, this feature by Paula van der Oest (Zus en Zo) turns out to be a meandering melodrama, complete with uninteresting developments and an unsatisfactory climax, despite the presence of the formidable Anneke Blok (Alles is liefde). Definitely a missed opportunity. In Dutch.

(BS) 90 min. Het Ketelhuis, De Uitkijk U2 3D Filmed in South America during the band’s 2005/06 Vertigo Tour, this IMAX film attempts to reproduce or even intensify U2’s stadium-filling energy. 85 min. Pathé ArenA

Untraceable Untraceable FBI cyber-crime specialist Diane Lane tracks a diabolical serial killer who offers streaming video of his kidnapped victims on his website. Each of them is hooked up to some Rube Goldberg torture device, and every new hit on the site incrementally raises the pain level. By now the hypocrisy of simultaneously condemning and exploiting the audience’s sadism has become so commonplace in American movies it hardly seems noteworthy. Sure enough, when I typed the name of the site— KillWithMe.com—into my browser, Sony Pictures Entertainment had created a facsimile of it to promote the movie. Pardon me while I vomit. ):>O%%%% Gregory Hoblit (Fracture) directed. (JJ) 100 min. Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt

You, the Living A brutally deadpan comedy by Swedish director Roy Andersson, who seems to have translated the entire range of human misery into a loosely connected series of slapstick gags. His black humor is impressively layered, each layer darker than the last: when a joker at a family banquet insists on performing that old parlour trick of yanking the tablecloth out from under the dishes, he not only shatters a huge collection of crystal and china but also reveals—look sharp or you’ll miss it—a vintage dining table inlaid with swastikas. Andersson’s building block is a static long shot so solidly composed it suggests a panel in a comic strip the central figure is often encased in his own suffering, and sometimes additional laughs come from a background figure surveying his despair in open-mouthed bewilderment.

(JJ) 94 min. Filmmuseum, Kriterion Zomerhitte Thirty-five years after starring in the film of Jan Wolkers’ Turks Fruit, Monique van de Ven directs Zomerhitte, based on the final entry in Wolkers’ literary oeuvre. While the photography is lush and the male (Waldemar Torenstra) and female (Sophie Hilbrand) leads suitably luscious and unclothed, the wooden dialogue and clunky crime subplot that plagued the source material also hamper the on-screen version. This might be one of the rare cases in which the film is better than the book, but since the original novella is one of the least convincing Wolkerian writings, that’s not really saying much. In Dutch. (LvH) 96 min. Het Ketelhuis, Pathé ArenA, Pathé De Munt, Pathé Tuschinski

Amsterdam Weekly

27 March-2 April 2008

FILM TIMES Thursday 27 March until Wednesday 2 April.

Times are provided by cinemas and are subject to last-minute changes. Film times also at www.amsterdamweekly.nl Cavia Van Hallstraat 52-I, 681 1419 Fake-Festival Fri, Sat Cinecenter Lijnbaansgracht 236, 623 6615 Atonement daily 16.15, 19.15, 21.45, Sun also 11.00, 13.30 Empties daily 16.15, 19.15, 21.45, Sun also 11.00, 13.45 Juno daily 19.30, Sun also 13.45 Margot at the Wedding daily 16.15, 21.45, Sun also 11.15 Naissance des pieuvres daily 19.15, Sun also 11.00, 13.30 There Will Be Blood daily 15.45, 21.00 Cinema Amstelveen Plein 1960 2, Amstelveen, 547 5175 Alvin en de Chipmunks Sat, Wed 13.30 Asterix en de Olympische Spelen Sat, Wed 15.30, Sun 14.00 Away from Her Thur-Sat 20.30, Sun 16.30 Desmond en het Moerasmonster Sun 12.00 Mio fratello è figlio unico Tues, Wed 20.30 Filmhuis Griffioen Uilenstede 106, Amstelveen, 444 5100 Moordwijven Thur, Fri, Tues 19.30 Filmmuseum Vondelpark 3, 589 1400 Aleksandra Thur 17.30, Fri, Mon-Wed 17.45, 19.30, Sat, Sun 19.45 Burger and the King / Michiel van Erp Sat 12.00 Carabiniers, Les / Pieter Verhoeff Sat 19.30 Dutch Directors' Film Weekend Sat-Sun Elephant / Mijke de Jong Sun 19.30 Filmbanktour #17: Sugar Is Sweet Thur 19.30 Haine, La / Dana Nechushtan Sun 12.00 Heimatklänge Sat 16.00 Il Conformista / Michiel van Jaarsveld Sun 21.30 My Life as a Dog / Rita Horst Sun 14.00 Panzano Thur 22.00 Professione: Reporter Fri, Mon-Wed 21.30, Sat, Sun 21.45 Raging Bull / Joram Lürsen Sun 16.30 Songs from the Second Floor Mon, Tues 21.45 Time of the Gypsies / Hanro Smitsman Sat 21.30 Trigger Sun, Wed 14.00 Who Is Harry Kellerman? / Ben Sombogaart Sat 16.30 Who the Hell Is Juliette? / Jiska Rickels Sat 14.00 You, the Living Thur, Fri, Mon-Wed 17.15, 19.45, Thur, Fri, Wed also 21.45 Het Zakmes Sun, Wed 13.45 Goethe-Institut Amsterdam Herengracht 470, , Sumurun Fri 20.00 Het Ketelhuis Haarlemmerweg 8-10, 684 0090 De Avonturen van het Molletje Sat, Sun, Wed 13.30 De Bloedbruiloft daily 19.15, Sun also 12.45 Desmond en het Moerasmonster Sat, Sun, Wed 13.45 Margot at the Wedding daily 19.30 Skin daily 21.15, Sat, Sun also 14.45 TBS Thur-Sun, Tues 17.00 Tiramisu daily 17.30, 21.30, Sat, Sun, Wed also 15.00 Zomerhitte daily 19.45, 21.45, Thur-Mon, Wed also 17.15, Sat, Sun, Wed also 15.15 Kriterion Roetersstraat 170, 623 1708 Amnesty International Film Festival Thur-Sun Buster Keaton programme Wed 15.00 The Darjeeling Limited Thur-Sun 17.00, Mon-Wed 19.45, Tues, Wed 22.00 I'm Not There Thur-Sun 19.15, Mon-Wed 18.30, Mon, Wed 21.15 Juno Mon-Wed 17.45 Lars and the Real Girl Thur-Sun 22.00, Mon-Wed 20.00, 22.15 Pippi in Taka Tuka Land Wed 13.15 The Science of Sleep Wed 17.00 Sneak Preview Tues 22.15 Sophie's Choice Mon 22.00 The Spiderwick Chronicles Sat, Sun 15.00 De Wonderwinkel van Mr Magorium Wed 14.45 You, the Living Mon, Tues 18.00 Melkweg Cinema Lijnbaansgracht 234A, 624 1777 Control Thur-Sat 19.00 Cultcorner: Zombie Holocaust Mon 19.00 How to Get Rid of the Others Sun, Wed 19.00 The Movies Haarlemmerdijk 159-165, 638 6016 Asterix en de Olympische Spelen Sun 12.30 I'm Not There daily 16.45, 19.15, 21.45, Sat, Sun, Wed also 14.00 Juno daily 16.15, Sat, Sun, Wed also 14.15 The Kite Runner daily 18.45 Lars and the Real Girl daily 16.30, 21.15 No Country for Old Men daily 17.00, 19.30, 22.00, Sat, Sun, Wed also 14.30, Sun 12.15 De Spiderwick-Kronieken Sat, Sun, Wed 14.45 There Will Be Blood daily 18.30, 21.30, Sun also 11.15 De Nieuwe Anita Frederik Hendrikstraat 111, 06 4150 3512 Ali: Fear Eats the Soul Mon 20.30 OT301 Overtoom 301, 779 4913 End of the Century:The Story of the Ramones Sun 20.30 Gauguin:The Full Story Sun 20.30 Pathé ArenA ArenA Boulevard 600, 0900 1458 10,000 BC daily 13.20, 15.50, 18.20, 20.45, Thur-Mon, Wed also 19.45, 22.10, Thur, Mon, Tues also 12.10, 14.40, 17.10, Sat, Sun also 10.50, Sat also 23.15, 0.35 27 Dresses daily 18.10, Thur-Sat, Mon-Wed also 20.40, Thur, Mon, Tues also 12.30, 15.10, Sat also 23.10, Sun also 21.00 Alibi daily 13.40, 15.45, Sat, Sun also 11.30, Tues also 19.30 Alvin en de Chipmunks Fri-Sun, Wed 12.30, 15.10, Sat, Sun also 10.20 Asterix en de Olympische Spelen Fri-Sun, Wed 13.45, Sat, Sun also 11.05 The Bucket List daily 13.10, 15.20, 17.45, 20.00, 22.15, Sat, Sun also 11.00, Sat also 0.30 Definitely, Maybe daily 18.00, 20.30, Sat also 23.00

Horton (NL) Fri-Sun, Wed 12.15, 13.20, 14.15, 15.30, 16.45, 17.40, Sat, Sun also 10.10, 11.10 Horton Hears a Who daily 14.50, 16.50, 19.10, Sat, Sun also 10.10 John Rambo daily 22.05, Sat also 0.15 Jumper daily 19.50, Thur, Mon, Tues also 17.30, Thur, Mon also 13.05, 15.15 The Mist daily 20.50 No Country for Old Men daily 12.20, 21.10, Sat also 23.45 Pursuit of Happyness Tues 13.30 Recep Ivedik daily 12.00, 14.30, 17.00, 19.30, 22.00, Sat also 0.20 Rendition daily 16.10, 18.50, 21.30, Thur, Fri, Mon, Tues also 13.30 Reservation Road daily 12.20, 14.45, 17.05, 19.20, 21.45, Sat also 0.00 Samson en Gert: Hotel op Stelten Sat, Sun, Wed 12.40, 14.25, Sat, Sun also 10.40 Sneak Preview Tues 21.30 The Spiderwick Chronicles (Imax) daily 15.00, 17.20, Sat also 10.30 De Spiderwick-Kronieken Fri, Sun, Wed 13.05, 15.15, 17.30, Sat, Sun also 10.45 Step Up 2 daily 16.15, 18.30, Thur, Mon, Tues also 13.50, Sat also 23.35 U2 3D daily 13.00, 19.45, 21.50, Sat also 23.50 Untraceable daily 19.00, 21.20, Thur, Mon, Tues also 14.15, 16.40, Sat also 23.40 Zomerhitte daily 12.00, 14.20, 16.30, 18.45, 21.00, Sat, Sun also 9.50, Sat also 23.20 Pathé De Munt Vijzelstraat 15, 0900 1458 10,000 BC Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 13.30, 15.15, 16.00, 18.00, 20.45, 21.30, Thur, Fri, Sun-Tues also 18.45, Thur, Mon, Tues also 12.30, Sun also 11.00, Wed also 18.20, Sat 12.15, 15.00, 16.15, 17.45, 19.00, 20.30, 21.45, 23.15 27 Dresses Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 15.45, 18.15, 21.00, Thur, Mon, Tues also 13.00, Sat 16.00, 18.45, 21.30 Alibi Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 12.40, 17.20, Sat also 13.20, 18.00 Alvin en de Chipmunks Fri, Sun, Wed 12.50, 15.10, Sun also 10.40, Sat 12.00, 14.20, 16.30 Asterix en de Olympische Spelen Fri, Sun, Wed 12.30, Sat 10.40, 13.30 The Bucket List Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 12.00, 14.15, 16.45, 19.15, 21.45, Sat 10.20, 12.45, 15.15, 17.50, 20.15, 22.45 Definitely, Maybe Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 14.45, 17.15, 20.15, Thur, Mon-Wed also 12.00, Sat 16.45, 19.15, 22.00 Horton (NL) Fri, Sun, Wed 12.15, 14.30, 17.00, Sun also 10.15, Sat 10.20, 12.30, 14.45 Horton Hears a Who Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 12.10, 14.10, 19.10, Sat 10.50, 13.00, 18.30 Jumper Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 17.30, 20.00, 22.15, Thur, Mon, Tues also 12.50, 15.10, Sat 18.50, 21.15, 23.35 Juno Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 18.30, Sat 17.30 No Country for Old Men Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 21.15, Thur, Mon, Tues also 12.45, 15.30, Sat 20.00, 23.00 The Other Boleyn Girl Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 18.10, Sat 19.10 Rendition Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 17.45, Thur, Fri, Sun-Tues also 20.30, Thur, Mon, Tues also 12.20, 15.00, Sat 19.30, 22.15 Reservation Road Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 16.30, 21.20, Sat 15.30, 21.00, 23.30 Ronda Nocturna Wed 21.00 Samson en Gert: Hotel op Stelten Fri, Sun, Wed 12.10, 14.00, Sat, Sun 10.20, Sat also 12.15, 14.10 Sneak Preview Tues 21.30 The Spiderwick Chronicles Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 13.10, 15.40, Sun also 10.50, Sat 11.10, 13.45, 16.20 De Spiderwick-Kronieken Fri, Sat, Wed 12.20, Fri, Wed also 15.00, Sat also 10.15, 14.40, 17.00, Sun 10.20, 12.50, 15.20 Step Up 2 Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 14.50, 19.45, 22.05, Sun also 10.20, Sat 11.00, 15.40, 20.50, 23.20 There Will Be Blood Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 20.50, Sat 21.50 Untraceable Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 13.45, 16.15, 19.00, 21.40, Sun also 11.20, Sat 13.15, 15.45, 18.15, 20.45, 23.10 The Water Horse Fri, Sun 12.15, Sat 11.20, 14.00 Zomerhitte Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed 19.30, 22.00, Thur, Mon, Tues also 12.15, 14.30, 17.00, Fri, Sun, Wed also 12.45, 15.30, Sun also 10.30, Sat 10.15, 12.40, 15.10, 17.15, 19.45, 22.30 Pathé Tuschinski Reguliersbreestraat 34, 0900 1458 27 Dresses daily 18.00 Bobby Thur, Tues 13.30 The Bucket List daily 14.45, 17.15, 19.40, 22.00, Thur-Mon, Wed also 12.10, Tues also 12.30 Earth daily 13.45 Giorni e nuvole daily 18.45, Thur, Fri, Sun-Wed also 15.45, Sat also 15.50 Horton (NL) Sat, Sun, Wed 12.00, 14.15 The Kite Runner daily 20.30, Fri-Mon, Wed also 15.00, Fri, Mon also 12.00 No Country for Old Men daily 16.20, 19.00, 21.40, Thur, Fri, Mon, Tues 13.15 The Other Boleyn Girl daily 21.20 Samson en Gert: Hotel op Stelten Sat, Sun, Wed 12.30, 14.30 De Spiderwick-Kronieken Sat, Sun, Wed 12.20 There Will Be Blood daily 20.00, Sat-Wed also 16.40, Mon, Tues also 13.00 Zomerhitte daily 13.30, 16.00, 18.30, 21.00 Rialto Ceintuurbaan 338, 676 8700 Auf der anderen Seite Thur, Fri, Sun 17.10 The Band's Visit daily 18.25, Fri-Sun, Wed also 16.30 The Banishment daily 20.15, Sat, Sun also 13.45 Caramel Mon-Wed 17.15 CinemAsia Wed Giorni e nuvole daily 21.45, Thur-Tues also 19.30, Fri, Wed also 14.45, Sun also 11.45, Wed also 19.15 Lady Chatterley Sat, Sun 14.15 Das Leben der Anderen Sun 11.15 Mio fratello è figlio unico daily 22.00, Sat, Sun also 13.20 Persepolis Thur-Tues 20.00, Fri, Sun, Wed also 15.30 Request! Sat 23.00 Stellet Licht Thur, Fri, Sun-Tues 17.30, Sun also 11.00 Uit het hart van Odessa Sat 16.00 De Roode Bioscoop Haarlemmerplein 7H, 625 7500 Armée des ombres, L' Thur 20.30 The Spirit of the Beehive Sun 20.30 Studio K Timorplein 62, 692 0422 Amnesty International Film Festival Thur-Sun Away from Her Mon-Wed 19.15 The Band's Visit Mon-Wed 21.45 Juno Tues, Wed 19.45 The Kite Runner Mon-Wed 21.30 De Uitkijk Prinsengracht 452, 623 7460 Death of a President Wed 21.30 Earth Sun-Wed 17.15 Horton (NL) Sat, Sun, Wed 15.15, Sun also 13.15 Reservation Road Thur-Mon 21.30 Tiramisu Thur-Sat 17.15, Thur, Sat-Mon, Wed 19.30

21

WEEKLY CLASSIFIEDS Ads are free, space permitting. They will be posted both to the paper and online. Guaranteed placement is available for a small fee; see our website for details. Ads may be published in English, het Nederlands or whatever language is best for you to communicate your message.

How to submit an ad: via our website at www.amsterdamweekly.nl, by fax at 020 620 1666 or post to Amsterdam Weekly, De Ruyterkade 106, 1011 AB Amsterdam. Deadline: Monday at 12.00, the week of publication. guages: Spanish, French, German, Italian or Portuguese.

BAD DJ 4 YOUR EVENT Good DJs play in clubs, so Please send your CV to: you call an ordinary DJ to play in your party but then the gabriela@adamsrecruitparty isn’t memorable. If you get a bad DJ, everyone will ment.com hate it and talk about it for weeks. Bad is good. I’m a bad TRANSLATORS WANTED DJforyourparty.Body-move/braindance/house/IDM/DUB- International company in Step/wRAP. Contact: cae.carvalho@gmail.com Amsterdam looking for German and Spanish TRANSLADOG SITTING/CLEANING TORS. Please send your CV JOBS OFFERED Do u have experience with to: gabriela@adamsrecruitASSISTANTWe are an Inter- dogs? R u honest and reli- ment.com national Management Con- able? Do u have time on an GLOBAL COMPANYExcelsultancy who are looking for ad-hoc basis, but u r open to lent EXCEL skills? Good job a motivated and pro-active working in late afternoon/ear- opportunity with internationassistant who can help in our ly evening? We’re looking for al company at Schiphol-Rijk. reception and with logisitics a dogsitter who is comfort- Send your CV to: for our busy consultants. If able with undertaking gen- gabriela@adamsrecruityou are fluent in English and eral housework at the same ment.com have a valid working permit time. References required.

SPEAK SWEDISH? We are in the NL, please send you CV Contact mel_cove@hotcurrently recruiting for a to jobs@thtconsulting.com mail.com well know international PERSONAL ASSISTANT AD OPERATIONS MANAG- telecommunications com5+ hrs/wk. Need to be: ER Setup, monitor, & opti- pany based in Amsterdam. responsible, motivated, mize online ad campaigns If you are native Swedish (or punctual w/ strong commu- while offering of service/sup- Danish or Norwegian with nication skills (duties port to the Pms & Sales. Are good understanding of include: running errands, you: proactive, Internet savvy Swedish), please send us travel arrangements, online w/ knowledge of DFP Dart & your CV to maria@adamsreresearch, organization, etc) RM technology? Fluent in cruitment.com If interested please contact English & Dutch? Can you SERVER ADMIN WANTED isanidea@gmail.com troubleshoot, work tight deadDirectness BV, growing AmsHOTEL RECEPTIONIST lines & handle pressure? CV’s: terdam-based software co, mappello@adlinkmedia.net Searching for a part time seeks talented young LINUX

AD OF THE WEEK

receptionist, day or night for a two stars hotel in the Centrum. Email CV to info@oranjetulp.nl for details.

MULTILINGUAL JOBS Excellent job opportunities for candidates who speak, besides fluent English, 2 or more of the following lan-

guru to build and admin new web application server. Parttime at the moment (a few hours a week), and you can work mostly from home.

PHP/MySQL skills a bonus.

Send short CV to Adam.dorrell@directness.net WANTED:(SWISS)GERMANGuidion Computer Support is looking for enthusiastic people to support our Swiss operational team. If you are not afraid to take responsibilities and you have a ‘handson mentality’, you’re the one we are looking for. Please contact Claudia if you’re interested, 020 5205379 or cgallus@guidion.ch.

JOBS WANTED AVID OFFLINE EDITOR 9 years in TV, South African expat, valid work permits looking for a position in the Dutch TV/media industry.

Understanding of Dutch, native English, all rounder in post production. Email jacquayj@hotmail.com.

CLEANING OFFERED House Cleaning and Gardening services offered. Experienced and reliable. References available. Call Emily at 0644331041 DO IT ALL MANMan excellent at ironing clothes , gardening, moving house items, house painting, etc. available. Contact me at tel.0650942296. Thank you, Andrew

Amsterdam Weekly

22 CLEANING Experienced young male looking for cleaning job. Please send me a mail at shaan_m2003@ yahoo.com.

AMSTERDAM/AMSTELVE EN Nordic female in fulltime job looking to find a studio/small apartment around Amsterdam/Amstelveen.

Max 600 EUR. Please e-mail HOUSING FOR RENT extane76@yahoo.no or call ROOM TO RENT A room to 0634436316 after 1800 hrs. rent from the 1st April. Close HOUSING FOR SALE to Javastraat, 15 min from the center by tram. app. in DETACHED HOUSE With the ground floor. The rent is 2 holiday apts for sale in 400 E per month. You would Oberwiesenthal, Germany. be living with another roo- Tel: +49 3734 88355. Email: mate. Interested? my email: pensionrichter41@gmx.de cischy77@hotmail.com or OTHER SPACES call 0613886065.

FOR RENT ON CURACAO PHOTO STUDIO For amaNice holiday house for rent teur and professional phoon Curacao (Normandie 3). tographers. Can also be used Living room, kitchen, 3 as meeting or gathering bdrms, bathroom, carport. space. 100m2, 150/day. PosIncludes TV, w/m, rental car. sible to rent photo equipClose to public transport, ment. High ceilings, good, centrally located, close to natural light and located on shops & police station, qui- WG Plein, adjacent to Overet neighbourhood. Call 06 toom. For appointment and 1021 8271 or email info@tuli- more info contact D. Ingel: 06 2883 4224. pany.nl for info.

HOLIDAY APT IN GERFOR SALE MANY for 2-5 pers. OberVOUCHER Im selling my wiesenthal, Germany. Tel +49 373 488 355, www.ferienwoh- voucher for a rental car nungen-oberwiesenthal.net. (worth 500 euro) for 300 euro since Im moving... Check 1BR WATERLOOPLEIN www.sixt.nl This is a really WATERLOOPLEIN 175, for good offer :). Contact: Females only; 4 room apart- karin@divinemusictribe.com ment(110m2) opposite Waterlooplein metro; 3 sleep HOLLYWOOD HANG LAMP chambers; 2 bathrooms; Fur- Brand van Egmond Hollynished(washing machine, wood beautiful, nearly new dryer, oven, microwave, cook- ceiling-lamp for sale. Big ing range, fridge); Central 120cm diameter. 2000euro heating; No Pets; No smok- or nearest offer. Was 4000 ing in the house; E750 pm, euro in the shop. Contact: 0617537063 exclusive G/W/L GRAND ROOF BALCONY Legal 60 m2, 2 room apt. Amsterdam, Javastr. 15 min. from Dam square. Wood floors.

New kitchen,with appliances.

New bathroom: bathtub 40 sq. m. rooftop terrace. Rent Exclusive NUON 1270 EURO furnished. Three month damage deposit in interest bearing bank account. Email: timothy.lowe@gmail.com

EXCELLENT DUTCH PROFICIENCY in conversation with solid base of pronounciation, grammar + spelling, beginners & intermediate courses. Beginners: 1 April to 24 June. Tues 19.0020.30/ 366,64 incl. Intermediate: 2 April to 25 June. Wed 19.00-20.30. excellentdutch@hotmail.com/06 3612 2870/www.excellentdutch.nl.

With more than 10 years of experience, if I can’t do it then nobody can do it! Now at Mctavish salon in de Pijp.

Contact Daniel for appointment: 06 2413 7392 or danielsmeets@yahoo.com. I also do make-up.

QUALITY PHOTOGRAPHY Portrait, headshoots, portfolios, architecture photography, see www.andresphotography.com Contact me for info and rates at andresinbox@gmail.com HAIRDRESSER English mobile hairdresser in A’dam.

Have your hair done in comfort of your own home. Haircuts starting from 15. Please call for appt on 773 6095.

DREADLOCKSDo you want nice dreads or just want to fix the ones you already have?

I can help you! Call me at 06CLASSIC BIKE For sale: 52455324 or email karin@ original oldtimer bike divinemusictribe.com (schoolmeestersfiets), in MULTIMEDIA AND MORE! good shape. 125,- + Giant It’s creative solutions season!

MTB 26. Contact: kara- And Creative Resources is ba1976@gmail.com your creative solutions headFRIDGE FOR SALEFridge quarters! It’s our once-in-afor sale. Brand new, never lifetime semi-annual sale at used. Moved to new apart- Creative Resources, where ment and surplus to require- you’ll find service second to ments. 170 or near offer. none. That’s Creative Contact: 06 38079045.

Resources. 064 623 8868.

RENAULT 4 GTL For sale: PC PROBLEMS Help with lovely blue R4, y.o.b. 1985.

PC problems: - installing softAPK until Jan. 2009. Lookware & hardware - upgrade ing for new house. For info. and pictures contact: kara- hardware & software - installing network - etc ba1976@gmail.com Tel.0655 371 575

CANAL HOUSE74 m2, room en suite, old Dutch beautiful house on the canal, 2 bedrooms, bathroom with bath, big balcony, kitchen with bar, 7 minutes from dam-square.

From March until August TRANSPORT (possibility longer). Rent: 1.400 euro p/m exclusive. call: ENGLISH MAN WITH VAN 0614825038.

Can help with removals, big MAGICAL HOUSEBOAT or small, in or outside of the Beautiful little livingboat for country. Reasonable rates, sublet beginning April 1, on quick service. Contact Lee quiet canal in heart of Amster- on 06 2388 2184 or whitedam. Boat is available for 2 to van@whitevanman.nl or see 3 months, 1000 euros/month www.whitevanman.nl. inclusive everything. You must SERVICES seetobelieve.Locatednearthe Amstelveld, 50m. from tram TAX & FINANCE Trying to lines. Cozy, private and very get quality advice and save magical. money at the same time? We are specialised in bookkeepHOUSING WANTED ing and taxes, and guide our AN IDEAL TENANT I’m relations through the entire looking for short or long term business process. We work accommodation in Amster- through a countrywide netdam from the beginning of work with professionals who April. An apt or a room - it can help on each issue. Call depends on what’s out there. us for RAAD! 691 2217.

I am a busy professional who can supply references if nec- GREAT HAIR COLOURIST essary. 0641 748 209 or Tints, highlights, colour eurofraser@hotmail.com changes, creative colours.

27 March-2 April 2008

CAREER CRISIS?Unhappy or stuck at work? Isn’t it time to discover what you really want in life? Lost purpose, passion or goal? Do yourself a favour, give your coach a call on 06 4998 8986 or 400 4778; email marianne@soulat-work.com. Soul at Work, A’dam. Sign up for free enewsletter on www.soul-atwork.com.

BUSINESS ADVICEAre you thinking about starting your own business? Do you have a company but administration and papers are not your thing? Do you need a business plan, labour from abroad, to buy real estate or moving abroad? Call Tulipany on 06 1021 8271 or email info@tulipany.nl.

STUNNING WEBSITES Experienced web designer builds professional, unique sites for very reasonable prices (starting at 300).

Online links to past projects available. Contact Jordan: jordangcz@yahoo.com, 06 3034 1238 QUALIFIED UPHOLSTERER Specialise in traditional and modern techniques including capiton. Give your furniture a new lease on life!

Wide range of fabrics to choose from including leather. Curtains also made to order. Contact Sophie for free estimate.

Tel.0641547557 Email.alabonnechaise@yahoo.com www.alabonnechaise.nl

on the body. For more info please contact Anouk Lambrechts, 06-52305738, info@allesisenergie.com, location: Amsterdam.

SALSASalsa Dancing: Beginners course starts Sunday, March 30 19.00-20.00.

Livornostraat 22hs, Amsterdam. (10 classes Eur 60) Pass by and find out how nice your Sunday evening is with dancMASSAGE ing Salsa!! For more info: TANTRA MASSAGESacred www.IkDans.Nu NEEDLE MAGIC! Clothing sensual massage created to maker with 20 years experi- arouse, circulate & increase Info@IkDans.Nu - Phone: 06 45922339. ence. From merciless corsets energy throughout the body. to a nip and a tuck!! Every- Moving energy not only DRAWING AND PAINTING thing from custom made enhances awareness and the Workshops by professional stagewear to alterations. Nee- capacity for pleasure, it can artist, various techniques, all dle magic. Check my web- also be a powerful healing styles, from scratch to paintsite. Home visits possible. experience. Tantra A’dam & ing with oils. Contact joneiselin@hetnet.nl.

Phone Beverly 06464 80125 London. Info: www.erostrance.com, Shanti@eros- FREE DIVING LEVEL 1 mail@tentaclestudio.com trance.com, 06 4277 3290.

Want to learn something excitENGLISH COUNSELOR MASSAGE COURSES Il ing? Plunge into the literalPsychotherapist. Fully qual- Cielo Open Day on 16 Mar ly breathtaking world of free ified(WPF,FDAP) with from 14.00-18.00 at Mirror diving at the Apnea Academany years experience. Centre where you can learn my. Enjoy the special breathCentral Amsterdam. Tel about holistic massage, foot ing and relaxation classes as 06389 81460 or Email reflexology, craniosacral & well as intensive pool and outRupertfawcett@aol.com energy work, also combina- door lessons starting 30 Mar. tions. Weekly lesson of 4 or 6 Info: www.apnea-amsterHEALTH & WELLNESS hours each. Also meditation dam.com and click the Apnea Academy button.

YOGA HOLIDAY17-24 June: workshops. Info il cielo: 06 Yoga, Sun and Sailing. Enjoy 3004 9738 or look INTRO TO TANTRA You’re www.ilcielo.org. invited to join us for a weeka wonderful relaxing holiday aboard a traditional style FOOT REFLEXOLOGY If end that will change your motor yacht in the calm warm you feel low in energy or out relationship to sex and spirwaters of the Mediterranean. of balance, foot reflexology it forever. In this workshop For more information, please can recharge your batteries you will learn tantric techand help to rebalance your niques to open your body, visit www.yogacruise.net. energetic system (applying heart & soul to the natuOVEREATERS ANONY- pressure to the areas on the ral flow of ecstatic energy.

MOUS Do you have a prob- feet that reflect the organs April 26-27. Amsterdam. lem with food? Maybe we can of the entire body). Anouk www.chandrabindutan help. English speaking Lambrechts, 06-52305738, trainstitute.com.

Overeaters Anonymous meet- info@allesisenergie.com, 020-320 9585 ings: Tues 19.00, Marius van location: Amsterdam.

TANTRA EXPERIENCE Is Bouwdijk Bastiaansestraat Sexuality a Doorway to SelfHOME IMPROVEMENT 30; Thur 20.00, Nieuwezijds Realization? You are invited Voorburgwal 282A. For more CARPENTER For all your to join Dawn Cartwright for info call 06 4874 9590. carpenting and plastering an experiential evening exploring Tantra & the potenYOGA WITH AN INDIAN call Thomas Pfanner on 06 1766 1109 (after 18.00, GM tial for enlightenment conTEACHER-Discover how simspeaking). We deliver a tained within sexuality. April ple ancient yoga practices quality job!

22, 8:00 pm. De Roos, Amscan help you to live a healthy terdam. 20 euro. www.chan& happy life. Learn the age COMPUTERS drabindutantrainstitute.com. old science of living in har020-320 9585 PC HOUSE DOCTOR Spemony with yourself and the YOGA FOR SPRING Spring cialised in virus/spyware world around you. Yoga is removal, h/w, s/w repair, is here, and a new yoga season suitable for all age groups. data recovery, wireless, is starting in Kundalini yoga More info: www.YogAmster- cable/ADSL installation and centreinAmsterdam.Ouryoga dam.nl or 0643902470 computer lessons from classes include: position, medACUPUNCTURE Certified friendly and experienced itation and chanting. A new American acupuncturist Microsoft professional for class on Sundays, get ready for treats both men and women reasonable price. Contact a new week. Classes are in English. Schedule at for a wide range of ailments Mario: 06 1644 8230. www.yogavoorjou.nl. You can at 2 locations in A’dam. CovCOURSES also email: info@yogaforjou.nl erage offered by many health insurance companies. Call GUITAR LESSONS Guitar LANGUAGES 06 2739 9789, email info@ lessons from an experiDUTCH LESSONS A'DAM acupunctuurnoordholland.nl enced teacher (conservaor visit www.acupunctu- torium graduate). Lessons Improve conversation/profor beginners and advanced fessional purpose/studies/ urnoordholland.nl. students. Learn to play pop, NT2. Also online. Min indiv MARTIAL ARTS CLASS rock, blues, funk, r&b, met- rate 15/hr. Adults & chilEnglish-speaking Qi Kwan al, Jazz, latin, punk and dren. Mon-Sat, 10.00-21.00.

Do. Combines yoga & self more. Joe Tel. 06 24589662 Also intensive courses. Min intensive: 15 hrs= 215,55. defence. Women friendly.

Works no matter what age, YOGACAFE.ORG New www.excellentdutch.nl.

Beginners Yoga course is New: Super-intensive sumstrength, or build. No 2 lessons starting on the 2nd of April. mer course. Info: excelare the same so you keep For more information about motivated. Reduces stress & the course and other week- lentdutch@hotmail.com, gets you fit. Every Sat 12.00, ly classes & events, please 06 3612 2870.

Sporthallen Lizzy Ansingh- visit www.yogacafe.org.

INTENSIVE DUTCH coursstraat 88 1072RD A’dam. es at Joost Weet Het! Classes helen.maynard-hill@qikwan- LEARN IMPROV THE- 4 times per week during 4 ATER EasyLaughs begins hours. Good teachers, fun do.com. its spring term April 5th classes and energetic atmoREIKI HEALING Are you with various levels of sphere. Small groups, Personfeeling low in energy or out improv classes. Learn stage al approach with Emphasis of balance? A reiki healing and presentation skills and on conversation. 2, 3, 4 and 8helps to rebalance your ener- have fun. Free tryout class. week courses. Price: 8/hr. getic system on an emotion- Email courses@easy- Visit www.joostweethet.nl. al, physical, mental and spir- laughs.nl for more info or Email info@joostweethet.nl. itual level by hand positions visit our web site.

Tel 420 8146.

visual and audio materials, along with text and workbooks.

IMPROVE YOUR DUTCH! in a study conversation group on Tues or Wednes at 20.0021.30 Also private classes, intensive, conversation, NT2, etc, all levels, starting every week, professional approach, linktaalstudio@gmail.com, Vijzelgracht 53C, Anja LEARN SPANISH! with a 0641339323 native teacher from Spain DUTCH COURSESLanguage with experience and Uni- school in the centre of Amsversity degree in teaching. terdam offers inspiring group All levels. Grammar, vocab- courses at a reasonable price. ulary, culture, pronuncia- Check out our website tion, conversation. Every- www.mercuurtaal.nl or call thing! 20/hr and groups of 6934250 2-3, 15 each. Email spanish.amsterdam@yahoo.es MUSIC or call 06 4384 5642.

LEARN TO PLAY BASS Do GAY DUTCH Yep! You might you want to learn to play bass not get your tongue around guitar? I am a 2nd year jazz everything you want, but at student who offers bass least you can get it around lessons with solfege, sight the Dutch language. Group reading, theory, etc. If you & 1-1 lessons, all levels, qual- are interested send me an eified & experienced NT2 mail at murosh@gmail.com teacher (also A’dam Weekly or call 0627225518 contributor). Lively lessons, emphasis on speaking. Cen- SINGING LESSONSSinging tral A’dam. 06 1238 lessons with a professional opera singer with interna8645/wdb@xs4all.nl. tional experience. All levTHE SCHOOL FOR DUTCH els, all ages. Reasonable www.learndutch.com. Lan- rates. Easy access by metro. guage games online.

For more info call Maria 020 DUTCH FOR EXPATS C&C 4211 837 or e-mail mackLanguage Support. Dutch owan@gmail.com Lessons in relaxed atmo- ACOUSTIC JAZZ-COMBO sphere, tailored to your needs, Jazz-trio Desktop reDundanall levels, flexible schedule, cy (piano/bass/drums) sets 1-on-1. Concentration on a pleasant mood for corpopractical use and conversa- rate receptions, but also on tion. Tutor also speaks Span- many other occasions such ish. For details, visit as parties, weddings, www.lasu.nl. reunions, exhibition openWANT TO LEARN GERMAN ings... you name it! Visit Dear all Germnan speakers. www.excellentdutch.nl/index I am looking for German class- -english.html or call 06es to begin as soon as possi- 51601502 for more info. ble. Please contact me at SINGING LESSONS On Prinsengracht, beautiful lynn_baron@yahoo.co.uk atmosphere. Classical voice ENGLISH LESSONS If you training, breathing techwant to improve your English niques, scales, etc. For on any level or for any purbeginners & professionals. pose, the solution is here! Individual & group lessons.

Private and small group cours- From classic, jazz to rock, es offered in city centre with all styles of singing. For free tailor-made lessons and fun, introduction lesson, mail: pleasant atmosphere.Find ajara77@yahoo.com ,or call the way to learn that suits Michael on 020-3202095. you.highly qualified tutor. contact easyenglishamsterLOOKING FOR dam@gmail.com ACCOUNTANT WANTED DUTCH COURSES Kataku- I am a Personal Trainer / ra-WBLC Dutch Language Massage Therapist looking School New courses every for a bookkeeper who is month: Group classes, max 6 students. SHARP PRICES! interested in exchanging Two locations: Amsterdam accounting services for Centre, near Rembrandtplein health and fitness advice and Amsterdam Zuid, near / training. Contact me at: World Trade Center. debsc27@hotmail.com www.katakura-wblc.nl GROUPS & CLUBS tel.0206122727 WHAT'S MY BLOCK? Do HEY! YOU AMERICAN? you have difficulty learning Join the fun with like-mindDutch? This fun interactive ed Americans at Democrats workshop explores the rea- Abroad. With monthly Demssons. Presented by experi- Fun Drinks, discussions, enced coach Jane Stephen- issue groups, and other activson. When: Sat 29 March ities. You don’t even have to 13.30. Where: Het Anker, ‘t be a Dem to join! Go to Prooyen 4A, 1141 VD, Mon- www.democratsabroad.nl nickendam. Cost 15. More for more info. info tel 0299 653 639/ LESBIAN EXPAT GROUP www.knowboundaries.nl.

Come and join us – A social SPANISH COURSES Molinos de Viento is a well known group for expat lesbian and Spanish language institute bisexual women in Amswith more than 25 years terdam. To join our mailteaching experience. We ing list send a blank email offer Spanish courses for all to lbexpatamsterdam-sublevels, as well as a special scribe@yahoogroups.com beginner’s course for English You can unsubscribe at any speakers. Registering for time. spring semester courses now!

PERSONALS For more information: www.molinosdeviento.nl.

LOOKING FOR A DATE SPEAK SPANISH Experi- Looking for a woman aged enced teacher intends to pre- between 25 and 35 for relapare you in accordance to tionship. I am a Dutchman your own needs. Levels: basic, above 38 years, quiet, seriintermediate, advanced and ous, hardworking, reliable conversational. The courses person living in Amsterdam. include conversation, pho- Interested? CALL 06-26 03 netic, grammar and compre- 85 53. or contact me by hension. It uses a variety of e mail. tverdo@hotmail.com

Jobs