July 2002

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Features

#But I'm Beautiful

You probably think Muriel's Wedding is a kitsch comedy of little lasting interest. Andy Medhurst argues for its place as one of the greatest lesbian love stories in film history.

#Only Connect

Pedro Almodóvar hires two female stars to play expressive near-corpses in Hable con ella. Paul Julian Smith delights as Spain's celebrity director tests his audience's staying power.

Rich and Strange

This year's Cannes was bursting with good films that successfully mixed art and politics. Our critics pick 30 of the best to look out for. Plus Nick James is seduced by Scorsese's Gangs of New York and asks why Lynne Ramsay's Morven Callar wasn't in Competition.

Slaughterhouse Blues

Charles Burnett, not Spike Lee, shows black American life as it really is, argues Armond White. Plus Burnett talks to Alex Cox about the award-winning Killer of Sheep.

Send in the Clones

Shawn Levy joins the paparazzi at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch and sees Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones as its maker intended. Plus Edward Lawrenson assesses the film's spectacular effects and points out that less can be more.

Selected reviews

#Film of the Month: Spider-Man

Spider-Man mixes charm and spectacle. But Aunt May is unmoved. By Kim Newman

Reviews in this issue:

  • Abduction Club, The
  • Beijing Bicycle
  • Big Fat Liar
  • Birthday Girl
  • Dancing at the Blue Iguana
  • Dogtown and Z-Boys
  • Everything Put Together
  • Girl from Paris, The
  • Grégoire Moulin
  • Killing Me Softly
  • Kissing Jessica Stein
  • Lawless Heart
  • Murder by Numbers
  • Musketeer, The
  • Novocaine
  • Skin of Man, Heart of Beast
  • Film of the Month: Spider-Man
  • Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones
  • Time Machine, The
  • Unfaithful
  • What Time Is It There?
Last Updated: 20 Dec 2011