o This section aims to provide a review at every tiim to be seen in central Scotland overthe next iortnight. For programme times see individual cinema listings.
U - Universal. suitable ior all ages.
PG - Parental Guidance suggested as some scenes may be unsuitable tor youngerchiidren.
15 - Ho-one underthe age 0115 admitted.
1B - Ho-one under the age 0118 admitted.
0 Altered Statesi lsi ( Kcn Russcll. l'S. 198(1) William 1 lurt. Blair Brown. Boh Balaiian. 1112 mins. l'sing himscllas a guinca-pig a scicntist cxpcrimcnts with hallucinogcnic drugs with mind-hcnding. rcgrcssiyc rcsults. Visually arrcsting spccial cll'ccts and a ialkatiyc i’addy ( ‘liayclsky script assist this somcwhat ludicrous. comic hook approach to a lattcrday .lcckyil and 1 1ydc drama. 1 iurt's lilm dchut. [idinliurghz1‘ilmhousc o The Angelic Conversation (1’(i) (Dcrcklarman.l'K.198511’aul Rcynolds. Phillip Williamson and thc \oicc olitldi Dcnch. 81 mins. .1arnian turns his paintcrly scnsihiiitics to a mcditation on dcsirc. matching a rcading ol~ 14 Shakcspcrcan sonncts with a succcssion ol‘ grainy. gcncrally homocroticimagcsot“pcoplc11ikc in piaccs and spaccs that 1 likc‘.’ A rayishing. imaginatiyc synthcsis ol' lhc \ isual and thc ycrhal or slccp-inducing tcdium according to onch pcrspcctiyc. 1idinhurgh; 1’ilmhousc 0 Back to the Future (1’(}) ( Rohcrt '/.cmcckis. L'S. 1985) Michacl .1. 1‘ox.(‘histophcr1.1oyd.l.ca 'l'hompson. (‘rispin ( iloycr. 11(1 mins. in thc manncr ol' a ccrtain Mark 'I'wain hcro a typical Amcrican tccnagcr is transportcd thirty ycars hack in timc yia a nuclcar powcrcd 1)c Lorcan. Apart from the wcll-dctailcd culturc shock hc cncountcrs thcrc is thc additional complication ola hlossoming romancc with l11SlUIl1rL‘111(11l1CT. Warm. witty. wcll-paccd popular cntcrtainmcnt with adroit pcrlormattccs and assurcd dircction. Mainstrcam lilm-making at its hcst. Iidinhurgh: AB(‘. Dominion. (ilasgow; ‘ Iidinhurgh; AB(‘. Dominion. 7 (ilasgow;.-\B(‘(SauchichallStrcct). 1 ABC ((‘larkston Road). (irosycnor.
22’1‘hc1.ist 1(1-— 23.1anuary
FILM LIST
Rio. 1.othian; ABC. Strathclydc: AB(‘((irccnock). ABC (Kilmarnock). ()dcon (Ayr). ()dcon (Hamilton)
0 La Balance ( 18) (Bob Swairn. l’rancc. 1982) Nathalic Bayc. Philippc 1.cotard. Richard Bcrry. 111: mins. An Clitc group of Parisian law cnl‘orccrs opcratc on a dubious Dirty 1 1arry-sty1c morality ol‘ thc cnds justil‘ying thc mcans. '1‘o nail a crimc kingpin thcy lorcc an cx-mcmhcr of his gang to turn inl‘ormcr with unl’orcsccn conscqucnccs in this hard cdgcd policicr. Edinburgh: Filmhousc
0 Beverly Hills Cop( 15)( Martin Brcst.US. 1985)Eddic Murphy. Judge Reinhold. John Ashton. 105 mins. A downtown strcctwise Chicago cop is out of his element but never out of his dcpth investigating a
friend‘s murder in up-market Los Angclcs. Murphy reigns supreme in . this well-paced slice of entertainment. Glasgow; ABC ((‘larkston Road) 0 Body Heati l8)(1.awrcncc Kasdan. US. 1981) Kathlccn'l‘urncr. William Hurt. Mickcy Rourkc. 113 mins. Kasdan succcssl‘ully rcworks thc lilm noirs‘ of thc 194(1s‘ to proyidc this sizzling Douhlc 1ndcmnity-stylc mclodrama of a lawyer and an alluring woman conspiring to murdcr hcr now-unwclcomc spousc. 'I'urncr‘s auspicious lilm dchut. Edinburgh: Filmhousc 0 Brazil ( 15) ('I’crry (iilliam. L'K. 1985) Jonathan Prycc. Michacl Palin. Rohcrt Dc Niro. 142 mins. Black comcdy and stark tcrror comhinc in (iilliam‘s highly imaginatiyc ()rwcllian yision ol l‘acclcss hurcaucracy run rampant. (iilliam has now won his own hattlc with thc husincssmcn in thc Statcs to cnsurc thc rclcasc ol’thc lilm unhutchcrcd hy inscnsitiyc hands. ’1‘hc1.os A ngclcs critics lilm of thc ycarin 1985. (ilasgowzfil-‘l‘ O The Bride ( 15) (Franc Roddam. US. 1985) Sting. Jcnnil‘cr Bcals. Dayid Rappaport. (‘lancy Brown. 118 mins. Two storics in onc as Baron Sting crcatcs a hcautil'ul woman and undcrgocs a jcalous. Pygmalion-stylc rclationship with hcr whilst anothcr onc ol’ his productions Iumhcrs off to thc circus
_ -_- -____1 and is hclricndcd by a midgct. A much-maligned hox-oll‘icc flop The Bridc is an uncycn oddity that is not thc sum of its ol‘tcn considcrahlc parts. Strathclydc: La Scala 0 Build My Gallows High ( PG) (Jacqucs'l'ourncur. US. 1947) Rohcrt Mitchum. Janc (irccr. Kirk Douglas. 97mins. Rctircd priyalc dctcctiyc Mitchurn cannot cscapc thc dcmons ol‘ his past whcn hc is rccallcd to work for mohstcr Douglas and oncc morc hccomcs cmhroilcd in thc dcyious rnachination ol’thc amoral (irccr. Archctypal 19-llls lilm noircomplctc with hard-hoilcd guys. shady ladics and mcmorahlc cxchangcs ol‘slangy dialoguc. Rcmadc in 1984 as Against All Odds. [{dirihurgh: Filmhousc O Camila ( 18) (Maria Luisa chhcrg. Argcntina-Spain. 198-1) Susu Pccoraro. Imanoi Arias. 11cctor Altcrio. 97mins. Set in Bucnos Aircs in 1847 this is a truc story of a tragic loyc allair hctwccn a young uppcr-class ('atholic girl and a pricst that scandaliscd 19th ccntury Argentina. llailcd clscwhcrc as a ‘powcrl'ul l‘cminist mclodrama which has rcsonanccs hcyond its Argentinian contcxt.‘ (ilasgow: (irosycnor 0 Cat People ( 18) (Paul Schradcr. 17S. 1982) Nastassja Kinski. Malcolm Mc1)owc11..1ohn Hoard. 118 mins. Visccral. ohscssiyc not cntircly satisfactory rcmakc of thc
KISS OF THE SPIDERWOMAN
The Kiss 01 the Spider Woman (15) (Hector Babenco, US-Brazii, 1985) William Hurt. Raul Julia, Sonia Braga. 119 mins. Two men share a South American prison cell under an unspecitied iascist regime. Molina (Hurt) is an extravagant homosexual much given to inventing and recounting luridly stylish films in a continual evasion or transformation oi his real circumstances; Valentin (Julia) is a political prisoner. a committed left-wing journalist initially impatient ot Molina‘s iantasy weaving, concerned instead with the concrete reality 01 the tortures carried out in the cell across the courtyard. They share only an acquaintance with the necessary deceptions oi outsiders in a society inimical to theirways.
Leonard Schrader's script (irom Manuel Puig’s novel) is realised by Babenco in a lilm structure curiously like that 01 Mishima, which Schrader co-wrote. A real time narrative (the prison cell) is intermittently intercut with iiashback sequences (their lives priorto incarceration) and highly stylised recreations 01 two imaginary liims, one a second world war Nazi melodrama, the other a desert island lantasy, with Braga as the Spider-Woman.
The two actors produce remarkable periormances in a lilm largely devoted to them, with Hurt especially impressive in exploring the contradictions ol Molina’sieminine psyche enclosed in a lootballer's body.
Their developing relationship is the core of the lilm, around which Babenco explores the nature and meaning at both fantasy and commitment. The gradual abandonment oi the
intractable extremes lrom which they began leads ultimately to understanding and a moving exchange of roles (Kenny Mathieson) i
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