FESTIVAL PREVIEW
were sitting saying why did we decide'to move to London and come and live in Easterhouse. Ifyou haven‘t got a lot of money in London then you have to live in places like these and they‘re actually very nice places to live in despite what people will have you believe. That‘s something I feel quite strongly about.‘
The social backdrop, the thoughtful level of characterization and performance are all qualities that distinguish The Love Child from other British comedies and were ones that appealed to Capaldi. ‘I think that one of the good things about the film is you have people on the dole queue or people who are squatting but they are not the typical moaning. dreary grey characters that they tend to be painted as in other things. They‘re people. One ofthe important things that Gordon Hann tried to do was write everybody. no matter the size oftheir part. as if they had a life of their own; a valid place within the film but a life outside it. I think the script is very good and working with Sheila Hancock (the grandmother) was great. She’s a very special woman. Extremely compassionate. intelligent. perceptive. just very funny. A wonderful person that I really enjoyed working with.‘
With The Love Child and The Story of a Recluse under his belt and a future that should include a film from one of his own scripts Capaldi has more than earned the right to his continued success. As he admits; ‘Now. I feel as if I have been to drama school and achieved a certain level ofwork and paid my dues so I don‘t have that guilt anymore.‘ The Love Child can be .seen at the Festival on 1 7 Aug and goes on release in London from 16 ()ct.
— ALAN PARKER
British director Alan Parker i might hazard a guessthat
has always seemed most at any Faustian story would home with the larger ring bells in Hollywood and budgets, star names and not all of them cash populist genres ofthe registers.‘
American cinema. Now all
The rights to Hiortsberg's these resources coalesce in
novel passed through many
ANGEL HEART. aclaSSical palms, includingthose of hardboiled film noirwith Robert Redford, before dBlBCliVB WCKBV Rourke reluming to Parker in 1985 enmeshed in a slnisterstew via independent producer oi voodoo and murder most Elliott Kastner. Making the foul..‘| was first introduced me decision to write the
to William Hiortsberg's film’s script himself, Parker
novel Falling Angel soon relocated elements ofthe
alterpublication in 1978. As storyfrom the overly
with Birdy l was privy to it familiar locale of New York quite early on, only to see it to the more exotic New snapped up in the Orleans and shifted the date
Hollywood machinery. The original attraction. I should
from 1959 to 1955. Then began the unenviable task
imagine, being muchthe of trying to raisethe same as my own. The fusion necessary financial of two genres: the classic backing. ‘Looking for Chandleresque detective money foriilms is like
novel and "18 Supemaluml- water-skiing on treacle and
i I * 1 0I
October.
FESTlllAL FILM
every two years forthe last twelve l have regularly visited Hollywood with the hope of returning home with a few carrier bagsfilled with dollars with which to make ouriilms.‘ Ironicallythis shady yam with a darkly ambiguous hero was ultimately financed by the backers of the Rambo series and filming duly began inthe Spring of 1986 with a powerhouse cast of Rourke, Robert De Niro, Charlotte Hampling and Lisa Bonet. In his production notes Parker recalls the day of Sunday 27 April thus: ‘For thefirst time I was ableto rehearse with Mickey and De Him in the actual location in the Harlem Mission. As we began itwas akin to a couple of prize-fighters testing one another out, rather than an acting rehearsal. Slowly they circled one another. An ad-libbed jab, a wisecrack clinch. Bob was cool. meticulous, charming and generous, but had us all undercontrol. Mickey was disarming and ingenuous, butatall times gave as good as he took. Asthe ‘referee' onlooker, itwas, for me, electric to watch. In England I often have to justify why I make American films. Watching those two at work is my entire reason.‘ Angel Heart has all the vigour, flair and excessthat one has come to expect from the director of Fame, Midnight Express and The Wall, and is indicative of his desire to tackle all genres with style. As Parker himself says: ‘Choosing which film to do next has always been difficult for me. I have very eclectic tastes and have tended to react against the film I’ve iustfinished, avoiding the pigeonholeslilm ioumalists delight in stuffing you into. I've always said that I’d like to tackle every genre and Angel heart embraced not one but two.‘ 0 Angel Heart opensthe Film Festival on 8 Aug and opens in Scotland in
FILM FESTIVAL DAY BY DAY DIARY
SATURDAY a ;
O PLAYHDUSE
Angel Heart (Alan Parker. US. l987)8.3()pm. Ultimately laughable i 195(ls' detective film noir with a striking surface sheen. A stubbly‘ Mickey Rourke stars.
SUNDAY 9 ':
O FILMHDUSEl
Tree of Liberiy(Timotby Neat. UK. 1987) 2.3lipm. Tribute to the work of American composer
Serge Ilovey. Plus1685
(20 mins)
Lettersfrom a Dead Man (Konstantin
Lopushansky. USSR. 1985) 5.45pm. Tarkovsky-likc examination of the human aftermath ofa nuclear holocaust caused by computer error.
Wish You Were Here (David Leland. UK. 1987) 8.30pm. Hilarious. touching portrait of a spiky adolescent as she confrontsthe stifling conformity of Britain in the 1950s. Emily Lloyd is a star in the making. Highly recommended. Plus Girls NightOut (6mins).
Vampires in Havana (Juan Pedron. Cuba. Spain. West Germany. 198(3) ll.15pm. Animated feature in which Dracula emigrates to Cuba. Plus Frankenstein Punk ( l 1 mins).
0 FILMHDUSEZ
Thames Film: London 1984—86 (William Raban. UK.1986)5.3()pm.A SU-mile journey along the river Thames. Plus The Ship That Never Returned (28mins).
Hotebooklrom China (Jorgen Leth. Denmark. 1986) 8pm. Documentary
culled from a 4()()()-mile j l
train journey.
imm-
O FILMHDUSE1
Parade of the Planets (\"adim Abdrashitov. USSR. 1984) 2.30pm. Lost in the country. stranded Red Army reservists move in an 1987) 5.45pm. Powerful. committed drama of sexual discrimination in the workplace. Glenda .lacksor: stars. Plus The Loss Adjuster ( 11 mins). Withnail and l (Bruce Robinson. UK. 1986) s30pm. The not so swinging Sixties revisited as two struggling actors search for the big time in NW Camden Town. Plus Making Waves ( 1 1 mins). Crime Wave (John Paizs. Canada. 1987) 11.15pm. The comic frustrations of a scriptwriter. Plus Closed Circuit( ll mins)
0 FILMHDUSEZ
The Media Show 5.30pm. A 90-min compilation of the best moments from this stimulating TV series. As You See(llarun Farocki. W. Germany. 1987) 8pm. A report on the technological inventions that have changed society. Magdalena Viraga (Nina Menkes. UK. 1986) llpm. The oppression ofa female prostitute and her decision to fightback. First feature from experimental feminist filmmaker.
TUESDAY 11
o FILMHDUSET
Blue Mountains (Eldar Shcngclaya. USSR. 198-1) Gentle. mocking anti-bureaucratic satire set in an intolerably chaotic Georgian publishing house. Plus The Train llas Stopped (Vadim Abdrashitov, USSR. 1983)Thc investigation of a railway accident in which the train driver was killed.
Vincent (Paul Cox. Australiii/Netherlands. 1987) 5.45pm. Virtually unwatchable
i
impressionistic salute to Vincent Van ( iogb with vocal accompaniment by John Hurt.
Francesca (Verena Rudolph. W. (iermaiiy. l987)8.3l)pm. A skilfully constructed fictitious lilni biography that has been hailed as a feminist ripostc to chig.
The Night ls Young (Mauvuis Sung) (Leos Carax. France. 19%) 11.15pm. Dazzling. film noir of a robbery and a doomed loy e triangle from the acclaimed young director of If: iv Meets (iirl.
o FILMHDUSEZ
Moment of Play (Jorgcn Leth. Dcmnark. 1986) 5.30pm. Internationally filmed salute to
‘l lololudens' -— those members of the human race who have retained the spirit of play in their various endeavours.
Big George is Dead ( i lenry Martin. UK. l987) 8pm. Two former comrades meet in contemporary London for the first time in 14 years. The mood is nostalgic but old scores have to be settled. Plus King's Christmas (35 mins).
Parting ofthe Ways (Jesus Diaz. Cuba. l98fi) l lpm. A parent returns to(‘uba after ten years in foreign exile and must face the consequencesot‘her actions. Plus Silence ofthe Bats (5 mins).
WEDNESDAY 12
o FILMHOUSET
Dust in the Wind ( l lou llsiao l lsieu. Taiwan. 1987) 2.30pm. A teenager leaves borne with the girl he loves. When he is drafted they promise to keep in touch but gradually she stops answering his letters. .. The Horse Thief ('I‘ian Zhuang Zhuang. China. 1986) 5.45pm. Big-screen epic in which a tribesman who steals offerings intended for the (iods facestheir inevitable
The List 7 — 20 August 43