FILM LIST
American tragedy . only to have their work re-edited by the studio. Dylan fans will want to catch Bobby 7.. in a decent stabat acting. lidinburgh: lzdinbtirgh l,'iii\ei'sity Film Society.
IAPrayertorlhe Dyingi l5)(Mike llodges. l'K. NS") Mickey Rourke. Alan Bates. Bob l loskins. ltlS mins. l'neyen but not uninteresting thriller with Rourke as an IRA gunman w ho decides that for him. at least. the killing must stop. l'nfortunately . his passport to freedom involves a gangland .‘issassination that is witnessed by lloskins‘unlikely priest. ..
Although occasionally unnecessarily
y iolent and a little meandering. this is still a thought-prov okiiig esei cise in morals and murder (ilasgow . (il‘tis\c‘tlt)l'.
IRed Dawni l.")(.lohn .\lllltl\. t‘s‘. WM) l’atriek Sway/e. ( '. 'l‘hoinas l low ell. ('harlie Sheen. llJ llllliS. 'l'he Riiskies invade Colorado. and valiant high school kids fight back. ('i'iide propaganda piece. that hardly works ey en as a coinicstrip. arid fortunately seems a little out of place given the current thawing of last \Vest relations. Edinburgh: lzdinburgh L'niyersity Film Society.
IThe Bunneri 15 ) t Alnii' \aderi. li'an. 1984) Nirumand ‘H iiiiiis. A l3ycar-old boy tries to scrape a ll\ ing on the streetsot an Iranian seaport. and his running ability comes in handy in keeping him out ot trouble. Determined to improve his lot. he eni‘ols in an adult literacy class w here learning the alphabet becomes a ritual that gives his life meaning. ( 'ontinally engrossing scmi-autobiographical piece oflering a detailed insight ilito the workingsot another etilture. ladinburgh: liilritliouse.
IThe Running Mani l.s'i t Paul Michael (ilaser. l'S. WSS) Arnold Schwarzenegger . Yapliet ls'otto. Maria (‘oneliita Alonso l)" mins. lit a totalitarian future teley isioii is used by the authorities to pacify the disgruntled masses. with Rimming .lltm adcadly pursuit show top of the ratings. linter Arnie as a lialncd cop. the latest fodder to be hunted down and killed for thepunters' entertainment. lixcept that our man Schwarzenegger has other plans. (ilasgow: ()deon
ISchmoedipust l5ltBal'l'y t);uis.t'ts’. 197-1) BB("l’ele\ isioii production written by Dennis l’ottet‘. w herein a young man turns up on the doorstep of a failing marriage and causes the husband to retreat further into a world of model railways. liarly yei'sion ofthc material that w as later to become [luck 3‘). (ilasgow : (il’l'.
I Secret Honouri tS ) t Robert Altman. t 's.
193-3) l’hilip Baker l lall. 8" ruins. the dark night of what passes ltll' Richard Mllllilth Nixon's sotll. Alone in llistlllice. his drunken ranting reseals that the Watergate affair w as just a front todistract the American people from the corrupt goings on in Vietnam.
Brilliantly w ritten and acted monologue. the sort ol thing that only Altman could (or would \s ant to) pullofl. Edinburgh: lidinburgh l'niyei'sity l’ilm Society. '
I Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs t t 'i (Walt Disney Productions. l'S. 1937) Voices: Adriana ( 'aselotti. l larry
Stockyy ell. [.ucille La Verne. 83 mins. ()ne of the most enchanting and influential of animated features. The central character is a mite wet but the individualistic dwarfs. memorable songs and superny crafted backdrops and incidents make this an essential cinematic experience.(ilasgow: Cannon ('larkston Road. ()deon (‘entralz Cannon. Regal. Strathclyde:
AMC‘Clydebank ltl. (‘annon Kilmarnoek.
Kelburne. ()deon Ayr. ()deon Hamilton. I Some Like It Hot i Pt; ) ( Billy Wilder. t'S. 1959) Tony Curtis. Jack Lemmon. Marilyn Monroe. thl mins. Two impeeunious male musicians inadvertently witness the St Valentine's Day Massacre and take refuge in Florida
Law at Desire (18) (Pedro Almddovar, Spain, 1987) Eusebio Poncela, Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas. 101 mins. Pedro Almodovar has been making modest waves on the international Film Festival circuit overlhe past tew years. His latest work, Women on the Edge ot a Nervous Breakdown, receives its British premiere at the London Film Festival next month. Critics have praised him as a vital post-Franco iconoclast swirling tresh air into the slutty confines of the standard Spanish tilm industry. Specitically, they have expressed appreciation at his ‘carloon-Iike energy', ‘surrealism' and ‘outrageous imagination'.
0n the basis at a solitary screening at Law of Desire, he has along way to go betore meriting the over generous comparisons with Bunuel and the peerless Billy Wilder.
The film does have an edge of grit and vivacity but lacks narrative cohesion and the level at credibility to totally sustain the viewer‘s suspension at disbeliet.
Pablo is a renowned tilmmaker revelling in the success at his latest
LAW OF DESIRE
it!
explicit tealure and enjoying to the lull a hedonistic lifestyle at parties, drugs and casual sexual encounters. His one contact with real problems, in an otherwise caretree lite, is his sister Tina who used to be his brother and is now an ambitious actress trying to play mother to the daughter at a tellow transexual.
Then, Pablo meets Antonio, a government minister’s son, and what begins as another one-night stand spirals into a nightmare ot manipulation, deceit and murder.
A tlamboyanl tale, not unlike a Hollywood ‘women‘s picture' that might have starred Joan Crawtord, Law of Desire has some dash and verve in this storytelling and exploration ot a complicated sexual melting pot and is line until a regrettable degeneration into rather ludicrously overplotted and overheated melodrama.
An interesting tirst view of Almodovar's talent but one would want to see more before crowning him as the next European great. (George Bailey).
with Sweet Sue and herSoclety Sy iicopators. an all-lemale band.
Brilliant.brittle. erackcl'jack larce with all concerned at a peak in their careers. lidinbiirgli: (‘ameo I A Summer Sloryt IS) l l’iers l laggard. l'S. WSS) Imogen Stubbs. .laines Wilby. ls'en ('olley . Stisannah York. ltll mins. See caption rey iew. (ilasgow; ( 'annon Sauchieliall Street. lidinburgh: Dominion.
I The Terence Davies Trilogy ( tsi i't‘erenee Davies, t‘ls’. lino-83) Wilfrid Brambell. ltll ntins. A trio of short liliiis ( ‘lil/tireii. .lIItIt/(Hlllll Ami ( ’lii/rl and Deal/i Amt I‘nliis/iguruli’mt by the gifted liverpudlian. examining the lite ol an alienated bachelor from his earliest youth to old age. and the constant tensions he feels between his homosexuality and his (‘atholicbeliefs lidinburgh: l‘ilmhouse. I Therese Desqueyroux ((ieol‘ges l-‘raniu. l‘ranee. l‘)ti2) l’hilippc Noiret. l‘mmanuelle Riva. ltl3 mins. Accusedol attempting to poison her husband. the
e\ idcltcc tit 'I'herese Desqtiey'roux's trial is unconclusiy e. Yet. the spiritual trial begins upon her release as she battles with her conscience in ( ierge l-‘raiiju's steely adaptation of l-rancois Matiriac's ( ~atliolic novel. (ilasgow: l‘rench(‘ine(‘ltib.
I A Time DlWishest l5) ( Yuri Rai/man. l'SSR. 1984)\'eraAlentova. ltltimins. Rai/man here tackles the issue of the generation of w omen who grew up alter the war. in which a huge death toll shattered the male proportion ofsociety (ililsgow‘: (il‘l‘l
I Touch Of Evil i l’(i)(()rson Welles. t 's, 1959) (‘harlton Heston. Janet Leigh. Orson Welles. Marlene Dietrich. l 1-1 mins. Mexican narcotics officer I leston ( l) on honey moon jilst across the border clashes with corrupt local law enforcement kingpin llank ()uinlan (Orson Welles) over a murder case.
Majestic later \\'elles movie. with a classic opening tracking shot leading toa car bomb explosion. an oddly moving performance by the man himselfas Quinlan. and an extraordinary glowering mood of hispanic noir hanging over the whole compelling enterprise. lidinburgh: Iidinburgh tfniversity Film Society.
I U2 Battle And Hum (Phil Joanou. l'S. NBS) Bono. The Edge. Adam ('layton. Larry Mullen. 9t) mins. [72 on their
worldwide Joshua free tour find themselves exploring the great tradition of American popular music as they record with BB. King and Bob Dylan. and make a trip to Sun Studios where l'llvisfirst recorded. Intriguing mix ofstirringlive footage and intimate documentary capturing a band in transition. (ilasgow: (‘annonSauchiehall Urn-“Um”. lidinbiirgh:(‘annon Strathclyde; AM(‘ (‘lydebank it).
I Under Satan’s Sun ( l5) 1?: ( Maurice l’ialat. France. 1987) (ierard Depardieu. Sandrine Bonnairc. Maurice l’ialat. 98 mins. (‘annes prize-winning adaptation from French (‘atholic novelist (ieorge Bernanos has Depardieu as the troubled l-‘ather Donissan. testing his faith against teenage murderess Bonnaire. after a chance meeting with a horse dealer who may well be the Devil. Accepted as a near saint by his local parish. Donissan's superior ( l’ialat ) cannot decide whether the troubled priest is spurred on by mortal prideor divine inspiration. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I West Side Story i P( i) ( Robert Wise & .leronie Robbins. L'S. WM ) Natalie Wood. Richard Beymer. Russ'l‘arnblyn. Rita Moreno. 155 mins. Romeo andJuliet revisited. against a background of.\'ew York gangs. (ireat songs ofcourse. btlt the playing of the stylised dancing against a realistic background contrives to make it all look rather camp lidinburgh: (‘ameo. I Wings 0t Desire ( IS) (Wirn Wenders. W. (iermany .1987)Bruno(ianz.()tto Sander. Solveig Dommartin. l’eter l-‘alk. 127 iiiilis. Restless angel (iam on duty over Berlin takes a tip front American movie star and former angel l’eter l’alk on the possibilities of crossing over. and follows his mentor's path toconsummate his relationship with beautiful circus acrobat Dommartin.
(iorgeous black-and-white. and an attractively sensitive feel for the people and places of Berlin grace this thematically rich and uncharacteristically optimistic slice of Wenders movie enchantment. Highly recommended. (ilasgow: (il’l'.
I Witches ot Eastwick ( 18) (George Miller. L'S. 1987) Jack Nicholson. ('her. Susan Sarandon. ll8 mins. Suffoeating in the prim tranquility ofa small town in New England. three single women set their
collective brains towards conjuring tip the perfect Mr Right. Nest morninga mysterious stranger suddenly appears. as if in answer to their prayers. and beginsto charm the pants off them. But the ripe. randy and rakish Daryl van llorne isthe dey il iii disgtiisc. and there is a price topay fortheir pleasure. . . (ilasgow: (il-‘l'.
I Wilhnail And I ( 15) ( Bruce Robinson. lIK. 1987) Paul Me(iann. Richard [2. (irant. Richard (iriffiths. it)? mins. Wot). 'l‘wo out of work actors surviy ing through [.ondon giro squalor take a break in a pictureseque Lake District cottage. w here one of them suffers the attentions ofthe ageing homosexual owner.
Reasonably entertaining British comedy with a tendency to rely on the all-ioo-easy targetsoldrug-takingaridgay stereotyping Central: Regal. IAWorldApaflt15)t(‘hris Menges. l 'ls'. NBS) Barbara Hershey .Jodhi May . l.inda Mvusi. David Sucliet. l 12 mins. Basedon the experiencesol’scrcenwriter Shaw n Slovo's teenage years in the South Africa of the early Sixties. the film lollowsthc arrest of her political actiy ist mother and the resultant tensions this brings to bear on their relationship, llow ey er. the young girl‘s growing personal awareness of the injustices of apartheid lead he r tow ai‘ds sortie sense of solidarity with her mum.
Well-handled and brilliantly acted domestic treatment of the moral ey ilsol the Johannesburg regime. which nev er opts for preachiness but offers an honest complexity that makes its powerful tale of learning and commitment all the more engrossing. lidinburgh: ('ameo.
I Yeelen I [he Lie/m ( Pt i) (Soulciiianye ( "isse. Mali. I‘M") lssiaka Kane. Aouta Sangare. Ballanioussa Keita. “'5 units A young Baiiibai ra boy stealsa sacred object from the tiibe and runs oil. an act w liicli breaks centiii‘iesold tradition atid leayes the latlici cal'i y ing the burden-rod of atonement. By way of escape. the boy goes oil on a w ildgoose chase to find a missing uncle. but the totem of tribal shame still hangs oy er hint.
("ompletely' enthralling African lilm. whose framework of tribal ritiialsand mythologics ploy ides all innocent and magical altcrriatiy e universe that ey cti outsiderslike ourselves haye little difficultypenetrating Edinburgh; Filmhouse.
The List 28 ()ct — ll) Nov 198817