FILM LIST
mind almost get away with it. lidiriburgh: lfilmhouse.
I Santa Claus: The Movie l t’( i i ( .lealiiiot Sw'arc. l'S. 1985i Dudley .\liior‘e..lohn Lithgow. 108 mins. (‘uddly Dudley and Father ( ‘. hinisell in the same riioy ie'.’ ( )ne to entertain the younger y iewers. or those with a hiin erassness threshold Edinburgh: ()deori. Central: Regal. Strathclyde: ()deon .-\y t . \VMR lry ine.
I Scrooged i l’( i i ( Richard Donner. t 's'. 1988) Bill Murray. Kitt‘L‘tT Allen. Robert Mitehum. .lohri l-orsythe. llll miiis. Returning in his lirst comedy role alter the mega-successlul (i/tuyI/mylt’ry. Bill Murray is the local point oi thrsuriipteeritli screen yersiori ol the Dickens classic. here playing a miserly teley isionexec determined toexploit the y uletide
schedules lor all they are worth. but w hois
shown the error ot his ways in tiriie lora cringe-inducing liriale demanding peace on earth and goodwill to all men.
Despite lay'ish ellects and a motley constellation Hi guest stars. this isa l’orriiulaic exercise in contemporary eoniie cynicism w hose uneasy sense oi y ieious humour seems at odds with the spirit ol the original material Alistair Sirii. w here are you now 1’ (ilasgow: (aririon Sauehiehall Street. ( irosy error. l-diribui gli: ( 'anrion. ('eiitral: ( ~aledoman. ( 'anrioii Strathelyde; .'\.\l( t ‘lydebank lll. ('annori. ()deon .-\y r. ( )deon l laiiiiltori. Rialto.
I The Secret Of My Success r t’( i it I let bet't Ross. l'S. NS") .\liehael l, l-ox. l leleri Slater. Richard Jordan 1 ll miris.(‘ountry buriipkiii l-ox comes to New \ or k determined to make ll m the cut-throat world ot big business. Slick y uppie comedy . with an obnoxious world \ ieyy and a cast ol well-practised hands. (ilasgow : (il’l’. ISeptemberit’mrwomiy :\lleri. t 's‘. l‘).S"7 l .\lia l'airow. l)iariiie \Viest . Sarii \Vaterstori. lilaiiie Str icli. Deriholrii lzliott. S3 mins. Returning tothe more serious drama he earlier attempted w ith lnwriors. Allen now essay s an exercise in tamily eonlliet and roriiaiitie tensions.
w hich is characterised by the kind ot conlroritatiori w ith the past that mar ks the work ol Miller and ( )‘.\'ei|l. Set entirely in a summer home in \‘ei mont. the narratiy e concerns l’itt'lti“ 's attempts to r'ecoyei lr'oni personal crisis by looking tor a new relationship in the shape ot ady er tisizig exec \Vaterston. but her progress is halted by the |attei"s interest in her best lrieiid \Vlesl.
.~\sorie might expect with this east. the pertorriianees are unilor riily e\eelletit. but .-\l|en'swritirigdoesoccasionally strain lor sigriilicance. and the lilrii as a w hole is simply much too precious. (ilasgow ( il’l. l dinbuigli: t ariico I She Must Be Seeing Things l 1st lbltetla \lcl.aughliri. LS. 105" i Sheila l )abriey. lois Weayei. Ky le l)i( 'amp. 9] mins. .-\gatha (Sheila l)abriey l. a successlul law yer is tormented by suspicion that her lilrii-makerloyerlo(l ois \‘y‘eayerlis beiiigunlaitliltil with a riiale partner while shooting her latest production. a low-budget liistor ieal picture abotit a cross-dressing nun.
lritriguingstudy ol a woman wlioallows herself to become a y ietirii oi lierow n sexual y ulrierability . btit augmented by all manner of interesting material centering
around gender role reyersal and the overturning of sexual stereotypes, Edinburgh: l-ilmhouse.
I Sherman‘s March r 15) r Rim Melilwee. l'S. NSF) ltilltlillts. Documentarist Mel-.lw ee r'eec iy ed a grant to make a film about the remaining evidence ot (ierieral Slierriian‘saetiy ities iii the South during the ( 'iy il War . but when his grrltriend lett liirii he decided to use the camera as a way ot meeting women and the pioiect soon turned into its stibtitle. Mei/Hutton ()II [he l’msrhrlrly ()f Romantic Lure In ’IlieSquli Durmgxin - lira ()f.\'iu leur Wed/unit l’rolrh'rirlrrm.
AU REVOIR LES ENFANTS
Au Revoir, Les Eniants (Louis Malle, France/W Germany, 1987). Gaspard Manesse, Raphael Feito, Philippe Morier-Genoud. 113 mins. Since completing his last American-based feature, Alamo Bay, Louis Malle has concentrated on low-budget documentaries, and now this film. Au Bevoir, Les Eniants retains something at the rough, cinema-verité style of those documentaries in its account at an incident trom Malte‘s schooldays in wartime France, but does so with the imaginative cinematic llair we have come to expect from his work.
Malle has explained thatthis particular incident has haunted him since it occurred forty years ago. It traces the developing iriendship between two boys, Julien, an intelligent but reluctant boarder at a small provincial school run by monks, and the new arrival, Bonnet. Like all new arrivals in school, he is teased and taunted by all. a situation exacerbated by his refusal to join in games, and his preference tor reading, maths and
playing piano. Julien becomes increasingly lascinated by the new boy, and Malle develops their growing iriendship in a sensitive ii conventional enough manner.
Their relationship takes on greater significance, however, when Julien, unable to restrain himself from a peek into Bonnet's locker, discovers the secret of the boy‘s real identity. It comes as no great surprise to the viewer—we have already been alerted bythe menacing background presence oi Nazi soldiers and French militia. Julien's secret knowledge is dangerous, 3 tact coniirmed when the
two boys are taken by his mother and older brotherto a restaurant in the town, and encounterthe most overt example oi the Nazi presence thus iar.
From then on, a threatening cloud hangs over Bonnet, but the ending still manages to be as quietly shocking as it is inevitable. Au Revoir, Les Eniants is a simple, subtle and very moving film which avoids the clichés ot the coming- ol-age genre, and makes its larger political points iirmly but unobtrusively, while its obvious low budget actually seems to enhance rather than detract trom its emotional impact. (Kenny Mathieson)
’I‘he result is an occasionally very amusing road movie with the various woriieri arid the author's narration proy iding a host of surprises and a l'ew longuers along the way. Perhaps a bit too longthough. l-.dinburgh: l’ilriihouse.
I She's Gotta Have Ill 18) (Spike l.ee. t ‘5 l‘)S(ii'lraey ('amila .lohns. Redmond llieks. Spike l.ee. S5 niiris. Spirited.
sy mpathetie comedy oi sexual manners with a snappy script and tluid technique that marked an auspicious debut l'or its young. gilted and black writer director star. Highly recommended. lidiriburgli: (amen.
I Something Wild ( 18) (Jonathan I)eriiriie. IS. 1086) left Daniels. .\lel;rriie(iriiiitli. Ray l.iotta. l 13 mins. Best ol'the burgeoning yuppie-insperil genre as business executiye Daniels is willingly led astray by the irresistible charms oi( ir'iil'ith only to lirid himsell ltiVOly ed w ith genuine love and the frightening pussessiy‘cne‘sstil a psychotic ex-beau. Kooky comedy and geuine thrills are artl‘ully blended with a non-stop soundtrack oleclectie treats. Not to be missed. ('entral: Regal.
I Stand And Deliver t t’( i i ( Ramon Merieridez. l'S. lUSSl lzdward .lanies ()lmos. 95 mins. :\l1 urieoriyeritronal l riiatheniaties teacher is determined todo something about the appalling numeracy rates in American schooling. and attempts to guide his y‘aried band of ethnieeharges through a torttiotis algebra examination,
()uietly inipressiye rnoy'ie. now here near as deadly as it sounds. because director Merieride/ manages to make it all comprehensible tor the audience. and creates a eliriiactie scene that brings the tension of a western shoot-out to the exam hall. (iood stutt. (ilasgow : (‘anrion Sauehiehall Street.
I Suspecti lSi (Peter Yates. t's. 1%?) ('her. Dennis ()uaid. l.iam Seeson. lilo mins. Work-wear} Public del'erider (‘her is dumped with the ease of an apparently barbaric dow n-and-out Vietnam veteran on a murder charge over the sayage killing of a young woman for a pathetic sum oi money . Needless to say. all is not quite what it seems. and the death ol a Supreme ('ourt .lustice could. in sortie strange way. be related to the murder. a lact ttticoy'ered by ()uaid's reluctant jury member.
Ari old-lashioned. wintry thriller that really thrills with (‘her and ()uaid bringing much needed coriyiction to their roles and screen partnership and Yates confidently
adding a cold. bleak leel to the proceedings. suggesting a sense not olthe aberration of crime btit its eoriiriioriplacc lrequericy. l2drriburghzt ariieo. I The Terence Davies Trilogyr is) (‘l'erenee l)ay'ies. l'ls'. l‘flo-M) \\ rltrid Brambell. llll mins. .»\ trioot short lilnis('lirldren. .lliulo/muximl ( 'lir/dand l)r'r11/i.-ind l'runsfiguration by the gil'ted l.iyerpudlian. examining the me man alienated bachelor lrom his earliest youth to old age. and the constant tensions he l'eels between his homosexuality and his (‘atholic beliets. .\ stunning pieeeot work . the first signs that Britain had an up and coming lilrii-iiiaker with asearirig intensity ol eirieriiatrc \ isiori. ( ilasgow; (il’l’. I Three Men And A Baby ( t’( i) t l .eoriar‘d \iriioy . l'S. l‘lSTl'l'orii Selleek. Stey e (iuttenber'g. led l)anson. (‘eleste l lolm. Ill: mins. A trio ol smug. woiiiariisirig lads share a bachelor apartment. but the arriyal on their doorstepol'the ollspririgot one ol their careless affairs is soon to wreak llitytie‘ with their eliie riiaelio lilestyle.
line it you hay e a sentimental. underiiaridirigcritical taeulty and a loy eol
lay'atorial humour. otlicrw ise lorgettable riiairistream t'odde r and a fairly unaccountable box olt'iee success. Strathelyde: .»\.\l(‘('lydebank lll.
ITOp Gun ( l’(i)('l'oriy Scott. l'S. lush) 'l'oni ('ruise. Kelly .‘yie(iillis. \'al ls'ilnier.
I It) niiris. Say what you like about him. Tony Scott undoubtedly has thegolden touch at the box oliiee. 'l’his emotionless l'or'mula adyenture about men being graridly upstaged by yery last.yery experisis e and y ery dangerous aircraft. with the splendid Kelly Mc( iillistlirown in as loy e interest tor ( ‘ruise. made a l'ortune. especially in the l‘S. It had to be those planes. or may be the rampant ‘Ariier'ica the strong' ethos ol the film. because it doesn't haye much more tooller in its displaced western plot about ll\ alry between pilots lor the eoyeted title ol'l‘op (iun. (ilasgow: (irosy erioi.
I Tucker: The Man And His Dream r t’( i i (l’raricis('oppola. l'S, IUS’S) .lelt Bridges. Joan Allen. Martin Landau. l’rederic l-‘orrest. llllmins. See caption rey iew. (ilasgow : ()deori. Iidinbtirgh: ()deori. IThe Umbrellas 0tCherbourg(PG) (Jacques Demy. France. 1964) Catherine Deneuve. Anne Vernon. Nino Castelnuovo.
" mm 7
13,0uem STREET, GLASGOW. 221 2200 A R D E II
ROCK°G
The List 9— 32 December 1988 21