FILM LIST
INDEX
I The Accidental Tourist ( l5) (Lawrence Kasdan. US. 1988) William Hurt. Geena Davis. Kathleen Turner. Amy Wright. 121 mins. Macon Leary (Hurt) isa successful writer of mollycoddling travel guides. but his placid home life is disturbed when his wife Sarah (Turner) walks out on him. Left to his own devices. he soon finds himself falling for kooky dog trainer Muriel (Davis). and as he becomes increasingly attached to her unconventional manner and sickly little son. he begins to realise that even the best prepared traveller must be ready to face the unexpected detour.
Hurt‘s impressive performance is at the centre of the film‘s quiet domestic strengths and its absorbing depiction of everyday Baltimore lives; but a strained set of too-eccentric secondary characters tends to obscure the movingordinariness of the film's core. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I The Accused ( 18) (Jonathan Kaplan. US. 1988) Kelly McGillis. Jodie Foster. Berni Coulson. 111 mins. Sarah Tobias (Jodie Foster) is raped on a pinball machine by three men. yet when the assailants are taken to court. a plea bargain with Sarah's lawyer Kathryn Murphy (Kelly McGillis) reduces their charges. When both women realise this is a sell-out. they decide to bring charges against the men in the bar who cheered on the attack and offered encouragement to the rapists.
Standout performance from Foster in this sympathetic and responsible treatment of difficult subject matter. whose firm grasp of character and honest intentions help allay one's reservations about the content. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Grosvenor. Edinburgh: Cannon. Strathclyde: AMC (‘lydebank it).
I The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen (PG) 1‘: (Terry Gilliam. UK/W. Germany. 1989)John Neville. Sarah Polley. Eric Idle. Robin Williams. Oliver Reed. 126 mins. See panel and feature. Glasgow: ()deon. Edinburgh: ()deon.
I Airplane (PG) (Jim Abrahams. David and Jerry Zucker. US. 198(1) Robert Stack. Lloyd Bridges. Peter Graves. The disaster-movie parody. dusted off in honour of the same team‘s current success with The Naked Gun. Not as satirical of Hollywood trends as it was nine years ago. but still full of the belly laughs of ttnsavottry American humour. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Alice (15) (Jan Svankmajer. Switzerland. 1988) 84 mins. Radical new version of the Lewis Carroll classic by brilliant Czech filmmaker Svankmajer. which has the protagonist as the only live action character making her way through an adventure in a harsh dreamscape vividly conveyed through puppet animation and trick photography.
Far from the Disney cartoon. the atmosphere here is derived from the cruel world of childlike fantasies. a tone whose dark perversity will be familiar to those who have sampled any of the Alchemists of The Surreal series of programmes. Recommended viewing. but definitely not for young children. Glasgow: GFT.
I Asterlx the Gaul (U) (France. l967)65 mins. A summer season examining the Art of Animation begins with the early adventures of the plucky little warrior aided by Getafix and his amazing magic potions. Future titles include Snoopy. Bugs Bunny and the best of European animation. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Begdad Cafe (PG) (Percy Adlon. US/w. Germany. 1988) Marianne Sagebrecht. C.C.H. Pounder. Jack Palance. 108 mins.
12 The List 24 March-6 April 1989
RAIN MAN
Rain Man (15) (Barry Levinson, US, 1988) Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino.114 mins. Dfall the new American directors to emerge over the past decade, Levinson must be judged amongst the most charming and humanistic. Whether eavesdropping on the young adults at the Diner, or the squabbling salesmen of Tin Men, he always views the world with a wry tolerance and good humour. His visual warmth, ear for an apposite tune and sympathetic handling of stars are crucial to the success of Rain Man and his artistic sensibilities flow through the film like good bourbon down an appreciative throat.
Cruise is impecunious smalltime hustler Charlie Babbitt; mightily upset that his estranged father’s will bequeaths the $3 million lamin fortune to his previously unknown brother Raymond (Hoffman), an autistic savant who has spent a lifetime in care. In desperation, he resorts to kidnapping, hoping to exchange Raymond for his rightful share of their inheritance. Forced to travel by road, he gains a unique crash course in the emotionally isolated autistic person, and is also able to use Raymond's mathematical prowess to clean up at the Las Vegas tables.
Genuine feelings of fraternal affection well up in Charlie, especially when he is able to connect Raymond with memories of a childhood friend
called Rain Man whom he had thought to be fictional.
As smooth and stylish as the ‘49 Buick Roadmaster Convertible that Cruise drives, Rain Man is a warmhearted and touching buddy movie that may meander along the way but mercifully avoids the worst excesses of sentimentality as it lays siege to the heartstrings.
Cruise proves himself a capable actor in a less obviously challenging role, but Hoffman excels with his detailed portrait of a character that elicits both compassion and frustration. His Oscar win next week and the film’s commercial appeal in Scotland seem both inevitable and highly deserved. (Allan Hunter)
The wonderful Sagebrecht stars as a redoubtable German lady who leaves her husband in the middle of the desert and soon settles down with the folks at a nearby rundown motel. where proprietress Pounder has also recently lost a spouse. Before long. the two women re-invent themselves through their friendship. attd transform the place into the bargain.
Director Adlon manages to shape a quite beguiling tale from the most basicof materials. Central: Regal.
I Betty Blue ( 18) (Jean-Jacques Beineix. France. 1986) Jean Hughes Anglade. Beatrice Dalle. 120 mins. Tempestuous love gone mad as an older handyman and a free-spirited woman embark on a passionate. peripatetic fling that ends in tragedy. Filmed with a dazzlingtechnique and an irritating emptiness by the maker of Diva. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Bird (15) (Clint Eastwood. US. 1988) Forrest Whitaker. Diane Venora. Samuel E. Wright. Michael Zelinker. 161 mins. Eastwood‘s labour of love is a brave and moving attempt to bring to the screen some of the complexities ofCharlie ‘Yardbird‘ Parker. whose improvisational developments on the alto saXophone mark him down as one of the century's most significant musical presences.
The skilled patchwork narrative combines with an excellent cast and an evocative shadowy vision of the jazz underworld from cameraman Jack N. Green to create not just a milestone in the cinema's attempts to deal with the music scene. but a sombre. engrossing account that could well go down as one of the great screen biographies. Glasgow: Grosvenor. I Blade Runner ( 15) (Ridley Scott. US. 1982) Harrison Ford. Rutger Hauer. Sean Young. 117 mins. A tough cop tracks down a group of malfunctioning androids in this gritty hi-tech retread of Raymond Chandler. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Blood Wedding (U) (Carlos Saura.
Spain. 1981 ) Antonio (iades. Cristina Joyas. 72 mins. First ofthe Saura Gades flamenco trilogy is a straight filmed record of the brilliant choreographer and dancer‘s evocative ballet version of the play by [.orca. The camera and the dancers both prove thrillineg agile. Glasgow: GFI'. I The Blues Brothers ( 15) (John Landis. US. 1981)) John Belushi. Dan Aykroyd. Carrie Fisher 13() mins. Bloated. overlong anarchic Chicago comedy with the two stars on a mission from God to salvage the imperilled fortunes ofan orphanage. Lots of guest stars. musical numbers and automotive destruction in a typical product ofover-emphatic contemporary American humour. Edinburgh: Cameo. I La Boheme (PG) (Luigi Cornenchini. Francc’ltaly. 1987) Barbara Hendricks. Jose Carreras. Luca Canonici. lllbmins. Puccini‘s celebrated opera is set in a wintry Paris in 19111. and follows the fortunes of a group of young artists asthey freeze in their garret. with only the thought of romance to warm their hearts. Fine opera movie that works on itsown terms as well as remaining faithful to the text. because the artificiality ofthe original perfectly matches Commenchini's melodramatic. studio-based style. Glasgow: Gl’l'. I Carmen ( 15) (Carlos Saura. Spain. 1983) Antonio Gades. Laura del Sol. Paco dc Lucia. 1(11 mitts. Usingthe wellworn structure of life-imitating—art. Saura follows the on- and offstage passions and romantic entanglements during a ballet production of Bizet's ('armen. The result offers some of the cinema‘s most passionate movement. with the heady Hispanic atmosphere lovineg caught as usual. Glasgow: GFI‘. I Celeste ( 15) (Percy Adlon. W. Germany. 1981) Eva Mattes.Jurgcn Arndt. 106 mins. Celeste Albaret (Mattes) was the uneducated countrygirl who was Marcel Proust's housekeeper for
the last nine ailing years of the author‘slife until his death in 1922. and Percy Adlon's engrossing debut feature humorously evokes the closeted world in which the pair‘s unlikely relationship existed. Proust does seem strange in German. though. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Cocktail ( 15) (Roger Donaldson. US. 1988) Tom Cruise. Bryan Brown. Flizabeth Shtte. 95 mins. Cruise plays a greenhorn inducted into the mysteries of all-action bartending by master cocktail-shaker Brown. and before long they have graced the top bars in Manhattan and been signed up to work in
the Caribbean. However. a failed
romance with poor little rich girl Shuc soon has our 'l'om questioningthe validity ofhis experience.
Glossy soaper with risible pretensions to social comment. which must go down asa disappointment from the talents involved. Central: Allanpark. Regal. Strathclyde: AMCClydcbank 11).
I Comrades (PG) (Bill Douglas. UK, 1986) Vanessa Redgrave. Robin Soams. Michael llordern. 181) mins. Douglas's epic account of the 'l'olpuddlc Martyrs attempts to capture the human story behind the persecution of these icons of the labour movement with a minimum resort to dialogue and a relish in carefully composed images. It is ultimately a film about the indomitable nature ofthe idea of freedom. equality and justice. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Film Guild.
I DADADADADADADADA ( 15) Four programmes ofshort films trace the cinema's contribution to the anarchic artistic movement that flourished thoughout the major capitals of Europe after World War One. Works by names as diverse as Hans Richter. Rene Clair and Chaplin will be represented. while a major part of the season attempts to show how the spirit of dada continues toinfluence avant-garde film-makers in recent decades. with pieces by David Lynch. Bruce Conner and Lydia Luch on display. The British Film Institute have prepared a free broadsheet. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Dangerous Liaisons ( 15) (Stephen Frears. US. 1988) Glenn Close.John Malkovich. Michelle Pfeiffer. Keanu Reeves. 12(lmins. ChristopherHampton adapts his stage version ofChoderIosde Laclos' novel for the screen. with Americans Close and Malkovich starring as the central pairing of Madame de 'l'ourvel and the Vicomte de Valmont. two treacherous 18th century aristocrats weaving a web of erotic duplicity around one another.
British director Stephen Frears makesa notable Hollywood debut by guiding his east through a difficult set of narrative pirouettcs. and the crisp dialogue is handled with a certain asperity. Yet forall the pent-up emotion on screen. little fervour seeps through to the audience and the result is a rather cold and calculating piece of work. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cannon. I Dead Rlngers( 18) (David Cronenberg. US. 1988) Jeremy Irons. Genevieve Bujold. Heidi Palleske. 115 mins. Extraordinary movie examining the destructive effect of sexual jealousy on identical twins. Jeremy Irons plays two gynaecologists: arrogant Elliot and the more studious Beverly Mantle. who fall in love with fading actress Claire Nivcau when the Mantle clinic starts treating her infertility problems. As the emotional turmoilmounts up. the trio become involved in a frightening downward spiral ofdrug-induced mania.
Deeply melancholic. irrationally powerful exercise in wayward psychology and the entanglements of identity. which boasts a magnificent achievement in carefully differentiatedcharacterisation by lrons. Strathclyde: ()deon Ayr.
I The Decline of the American Empire ( 18)
(Denys Arcand. Canada. 1986) Dominique Michel. Dorothee Berryman. Louise Portal. 101 mins. Ifthe only‘safe'