FILM
VINCENT AND THEO
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Vincent and Theo (15) (Robert Altman, UK/Hetherlands 1990) Tim Roth, Paul Thys.140 mins. Poor old Vincent. Will the ilims never end? Cinematic obsession with his quintessential artistic tragedy—a Iiie oi misery and posthumous iame — leaves an increasingly sour taste the more you see lilm-makers gloating over the contrast between his lite and the grandiose status his art has acquired since. Such is the public’s iamiliarity with the myth oi Van Gogh’s lite that it’s diiiicult to see any motive lor retelling his story in the same old way. But then the same old story is what the movie business most oiten wants.
Robert Altman’s overlong and ponderous iilm prompts such suspicions oi motive irom the start, as Tim Roth’s Vincent lies on a bed oi straw, his rotten teeth chomping theatrically on a pipe and his brother Theo dismissing his early artistic attempts. We have just seen newsreel iootage oi the 1987 auction 01 Van Gogh‘s Suntlowers to a Japanese buyer tor a record-breaking £34 million — a record since handed on to other Van (3th paintings as the Japanese obsession with him continues— now the auctioneer‘s voice continues as
backdrop to our heroes plans. Creative irony? Bit oi a cliche I think.
Van Gogh was partly responsible lor his own mythologising, his numerous letters to his art dealer brother Theo scrupulously detail his day to day existence, these make slipping Vincent's iamiliar melodramatics into an accurate historic iramework a simple matter. This iilm concentrates on their relationship, and the complete lailure oi Tim Roth and Paul Rhys as
the lated brothers to conjure any kind oi tension on screen is the biggest disappointment oi this lilm. Roth plays Van Gogh as a demented clown, stomping oil for a day’s painting to Gabriel Yared's school-oi-Test-Oept soundtrack and eating as much paint as he gets on the canvas. Even the turps he drinks has been used to wash the brushes. Tch, tch, such ill breeding. Rhys can't decide whether to play Theo as supportive but dull - ‘I’ll sell your paintings but when I come home, i want it to BE home’ - or as pathetic a iigure as Vincent, irustrated by job and marriage and driven insane by syphilis. Cinematically the lilm has its moments, notably Van Gogh isolated in a corniield lull oi mocking sunilowers, but these are law and tar between, and with the man’s paintings a ready made storyboard, not to make them would have been more remarkable. As it is, ior some strange reason, while Van Gogh is visualising his obsession with light and the sun in the south of France, Altman chooses to have the rain thrash down more oiten than not.
This moronic Van Gogh - ‘i like cottages’ he splutters in one particularly emotional and unintentionally hysterical moment- is a comicbook ligure, blandly reiniorcing the myth oi the artist as demented genius. The real Van Gogh was a highly disciplined painter prone to momentary attacks oi insanity but still able to complete over 300 paintings and countless drawings in his last two years. This iilm is his story as a tabloid journalist might see it. (Mark Currah)
From Fri 22. Edinburgh: Cameo.
the landing of the mysterious monolith. One of the great classics ofmodern cinema. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I The Unbearable Lightness oi Being ( 18) (Philip Kaufman. US. 1987) Daniel Day-Lewis. Juliette Binoche. Lena Olin. 167 mins. Ambitious adaptation of Milan Kundera's complex novel about a womanising Czech brain surgeon who falls in love for the first time with adoe-Iike small-town beauty. Abandoning his freewheeling existence. he embraces commitment at the time of the Russian invasion of 1968. A dawdling and rather austere narrative is given some spice and interest by an overwhelming eroticism. a beautifully judged evocation of Prague and gorgeous photography. Otherwise vastly overlong and uninvolving. Glasgow: GF'T. Edinburgh: Cameo,
Filmhouse.
I Uncle Buck ( 12) (John Hughes. US. 1989) John Candy. Amy Madigan. Gaby Hoffman. 10(lmins. Hughes‘prolific career as maestro of teenage angst continues unabated in this latest comic outpouring on the traumas and trivialities ofgrowing up. Candy's Buck initially appears to be an overweight. clumsy. tactless slob. the last person you‘d ask to look after your kids. but here he getsthe chance to look after three of his brother‘s kids for the weekend. The film explores his troubled relationship with a confused adolescent. as they release their individual frustrations before coming to a mutual understanding. A carefully plotted and well scripted moral fable living up tothe standards expected from the director of The Breakfast Club. Glasgow: Cannon
Clarkston Road. Edinburgh: Dominion. I Venus Peter ( 12) (Ian Sellar, UK. 1989) Ray McAnally, Gordon R. Strachan. David Hayman. 92 mins. Affecting adaptation shot on Orkney of Scots writer Christopher Rush‘s impressionisticA Twelvemonrh And/1 Day. set in a fishing village in the 19505. One of McAnally‘s last roles casts him beautifully as the sympathetic grandfather of Peter, played by nine-year-old Strachan (who is not to be confused with the diminutive Scottish midfield genius) in this moving study ofa dying community seen through the eyes of a young boy. Glasgow: GFT. I Vincent And Theo (15) (Robert Altman. UK/Netherlands, 1990) Tim Roth. Paul Rhys. 140 mins. See review. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Violent Streets (18) (Michael Mann. US. 1981 ) James Caan, Tuesday Weld. 122 mins. Morose safecracker Caan seeks to better his life by starting a family, and taking on one last lucrative job, but the mob have other plans in store for him. ' Excellent psychological heist movie with Caan convincing as the thiefwith a heart and a brilliant setpiece robbery sequence. Director Mann went on to create Miami Vice. Edinburgh: Cameo. I We're Ho Angels ( 15) (Neil Jordan. US. 1990) Robert De Niro. Sean Penn. Demi Moore. 107 mins. Peripatetic Irishman Jordan's first Hollywood feature isthis David Mamet-scripted comedy with De Niro and Penn as convicts on the run , who seek sanctuary in a bordertown seminary. Although the frantic comic mugging from the two stars becomes a little wearing. the core of the film, which shows how these apparently bad men are despite themselves drawn towards good. retains a healthily mocking sense ofcynicism towards the priesthood and a concentration on matters of faith and religion that mark it out as a much more rewarding project than many commentators have given it credit for. Edinburgh: Cannon. I When Harry Met Sally ( 15) (Rob Reiner, US. 1989) Billy Crystal. Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher. 95 mins. Thoughtful sex comedy has Crystal (Harry), Ryan (Sally) and Reiner on top form. with highly entertaining results. Nora Ephron‘s witty screenplay intelligently ponders the possibility of male/female friendship with or without romance, and guess which side wins. . .Annie Hall for the late l98()s.with now-famous faked orgasm. Central: MacRobert Arts Centre. I The Witches (PG) (Nicholas Roeg. US. 1990) Anjelica Huston. Mai Zetterling, Rowan Atkinson. 92 mins. Nine year-old Luke is warned by his Norwegian granny about the ever-present threat posed by the existence of witches. which isn't much help actually because within the next half hour he stumbles on their annual convention in a small English hotel and gets himself changed into a mouse for his pains. A pleasing adaption of Roald Dahl's children‘s story has director Roeg (in unusually straightforward manner) creating a superior kids movie that has you rooting for the mice all the way. Lotsof fun. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Grosvenor. Edinburgh: Cannon. Strathclyde: Cannon. UCI Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride. I The Witches ol Eastwick ( 18) (George Miller. US. 1987) Jack Nicholson. Cher. Susan Sarandon. 118 mins. Suffocatingin the prim tranquility of a small town in New England. three single women set their collective sights on conjuring up the perfect Mr Right. Next morninga mysterious stranger suddenly appears. as ifin answer to their prayers. and beginsto charm the pants offthem. But the ripe. randy and rakish Daryl van Home is the devil in disguise. and there is a price topay fortheir pleasure. A joyous. diabolical romp, with Nicholson having the time of his life. Edinburgh: Cameo.
LISTINGS WEEK ONE
Friday 15)—Thursday 21
Readers are advised that programmes may be subject to late change at any time. [0] indicates that wheelchair access is available, though prior notillcation is advisable. [E] indicates the availability oi an induction loop, iorthe convenience oi hearing aid users.
GLASGOW CINEMAS
I CANNON Clarkston Road, Muirend. 637 2641 . £2.50 (Child/OAP£1 .50).
1. Phantom 01 The Opera ( 18) 5.45pm (Sat only), 8.30pm.
Uncle Buck ( 12) 2.25pm (Sat only). 5.25pm.
2. Pretty Woman ( 15) 2.05pm (Sat only). 5.05pm, 8.05pm.
I CANNON The Forge. Parkhead. 556 4282/4343. [E] (screens 1.3and5). Shows commencing before 6pm £1.75; after 6pm £3 (Child£l .75).
1. PrettyWoman(15) 2pm.5.35pm. 8.30pm.
2. Treasure Island (PG) 1.20pm. 5.30pm, 8.25pm.
3. Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure ( PG ) 1.15pm.
Phantom OlThe Opera (18) 3.55pm. 6.20pm, 8.35pm.
4. The Witches (PG) 1.30pm, 3.50pm, 6.15pm. 8.50pm.
5. Look Who's Talking (12) 1.15pm. 3.45pm. 6.05pm, 8.45pm.
6. All Dogs Go To Heaven (U) 1.15pm.
The Krays (18) 3.35pm, 6.05pm. 8.40pm. 7. Harlem Hights(15) 1.10pm. 3.35pm. 6.05pm. 8.35pm.
I CANNON SauchiehaIlStrect,3321592. £3 (Child £1.60; OAP[before6pm[ £1.60). Two bars open 6—9.30pm (Mon—Sat); 6.30—9.30pm (Sun).
1. Treasure island (PG) 1.15pm, 4.30pm. 7.45pm.
2. Shirley Valentine (15) and Parenthood (15) 1.30pm, 6.25pm.
3. The Witches (PG) 1.20pm, 3.35pm. 5.55pm. 8.25pm.
4. The Hunt For Red October ( PG) 1 . 15pm. 4.30pm.
Internal Affairs ( 18) 8pm.
5. Harlem Nights(15) l.35pm.4.50pm.
8 m.
Ben Hur(PG) (Thurs 21 only) 1.15pm. 6.15pm.
I CITY CENTRE OOEON Renfield Street. 332 8701. Licensed bar. [D] screens 2. 3 and 4. £2.95 (Child/OAP£1 .75 [£2.25 last show]; Student/U840 £2.25 [available as advertised]). Luxury seats also available in screen 1 £3. 10. £3.50. All tickets for shows commencing before 1.30pm £1.75. Advance booking available from box office ( l lam-7.30pm) or by Visa/Access hotline (3339551).
PrettyWoman(15) 12.30pm. 3pm.5.45pm. 8.35pm.
Look Who's Talking ( 12) 1.15pm. 3.30pm. 6 m.
Nuns On The Run(12) 1pm. 3.3(lpm.6pm. 8.50pm.
Rude Awakening ( 15) 1.25pm. 3.45pm.
6. 15pm. 8.50pm.
Phantom at The Opera ( 18) 1.15pm. 3.30pm, 6.15pm. 8.55pm.
The Package ( l5) 12.45pm.3.15pm.6pm. 8.45pm.
I GNOSVENOR Ashton Lane. Hillhead. 33942987814. £2.5(1(Studenl I'B4Il£2; Child/OAP £1.50). Seats cart now be booked for last evening and late screenings: the box office is open 2~7pm. 1. Mountains Ot The Moon ( 15) 2pm (not Sun). 5pm. 7.50pm. 2. Pretty Woman ( 15) 2. 15pm (not Stilt). 5.45pm. 8. 10pm. See also Glasgow fates. _-_ H -- - .___l The List 15 — 28 June 199023