FILM
Hamilton.
I Mapantsula ( 15) (Oliver Schmitz. S. Africa. 1988) Thomas Mogotlane. Thembi Mtshali. Peter Sephuma. foo mins. Small-time Soweto thiefMogotlane is interested only in snatching handbags and carousing in local shebeens. However. when he is picked up and interned with a number oftradc unionists. his brutal experiences help him formulate a commitment to the struggle against apartheid. Filmed under the noses ofthe white authorities. this remarkable film is the most authentic screen representation we have oflife in the townships. and while a little lacking in narrative drive or emotional appeal. it generates quiet
realism. (ilasgow': (iFl'.
I M'A'S'H 1 lb’) ( Robert Altman. l 'S. 1971)) Elliott (ioiild. Donald Sutherland. Sally Kellerman. Robert l)uva11. llo mins. Surgical shennanigans on a mobile hospital unit in Korea. Densely textured
style. with a blacker bite than on the small screen and a truly splendid original cast. Strathclyde: L'Cl liast Kilbride.
I Memphis Belle ( 1311 Michael Caton-Jones. l'K. 1991)) Matthew Modine. liric Stoltz. Harry Connick Jr. 106 mins. 1943. and the brave crew oftlie B-17 bomber .Wr’mp/tfx Belle have one more mission to get through before they reach the target of twenty-five completed runs which will enable them all to return home as heroes. Yet there's still a lot of dangerous sky between them and their goal. Predictable. occasionally over-calculating return to the schoolboy heroics of another time. although the filmmakers‘ integrity in remaining true to the harrowing experiences of the many young flyers who lost their lives manages to save the film from being just another so-what Saturday night special. Cilasgow: Cannon Clarkston Road. Cannon The Forge. Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Grosvenor. Edinburgh: Cannon. L’Cl. Central: Allanpark. Cannon. Strathclyde: Cannon. Kclburne. ()deon Ayr. ()deon Hamilton. I.a Scala. l'Cl Clydebank. l 'Cl East Kilbride.
I Milou In May ( 15) ( Louis Malle. France. 1989) Michel Piccoli. Miou-Miou. Michel Duchaussoy. ltlts’ mins. A rambling estate in the South of France and satyr-like old
of domestic discord when the members of his bickering family come together to sort out grandma's will. Their discord is increased by the worrisome news emerging from 1968 Paris. Certainly. there's a good comedy to be made about the plight of the bourgeoisie during this period. but Malle's latest. a cross between Brian Rix and Bunuel with settings by Renoir. isn‘t it. ladinburgh: l-‘ilmhouse.
I Mllle BOXt15)(Costa-(iavras.CS. l99tl) Jessica Lange. Armin Mueller Stalil. Frederic l-orrest. 12o mins. Lange plays a successful Chicago lawyer whose Hungarian immigrant father 1 Armin Mueller Stahl) is threatened with the loss of his American citizenship when he is suspected of collaborating in wartime atrocities against Budapest Jews. Believing uiiswervingly in her dad‘s innocence she takes on the task of defending him herself . yet .istlle courtroom testimonies pile up heinous accusations. the jury 's growing doubts are matched only by her own fears, Stimulating and finally moving combination of Hollywood family drama and the director‘s customary politiciscd grit. lidinburgh: Dominion.
I New York Stories 1 15) ( Martin
Scorsese l‘jraneisCoppola \Voody Allen. US. 1989) Rosanna Arquctte. Nick Nolte. (iiancarlo(iiannini. Woody Allen. Mia Farrow. 118 mins. Three of New York‘s finest film directors provide a mixed baguf tales from the Big Apple. Allen comesout on top with Oedipus ll'rer‘ks . a short. Jewish momma comedy in the manner of
comedy extravaganza in the director's best :
power from the total conviction of itshard
reprobate Piccoli is in for a prolonged bout
Kamikaze Hearts (18) (Juliet Bashore, US, 1986) Sharon Mitchell, Tigr Mennett, Jerry Abrahms, Jennifer Blowdryer. 77 mins. ‘The story, the characters and the situations are real. Fictional names are used only for those characters who use professional pseudonyms,’ a notice announces self-importantly at the beginning of Kamikaze Hearts. But don't expect a hard-core documentary on the porno movie industry with lots of triple-x lesbian sex thrown in for good measure. Despite the nudity, sex, girly dancing and jacking up which are carried out on screen, this is as unerotic a defloration of the adult movie myth as one could hope for.
Tigr and Mitch are lovers and porn stars, making a version of Carmen which Bizet would find hard to recognise. The camera follows them on the three-day shoot, both on and oft screen, interviewing them and the rest of the cast and crew about their work and loves. At first, this is an amusing and engaging account of the darker side of the film industry, a documentary of the making of a porno flick.
_ MIKAZE HEARTS
Clichéd images are presented in a cine-verite style, which prevents them from appearing trite. ‘I love to have sex in front of the camera.’ purrs Mitch. ‘I can really help you with your career,‘ entreats the director, as he desperately attempts to get an actress called Jennifer Blowdryerto reveal her breasts for his snap shots. The make-up artiste insists on using his real name; after all, it is just another job.
But, as hints and allusions to heroin become increasingly obvious, so the film starts to break up. Grown-ups, who had seemed to be consenting in private to make a professional film, start falling prey to their habit. By the final scene, where Mitch and Tigr inject themselves on screen, it has become unclear whether they are acting or shooting up for real and the film has degenerated into an incoherent morass. One which ultimately has a lot to say, but can't decide on an appropriate style in which to say it. (Thom Dibdin)
From Thurs 20. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
his less sophisticated early output. Seorcese and Coppola disappoint. Badly. (ilasgow': (irosvenor.
I Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit(15) (Beeban Kidron. L'K. 199())Charlottc Coleman. (ieraldine Mcliwan. 145 mins. Seen on television earlier this year. Jeanette Winterson's adaptation of her first novel follows the rites of passage of youngster Coleman’s rebellious homosexual passion against the strait-laced Lancashire religious environment maintained by her evangelical mum Meliwan. (ilasgow: (il’l'.
I The Outsiders ( PC: ) (Francis Ford Coppola. LS. 1982) Matt Dillon. C. Thomas Howell. limilio Iistevez. 91 mins. Adaptation of Susie Hinton's million-selling novel of violent conflict between the poor kids ((ireasers) and the rich kids (Socs) in a middle-American town. Coppola‘s earnest. and some might say sentimental. treatment of his material is a return to the sort of moviesyou thought they didn‘t make anymore. Wonderful in other words. with a staggering cast of future teen idols. (ilasgow': (il’l’.
I Peaux De \laches ( 15) (Patricia Mazuy. France. 1989) Sandrine Bonnaire.Jacques Spiesser. Jean-Francois Stevenin. 88 mins. In the Nord de Calais region of France. (ierard (Spiesser) and his wife Annie (Bonnaire) are in the midst of modernising their farm when a surprise visitor disrupts their peacefulexistence. He‘s Roland (Stevenin ). (ierard‘s ne'er-do-well brother. just out ofprison after taking a manslaughter rap for his elder sibling. looking for some recompense for the years behind bars. and about to tear the happy couple‘s world completely asunder. Tense and extremely well-acted rural drama. so far unreleased in Britain. and as such another indictment of the conservatism of our distribution network. Glasgow: (il’l'.
I Personal Services ( 18) (Te rryJones. UK. 1986) Julie Walters. ShirleyStclfox. Alec McCowen. 105 mins. Suggested by the life. times and social etiquette of Cynthia Payne. this ribald and engaging commentary on the British way ofsex features a top notch performance from Walters and a lethal script by David Leland. Edinburgh: ()deon.
I Pet Sematary ( 18) (Mary Lambert. tits.
1989) Dale Midkiff. Denise Crosby, Fred Gwynne. 102 mins. In a dark old house near an old Indian burial ground. strange things can happen. This comes in handy for Midkiff who. shattered by the death of his two year-old son. tries to bring him back to life through supernatural meddlings. But the lad comes back slightly changed and anyone in reach of the cutlery is at the sharp end of the youngster‘s tantrums. Well acted ifclumsily structured. and occasionally scary. Like most Stephen King books. this could have been a great movie; but like most Stephen King films. it isn‘t. Edinburgh: UCl.
I Planes, Trains and Automobiles ( 15) (John Hughes. US. 1987) Steve Martin. John Candy. Laila Robbins. 92 mins. Hughes relinquishes his position asthe most pertinent commentator on teenage woes and graduates with honours in the side-splitting adult comedy stakes. Martin is a harrasscd Chicago businessman desperate to return home from New York for Thanksgiving. After missing the last flight home he undergoes a series of fraught misadventures. reluctantly enduring the accident-prone Candy as travelling companion. Predictable and sentimental Odd Couple road movie which is nonetheless genuinely funny. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Pretty Woman (15) ((iarry Marshall. US. 1990) Richard Gere. Julia Roberts. Ralph Bellamy. 120 mins. In this hugely succesful comedy-romance. Gere stars as an unfeeling financial wheeler-dealer discovering he is human after all when he spends a week in the company of Roberts' downhome goodtime girl. Conversely. she rediscovers her self-esteem by flawlessly carrying off the role of his high society companion. so the audience can feel happy for both of them. The outline might be as hackneyed as they come. but television veteran Marshall has just the right lightness of touch. (ilasgow: ()deon. Edinburgh: UCl. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr. UCI Clydebank. UCl East Kilbride. I Raising Arizona ( 15) (Joel Coen. US. 1987) Nicolas Cage. Holly Hunter. 94 mins. Married ex-con Cage settles down to a life ofcrime once more and remedies his wife's childless state by stealing a millionaire‘s recently whelped quintuplet. Exhilirating, live-action cartoon combining non-stop action. crazy situations and deadpan wit. This second feature from the Brothers (BloodSimple) (‘oen is a joy. Glasgow: (iF'T.
I Romuald and Juliette (Coline Serreau. France. 1989) Daniel Auteuil. Firmine Richard. 118 mins. Winning serio-comic love story in which hard-nosed business exec falls for his black cleaning lady Richard and as their affair breaks down both class and racial barriers. her shrewd insight into the absurdity of corporate power-broking helps him to discover a new set of more worthwhile values. Following on from her huge French hit 'I‘roLs Hommes [it Uri Couffin (successfully Americanist as Three Men And/1 Baby) Serreau comes up with another insightful and funny examination of the way we live now. though it does bear a highly coincidental resemblance to the outline of Pretty Woman! Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Sea Of Love ( 18) ( Harold Becker. US. 1989) Al Pacino. Ellen Barkin.John (ioodman. Michael Rooker. l 18mins. Pacino. a homicide detective in search ofa murderer whose crimes seem to be connected with the personal ads. sets upa date with single mother Barkin. and. although attracted to her. begins to suspect that she is the killer. The plot may be on the creaky side. but the performances from both leads are spot-on. the dialogue and the sex scenes are remarkably realistic. However. the film is more likely to be remembered for its humour than for its tension. lidinburgh: Filnihouse
I The Secret Garden (Pt i) (Fred M.
The List 1:1:27 September 1991123