INDEX FILM
Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cannon.
I The Hairdresser's Husband ( 15) (Patrice Lecontc. France. 1990) Jean Roehefort.
Anna Galiena. 90 mins. The romantic tale
of a young boy who resolves to marry a hairdresser. and — in eccentric middle age — does just that. According todirector Leconte. the film ‘is not autobiographical. although it really ought to have been'. since the boy's resolution is one he himself made. but failed to keep. A witty.sexy and eccentric movie with dark undercurrents from the director of Monsieur Hire. See preview. page 19. Glasgow: GF'I‘. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Hamlet (U) (Franco Zeffirelli. l'S. 199(1) Mel Gibson. Alan Bates. Glenn Close. Paul Scofield. Helena Bonham-(‘artcn lan Holm. 135 mins. A young man returns home from university to find his father dead and his mother marrying his uncle. Then Hamlet senior's ghost shows up. whispering to him of murder most foul. and it's all downhill after that. More than twenty years after Zeffirelli‘s Romeo AndJuIiet comes this colourful and lively production of Shakespeare’s greatest play. with a very strong~ mostly British cast and the best performance in years from (‘ribson in the title role. Glasgow: Grosvenor. Strathclyde: UCl East Kilbride.
I The Handmaid's Tale(18)(\'olker Schlondorff. US. 1989) Natasha Richardson. Elizabeth McGovern. Faye Dunaway. Robert Duvall. 108 mins. Despite the excellent cast and the screenplay by Harold Pinter. Schlondorff's adaptation of Margaret Atwood‘s anti-Utopian novel disappoints. Set in near-future America. the plot revolves around the tribulations offertile white women. who are forced to act as child-bearers for the ruling elite. Predictable resistance-movement
adv entures follow the heroine's capture. and the novel‘s subtlety drowns despite everyone's efforts. Glasgow: GFT.
I Hardware ( 18) (Richard Stanley. US. 1990) Dylan McDermott. Stacey Travis. John Lynch. William 1 lootkiiis. 95 mins. When Mo (Mchrmott) takes a broken robot home as a present for his girlfriend Jill (Travis). he little suspects that it will rebuild itselffrom their electrical appliances and declare war on humanity. Stanley's debut is a massiv ely over-the-top. plagiaristic fantasy of machine versus man. btit no less enjoyable or imaginative for it. Mental metal madness. Glasgow: (irosvenor.
I The Hard Way ( 15) (John Badharn. l 'S. 19911) Michael J. Fox. James Woods. Stephen Lang. Annabella Sciorra. l.. l .. CoolJ. 111mins.Baby-lacedand
dingstingly successful. Nick l.ang ( Fox ) is i
a Hollywood star trying to rougben up his image. The answer'.’ A tough cop movie. researched at the right hand of resentful New York policier John Moss ( Woods). it's a classic set-up for a predictable action buddy comedy drama. but bray e self-parody from Fox and a characteristically hard-bitten performance from Woods create a stylish entertainment from unproinising elements. Strathclyde: ()deon Ayr.
I Highlandert 15) (Russell Mulcahy. tiK. 1986) Christopher Lambert. Beatie Edney. Sean Connery. 111 mins. A handful of immortals battle through the centuries to win a my thical prize. A curious mixture of romance in loth century heather and car chases in present day New York. the film is an inelegant. often ludicrous. but my iy ably daffy adventure. Lambert seems more at home with the contemporary passages and only the ever wonderful (‘onnery has the requisite style for the kitsch Scottish scenes. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Home Alone (PG) (Chris Columbus. es. 1991))Macaulay Culkin.Joe l’esei.Daniel A
Stern. John Heard. (‘atherinc ()‘l lara. 103 mins. Peter and Kate McCallister
Sibling Rivalry (15) (Carl Reiner, US, 1990) Kirstie Alley, Bill Pullman, Carrie Fisher, Jami Gerfz, Sam Elliott, Scott Bakula. 88 mins. With a doctor husband (Bakula) who's completely wrapped up in his work and eight years of very dull marriage behind her, Marjorie (Alley) doesn’t find it too hard to end up in a hotel room with the nice man (Elliott) she meets in the supermarket. The problem is, after a night of very vocal passion, she wakes up next to her new love machine and he's dead. She panics and rushes off, leaving the stiff under the bedclothes, which means that bungling venetian
blind salesman Nicholas (Pullman) can
come in, bump the body on the head with his wares and think that he's killed him too. Since Alley has left her wallet behind, be naturally assumes that the dead man is her husband. 80 he rings her at home, where her real husband and catty sister-in-law (Fisher) are awaiting the arrival of their long lost
brother. . .
To say that Sibling Rivalry had a contrived plot would be a major understatement. It’s also a film where the audience is always at least fifteen
steps ahead of the characters. On these '
terms, though, it doesn't work too badly. Apart from the inevitable condom gag, what the comedy mainly consists of is Alley‘s extravagant reactions to the multiple disasters befalting her. And underthat equally extravagant mane of hair, she does come out with the right astonished looks at the right times. The film trips along happily from one complication to the next, the enthusiastic cast make the best use of the thin material to hand and the result is a loud, marginally amusing and mostly painless 90 minutes. (Tom Tunney)
From Fri 21 June. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: UCI.
(Heard and ()'1 law) have an cight-year-old brat and wisely -— albeit accidentally leave him behind in ( ‘hicago when they go on holiday to Paris. Left to hisown devices young Kevin ((‘ulkin ) has to deal with two bungling burglars ( l’esci and Stern) who threaten to invade his peaceful haven. Jolly. ifsadistic. scare-comedy antics produced by tecnflick veteran John Hughes. Sti'atlielyde: ( )deon Ay r. WMR Film (cutie.
IThe House of BernardaAlbat 15)(.\l;itio (itiiius. Spain. 19S9) lierie ( ‘aba. Ana Belen. Florinda (‘hico 1H4 mins. From the opening shots of a crowded funeral mass. l.orca's sy rnbolie treatment of female sexuality receiv esa thoroughly professional rendering from ( lirnus. l.tiseiotisly shot witli enormous attention to detail. the film is profoundly beautiful btit largely fails to develop the sense of suffocation or claustrophobia toward which it is clearly strlv ing. (ilasgow : ( il’l I The Human Factorl15)itiiiol’reminger. lfK th.1979)NicolWilliamson.Richard .-\ttenborough. Joop l)odei'er. .lohn (iielgttd. Derek Jacobi. Robert Morley. 114 mins. Adapted by Tom Stoppard from (iraham (ireene. this rather transparent spy thriller centres on themes of loy ally and betrayal. with a plot involv ingan innocent British agent accused ofleaking information to the Soviets. Despite the evident ability of the actors. it all becomes pretty inconsequential. lzdinburgli: Filmhouse.
I Jean De Florette ( l’(i ) ((‘laude Berri. France. 198(1) (ierard Depardieu. Yves Montand. Daniel Auteuil. 121 mins. Provence. during the 193(is. Depardieu's indomitable liunchbaek struggles against impossible odds to make a success of his inherited farmland. unaware that his
neighbours are plotting to driy e him from his land. Beautifully photographed. witli flawlessperformances. this is a towering tribute to the highest aspirations of i-reneh storytelling. A BAI‘IA winner for the film of the year. Stiathclyde: ()deon .-\y r. I Jefsons: The Movie ( l ' ) ( William 1 lanna ck Joseph Bar'bei'.i.l S. 1991 ) With the voicesol (ieorge ( )'l lanlon. Mel Blane. l’eniiy Singleton. 'l iffany . l’atiie Xiiitnierinan. S3 mins. America’s favourite taliiily ol the tutuielit says here). as animated by the celebrated duo. move to a new home in outer space w hen (ieorge .letsori gets promotion at Spacely Sprockets. His new rob is leopardised by a sabotagecampaign. howev ei . which leads to a struggle between the astral green movement and the technoer'als from the stratosphere. Strathclyde; ( )deori Ay l'. IJourney OfHope ( l’(i)l.\;t\let Roller. Switzerland. 1991)) \ecritettin(‘obanogltL \ur Sut'er. fillilli Sivas. Mathias (inadirigei lllltnins l’revrew cerceniiig of Koller‘s harrowing tale about .i'l'ur'kish family whosacritiee everything toseek admission to a new . more prosperous life in Switzerland. (‘harting the tribulations and humiliations they endure on the tourney . it gives a striking account ofthe difficulties facing all refugees and would~be immigrants. (ilasgow: (ii-'1‘.
I JU DOU(15)(/.hang Y imoii.
(‘liina Japan. 1991))(iong Ii. 1 iWei.l i Bao-lian. 94 mins. ln 192Hs(‘hrn.i.a young inanlli Wei) fallsinnocently torhis ty rannieal uncle's third w rte .lu l)ou((iong l.i). and they embark on a forbidden romance. Bill the truth w ill out.w ith tragic consequences. in the confines of the uncle's dyeing factory . the story ‘s cruel logic is offset by an intense beauty and eroticism. (‘entralz MacRobert,
l I Jules El Jim (PG) (FrancoisTruffaut.
France. 1961 ) Jeanne Moreau.Oskar Werner. Henri Serre. 105 mins. Truffaut's early masterpiece. telling the comi-tragic tale of an eternal triangle straddling the First World War. Bohemian. mercurial l’arisienne Catherine (Moreau) divides her affections between Jules (Werner) and Jim (Serre). w hose deep friendship overrides their rivalry in love and their separation by war. Btit 'l‘ruffaut has a .salutory fare in store for the threesome. which is both devastating and poetic. Powerful stuff. Glasgow: (ll-'1‘. lidinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The Kill-0TH 18) (Maggie (ireenwald. VS. 1989) l.oretta (iross. Jackson Sims. Steve Monroe. 93 mins. Maggie (ireenwald‘s second feature stays l relatively faithful to.lim Thompson's typically downbeat novel. In a dyingbeach' resort. life is made hell by the bed—ridden l demon l.uane Devore. whose controlovcr: people's lives turns her into a telephone 1 tortlircr. lnfluenced by Scorsese and the y
('oeri Brothers' Blood Simple. the film‘s unconventional storytelling is emphasised by stark photography and makes for hypnotic viewing. Glasgow: (ll-'1‘.
IKing OtNew Yorkl IS) (Abell‘errara. l l'S. 1991)) ('hristopher Walkeii. David ' Caruso. l.arry l’ishblirne. Victor Argo. Wesley Snipes. 104 mins. lixtrcmely violent and amoral account of New York drug lord Frank White (Walken).who kills quite a few people bill is really a decent cove. whose dream is to open a hospital for the people of his native South Bronx. A twisted tale of criminal loyalty and glamorised violence which wastes the considerable talents of its leading actor. At least Arnie does it with a sense of humour. (ilasgow: ('annon Sauchiehall Street. lidinburgh: [7(‘1.
I King Ralph (l’(i) (David S. Ward. 178. 1991)John(ioodman.l’etcr()"l‘oole. John 1 lurt. ('amillc ('oduri. Julian (ilover. 96 mins. When the entire Royal Family is unluckily wiped otit. l.as Vegas pianist Ralph Jones ((ioodnian ) becomes heirto the throne of Britain. lntlie struggletoadjusttohiselevatedlifestyle. | King Ralph offends other monarchs. ! disrupts British industry . delights the i tabloid press and falls in love with a commoner. But complications arise when l.ord ( ililVL‘S ( l lurt ) begins plotting his downfall l'rireverentialeornedyvvithan enjoy ably robust central performance. a pinch of satire on the British ‘Royals'cult. and a good few laughs Strathclydc: ()deon .t\y t.
I A Kiss Before Dying ( Is) (James Dearden. 1S. 1991)) Matt Dillon.Sean
Y oung. May \'on Sydow . Diane l.add. 93 mins. Writer director Dearden alsow'rote the serecnPIa) foi “Hal .-1 (traction. which marry people found inisogy'nistic. Here. he’s back on dangerous relationships territory . though the riialaditisted partner in this case is male. and a psychopathic killer at that. (laps in plot and obv ious photographed backdrops actually work in lay oiirot this enioyable. old-fashioned thriller tioiii the Hitchcock school. See preview . page 31. (ilasgow: (‘antion'l'he l'ot‘ge. ( liririoti Satrchiehall Street. lzdinbtrigh: ('annon. l'('l. Str‘athclyde: l'( 'l (lyric-bank. l‘(‘l liast ls'ilbi'ide.
I LA Storyl 15 )(Mick Jackson. is. 1991) Steve Mai tin. Victoria 'l'eniianl. Richard 1-,. (iraiit. Marrlu llenner 95mins Written by Martin hinisell. this affectionate satire on the world centre of licdonrsrii is also .i love story iii the manner of .ilriii/itiiliiii. though w ithotit the intellectual subtlety of that homage to .\'Y(' .\lar trii plays eccenti ic weather iiian llai r is is ‘l'eleiiiacher . w ho setsotit to find sanity and title Iov e iii a eta/v society. Not as tunny as it should be. but nonetheless aiieriroyable entertainment (ilasgow: (‘aiinon Sauchiehall Street. l~dinbirrgli; (aririori. Dominion. l'( ’l Stiatliclyde: l'(‘l(‘lydebank.l'(‘l l’.l\li\lll‘1lylL‘.
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