INDEX FILM
rampage through Glover's Manhattan media empire headquarters where there are genetic laboratories. hi-tech offices and even a television station at their malevolently frolicsome disposal. A reduced schmaltz factor. lots of one-liners and an unpredictable smattering of sly movie references make the experience a fun one. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. ILa Guerra est Flnle(P(‘i) (Alain Resnais. ‘ France ’Sweden. 1966) Yves Montand. Ingrid Thulin. Genevieve Bujold. 121 mins. ()ddly straightforward entry on Resnais‘s (‘\'. dealing with three days in the life ofa former fighter iii the Spanish Civil War (Montand). now exiled in Paris but still trying to overthrow FranCo. 'I'he subplot concerning the middle-aged hero's dual relationships with his mistress and an adoring student has become a little bit too predictable over the years. Edinburgh: French Institute. I Heavenly Pursuit“ 15) (Charles Gormley. CK. 1986). Tom Conti. Helen Mirren. David Ilayman. Dave Anderson. (‘onti is at his charming best in this Glasgow comedy. He begins to believe there may be something to this miracle business after he recovers from a brain tumour. Lightly amusing and well-acted satirical saga, Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Hello Heinlnpwan 15) (Fernando Perez. Cuba. 199(1) Laura de la L'z. Raul Pill. Marta del Rio. 90 mins. Hemingway's neighbour in 1956 Ilavana is Larita. a young. poor girl trying to finish high school in order to get to university. While reading The Old Man And The Sea she draws a parallel between the old fisherman's story and her own life. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I High Hopes ( 15) (Mike Leigh. 15K. 1988) Philip Davis. Ruth Sheen. Edna Dore. Heather'l‘obias. 110 mins. Davis and Sheen play a wholesome. left-wing. working-class couple. looking after his aging mother (Dore). who has been neglected by her appalling daughter (Tobias). Caustic and at times excruciatingly painful comedy of embarrassment. which rather unsubtly signposts whose side we are meant to be on. A decidedly patchy return to the big screen for one ofBritain's ,individual talents. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Homicide ( 15)(David Mamet. I‘S. I991)Joe Mantegna. William H. Macy. Natalija Nogulich. Rebbeca I’idgeon. 102 mins. Dedicated cop Bobby Gold (Mantegna) begins to struggle with his conscience and reflect on hisJewish background when a murder investigation puts him on the track of an anti-Semitic terrorist group and a counter-organisation of Zionist vigilantes. Mamet's third film is as much about faith in a lost
CANNON Parkhead - UCI (Craig Park)
society as racist tensions in New York. and is certainly head and shoulders above most conventional police procedurals. Glasgow: Grosvenor.
I In the Splendour oi Happiness ( 1:) Johann Feindt Helga Reiderneister. Germany. 199(i)85 mins. Fragmented look at the disintegration ofthe Berlin Wall and the social. political and military systems connected to it. The film perhaps overreaches itself by trying toconvince us that this heralded a global awakening ofequivalent magnitude. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Intern0( lb‘) ( Dario Argento. Italy CS. 1978) Leigh McCloskey. Iretie Miracle. Dario Nicolodi. 1117mins. An American student returns from studies in Rome to discover that a series ofbrutal murders on both sides of the Atlantic could have a [matte supernatural connection. L'sual nonsensical plotting and stylish suspense sequences from Argento. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I it Came irom Outer Space (PU) (Jack Arnold. LS. 1953) Richard Carlson. Barbara Rush. Charles Drake. RUssellJohnson. h‘l mins. Made in 3-D. this prototype ‘friendly alien~ movie broke some new ground. but also harbours some pretty familiar stereotypes (tolerant. misunderstood scientist. shoot-first-ask-questions-later lawman) and sortie pretty naff acting. But there's are signs here of Arnold's talent for atmosphere and composition (he went on to make The (‘rearure
from the Black Lagoon and The Incredible
Shrinking Mun). Strathclydc: UCI East Kilbride. I JFK ( 15) (()Iiver Stone. CS. 1991 ) Kevin Costner. Joe I’esci. Gary ()ldmari. Tommy Lee Jones. 19(1 mins. Based on the controversial theoriesof New ()rleans district attorneyJim Garrison. Stone's epic account ofwhat did or did not happen when President Kennedy made an untimely exit from this world makesfor enthrallingcinema. A fine performance by Costner is supported by one of the finest casts ever assembled before the camera. Regardless of verity of his argument. this is Stone's most powerful effort to date. General release.
I Jules EtJlm ( I’G ) ( Francois Truffaut. France. 1961 )Jeanne Moreau. ()skar Werner. Henri Serre. 105 mins Truffaut's early masterpiece. telling the comi-tragic tale ofan eternal triangle straddling the First World War. Bohemian. mercurial l’arisienne Catherine (Moreau)divides her affections between Jules(Werner) andJim (Serre ). w hose deep friendship overrides their rivalry in love and their separation by war. But 'I‘ruffaut Iias a salutory fare in store for the threesome. which is both devastating and poetic.
Powerful stuff. Glasgow: GF'I‘.
I Julia Has Two Lovers(18) (Bashar Shbih.
US Canada. 1991) Daphna Kastner. David Charles. David Duchovny. 88 mins. After a strange and erotic telephone conversation with a man who has dialled the wrong number. Julia (Kastner) finds that she must reassess her life and the recent marriage proposal from her domineering live-in lover. A steamy affair ensues when she arranges to meet the mystery man. Filmed on a budget of next to nothing. this searching examination of modern-day intimacies scored a hit at the 1991 Edinburgh Film Festival. Glasgow. GF'I'.
IJunple Fever( 18) (Spike Lee. L's. 1991)Wesley Snipes. Annabella Sciorra. John 'I‘urturro. Spike Lee. Anthony Quinn. 132 mins. Black yuppie Flipper Purify (Snipes) launches into an ill-fated affair with his Italian-American secretary (Sciorra) and adds fuel to the fire of inter-racial tensions. Spike Lee's latest controversial work also includes a major subplot on drugaddiction. which leaves the audience wondering if he has tackled too many ‘big‘ issues at once. Still. it'sa stylish piece with some good performances. even if the director‘s message is not exactly positive. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Kamikaze Hearts ( 18) (Juliet Bashore. US. 1986) Sharon Mitchell. 'I‘igr Mennett. Jon Martin. Sparky Vasque. 77 mins. Strangelyambivalent film about the pornography industry and the status of women within it: one wonders ifthe sometimes leering photography wants to have its cake and eat it. Excellent central performance from Mitchell as the porn star holds the audience's interest throughout and shows the disturbing f‘lipside of supposedly harmless titillation. Glasgow: (iFI'.
I The Last Boy Scout( 18) (Tony Semi. US. 1991) Bruce Willis. Damon Wayans. Chelsea Field. 105 mins. Ill-matched buddy duo ofscuzzball private eye (Willis) and disgraced sports idol (Wayans) biff. bang and crash their way through bone-crushing violence and producer Joel Silver‘s trademark explosions. State-of-the-art fluff. which works like a good dirty joke — shameful but kind of fun. General Release.
I Late lorDlnner(P(i) (WI). Richter. 11s. 1991) Brian Wimmer. Peter Berg. Marcia Gay Harden. Colleen Flynn. 93 mins. Wounded and on the run in 1962 from a Real Estate tycoon. two brothers fall into the handsofa scientist who freezesthem solid for thirty years. ()nce thawed. they wander bemused through a more uncaring America and try to search out their loved ones. An attempt at
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it succeeds more as a personal qtiest for truth.
Europe. but despite the great music. it's let down
combining comic-strip entertainment with meaningful adult drama that only ends up as pretty wishy-washy stuff. See review. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. l'CI.
I Leipzig in Autumn ( 1:) (Andreas \"oigl Gerd Kroske. Germany. 199(1) A documentary detailing the events of autumn 1989. which must already be seen in historical perspective. It switches between journalistic balance and astrong leaning towards reform as it chronologues the mass demonstrations that paved the way for the following year‘s political upheavals. Edinburgh: Filrnhouse.
ILlieis Sweeu 15)(.\iike Leigh. t'ls'. 1991) Alison Steadrnan. Jim Broadbent. Jane Horrocks. Claire Skinner. 'I‘imothy Spall. David Thewlis. 102 mins. Domesticcringe-drama which centres on a family with mismatched twin daughters ( I lorrocks and Skinner). an inefficient caterer dad (Broadbent) and a generous-spirited mum (Steadman). Like all Leigh's work. the drama is laced with a bleak. almost cruel humour. but it's enjoyable. truthful and surprisingly optimistic. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Locked Up Time(15)(8ibylle Schonemann. Germany. 199(1)‘)llmins. Award-winning documentary which follows the investigationsof filmmaker Schonemann into her arrest by the Stasi in 1984 and subsequent deportation to the West. While painting a revealing picture ofboth Germanies before and after the Wall came down.
Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The Manchurian Candidate ( 15 ) (John Frankenheimer. I'S. 1%.?) Frank Sinatra. Laurence Harvey . Angela Lansbury . Janet Leigh. 126 mins. In his most convincing screen role. Harvey plays a Korean war hero brainwashed by the communists. who beComes a pawn in the sinister mission planned for him on his return home. Brilliant political satire-cum-thriller. with the cast in great form and a staggeringly inventive plotclearly and grippineg unravelled. It damn well works and surprises in a way that so few films do anymore. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Meeting Venus ( 12) (Istvan S/abo. L'K I 'SA. 1991 ) Glenn Close. Niels Arestrup. Iirland Josephson. 119 mins. Zoltan Slanto. an unknown Hungarian conductor. is given the chance to conduct Wagner's 'I'unnhuiuer in Paris; Istvari Szabo. a well-known Hungarian director. directed the same Wagner masterpiece iii the same European capital a few years ago. Front its autobiographical roots. .Ileering I’enicv builds into a metaphor for the squabbling of a unified
Edinburgh
The List 13 — 26 March 1993