REVIEW FILM
_ com WORLD
Supersuave Brad Pitt is Frank Harris, a soldier just returned from WWII who's zapped into an animated alternative reality after a serious motorcycle accident. Meanwhile, Gabriel Byrne
i looks distinctly unconvinced as 90s
l graphic artist Jack Deebs, creator of
l the comic Cool World, which of course
happens to bear a striking resemblance to the line-drawn neighbourhood where
ageless Brad has spent the last few
decades. Cartoon lantasy tigure Holli Would proves the conduit between the two worlds when she and Jack get it
‘: together and, before you can gasp at
5 the sheer antediluvian sexism of it all,
1 dearHolliturns into real-lite cartoon
fantasy figure Kim Basinger. Bakshi’s
shambolic plotting staggers ever ownwards.
Dismally lacking in pace and rhythm, a barely original yet not unpromising idea is scuppered by a simple inability to put together a storyline. The problem is exacerbated by the extremely variable quality of the animation itself for, unlike Roger Rabbit or even Volere Volare, you don’t buy the interaction between the two- and three-dimensional characters for one second. This is one project that really shouldn’t have gotten off the drawing board . (TJ)
Cool World (12) (Ralph Bakshi, US, 1992) Gabriel Byrne, Kim Basinger, Brad Pitt. 102 mins. From 18 Dec. Glasgow: MGM Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: UCI. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank.
Cool World: ‘dismally lacking i. pace and rhythm'
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Raising Cain: “hysterical virtuoso sequences‘
7 [— TOUS LES MATINS DU MONDE
Gerard Depardieu is Marin Marais,
17th century violist in the French court, and former pupil to the innovative Monsieurde Sainte Colombe, a reclusive crepuscular widower. Told in
sweeping flashback, Marais remembers his apprenticeship, arguments as his flamboyant playing clashed with Colombe's more moving
style and his love affair with Colombe's
daughter Madeleine before becoming seduced by the celebrity at court. More than costumed drama, or romance, this is an evocative interrogation of the relationship between musician and music; art and
artiste. Beautiful though this is, it lacks
the commercial appeal ol Cyrano de
Bergerac. However Depardieu‘s son, Guillaume, is a revelation, throwing
himsell atthe part oi the young Marais,
‘. his vial and Anne Brochet (superb as
; Madeleine) in equal measure and
surely ensuring himself a place on
: teenage walls lrom Toulouse to Tollcross. (Thom Dibdin)
Tous Les Matins Du Monde (12) (Alain
Corneau, France, 1992) Gerard
% Depardieu, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Anne
I Brochet, Guillaume Depardieu. From
Fri 1 Jan: Edinburgh Cameo. Sun 3: Glasgow GFT.
. I I
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‘ ‘ I, ,
RAISING CAIN
.~ gjifis'i'i‘f” 3*?“ l
\'A,
i l g: Bauer) Carteris pushed to new i
3.3 _ psychologicalextremesand,with I F}: ' puzzled policetacingaserialmurder I
I)?
A child psychologist who's taken two
.. years out of his practice to raise his young daughter, Dr Carter Nix (John
- Lithgow) seems like the perfect parent, but as his spouse Jenny (Lolita Davidovich) becomesfurthertroubled by his increasingly erratic behaviour she begins to worry whether there’s more to her man than meets the eye. When she reawakens a previous attair . .. 3g; with ex-lover Jack Dante (Steven
investigation, ittakes tamous specialistDrWaldheim(Frances " Sternhagen) to unlock the mystery. Instead of the Hitchcockian convention of pushing believable
Tous Les Matins Du Monde
characters into unbelievable situations, De Palma seems less . interested in creating credible human beings than he is in cooking up thriller setpieces where he can strut his not inconsiderable stuff with the camera. The result is a string of hysterical (and often hysterically lunny) virtuoso sequences— endless tracking shots. elaborate action set-ups, lever-pitch moments of suspense— sell-consciously threaded on an utterly preposterous excuse tor a narrative. With wildly unrestrained performances all round, the result ranks as big
fun tor cynical cineastes, but everyone else might find it an effort to care terribly much. (TJ)
Raising Cain (15) (Brian De Palma, US, 1992) John Lithgow, Lolita Davidovich, Steven Bauer. 92 mins. From 8 Jan. Glasgow: MGMs Parkhead, Sauchiehall Street. All UCls.
I SFC Grant: Film production in Scotland has received a major boost with the announcement of the Scottish Office revenue grant to the Scottish Film Council for 1993/94. Next year‘s grant will be £657.()()(), an increase in funding of £14,000 on the equivalent figure from the previous year. On top ofthis. the
SeottishOffice has
announcedafurther
£300,000forfilmin
; Scotland. which will be split between the SFC and the Scottish Film
Production Fund. Although no firm decisions have been taken
; as yet as to exactly how the a money will be spent. the increaseinfunding—
coupled with local authority involvement in
f filmmakingandpositivc
moves by the likes ofthc Glasgow Development Agency — is proof that the moving image is playing a
stronger role in Scottish culturallife.
Meanwhile. the closing dates for application for
thisyear‘sSFC/Scottish Television-financed First
Reels scheme for up and
comingfilmmakersisll December. Forms and information are available
from SFC. 74 Victoria Crescent Road. Glasgow G12 9JN. but prepare for Christmas post delays.
I Cinema Seats: The Cameo in Edinburgh claims it will be one ofthe most luxurious cinemas in the country when it reopens Cameo One on New Year‘s Day after
extensive refurbishment.
New padded armchairs allowing 30 per cent more space between each row reduces capacity to 260,
while redecoration will
emphasise the beauty of Scotland‘s second-oldest working cinema. The Cameo‘sother two cinemas remain open over the holiday period. And while we‘re on the subject of cinema seats. whose signature is this: Easy. ch'.’
Of course. it‘s American superstar Robert De Niro. who‘s currently urging us tojoin him in havinga personalised seat at the Glasgow Film Theatre. So chuffed was our Bob when Robert Stewart sponsored seat F18 in Cinema 1 in his name that he immediately agreed to give his personal support to the (il‘T's scheme. For a mere £350 you too can have your name. your company‘s name or the name ofyour favourite star on the seat
of your choice. Just
contact Liana Marietta at the (if’l‘on 0-H 3326535.
:‘morethan costume drama' l (AM)
The List 18 Decembervl992 — 14 January 1993 29