FILM REVIEW
It’s the revie
over the ne
w spread they
couldn’t ban. The List romps and stomps ahead with the lowdown on the films opening in Scotland
xt fortnight.
sheeny monochrome cinematography and a cool jazz score. this is a classic exercise in alienation, as perfect in its concentrated way as anything Polanski ever did. It certainly shows up the middle-aged spread in Bitter M0011. (Tl)
l Best of the Best 2 ( l8)
‘C
I Knife in the Water (12) Polanski's first feature shows off all the strengths of his best later work: psychological unease, claustrophobia. an economy of means. The simple central narrative has a rich couple pick up a young hitcher and invite him to their yacht for the weekend. yet as the trio's lazy leisure time rolls along under the sun. tensions build up between them. Sexual and social frustrations come to the surface. Lives and lifestyles are questioned. And all this with only three actors and a boat. Offset by the chill of
v A martial arts flick . remarkable only as the
first sequel to get a cinema release when the original went straight to video. I mean. chubby
Chris Penn (Nice Guy Eddie in Res‘en'oir Dogs) is a kick boxer . . . sumo
wrestler. maybe. but kick boxer? (AM)
7 I One False Move (18) ' Crime thrillers don't come any better than this. a
terrific character study
that's sparked off by a
brutal set of drugs murders. Don‘t be put off by reports of excessive violence — it's tough in parts. but not without some humour and
j flawless performances. See preview.
LEAP DF FAITH
It’s bad news when they get God. Like some fading rock star looking for a ‘new direction’, Steve Martin’s appearance in this evangelical farrago clearly signals a star struggling to
) ’1
I Sarafina! (15) Unlike i traditional musicals — the I most escapist of all film i genres — Sarafina.’
without flinching or resorting to soft cinematic solutions. This is township music representing human pride and resilience when faced with the worst that life can throw at you. As the tale of a young girl. dreaming of stardom. dreaming of the day Nelson Mandela will be released, it is vibrant and colourful; as the tale of a young girl contaminated
J, 11%“? .v . . A , ‘ “ ‘ . (‘7- . _‘; ’ . ’ ,M O ‘i J, A . .u‘
confronts real political and racial problems ; Broadway to Soweto ‘ underlines every aspect of
by ongoing violence. it captures the sense of hate breeding hate that lay at
n the heart of Boy: N The
Hood. The move from
the film — schoolchildren sing about freedom not on a stage. but on real South African streets where shanties crumble around
| them and white soldiers look on impassively from armoured cars. Part celebration. part condemnation. it
. convinces us there is life within so much death. (AM)
16 The List 9—22 April I993
i l - l
. know what to do with himself. Here
I he’s Jonas flightengale, charismatic
j leader of a travelling preaching show
that uses a combination of computer
research technology and good ol’
fashioned showbuslness pzazz to dupe
. local yokel Bible Belt townsfolk out of their recession-hit cash.
But when he hits the town of Bustwater, Kansas, events don’t turn out quite as he expects: right-hand woman Jane falls for suspicious, good-hearted sheriff Will, while Jonas’s own pangs of amour for waitress Marva draw him into the
plight of her kid brother Boyd, crippled
in the car crash which killed both their parents. As drought-baked
Bustwater prays for rain, Jonas
mercilessly runs through all the tricks
in his repertoire — ‘curing’ stricken old ladies, taking a ‘miracle’ with a statue
of Christ. But when Boyd starts to
; believe in his powers and some real
God-type shit starts happenin’, well, it’s leap of faith for old Mr
Ultracynical. And a moment for the
5 audience to gag on a plot development so stomach-churnineg sickly, you
leap of Faith: 'alienates believers and sceptics alike’
wonder whether God actually read the script before He agreed to put in a . special guest appearance. 9 It’s just nonsensical as well. Either l the film wants to send up these showman gospellers as charlatans, or it wants to say that they actually do have real spiritual capabilities - to : hop from one to the other in mid-
: movie alienates believers and l sceptics alike. As for Steve, his Elmer
' Gantry routine never looks like more
5 than an extended sketch. After lame,
ill-judged fare like My Blue Heaven
! and Housesitter, this one isn’t exactly . Good News either. (Trevor Johnston)
E Leap of Faith (PG) (Richard Pearce,
; US, 1992) Steve Martin, Debra Winger, Liam Neeson. 107 mins. From Fri 9.
: Glasgow: MGMs. Edinburgh: Ddeon. All DCIs.
. BODY OF EVIDENCE
l
i This week, it’s Willem Dafoe’s turn to
1 be In Bed wan Madonna, in a film that
i is trying far too hard to be Basic
1 Instinct ll. But where Sharon Stone’s
movie was only missing the odd piece of underwear, this one brazenly struts about with the flabby flesh of an unappealing script failing to hide the skinny ribs of a poor courtroom drama plot. And, let’s face it, Madonna getting her kit off is about as rare a media event as the Chancellor announcing green shoots of recovery. . . but minus the credibility.
In her latest bad career move, she ls Rebecca Carlson, accused of using her body as the lethal weapon that caused the death of her wealthy lover - who just happens to have made her the main beneficiary In his will. It’s up to defense attorney Frank Dulaney to prove her innocence, but pretty soon
Body of Evidence: ‘more erratic tiller than erotic thriller'
he’s more interested In her areolae
; than her allbis, and the only legal
. loopholes necessary are the ones she
1 uses for bondage.
f Not only Is Madonna given the
; cornlest lines, it’s clear that the movie
3 camera does not fall under her spell.
Quite simply, she cannot act; and she certainly doesn’t deserve the support
I of two of the best actors in America -
€ Dafoe and Joe Mantegna - who only
throw a spotlight on her lnadequacles,
; even when barely bothering to get out
f of second gear themselves. Destined
i to be a rlslble cult classic, Body of
: Evidence is more erratic filler than
i erotic thriller. The prosecution rests
5 its case. (Alan Morrison)
Body of Evidence (1 8) (till Edel, US, 1993) Madonna, Willem Dafoe, Joe Mantegna. 100 mins. From Fri 16. General release.
l_ THE DIIIIICE
the Quince Tree Sun: ‘pure cinema alchemy’
Yes. it does sound pretty
deadly. Antonio. a
grouchy old artist sets out to paint a picture of the quince tree in his
' backyard. His old pal linrique pops in to see him now and then. as does his daughter Maria. A couple of Chinese admirers turn up. There are Polish workmen mouldering around. And. erm. that‘s it. Who'd have thought you could make one of the films of the
year out of that little lot. but venerable Spanish filmmaker lirice has pulled off a startling
moment of pure cinematic alchemy.
The viewer gets so
3 magnetically drawn in
I because watching the
painter at work is quite.
quite compelling. Lopez's
is a respectful approach: he wants to capture the
exact quality ofthe light
on the quinces in autumn. But as he marks out his canvas in systematic
; fashion. the weather tums against him and the fruit get riper every day.
: threatening to drop off the branches before he can
? finish. You end up rooting
for him to such a degree the tiniest event — an
i unexpected shower. the ; fall of the first quince —
becomes a crucial
i incident. As the joyous coda strikes home. 3 luxuriating in the coming
3
of spring and the new
young quinces warming in
i the sunshine. you realise
.you've spent the last
couple of hours looking.
really looking. at the
natural world around you.
Nothing to do with
I ‘trendy‘ green-
consciousness. but lirice's
unlikely masterpiece
reminds us that the universe out there is so abundant in beauty and mystery. no artist — with a brush or a camera — can
ever capture it exactly. A majestic. extraordinary
film experience. (T1) The Quince 'l'ree Sun ( L') (Victor Erit‘e. Spain.
1992 ) Antonio Lopes. Enrique Gran. Maria Moreno. I 39 mins. From Sun [8. Edinburgh: Film/rouse. J