REVIEW FILM
MADAME BOVARY
Usually when the film adaptation of a literary classic is criticised, it’s because it isn’t faithful enough; with this, the third screen version of Flaubert’s novel, the criticism is that director Claude Chabrol has been too faithful to the original material. Chabrol leaves no room for casting a modern light on Flaubert’s tale of a disillusioned young bride trapped within the confines of 19th century French smalltown bourgeoisie. Which is not to say that his Emma would be better as a strident feminist; it’s lust that plot, characters and concerns seem to have been disturbed from a
dusty comer and made to parade for theatre,
museum-like curiousity rather than artistic relevance.
As Emma brings a spark of life to her provincial surroundings, so Isabelle lIuppert occasionally manages to brighten a stultifyingly dull two hours plus. Other characters fall into the traditional three-way trap that betalls adaptations of Dickens, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky et al: the under-developed, the comically grotesque and the intermittently interesting. Ultimately, the film resembles nothing more than a beautifully bound edition of the novel, gilded and resting on the shelf - lovely to look at, but who really wants to delve inside? (AM)
Madame Bovary (PG) (Claude Chabrol, France, 1991) Isabelle lluppert, Jean- Francois Balmer, Christophe Malavoy. 14D mlns. From Thurs 17: Glasgow Film
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\. 3‘ ’ Madame Dovary: ‘too faithful to the original’
e 7&4,-
AV My. , /, l
‘surefire date movie’
Untamed lleart:
I _
. Vinny, Marisa Tomei works her way yet ' grateful nation with this slightly self-
. on a downhome diner where waitress ' Caroline (Tomei) confides her man
'e wondrous llosie Perez). But hold! Iler
UNTAMED HEART After her surprise Oscar for My Cousin
further into the affections of a
conscious but undeniably affecting lurve story, a surefire date movie for the 90s. We’re in Minneapolis, but Prince and lifisker Dii are nowhere to be seen, the action instead centring
problem - a string of crap boyfriends - to sassy workmate Cindy (the even
i wait for Mr flight is about to be ended
when into her life shuffles Adam
I (Christian Slater), the straggle-halred
. and mysteriously silent dishwasher
é who saves her from near assault at the hands of a couple of laddlsh rutflans. 7
’ Turns out, however, that this unlikely i
knight has a major medical problem
i and a curious past to his name: 1
? brought up by nuns (who gave him a '
' pile of old albums When he left their
care), he suffers from a bit of a dodgy
ticker and has invented a fairytale story about being given a jungle transplant by the king of the baboons to explain the huge scar on his chest. 3 Well, you don’t have to be Mystic Meg to see where this is going. Ilomance and potentially fatal illness meet up on the old love Story trail, but so engaging are the characterisations in Tony Bill’s charmer of a picture, it doesn’t matter too much that you’ve been down this path not a few times before. The sense of joy that these two shopworn people get from being with each other, sharing simple gifts, is truly touching when you think of the : glossy overkill that usually surrounds burgeoning relationships in the movies these days. llo MTV flash here, lust magic records and a baboon heart - all of which makes the darker later passages fit to pierce the heart. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll snuggle up f together. (Ti) Untamed ileart (15) (Tony Dill, US, 1993) Christian Slater, Marisa Tornei, llosie Perez. 102 mins. From Fri 11. Glasgow: WM Sauchiehall Street. All UCls.
ARMY 0F DARKNESS
First came the definitive ‘video nasty’, the ground-breaking Evil Dead; then the definitive horror slapstick in the shape of the biggerbudget, virtual remake Evil Dead 2: Dead Before Dawn. llow comes the definitive example of crushed expectations, Army of Darkness - the third instalment of Sam Balml’s trilogy.
Ash (Bruce Campbell) is back in the Middle Ages, complete with chainsaw arm and pissed-off attitude. Unwittingly, he unleashes an army of skeletal dead on the locals, and so must battle at their side in order to win the help that will send him back to the future. It all starts off so well, with a bag of set-pieces and one-liners to rival the best of the series so far. But there is nothing to sustain the novelty of the situation, and you can almost sense liaimi’s desperation in his eagerness to please. The batteries have surely run out on what was once the horror world’s favourite toy. (AM) Army of Darkness (15) (Sam Raimi,
05. 1992) Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert. 109 mins. From Fri 11 . Glasgow: MGMs. Edinburgh: MGM. All UCls.
Army of Darkness: ‘crushed expectations'
I Europa Cinemas: Two Edinburgh cinemas — the Cameo and the Filmhouse - have joined the prestigious Europa Cinemas network. part of the European Commission's MEDIA 95 Programme. Along with another 44 cinemas in i2 countries. the Cameo and Filmhouse will ‘schedule at least 50 per cent of European films representing at least 50
2 per cent of all screenings’ § during 1993. and in return
will receive 10.000 Ecus in two six-monthly payments. Such a positive move should combat the saturation of the commercial market with
mainstream American movies. while providing the financial foundation
for schemes to widen
3 appreciation of European
— including Scottish —
filmmaking. Scotland is
currently strengthening its European connections on all fronts in the industry. and the Scottish Film Council has recently appointed Margaret O’Connor as MEDIA information officer.
I African Film Festival: Meanwhile. the Filmhouse is also looking to another continent. as it opens the first African Film Festival to take place in Scotland. on ll lune. Programmed by writer and filmmaker Kwesi Owusu. the Festival confirms Africa‘s position
as one of the most I exciting film cultures to
emerge in the last decade. Established favourites such as Tilai. Yaaba and La Vie Es! Belle will screen alongside new works from Burkina Faso. Cameroon and by African filmmakers working in the UK.
Kwasi Dwusu's Ana I Jam Jar Show: Back in
' the days when cinemas
revelled in such things as double features. newsreels and series that left the hero at a cliffhanger climax. those who were hard up for a few pennies could get a ticket by bringing along ajam jar. Nostalgia reigns at the MGM multiplex at the Forge. Parkhead in Glasgow at 10am on Sat 5 June. when the entrance fee to a special screening of Sister/1r! will be: by jam jar or canned goods. Tickets are available now. and all food will be donated to the Parkhead Visiting Service for the elderly.
The List 4—l7 June l99319