BACARDI BLACK REVIEW FILM

3 off to claim some land in Oregon, albeit with Pinkerton detectives on

BAD GIRLS E their tail. Pretty soon romantic THUMBELINA The Ballad Of Little Jo may have made , “3'50"5. Sexual degrafiaimflsr

a reasonable stab at filtering ; revenge, life-threatening escapes and

revisionist feminism into the western l 00"“ iaces "0m "19 P_3§i mUddle

genre, but sad ems shows that it ; together as several familiar elements

takes more than waging a woman in are added to the mix while director

the saddle to set up an agenda that . Jonathan Kaplan turns a blind eye to

doesn’t just pander to male fantasies. the Tempe.- . .

that said, if you’ve got a healthy ;: Far too little attention has been paid

liking for a quartet of buckskinned T to establishing ha"5‘9""!!le it}! the babes consisting of Madeleine Stowe, i “hammers MFG" WWW explaln the" Andie MacDowell, Mary Stuart 9'9?“ gmupmg and Sllbsequeni nfew _. and ' actlons. But hand'held aCtlon

rm happy to admit to a 50 per cent photography flies around, Stowe appreciation factor then there will , makes 3 90°“ "9'0""? and Bailymme

Don Bluth's 'I'lttmthelina.

always be something on screen to ' is a"°“’°d,t,° take ?"°t,h°' 5‘99 back , like shon- lwrite. shares a divert the male viewer’s attention '"io "’hab'l'med "mel'gm- Enioyablet I T preoccupation with little from the somewhat wayward plot. 1 but Pmbab'y i‘" a“ "‘9 “"ong 'easons- i ; people. princes and happy

endings (oops. gave it away). Indeed. Bluth has said that he wants ‘to

After shooting a drunken customer in ' (“3" Moms”) self-defence, four prostitutes working . a Colorado saloon in the 18905 take Bad Girls (15) (Jonathan Kaplan. US,

their destinies into their own hands i 1994) Madeleine Stowe, Andie ' i Tciivcfilic 918:3? N no hanging about for Clint and the E MacDowell, Drew Barrymore, Mary . , .‘ 3 3232:1111:illhimatgrton boys ‘0 take command theif 3 Stuart Masterson. 98 mm. From Fl'l ~ Disney's Sivan-"g Bealln,‘

counterparts in Unforgiven - and head Geneml Iciease.

ghosts still haunt Bluth‘s work ill a series of —i t _ that proves surprisingly beneficial. I similarities. not least of 1 Law’s film creeps up on you, a which is his U18? Olgiodi ' ' Benson (Arie ln lsney's ' I The little Mermaid) for The influence of Jim Jarmusch

. Thumbelina‘s voice. 3 evidently casts a long shadow. ln deadpa" “"ts bi" 500" becomes a

. . . Despite its Barry Manilow Macawbom director Clara Lawis more human affair, peering through soundtrack and iif_y0u_

I fourth feature Mystery Train tourist the Pha'aciefs, surface “35”” m Willy—he]iCi'C-in-youmcif- . Masamsm Hagase once more ways outlinethelr Innerrnost aches, . you-can-overc0lne-many- the stranger in a strange land, his renew.“ a" the F'!““'.a' trad't'ops’ “W891” “19833th .

. dissolute Japanese youth 1.0km romantic and familial ties that might [hm ‘8 1} iii-“incl dhhgcr "

' yet solidify their barely articulated “my “me” ‘hc “Y'iiially

stumbling through downtown Hong Kong. Equally adrift is local schoolgirl Wai (Li Pu Wai), waiting out the last

hard-hearted. (Gabe Stewart) 'l'llitmht'litlu (U) (Don

melancholy into a sense of belonging. Modestly scaled, perhaps even a tad

. days of term before joining her tollts Sm" °" "3”3‘!“ lime! ""i “'m’5 mum. US. 1994) With the ' in Canada, further statistics in the happy'sad ""Pmat'ons 0'.‘ me and "we i‘Uit‘v-i‘ (if/ml!” Benson.

' “8,1997 stream of immig'afion. Her are both confident and wise. (Trevor i Carol (.‘Itttttttittg. John

l pals have all left she’s wondering how Johnston) ""1 [’t‘W’U’f’ .CWk- 87

. far to go with he; nominai showriend. Autumn Moon (15) (Clara Law, liong . "1715'. I-mm I-rt /. General ' re (use.

3 and so a sturdy shoulder is just what ' “WE/Japan, 1992) "asaiosm Hagaser

she needs_ What they both get, Li Fu Wal. 198 mins. From Mon 4: « , though, is each other, a fleeting and umbuigh Filinhouse- _ “mm” mm“ '3 d°°°PiiV° "lame" rather unlikely platonic relationship .

. LONDON

By no means a straight- forward city guide. Patrick Keiller‘s London heads for the heart of the capital via a fictionalised i narrative by the friend and i former lover of a chap I called Robinson. We are l taken on three exploratory (journeys: from in: lTwickenham to Vauxhall; from Stockwell. via the City, to Stoke Newington; I and along the banks of the River Brent in the north- west of the city. London's literary and artistic past iclashes with r. Icontemporary events from 1992 IRA attacks. the General Election. political demos. This i.. not documentary as verité investigation. but rather a well-crafted piece of writing skilfully linked to visual images. (Alan Morrison) London (U) (l’utrir‘k Keillor. UK, I993) With the l’(li(‘(’ of Paul St'ojit'ld. i 84 mins. From Fri 1: Edinburgh Film/rouse. From Mon 4: Glasgow

_ i AARDMAN COLLECTION ;

llick Park’s singular British success at . the Academy Awards this year won more than another Oscar for him and his beautifully observed Plasticine models. UCI Cinemas - and give them 3 full credit for this - are touring a l package of Park’s best animations around the country. Aardman films I have in the past brought big audiences to arthouse screenings, but it’s rare

for a collection of shorts —- particularly animated shorts to get a chance to hold their own in the commercial cinema market.

Not only do we get the unflappable Wallace and semi-divine Cromit in . both The Wrong Trousers and A Grand i Day Out, but also the hilarious and § inspired Oscar-winning Creature Comforts. Completing the selection is the superior pop video Sledgehammer, which was created for Peter Gabriel and includes several scenes by Park, and Peter Lord’s Adam. Treat yourself: see them on the big screen. (Thom I Dibdin) Aardman Collection (PC) From Fri 1. Edinburgh: UCI. Strathclyde: UCI

c|ydebank, uc| East Ki|bride_ i The Aardman Collection: 'the unflappable Wallace and semi-divine Cromit' [xi/m yywumr

sponsored by BACARDI BLACK

The List l—-l-1July 1994 27