The List: 26 Aug 1994 (73/104)

BACARDI BLACK

LISTINGS WEEK ONE FILM

()sford don and children's novelist CS. Lewis w ho. late in life. married feisty American divorcee Joy Gresham. only to lose her to cancer a few years later. Superlative acting from all concerned. with Hopkins opening his emotions more titan trstral and Attenborough showing that he can work effectively on a detailed. intimate canvas. lidinburgh: ()deon.

I A Short Film About Killing ( IS) (Krzysztof Kieslowski. Poland. 1987) .‘v‘lir'oslaw Balsa. Kr/ysztof (ilobisa. Jan 'l‘esarz. 84 mins. A brutal. intelligent exploration of the mechanics of mtrrder and capital punishment. Kieslowski btrilds the tension to an unbearable pitch. his dm‘umentarist's eye for physical detail focused unblrnklingly on mortality. while his humanist's intelligence pleads for the right to life. A masterpiece. lidinburgh: Filmhouse.

I Sirens ( 15) (John Duigan. Aus. 1994) Hugh (irarit.'1'ara Fitzgeral. Sam .\'eil|. F.lle Macl’herson 94 mins. (‘hristian morality meets bohemian expression. linglish prissiness meets Australian freedom. as a new-1y arrived linglish curate and his wife \ isit the home of 'scandalous' painter Norman Lindsay. ~Hugh Grant is his btrmbling screen self. 'l‘ara Fitzgerald perches on the edge of a sexual chasm as his wife. supermodel lille MacPherson brings an easy. unselfconscious sexuality to it all. Fairly dull. really. btrt the ntrde tableaux add vistral appeal. We may not know rntrch about art. btrt we know what we like. Borders: Pavilion. Roxy. Fife: Glenrothes. All l'('ls.

I The Slingshot ( 12) (Ake Sandgren. Sweden. 1993)Jespchalen.Stellan Skarsgard. Basia Fr'ydman. 100 mins. 1n the l92()s. a 12-year-old Swede is btrllied by all and sundry due to his mother's religion (Russian Jew ). his father 's politics (Socialist) and his own diminutive size. But at least his home made slingshots (knocked together from a couple of condoms and a bit of wire) are selling like hotcakes — until his mother intervenes. A funny and unsentimental portrayal of the yotrthftrl pursuit of experience. See review. lidinburgh: Cameo.

I Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1‘) (Walt Disney. LS. 1937) With the voices of Adriana (‘aselottr Harry Stockwell. Lucille La Verne. 83 mins. ()ne of the most enchanting and influential of animated features. The central character is a rrrrtc wet but the individualistic dwarfs. memorable songs. superbly crafted backdrops and characters make this an essential cinematic experience. .\'ow restored. frame by frame. with the colour as sharp as ever. General release.

I La Strada ( 15) (Frederico Fellini. Italy. 1954) Gurlietta Masina. Anthony Quinn. Richard Basehart. 115 mins. Fellini's wife Masina is unforgettable as a simple-minded girl in love with larger-than-life circus strongman Zarnpano (Quinn). who dies of a broken heart when he kills the gentle tightrope-walker (Basehart) who had befriended her. Painful story of loneliness and isolation whose vividly seedy small-town backgrotrnds never allow sentimentality to set in. Central: MacRobert.

I Strawberries And Chocolate ( 15) (Tomas Gutierrez Alea/Jtran (‘arlos 'I‘abro. Cuba. I993) 11() mins. A sociology student and a middle-

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I True lies ( 15) (James Cameron. L’S. 1994) Arnold Schwarsenegger. Jamie Lee Curtis. Tom

computer salesman to keep long-suffering

aged gay man meet and soon a platonic friendship develops despite a regime that gives very little freedom to those who stray from the authoritarian path. The initial stereotyping of the characters mirrors audiences preconceptions. but soon deeper personalities are allowed to emerge in this sympathetically engaging and warme ftrnny ﬁlm. Latin American Film Festival. Glasgow: Gl’l‘. I Strictly Ballroom (PG) (Bar. l.uhrmann. Australia. 1991 ) Paul Mercurio. Tara Morice. Bill Hunter. 94 mitts. Danceﬁoor hopeful Scott Hastings incurs the wrath of the Australian Dance Federation by using his own steps in competition. loses his partner and his friends. but finds love and artistic integrity with the local wallflower. The ultimate feelgood movie. it is crammed with colour. glitter. music and I spectacle. lidinburgh: Cameo. I Terminator 2: Judgement Day (15) (James 1 Cameron. IS. 1991) Arnold Swarzenegger. Linda Hamilton. lidward Furlong. Robert Patrick. 136 mitts. The most expensive ﬁlm ever made. In a reprogrammed role that says rntrch about his changed image since the first movie. Arnie becomes the underdog ﬁghting to protect : mother and child from another more advanced cyborg. With an element of uncontrived human i compassion ltrrking throughout the glorioust expensive action sequences. as Swarzenegger‘s cyborg develops human feelings. this is more than just a $100 million fairgr'ound ride. I

lidinburgh: Cameo.

I Thelma & louise(15)(Ridley Scott. LS. 1991 ) Susan Sarandon. Geena Davis. Harvey Keitel. Michael Madsen. 129 mins. '1 he buddy/road movie genres are ttrrned on their heads as Sarandon and Davis grasp the steering wheel and head off leaving a trail of rntrrder and e mayhem in their wake. ()n one level. the film is the critical catalyst that had the feminists cheering and ptrt the stars on the cover of 7inre magazine; just as imjxn'tantly. it's an accessible piece of entertainment with excellent central performances. Fife: Adam Smith.

I 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould (1‘) (Francois Girard. Canada. 1993) (‘olm Feore. Derek Keurvorst. Katya Ladan. 93 mins. Partly a ; homage to the 32 sections of Bach's Goldberg Variations. partly a radical approach to screen biography. this ﬁlm tells the life-story of piano genius Glenn Gould without resorting to cliched archive footage. The acting is strperb. the structure fascinating. the music as vibrant as ever. Rarely has the act of artistic creation been presented on screen with such creativity. lidinburgh: Cameo. I Thumbelina (1') (Don Bluth. IFS. 1993) 3 Animator Bluth comes close to rivalling Disney with this charming fairy tale ﬁlled with little folk. princes. easy-to-follow messages and a Barry Manilow soundtrack. Young kids will love it and even the cynically hard-hearted may soften. Glasgow: MGMs. Edinburgh: L'Cl. Strathclyde: [SCI (‘lydebank

Arnold. 141 mins. Arnie masquerades as a

spouse Curtis in the dark about his real job in the hi-tech spy world. At a price tag of over SlOOm. (‘ameron's attempt to redeﬁne the visual possibilities of the action genre is thrilling. disappointing and exasperating in almost equal measures. but at least the money's up there on the screen. Dodgy value judgements. brilliant wholesale destruction. General release.

I Vincent and Theo ( 15) (Robert Altman. [IX/Netherlands. 1990) Tim Roth. Paul Rhys. 140 mins. The obsession with Van Gogh’s art and madness manifests itself again as Robert Altman ponderously and at undue length traces Vincent's frustrated career and working relationship with brother Theo. Tim Roth plays the artist as a demented clown. stomping off for a day's painting to Gabriel Yared's thrashing

' soundtrack and eating as much paint as he gets

on canvas. Cinematically it might have its moments. btrt essentially this is art history as a

tabloid joumalist might see it. Glasgow: (ii-'1‘.

I The Wall(Yol)(15)(Y11maz Guney/Serif Goren. Switzerland. 1982) Tarik Akan. Halil

lirgun. Necmetin (‘ohanoglu 114 mins. Guney‘s

extraordinary Turkish tale of ﬁve prisoners' week-long visit to their village was directed via

messages smuggled out of prison to Goren. The

ﬁlmmakers' compassion for the suffering of their compatriots serves as a strong condemnation of their homeland‘s regime. lidinburgh: Filrnhouse.

I What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (12) (Lasse

llallstrorn. 1993) Johnny Depp. Juliette

Lew-is. Leonardo Di (‘aprio. 118 mins. For once. Depp is the sole ﬁgure of calm in an oddball

world. the oldest son in a dysfunctional family

who live in a neurotic lowa backwater. ()1in

when holiday-maker Lewis artives does he begin to consider his own feelings. With one eye on

detail. the other on the absurd. director Lasse (My Life As A Dog) Hallstrorn delivers a

sympathetic romance sun'ounded by American foibles. The acting is superb from all concerned. A low-key wonder. one of the films of the year. Glasgow: Grosvenor.

; I When A Man Loves A Woman (15) (Luis Mandoki. US. 1994) Meg Ryan. Andy Garcia.

iillen Burstyn. 126 mins. Casting Ryan against

type as an alcoholic mother going through rehab

hell and piecing together her domestic life does

add welcome friction to Mandoki's follow-up to

Burn Yesterday. but otherwise it's a rather typical piece about forgiveness. inner strength

and reinforced family values. The romantic

content and emotional manipulation. however.

will please the hankie carriers in the audience. See preview. General release.

I Wolf (15) (Mike Nichols. IS. 1994) Jack Nicholson. Michelle Pfeiffer. James Spader. 125

mins. lfyou go to this expecting a full-bloodied werewolf movie. you‘ll be disappointed.

Director Nichols trades traditional settings and

; gore for a deeper analysis of one man's

transfomtation on physical. emotional and

psychological levels. Bitten by a wolf.

Nicholson's books editor fends off his mid-life é crisis and vents his passions on cynical rich girl f Pfeiffer. More a date movie with teeth than out- and-out horror. See review. General release.

The List: 26 Aug 1994 (Issue 235)