FILM INDEX
FILM
Fllnrs screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, credits, brief review and venue details. Fllrn index compiled by Alan Morrison.
I The W 0i Huck Finn (PG) (Stephen Sommers. US. I993) Elijah Wood. Courtney B. Vance. Robbie Coltrane. Jason Robards. I08 mins. Woods. America's best male child actor. carries his role at the centre of this appealing Disney version of Mark Twain‘s classic. Teaming up with a runaway slave. Huck heads down the Mississippi. meeting two riverfront rouges: The Duke (Coltrane) and The King (Robards). Fine entertainment for all the family. Glasgow: MGM Parkhead.
I The Adventures Of Priscilla. llueen or The Besert (18) (Stephan Elliott. Australia. I994) Terence Stamp. Hugo Weaving. Guy Pearce. 104 mins. Two transvestites and a trans-sexual team up for a trip across the Australian outback for a drag show in Alice Springs. Serious issues pop up from time to time. but the emphasis is on the camp humour of the in-bus bitchiness and outrageous musical set-pieces. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I MWUS) (Hal Hartley. US. I994) Isabelle Huppert. Martin Donovan. Elina Lowensohn. l05 mins. lsabelle. an ex-nun writing porn stories. meets amnesiac Thomas on the streets of New York; soon they find that his past is somehow linked to Sofia. a porn actress. and two violent corporate assassins. The patented Hartley dialogue and wit is ever present. but this time there are a few filmic jokes thrown in with references to specific genres and other movies. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Amnesia ( I8) (Gonzalo Justiniano. Chile. I994) 90 mins. While on a shopping trip. an elderly man and his wife come face to face with the commander who forced him to commit atrocities when they served in Chile's Army Of Shadows. Through realistic flashbacks to moments of horror. Justiniano brings an emotional level to a nation's volatile association with memory and history. Latin American Film Festival. Glasgow: GFT.
I Ante (U) (George Miller. US. I994) Tina Majorino. Keith Carradine. Chelsea Field. 94 mins. This time it's the turn ofa seal to keep the kids oohing and aahing. as the true story of Andre unfolds. Set during the early 60s in a small fishing town in Maine. the film has all the necessary elements — cute kid bonding with cute animal - and with a few adventure sequences in the plot that puts this fiippered hero in the Skippy/Champion/Rin Tin Tin class. Fife: MGM. Strathclyde: UCl East Kilbride.
I Astoria Conquers Araerica (U) (Gerhard Hahn. Germany. I995) 85 mins. While brewing up a potion. village druid Getafix is captured by the Romans and taken over the sea to America. Immediately Asterix and Obelix set off to save him. coating across a tribe of Indians. stampeding buffalo and other Western adventures. The animation style hasn't changed for years. so you know exactly what to expect. Borders: Roxy.
I Bad Beys(15) (Michael Bay. US. I995) Martin Lawrence. Will Smith. Tea Leoni. 104 mins. When a criminal mastermind completes a huge drug heist. Leoni is the only witness to the accompanying murder. but she‘ll only talk to cop Smith. Smith's out of the office. so panner Lawrence assumes his identity. and the two buddies with badges have to keep the swapped role stunt up until trial date. Plenty of opponunities for comedy and action are made the most of in this new post-Murphy black cop franchise. Glangw: Odeon. Fife: Adam Smith. All UCIs.
I BatIa Forever (PG) (Joel Schumacher. US. I995) Val Kilmer. Tommy Lee Jones. Jim Carrey. I22 mins. A lightening of tone has followed the departure of Tim Burton from the director's seat. meaning that this third effort is. in comparison. shallow. noisy and rather by-the- numbers. That said. no one will be asking for their money back. Added to the list of characters this time are Carrey's The Riddler and Jones‘s Two-Face - villains of mrly hissable class — and another wannabe vigilante in the shape of orphaned Dick Grayson (Chris O'Donnell). Just don't expect the same dark forays into the shadows of the human psyche. General release. I Before The lain (I5) (Milcho Manchevski. UK/France/Macedonia. I994) Rade Serbedzija. Katrin Cartlidge. I15 mins. Three interlinked tales shed light on the current Balkan conflict by concentrating on fraught relationships and love affairs in Macedonia and London. The film's main strength lies in the authenticity of its naked
emotions and superb landscape photography. creating a heartfelt lament for a splintering culture. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Beyond Rangoon ( | 2) (John Boorman. US. I995) Patricia Arquette. Frances McDortnand. Spalding Gray. IOO mins. An American physician (Arquette). travelling through Asia. stumbles upon the lawless military dictatorship of Burma and the mass slaughter carried out there in the late l980s. Arquette manages to come through it all with a toughness that's credible. but Boorman overdoes the violence done against her and others. The sweeping landscapes have a powerful beauty. but ultimately the political lecturing becomes too much even for such an impressive canvas to bear. Glasgow: GF'T.
I Blue Juice ( IS) (Carl Prechezer. UK. 1995) Sean Pertwee. Ewan McGregor. Catherine Zeta Jones. 90mins. When three of his old mates from London turn up unexpectedly on the Cornish coast. surfer JC (Pertwee) is under peer pressure to take to the waves. although his girlfriend wants him to settle down. An energetic British comedy. pumped up by thrilling action photography and a cool. loud soundtrack. with more emphasis on the spirit of New Lad than the spirit of New Age. See preview.
I Blue Velvet (18) (David Lynch. US. 1986) Kyle MacLachlan. Dennis Hopper. Isabella Rossellini. l20 mins. In small-town Middle America. would-be boy detective MacLachIan finds a severed ear on some waste ground. When the police shoo him away he decides to do some investigating of his own. A singular fusion of the cosy and the terrifying which blends kitsch and nightmare. B-mOVie detection and brutal sex to deconstruct our complacent vision of normal society. This is film-making of remarkable imagination and skill. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I The Brady Bunch Movie (l2) (Betty Thomas. US. I995) Shelley Long. Gary Cole. Michael McKean. 98 mins. The makeshift Brady household is caught in a 70s timewarp of flares. groovey chicks and parental hornilies. so while trying to pay off their back taxes. their anachronistic attitudes clash with the moral ambiguities of the 90s. Kitsch and absolutely hilarious. this is the one TV-to-big-screen transition that has worked a treat. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Braindead ( l8) (Peter Jackson. New Zealand. I992) Timothy Balme. Diana Penalver. Elizabeth Moody. l0-l mins. You won't believe the fun that can be had with a rotary blade lawnmower. a cast of slobbering zombies and several hundred gallons of blood. Peter (Bad Taste) Jackson wrenches the King of Gore title away from Sam Raimi with this outrageous slapstick classic in which our nerdy heroes battles it out with the undead population of Wellington. Tremendous. Edinburgh: UCl.
I Braveheart ( IS) (Mel Gibson. US. I995) Mel Gibson. Patrick McGoohan. Sophie Marceau. I77 mins. Mel Gibson's long and bloody account of the life of Scottish warrior hero William Wallace boasts some remarkable battle scenes and great performances. particularly McGoohan's merciless King Edward. Aiming to entertain on a wider scale than the more literate Rob Roy. Brave/rearr's Scottish passion is tempered by a few Hollywood moments -
touches of sentimentality and ‘dramatic'
historical inaccuracy. Nevertheles. it's a fine. full-blooded attempt to tap into the spirit that fires Scotland's history and heroes. See feature. General release. I The Bridges 0f Madison County (I2) (Clint Eastwood. US. 1995) Clint Eastwood. Meryl Streep. 94 mins. Robert James Waller's book may be literary tripe. but one's admiration for director-star Eastwood increases a thousand— fold. as he conjures one of his finest achievements as a filmmaker. It’s a classic love story between a passing photographer and a woman whose husband and children are off at the state fair. and Eastwood has created a work with real tear-stirring potency despite its utter lack of sentiemental gushiness. See review. General release. I Bullets Over Broadway (15) (Woody Allen. US. I994) John Cusack. Dianne Wiest. Chazz Palminteri. 105 mins. Self-absorbed playwright David Shayne (Cusack) compromises all the way down the line as he attempts to get his new masterpiece staged — he's willing to cast a gangster‘s girlfriend for the necessary funding and take writing tips from her Streetwise bodyguard. Allen's emphasis is on witty dialogue and strong performances. which gives the film a slightly theatrical feeling. Edinburgh: Cameo. Strathclyde: UCI East Kilbride. I Burnt By The Sill (IS) (Nikita Mikhalkov. Russia. I994) Nikita Mikhalkov. Oleg Menchikov. lngeborga Dapkounaite. I34 mins. Mikhalkov's Oscar-winner is a genuine masterpiece. The gradual slide from the glory of the Revolution into the terror of the Stalin dictatorship is concentrated into the events of a single summer's day in 305 Russia. as the country household of a popular SOViet officer is
disrupted by the return of his wife's former l0ver. now a g0vernment informer. Tire sense of tragedy is immense. as the sunny. idyllic opening gives way to a darker. more uncertain reality. Glasgow: GFI'. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Butterfly Kiss ( I8) (Michael Winterbortom. UK. I995) Saskia Reeves. Amanda Plummer. 88 mins. Winterbottom's striking road movie about two lesbian killers is clever. atmospheric and boasts sharp performances. but it lacks empathy at its core. There are tender moments between the two characters. but they're both too wacko for us to share any elements of humanity with them. lfonly more time had been spent setting things up. then we might have had a very haunting film indeed. Glasgow: Grosvenor. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Casper (PG) (Brad Silberling. US. I995) Christina Ricci. Bill Ptrllman. Cathy Moriarty. IOO mins. Everyone‘s favourite friendly ghost has been living with his three bad-tempered uncles in an abandoned mansion. When it's bequeathed to a money-grabbing heiress who thinks it's filled with hidden treasure guarded by unquiet spirits. Casper comes into contact with ghost psychologist Pullman's tomboy daughter (Ricci). A very messy amalgam of Glmsrlmxrers effects. Addams Family gothic humour and the sort of overblown feelgood Spielbergiana that revels in funny gadgetry and family values. General release.
I Circle Of Friends ( 15) (Pat O'Connor. US/UK. I994) Chris O'Donnell. Colin Firth. Minnie Driver. l02 mins. A group of friends meet and socialise together as a relief from their college studies in Dublin. with love and disappointment inevitably rearing their heads. A slice of life in I957 lreland — so parochial it might as well be another planet — ()‘Connor‘s adaptation of Maeve Binchy's novel is faithfully recreated but too lightweight. Central: MacRobert.
I The City Of lost Children ~( I5) (Jean-Pierre Jeunet/Marc Caro. France. I995) Ron Perlman. Daniel Iimilfork. Judith Vittet. ll2 mins. On a mist-shrouded oil rig. mad scientist Krank ages prematurely because he cannot dream. and so he kidnaps children from the local port and steals into their sleeping hours. A visually wonderful. wacky fairytale from the makers of Delicatessen. that brims over with cinematic imagination. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Clerks ( l8) (Kevin Smith. US. I993) Brian O‘Halloran. Jeff Anderson. Marilyn Ghigliotti. 90 mins. Just when you were sick of the very sight of the word ‘slacker'. along comes Clerks and gives the whole commercialisation of the Gen X lifestyle a good hard kick up the backside. Kevin Smith's hilariously foul dialogue peps up the exchanges on life. sex and everyday living between bored convenience store check-out assistant Dante and equally bored video store manager Randal. ~Glasgow: GI’T. Edinburgh: Cameo. Central: MacRobert. Fife: Adam Smith. Strathclyde: East Kilbride Arts Centre.
I Le Colonel Chabert (PG) (Yves Angelo. France. I994) Gerard Depardieu. Fanny Ardant. Fabrice Luchini. l I I mins. In the post- Napoleonic years. a hero thought to be dead returns to Paris and tries to reclaim his rank and fortune from his now remarried wife. Angelo's directorial debut has strong similarities in its story to The Return OfMarlin Guerre. but it foregoes the cat-and-mouse games of that movie for a colder. bleaker approach to identity and justice. Well-played literary cinema that‘s perhaps too sombre to draw everyone in. Fife: Adam Smith.
I Dangerous Liaisons ( 15) (Stephen Frears. US. 1988) Glenn Close. John Malkovich. Michelle Pfeiffer. Keanu Reeves. I20 mins. Madame de Tourvel and the Vicomte de Valmont (Close and Malkovich) are treacherous 18th century aristocrats weaving a web of erotic duplicity around one another. Frears makes a notable Hollywood debut. guiding his cast through a difficult set of narrative pirouettes. Yet for all the pent-up emotion on screen. little fervour seeps through. and the result is rather cold and calculating. Glasgow: GFI‘.
I M Eyes (PG) (Nikita Mikhalkov. Italy/USSR. I987) Marcello Mastroianni. Silvano Mangano. Elena Sofonova. Marthe Keller. I I7 mins. Skilful adaptation ofa selection of Chekhov stories has aging rake Mastroianni reminiscing over his infidelities and reflecting on his emotional and financial troubles. left as he is to wander in exile. having lost both wife and lover. Its crisp and light tone make Dark Eves delightful enough. but the bonus of a graceful tour rlefmt'e from the Cannes prizewinner Mastroianni make it an experience to savour. The opportunity to watch such a master craftsman at work is not to be missed. Glasgow: GF'T.
I Death And The Maiden (I8) (Roman Polanski. UK/US/France. I994) Sigoumey Weaver. Ben Kingsley. Stuart Wilson. 104 mins. A former torture victim believes the man who helped her husband when his car had a flat is the doctor
Catch the best Filnr this fortnight.
FIRST Bill
I The Bridges or Madison County Clint Eastwood slows down the pace alongside Meryl Streep in this mature and finely textured love story. proving again that he‘s also a director of note. General release.
I Braveheart Mel Gibson dons the facepaint and takes to the field against the English as Hollywood turns the life of William Wallace into an action spectacular. General release.
I The Young Poisoner’s Handbook Toxicology escalates from schoolboy hobby to means for murder in Benjamin Ross‘s disturbingly funny British black comedy. Edinburgh: F ilmhrnrse.
I Blue Juice Energetic. laddish. upbeat fun as surfer Sean Pertwee takes to the waves off the Cornish coast when three mates come down from London. General release.
I Burnt By The Sun Nikita Mikhalkov‘s Oscar-winner is indeed a masterpiece. detailing the slide from 19305 Soviet idyll into the shadow of Stalinism Glasgow: GFT Edinburgh: F ilmhouse. I The Usual Suspects A teasing. twisting. turning modern noir that boasts strong and varied characters and bucketloads of style. General release. I Waterworld You‘ll certainly get your money's worth with Costner‘s futuristic adventure. set in a world where the polar ice-caps have melted and society has reverted to Mad Mar—ster barbarism. General release. BEPEBTOBY
I The Wicker Man Investigations into paganism on a remote Scottish island bring together eccentric Iaird Christopher Lee. devout policeman Edward Woodward and naked dancer Britt Ekland. Edinburgh: F ilmhouse.
I The Three Colours Trilogy Kieslowski's masterful trio of films have a knowing. human heart and show European cinema at its very best. Glasgow: GFYI
who abused her years before. Polanski thinks he‘s doing a Hitchcockian thriller (which trivialises Ariel Dorfman's source material). while Weaver waves a gun around like there's something creepy. crawly and extraterrestrial under the bed. Glasgow: GFT.
I Die llard With A Vengeance (15) (John McTiernan. US. I995) Bruce Willis. Jeremy Irons. Samuel L. Jackson. 128 mins. Basically an extended cat and mouse game. McTreman's sequel to his own original has washed-up anti- hero Willis and pissed-off. good-hearted sidekick Samuel L. Jackson dashing across New York City from pay-phone to pay-phone. solving childish riddles in time to deactivate a stash of hidden bombs. Imagine Speed with a hangover. with plenty of comedy. the best buddy pairing in years. but a curious lack of satisfying set pieces. General release.
I oolores Claiborne (18) (Taylor Hackford. US.
I995) Kathy Bates. Jennifer Jason Leigh. Christopher Plummer. I31 mins. This is about as
24 The List 8-21 Sept 1995