FILM index
Jacob's Ladder ( lb‘) (Adrian Lyric. US. 1990) Tim Robbins. [Elizabeth Pena. Danny Aiello. I I3 mins. Vietnam yet Jacob Singer is seeing some very strange things. like nurses with demons‘ horiis and people with faces straight out of a Francis BaCon painting. As his grip on the reality of his present life begins to slip. he has recurring flashbacks to the night his platoon was wiped out during the war. The director of l’uru/ sltrrur'iimr and the writer of (Him! combine to pull off a terrifying. yet ultimately moving. paranoia thriller. (ilasgow: (il’l'.
James And The Giant Peach (Ui (Henry Selick. US. l‘)()(y) l’aul Terry. Susan Sarandon. Simon Callow. 7‘) mins. From the director of Tim Burton is The .N'ig/ilniurc lie/ore (‘liriyimm comes a wonderfully colourful adaptation of Roald Dahl's lllllCll-lttyetl novel. live action tops and tails the story. btit for the most part. it's friii times with stop-itiotion puppets. By turns funny and scary. it stays true to Dahl's surreal and whimsical \ ision. ()deon: lidinburgh.
Jerry Maguire t ISi (Cameron Crowe. US. I‘Noi Tom Cruise. Ctiba (iooding .lr. Renee /.ellweger. IRS mins. Cruise is perfect as sports agent Maguire. who suddenly finds himself out of a job when he writes a Mission Statement calling for his colleagues to rediscover the sincerity of their business. With only one client oii his books t(ioodingi and the loyal Dorothy t./.ellwegeri for affection and support. he soldiers on and -- of course. becomes a better person for it all. Crow e's picture of an America crippled by a lack of genuine intimacy giyes' the film a maturity that‘s rarely seen in feelgood star \ehicles.
FILM INDEX continued Harriet The Spy tl’(}i tlironwen Hughes. US. I‘Noi Michelle 'l‘rachtenberg. Rosie O'Donnell. (iregory Smith. 102 iiiitis.
Precocious schoolgirl llarrict. coiiyinced she
formula by injecting some credible emotional depth into the performances by the two leads. Central: MacRobert. Ghosts From The Past i tSi i Rob Reiner.
Fargo i lSi i.loe| Coen. CS. I‘Noi l‘rances Mellormand. Steye lliiscemi. William ll.
Macy 07 turns. llopiiig to make some bucks. a car salesman attempts to haye his wife kidnapped by hitiiieii. but quickly blood is spilt. .-\s the pregnant police dctcctiye tilt the case. McDoriiiaiid pi‘oy ides a w ariii-hearted centre for the moyic. while the absui'dist plot and weird local colour gain momentum, It'll be considered a classic. giycii time lidinburgh Cameo,
l'S. I‘llltii Alec Baldwin. James Woods. \Vlioopi (ioldberg. l.il iiiitis. lii WM in Mississippi. ciy il rights actiyist Medgai' liyers was shot iii the back and killed by a white supremacist. but two all-w'liilC .llll'iL‘S failed to find suspect Byron De la llcckwith guilty. 'lhirty-one years later. liyei's's wife persuaded a young District .-\ttorney to reopen the case. .-\ pow erful true story.
has a future as a writer. notes down the minutae of daily life in her iotirnal. but when her classmates discoy er her criticisms of them. she has to work hard to win back popularity ’l‘racliteiilwrg giyes a fresh. sparky iwrformancc. but the teachci‘ly tone won't amuseaccompanying grow ii-ups .\y r: ()tleon.
Irma Vep i l5) i()liy ici' :\ssayas. l’i‘aiicc.
(ilasgow ()deons. Showcase. L'Cl Clydcbank. l-Zdinburgli‘ l’Cl. liast Kilbride: l'Cl. li'yitie: \VMR.
Jude t IS) tMichacl \Viiitei‘bottoiii. l'K. I‘Moi Christopher liccleston. Kate Winslet. Rachel (iriffiths. lltl mins. liased oii 'l'homas llardy's uncoiiipromisingly bitter final iioy el. this tremendously powerful adaptation shares the iioyel's romantic
Fever Pitch i ISi iDay id léyaiis. l'ls'. I‘NM Colin l-ii'ih. Ruth (iemiiiell. .\'eil l’earsoii, Ill.< mins. The film of Nick llornby's book switches the emphasis from the actual matches to the relationships w hich suffer due to one man's undying obssession with football. l‘ii'th plays schoolteacher l’aul
l‘Nbi Maggie Clieuiig. lean-Pierre leaud. Natalie Richard. 0S iiiins. l‘ictional film director Rene Vidal hires real life lloiig Kong actress Maggie Clieung for a remake of pulp crime drama II'IHtl li'p. btit he looses interest in his film and instead becomes increasingly obsessed with his oriental .star.
Rciiier's film still fails to pack much of a punch. ()ur blood ney er boils because the film eyades anything that might ruffle the feathers of complacent liberal whites. See review. (ilasgow: l.iCl Clydebaiik. lidinbui'gh: L'Cl.
Gigi tl’(ii i\"incente Minnelli. l'S. W58)
tragedy between its two central characters. Determined and honest Jude tlicclcstoii) is snubbed by Victorian society as he striyes for a uniyersity education. btit worse is iii store when he falls iii love with his cousin tWiiisleti. Hard-hitting acting. a director I and writer who truly understand Hardy 's
:\sltwoi‘lli. w hose life is both enhanced and debilitated by his passion for Arsenal. and whose relationship w itli a colleague dips and peaks iii direct proportion to the I‘lSS/S‘) season. liyaiis's iiliii captures the wit arid iiiisct) of the book. there is no substitute for this iii the world of the football film. so don't miss it (ilasgow. ()deoii ()uay. lidiiiburgh: ()thUll. l'kl
Fly Away Home tl'i iCai'oll liallard. l'S. I‘Ntn Anna l’atiuiii. .lcff Daniels. Daria Delaiiy It)“ iiiiiis When her mother is killed in a car crash. young :\iiiy tf/ir’ l’iriiiii‘s l’atiuiiii is sent to Inc with her estranged father iii Canada. Soon they 'ye hatched .i plan to help a flock of baby geese migrate south for the w iiiter by leading them iii .i modiiied glider. .'\n orphaned kid. some flufty animals but this gets beyond the
Let your imagination
take flight...
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32 THELIST 2.49 l.iay 1997
Leslie Caron. l.otiis Jourdan. Maurice Cheyalier. ll‘) mins. Caron is the cocotte allied to Jourdan‘s rake; they are watched met by an esti'ayagaiitly l‘rcnch Cheyalici' and the rest of fin t/C \It't .Ir' l’ai'is. .-\ layish musical from the golden day s of MGM. adapted from Colette's iioy cl by Lerner and l.oew e. .~\n ()scar-wiiiner in its day. now best i'eiiieiiibei'ed for songs like "l'liaiik lleay ens for little (iii'ls‘_ lidinburgh, St Brides
La Grande Illusion il’(i i «Jean Renoir. l-i'aiice. WSW .leaii Ciabin. l’ierrc l-resticy. l5i'ich yon Stroheiiii. Marcel Dalio. ||7 iiiiiis. Renoir's classic prison camp escape story is more than the strong anti-war statement that won it praise at the time of its release. it is also an ironic social analysis highlighting class diffcrciitiation. lidiiiburgh. St Brides
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lnverleith Park, Edinburgh, 19 - 25 May 1997. Booking now. Tel
The film's real drama is an espose of filmmakiiig. which is far more cynical than. say. 'l‘om DiCiIlo's similar l.ii in: In
()/’/I\ mu. ’l'he obsery atiotis are assured atid full of insight. which makes for fascinating \iewing -- great filiiimakiiig about awful filniiiiakiiig (ilasgow (il-‘l',
It Takes Two tl’(ii i.v\ndy 'l‘eiiiiant. l.'S. I‘M?) ls'ii'stie Alley. Steye (iutteiibei'g. llKl
miiis. 'l'lie potentially cloying combination of
romantic comedy and orphaned kids are strongly to the fore as case worker Diane ils'irstie :\llcy i and millionaire widower Roger iSteyc (iutteiibcrgi are iiiatchiiiade by identical girls. ()ii paper. it all sounds \eiy maiiufactured. w itli two stars who aren't e\act|y iii the preiiiiei'e league (ilasgow ()deoti Quay. Show case. l'Cl Clydebank. lidiiiburgli l'Cl. (ilenrotlics
\ .
ephone (0131) 553 7700 for a programme of events.
themes. and stunning photography eley'ate this to classic status. lidin'tiui'gh: Cameo. Kolya t III t.l.m Sy'erak. C/ech. l‘)‘)(ii /.dcnek Syei'ak. Andrei Clialimoii. l.ibiise Safraiikoya. ltli iiiiiis. \Voiiianisci‘ and batchelor l.ouka marries a Russian woman w ho wants a Czech passport and. when she skips the country. is left to look after her liye-year-old son. Separated by language. nationality. age and blood. surrogate father and child discoyer how to care and loye across such diy ides 'l‘his w inner of the llcst foreign language liiliii ()scai‘ is a resonant iiii\ of gentle humour and w ccpy emotion. with fitie perfoi'iiiaiiccs and brilliant crafting Sec prey iew and rey icw (ilasgow‘ (il’l' lidinburgli' Cameo.
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