FILM index
FILM INDEX continued
One Fine Day (PG) (Michael Hoffman. US. I996) Michelle Pfeiffer. George Clooney. Charles Durning. l09 mins. An ambitious architect/single mother and a wisecracking newspaper columnist/every-other-weekend father spend a hectic day together when their kids miss their school's field trip ferry cruise. Despite modern trappings like cellular phones. One Fine Day is a defiantly old-fashioned film. btit Clooney‘s cocky charm and Pfeiffer's comic skills are so beguiling that it will charm all but the most cynical of viewers. General release. Orlando (PG) (Sally Potter. UK. I992) Tilda Swinton. Billy Zane. Quentin Crisp. 92 mins. A male Elizabethan courtier begins ajourney of self-discovery that involves four centuries and a sex change. Swinton's simple but unique beauty captures the androgyny of the perfect Everyman/woman. while director Potter creates from Virginia Woolf's novel a humorous and visually splendid succession of episodes that is a constant joy to watch. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Palooltaville ( l5) (Alan Taylor. US. I996) William Forsythe. Vincent Gallo. Adam Trese. 92 mins. The simplest way to nutshell Pulookui'ille would be to describe it as a heist movie starring the Three Stooges. Incompetence causes our heroes to break into a bakery instead of the next door jeweller’s. btit then their humanity wins over as they save a security driver‘s life. The jokes are everywhere — all over the script. in the visuals and off-camera. See review. Glasgow: Odeon Quay. Edinburgh: Odeon. The Pillow Book ( l 8) (Peter Greenaway. UK/Netherlands/France. I996) Vivian Wu. Ewan McGregor. Yoshi Oida. I26 mins. Greenaway‘s distinctive style of frames within frames and text scrolling across the screen reaches its zenith in this visual masterpiece. A Japanese model chooses her lovers on the strength of their calligraphic skills. and slowly she puts in motion a revenge plan against the man who ruined her father. McGregor co-stars as a bisexual translator whose kit is more off than on. btit the graphic nudity is sensually handled. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Play It Again Sam ( I5) (Herbert Ross. US. I972) Woody Allen. Diane Keaton. Tony Roberts. 86 mins. Plagued with uncertainties about the possible course of a relationship. Woody relies heavily on the advice of personal mentor Bogey. Engaging homage to the silver screen romances of days gone by. with the addition of Allen's neurotic humorous edge. Glasgow: GET. The Portrait Of A Lady ( I 2) (Jane Campion. US. I996) Nicole Kidman. John Malkovich. Barbara Hershey. I44 mins. Campion's follow-up to The Piano is a dark and difficult adaptation of Henry James's novel. Kidman — at once proud. naive. sensitive and determined — is excellent as the young woman almost destroyed by a disastrous marriage. while Malkovich is a little too cold and ambiguous. Beautiful. but emotionally remote. Edinburgh: Cameo. Portraits Chinois (I5) (Martine Dugowson. France/UK. I996) Helena Bonham Carter. Jean-Philippe Iicoffey. Elsa '/.ylberstein. I I6 mins. Dugowson's follow-up to the rather marvellous Mina 'Iiinnen/mum paints a broad canvas of tliirtysomething Parisian life and romance. Bonham Carter (in not unimpressive French) gets the nominal lead as a couture assistant going through a double-crisis at work and at home. while the director's insight into her lovers and liars remains wise and humane. See review. Edinburgh: Cameo. Private Parts ( l 8) (Betty Thomas. US. I997) Howard Stern. Robin Quivers. Mary McCormack. I09 mins. This autobiography ofAmerica's leading ‘shock-jock‘ Howard Stern is as abrasive. loud and raunchy as you might have anticipated; btit it‘s also Itighly intelligent. ironic. downright hilarious at times. and burns with an anti- censorship fervour that's really cheering to Stern plays himself. and by the end. we've rooted for him in his struggle against airwave bureaucracy and the repressive network powers-that-be. Glasgow: ()deons. Showcase. Ayr: Odeon. East Kilbride: UCI. Pulp Fiction ( I8) (Quentin 'l'arantino. US.
44 TIIE "ST 25 Jul—7 Aug I997
I994) John Travolta. Samuel Jackson. Uma Thurman. Bruce Willis. I50 mins. Much more ambitious than Reservoir Dogs. the most awaited second feature of the 90s has many scenes that crackle with 'l'arantino wit. and a few others that fall flat as the writer- director bravely experiments. Interlocking stories in the pulp crime manner concern hitmen. ailing boxers. gang bosses and their molls. drug fiends. and assorted riff-raff. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
The Quest (I8) (Jean-Claude Van Damme. US. I996) Jean-Claude Van Damme. Roger Moore. James Remar. 95 mins. Van Damme directs this period adventure yarn and stars as a Fagin-like street entertainer unexpectedly finds himself on a boat in the South China Seas under the command of gentlemanly English pirate Moore. The skull and crossbones elements are pushed aside. however. so that our hero can kickbox his way through a Tibetan fighting tournament. Big on crowd scenes and spectacle; low on intelligence. Glenrothes.
Regarde Les Hommes Tomber See How They Full (I5) (Jacques Audiard. France. I993) Mattieu Kass0vitz. Jean-Louis Tn'ntignant. Jean Yanne. I00 mins. The arresting first feature by writer-director Audiard (A Self-Made Hero) follows an unscrupulous card-sharp and his simple- minded pal as they trudge through France's seedy underworld. An even tricksier time- sequence than Reservoir Dogs and inventive. often disorientating direction give the film a very particular flavour. See review. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
The Remains of the Day (U) (James Ivory. UK. I993) Anthony Hopkins. Emma Thompson. James Fox. I34 mins. A butler reminisces on the pre-WW2 days he spent in Darlington Hall. when he turned a blind eye to his employer's dealings with the Nazis and his own feelings for the housekeeper. One of Merchant-Ivory‘s best. with Hopkins the epitome of English emotional repression. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Ridicule (l8) (Patrice Lcconte. France. I996) Charles Berling. Jean Rochefort. Fanny Ardant. I02 mins. A young engineer travels to the court of Louis XVI to secure funding for a drainage project and discovers a cruel society where savage wit can open doors or slam them in your face. Verbal duels give the film a literate spark. and the portrait of a decadent world manages to achieve several contemporary parallels. A costume drama with depth beneath the costumes. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Romeo And Juliet (l2) (Baz Luhrmann. Australia/US. I996) Leonardo DiCaprio. Claire Danes. Pete Postlethwaite. I20 mins. The Strictly Ballroom director‘s treatment of the Shakespeare tragedy is a magnificent riot of colour. action and sexy teen romance. without any need to sacrifice the text. An intoxicating. breathtaking mix of Catholic iconography. high camp and street violence that‘s both deliciously feverish and studiedly cool. Glasgow: UCI Clydebank. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Rumble In The Bronx ( I5) (Stanley Tong. Hong Kong. I996) Jackie Chan. Anita Mui. Francoise Yip. 90 mins. For his latest attempt to crack Hollywood. Chan has maintained the kind of control he exercises over films in his native Hong Kong — and it works. He throws himself with gusto into an adventure that has him defending his uncle's Chinese supermarket in New York against a variety of street toughs. Violent macho tosh balanced by a sweet nature and a sincere. if clunky. moral. Glasgow: Odeons. Edinburgh: ABC Wester Hailes. UCI. Dunfermline: Robin‘s. Irvine: WMR. Sankofa (PG) ( Haile Gerima. US/Germany/Ghana/Burkino l-‘aso. I993) I25 mins. Past and present clash when an African-American fashion model working on a photo shoot is transported back through time to become a slave at a sugar plantation. Abuse and resistance grow together in a magic-tinged drama that's sincere but simplistic in some of its themes. Glasgow: Gl-T.
Scream (I8) (Wes Craven. US. I996) Neve Campbell. Courteney Cox. Drew Barrymore. I I Imins. The teenagers of Woodsboro know they're typical stalker fodder. so when a killer hits town. they gather in an enormous house to watch horror movies as the real bad guy gets closer. Self-
'
Picture perfect: Helena Bonham Carter in Portraits Chinois
conscious references are good fun. the opening sequence is genuine white-knuckle material. and — if you know the rules - you‘ll find it perfectly scary and funny. Glasgow: City Centre Odeon. UCI
Clydebank. Virgin. Edinburgh: Cameo. UCI.
East Kilbride: UCI. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith. Paisley: Showcase.
The Searchers (PG) (John Ford. US. I956) John Wayne. Vera Miles. Jeffrey Hunter. Natalie Wood. I 19 mins. One of Ford's finest Westerns. and hence one of the greatest achievements of the genre. has Wayne as the obsessive Ethan Edwards. a man whose five-year quest to hunt down the Indians who murdered his wife and captured his young daughter has developed into a thirst for murderous revenge. With Wayne at his most intense. this is one of old Hollywood's darker. richer moments. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
The Secret Garden (U) (Agnieszka Holland. US. I993) Kate Maberly. Maggie Smith. John Lynch. l02 mins. The unusual combination of the director of Europa Europa and the writer of Iz't/ii'ut'rl .S't'issorhrtnrls conspires to create an authentic and affecting version of the children‘s classic novel. Shipped back from India. lonely orphan Mary makes friends with a local lad and her sickly cousin. exerting a magical rccuperative process on the latter and a hidden walled garden. Glasgow: GI’I'.
The Secret Of Roan lnish ( PG) (John Sayles. US/lreland. I994) Jeni Courtney. Eileen Colgan. John Lynch. l03 mitts. Master filmmaker Sayles delivers a wonderfully wistful Celtic fantasy that should appeal to older and younger viewers alike. Capturing the mood of rural Ireland and the legend of the half-human. half-seal selkies. he spins a rich tale of everyday magic which taps into the cultural identity of the setting without a hint of condescension. With Aardman Animation‘s Creature Comforts. Stirling: MacRobert. Sherlock Junior (U) (Buster Keaton. US. I924) Buster Keaton. Kathryn McGuire. Joe Keaton. 45 mins. A cinema projectionist spends his life daydreaming that he is a great detective. and one day actually finds himself in the movie he's projecting. 'Ihe silent master proves his knowledge of cinematic form and. in terms of stunts and laughs. leaves everyone else standing. With
shorts. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Shine (I2) (Scott Hicks. Australia. I996) Geoffrey Rush. Noah Taylor. Armin Mueller-Stahl. l05 mins. Winner of nine top awards at Australia‘s equivalent of the Oscars. Shine is a remarkable and devastating film about the life of child prodigy and pianist David Helfgott. who was forced to retire from the stage due to a mental breakdown. but returned later in life. The performances show real love. while the recital passages are presented with a conviction that underlines the quality of the film as a whole. Edinburgh: Cameo. Simple Men (I5) (Hal Hartley. US. I992) William Sage. Robert Burke. Karen Sillas. I04 mins. Two mismatched brothers go in search of their athlete-turned-radical father. whose absent presence acts like Godot to their Estragon and Vladimir. And. as in the stage piece. it's the wordplay (Hartley's patented ear for quirky dialogue) and wayward philosophising en route that becomes more important than the journey itself. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Sleeper (l5) (Woody Allen. US. I973) Woody Allen. Diane Keaton. John Beck. Mary Gregory. 88 mins. Vintage early Allen. as our paranoic hero finds himself two hundred years in the future. challenging the evil machinations of a totalitarian regime in his accustomed manner. Some great sight- gags and one-liners from the days before soulfulness impinged on the Iaff-a-minute routines. Glasgow: GI-‘I'.
Some Mother's Son (I5) (Terry George. Ireland/US. I996) Helen Mirren. Fionnula Flanagan. Aidan Gillen. I I2 mins. This gripping account of the IRA hunger strikes dttring the early 80s focuses on two fictional mothers. one a gentle pacifist. the other with a fierce hatred of soldiers. Terry George. writer of In The Name Of The Father makes his debtit as director and. while his film is not overly objective. it does recognise humanity on all sides. What impresses most. however. is the fi ne acting from Mirren and I-‘lanagan. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Space Jam (U) (Joe Pytka. US. I996) Michael Jordan. Bugs Bunny. Wayne Knight. 87 mins. Nasty alien cartoons have captured Bugs Bunny and are going to enslave the Looney Tunes in their amusement park on Moron Mountain. but Bugs has the brainwave of challenging them to a basketball game and enlisting the talents