Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Alan Morrison.
A La Vie,A La Mort ()5) (Robert Guédiguian. France. I995) Ariane Ascaride. Jacques Boudet. Jean-Pierre Darroussin. I00 mins. Marius Et Jeanette. Guédiguian's latest film. has taken him from obscurity into the limelight. bttt this earlier feature is no less tenderly observed. In a working- class suburb of Marseilles. a patchwork of characaters exist in a world of drugs. poverty and prostitution. French Filtn Festival. Glasgow: GFI'. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Un Air De Familie ( l 5) (Cedric Klapisch. France. I996) Jean-Pierre Baeri. Agnes Jaoui. Jean-Pierre Daroussin. l 10 mins. After the delightful When The Catfv Away. Klapisch focuses on a family whose weekly meeting in a cafe are disrupted when the wife of one son doesn't show. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GI-‘l‘. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Alien Resurrection (I8) (Jean-Pierre Jeunet. US. 1997) Sigourney Weaver. Winona Ryder. 105 mins. Evil bofftns clone Ripley and the unborn alien inside her. but the monster escapes and rampages about a labyrinthine spaceship. It‘s a shaky premise. with a pick ‘n‘ mix selection of elements from earlier Alien movies. Delicatessen director Jeunet retains enough of his own distinctive. retro-future vision but damages the series’ serious tone with unfunny one- Iiners. Equally out of place is Winona Ryder. See review. General release.
Alors Voila (I5) (Michel Piccoli. France. I997) Maurice Garrel. Dominique Blane. Roland Amstutz. 97 mins. ()ne of France's greatest actors ventures behind the camera for the first time with a story about the three branches of an extended fatnily who all live in the same building. watched from a distance by a life-loving patriarch. At times disturbing. at times sentimental. Piccoli‘s debut shows the influence of Bunttel. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GI’I‘. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
An American Werewolf In Paris ( I8) (Anthony Waller. US. I997) Tom Everett Scott. Julie Delpy. Vince Vieluf. John Landis's I98l movie An American Werewolf In LINN/(HI was an entertaining mix of scares and black comedy. British director Waller managed the same balance in his debut. Mute Witness. but falls short here. Digital technology for werewolf transformations isn't necessarily an improvement. Glasgow: Showcase.
Assassin(s) ( I8) (Mathieu Kassovitz. France. I997) Mathieu Kassovitz. Michel Serrault. I34 mins. Kassovitz's follow-up to the sensational La llaine was the cause célehre at this year's Cannes Film Festival on account of its brutal violence. The director plays a young man taken under the wing of ageing killer Serrault and trained to follow a murderer's ethics. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GF'I‘. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery (I5) (Jay Roach. US. I997) Mike Myers. Elizabeth Hurley. Michael York. 9-1 mins. Austin Powers. the 60s silliest superspy. is brought out of suspended animation and pitted him against his old nemesis. But the world has moved on three decades. so his tin-PC catchphrases atid behaviour create a bit of a comic time-clash. Perfect detail. spot-on casting and a hilarious tnix of clever pastiche and toilet gags. Glasgow: Grosvenor.
without a hint of wit or intelligence.
Bean (PG) (Mel Smith. UK. I997) Rowan Atkinson. Peter MacNicol. Pamela Reed. 97 mins. Bean the movie makes an attempt to broaden the range of Atkinson‘s tremendously successful 'I‘V sight-gag character by sending him off to California to be mistaken for an art expert. Most gags are agreeably daft; several are tiresomer lavatorial; eventually. however. the film upholds fatnin values atid true blue American schmaltz. General release.
32 THE LIST 21 Nov—4 Dec I997 A
The Black Stallion (Carroll Ballard. US. I979) Kelly Reno. Micket Rooney. Terri Garr. I03 mins. Widely held to be one of the best children's films ever made. this story of how a young boy befriends a black Arabian stallion. and their subsequent adventures. remains a perennial favourite. It spawned a disappointing sequel — the chemistry only worked once. Glasgow: GFI'.
Bouge! (PG) (Jerome Cornuau. France. I997) Ambre Boukebza. Patrick Forster- Delmas. Ophélie Winter. 99 mins. Made specifically for a teenage audience. here‘s the story of a girl who tries to gain the attention of her estranged father by entering the world of showbusiness with a Parisian dance troupe. French Film Festival. Glasgow: Gl-‘l’. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Bound (l8) (Larry and Andy Wachowski. US. I996) Jennifer 'l'tlly. Gina Gerson. Jo Pantoliano. 97 mins. [ix-con Corky (Gershon) is seduced by Violet ('I‘illy) into helping steal $2 million frotn mob money- launderer Caesar (Pantoliano). but the sting doesn't go smoothly. After a slighly cliched opening. oozing with steamy lesbian sex. this neo-noir thriller comes into its own. Tightly plotted and fttll of stylish quirks. Glasgow: Andrew Stewart.
Brief Encounter (PG) (David Lean. UK. I945) Celia Johnson. Trevor Howard. Stanley Holloway. 86 mins. Stiff upper lips and emotionally charged brushes of the hands are all that Johnson and Howard will allow themselves as their extra-marital ‘affair‘ doesn't develop tnuch beyond unspoken longings at a railway station. For some. the tears will still flow; for others. the ungiving morality is exasperating. Glasgow: Grosvenor.
Cape Fear ( I8) (Martin Scorsese. US. I991) Robert De Niro. Nick Nolte. Jessica I.ange. Juliette Lewis. I27 mins. Scorsese's remake of the I962 original leaves Silence of the Lambs pallid by comparison. De Niro is terrifying as white trash psycho Max Cady. out of prison and stalking the fatnily of the lawyer who suppressed evidence to put him away. Disturbing sesual undertones. centring on I5-year-old Danny (Lewis). make this even tnore uncomfortable. Glasgow: GF'I'.
Les Caprices D'Un Fleuve ( )5) (Bernard Giraudeau. France. I996) Bernard Giraudeau. Richard Bohringer. 'Ihierry Fremont. “5 mins. Dttring the Ancien Regime. a murderous French nobleman is banished to the African coast. but becomes the governor of a trading colony. A grand scale period piece. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GF'I‘. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Career Girlst I5) (Mike Leigh. UK. I997) Katrin Cartlidge. Lynda Steadman. Joe Tucker. 86 mins. Career Girls doesn't work within a narrative. but a series of character encounters. playing out in two time-frames. Annie and Hannah meet tip fora reunion weekend years after they shared a flat together as students. The emotions and social backdrop ring true where the characters themselves crucially do not. Stirling: MacRobert.
Casper (PG) (Brad Silberling. US. I995) Christina Ricci. Bill Pullman. Cathy Moriarty. I00 mins. Iiveryone's favourite friendly ghost has been living with his three bad-tempered uncles in an abandoned mansion. where he makes friends with tomboy Ricci. A very messy amalgam of Ghost/msters effects. At/(Iams I‘tlllllf)’ gothic humour attd overblown feelgood Spielbergiana. Edinburgh; ABC.
Chasing Amy ( l 8) (Kevin Smith. US. I996) Ben Afllect. Joey Lauren Adams. Jason Lee. I l I tnitts. The third film by the writer/director of Clerks is a wry and surprisingly mature look at twentysomething relationships. Comic book artist Holden (Affleck) falls desperately in love with Alyssa (Adams). but she prefers gals to gttys. Sexual desire and a crisis of masculinity come under the microscope in a film that's bloody fttnny in a risque way. Glasgow: Andrew Stewart. GI’II ()deon Quay. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Clerks (I8) (Kevin Smith. US. I993) Brian ()‘Halloran. Jeff/\nderson. 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 tip the backside. Smith's
Tears of a clone: Brad Dourif inspects a cloned Ripley in Alien Resurrection
hilariously foul dialogue peps up the exchanges on life. sex and everyday living between bored convenience store check-out assistant Dame and equally bored video store manager Randal. Glasgow: Andrew Stewart. GF'I‘.
Corps lnflammables ( I 5) (Jacques Maillot.
France. I995) ()livier Py. Aurelie Rusterholtz. Celine Carrere. 40 mins. A quartet of Parisian night owls seek enlightenment and each other in this acerbic love tangle for the 90s. With Maillot's short film 75 Centilitres [)e I’riere. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GFI'. Iidinburgh: Filmhouse.
Didier (PG) (Alain Chabat. France. I997) Alain Chabat. Jean-Pierre Bacri. Isabelle (ielinas. l05 mitts. 'Ilie male star of Gama .llatii/it turns director for a comedy about a labrador that suddenly finds itself trapped within a n: "s body. bill is able to help the humans art. I him. French Filtt) Festival. Glasgow: GI-L Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Dobermann t IS) (Jan Kounen. France. I997) Vincent Cassel. 'l‘cheky Karyo. Monica Bellucct. III3 mins. Based on the Dobermann crime novels. this rollet'coaster thriller pits lop criminal (‘assel against evil cop Kary'o. A fully realised pulp fiction world — shootouts. bank heists. strange nightclubs. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GI’I‘. Iidinburgl): Filmhouse.
Dreamchild (PG) (Gavin Miller. UK. I985) Coral Browne. Ian Holm. l’ctet' Gallagher. 9-1 mins. The aged Mrs Alice Hargreaves — the child to whom Lewis Carroll told the Alice stories -- finds confrontation with a brash America sends her back to the sunny days of her childhood. Dennis Potter's first original cinema screenplay is a careful and evocative stttdy of the way in which the memories of old age can lit together the half-understood experiences of youth. Fdinburgh: Filmhouse.
8 Heads In A Dufer Bag ( )5) (Tom Schulman. US. I997) Joe I’esci. Andy Conical). Kristy Swanson. 95 mins. A medical student travelling to meet his girlfriend's parents accidently swaps luggage with a mobster carrying the bloody evidence ofeight successful hits back to his boss. It may be daft. in bad taste and slightly over-long. btit the film's darineg sick humour gives it a wicked appeal. See review. Glasgow; ()deon Quay. Edinburgh: ABC Wester llailcs. Paisley: Showcase. L'Eleve ( I5) (Olivier Schatlky. France. I996) Vincent Cassel. Caspar Salman. Caroline Ccllier. 93 mins. 'I'his adaptation of Henry James's novel The l’u/nl stars the hotter-than-hot Cassel (In Home. l.'Ap/iurtement) as the tutor hired by an aristocratic fatnily to teach their gifted soti. French Film Festival. Glasgow: (iFl‘. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
En Avoir Ou Past )5) (I.aetitia Masson. France. I995) Sandrine Kibcrlain. Arnaud Giovaninetti. Roschtly Ken). 90 mins. In an astonishingly assured featttre debut. two people down on their luck in Boulogne and I.yon tnect tip and a relationship slowly develops. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GI’I'. Iidinburgh: Filmhouse.
Event Horizon ( I8) (Paul Anderson. l'S/UK. I997) Laurence l-'isltburne. San) Neill. Joely Richardson. 9| mins. 'l'he crew of a rescue ship discover that hell has been unleashed inside a missing craft that
reappears near Neptune. as their deepest fears begin to terrorise them in physical fortn. [Event Horizon boasts stunning "I‘echno Medieval' design; but tight editing leaves the characterisation and story stripped to within an inch of their lives. Glasgow: City Centre ()dcon. Edinburgh: Catneo. ()dcon. Ayr: ()dcon.
Excess Baggage (12) (Marco Bratnbilla. US. I997) Alicia Silverstone. Benicio Del 'l‘oro, Christopher Walken. l0l mins. Unloved rich kid Alice (Silverstone) ‘kidnaps' herself to gain the attention ofher mean father. bttt the plot goes dangerously wrong when car thief Vincent (Del Toro) steals her BMW with her in the boot. Actress-cum-producer Silverstone exhibits a lot of lter characteristic spunky charm. but she isn't supported by the sharp script that enabled her to be so brilliant in Clueless. See review. Glasgow: Showcase. UCI Clydebank. \‘irgin. Edinburgh: ABC Wester Hailes. UCI. Paisley: Showcase.
Face ( IS) (Antonia Bird. UK. I997) Robert Carlyle. Ray Winstone. Stephen Waddington. l00 mins. 'Iltink The [mtg (iooil I-‘rii/ay. think Get Carter. Ray (Carlyle) and his gang of Iiast End criminals pull off an artned robbery. but when the loot goes missing. it becomes obvious they have been stitched tip by one of their own. I-‘aee tackles the spectre of the 'I'hatcher years within the framework of a crime thriller. and the results are hit and miss. Blur‘s Damon Albarn acquits himself well in a small role as a wannabe crook. Glasgow: Grosvettor. Face/Off ( IS) (John “"00. US. I997) John 'I'ravolta. Nicolas Cage. Joan Allen. I33 mins. FBI agent Sean Archer ('l‘ravolta) undergoes radical surgery to become terrorist Castor 'l‘roy (Nicolas Cage): but when 'I’roy' cotnes ottt of a coma and undergoes a similar operation. he too is able to slip into his enemy's domain -- domestic and professional. Part hotTor. part sci-f). full-on action. with a cast that‘s uniformly excellent. General release.
La Femme Défendue (I5) (Philippe Harel. France. I997) Isabelle Carre. Philippe Harel. Nathalie Conio. I00 mins. Actor/director llat'el is in classic territory with the story of a married man‘s affair with a younger woman. although this latest film differs by relating the events though the adulterer's eyes in the second pcrsott. An intense chamber piece with a strong. career-making performance frotn Carre. French Film Festival. Glasgow: GI’I‘. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Le Fils Preferé ( I5) (Nicole Garcia. France. I994) Gerard I.anvin. Bernard Giraudeau. Jean-Marc Barr. ll0 mins. 'lltree brothers share a love-hate relationship with their father. but when one commits a forgery. tensions emerge. French Film Festival. Glasgow; GFI’. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
First Reels l.‘\(l mitts. With 'Iiirtan Shorts and Prime Cuts fulfilling their roles in aiding young Scottish filtnmakers to come to grips will) the narrative short film format. the First Reels scheme can now create its own. slightly tnore esperiemental niche. The I997 crop is on show here. introduced by filmmakers and funders. Glasgow: GF'I'. Forever Mozart ( I5) (Jean-late Godard. France. I996) Madeleine Assas. Bérangere Allaus. (ihalia I.acrois. 85 mins. 'Il)e veteran director turns his attention to art.