FILM index
"s ..c
Come and meet “Cracker”star
in conversation with Channel 4 producer Zad Rogers
on their new series
“Coltrane ’s Planes and
Automobiles” (Simon and Schuster £17.99)
Tickets Free.
WATERSTONE’S, 128 Princes St. Edinburgh
Tel ()131 226 2666
Tickets £2
WATERSTONE’S Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow
0141332 9105
SIMON 81
ROBBIE COLTRANE,
WED. 26TH NOV AT 7PM.
TUES. 2ND DEC AT 7PM.
(redeemable against the {nice oft/Le l)()()lt on the night)
34 THE LIST '/
3 Nov -l [let 199/
FILM INDEX continued
Kids Return (18) ('l‘akeshi Kitano. Japan. 1996) Masanobu Ando. Ken Kaneko. Leo Morimoto. l()7 mins. Two high-school pals start out by extorting pocket-money from their classmates. btit soon drift into the boxing ring and flirt with the malign outskirts of yakuza activity — all way
stations on the road to nowhere in particular.
Shot in blue-grey tones with art unobtrusive camera. the film's slight lack of narrative momentum is balanced by performances that ring true all round. Glasgow: (ll-'1'.
The Killing Of Sister George (18) (Robert Aldrich. US. I968) Beryl Reid. Susannah York. (‘oral Browne. I38 mins. Reid plays an aging actress fired from a TV soap. finding her life and relationship with her girlfriend (York) collapsing around her. Aldrich vs as entirely the wrong director for this screen version of Frank Marcus‘s celebrated play. and the result is a leeriiig piece of grotesquerie that lacks compassion or understanding of the central characters. (ilasgow: (ii-'1‘.
Kotting Shorts 9() mins. Before making (itlllfl‘tllll. director Andrew Kotting made
several short films with his cinematographer
Nick (iordon Smith. This programme draws together eight of their collaborations. which reveal an absurdist slant on modern life. Fdinburgh: Filmhouse.
LA. Confidential ( IS) ((‘urtis Hanson. US. I997) Kevin Spacey. Guy Pearce. Rtissell (‘rowe. Kim Basinger. I35 mins. Adapted from James lillroy's neo-noir novel. the best American film of I997 evokes a glitzy post- WWZ los Angeles underpinned by an all- pervasive. festering corruption. An intricate. drop-dead brilliant plot links bent cops. good cops. Hollywood star lookalike prostitutes and the mob. The dialogue crackles and the actors burn tip the screen: one of the few films one would dare mention in the same breath as the definitive (‘/iiiitiioirii. (ienei'al release.
Labyrinth tl’(i) (Terry Jones. L'S. l9So) David Bowie. Jennifer (‘onnellyz llll mins. 'l'eenage girl has her baby bruv kidnapped by demon Dave. the King ()f'l'he (ioblitis. and so has to enter the fiendish labyrinth to get him back. Not had family feature. with plenty of furry creatures to keep the kids happy. Kirkcaldy. Adam Smith.
The Last Of England ( IS) (De‘i'ek Jariiian. l‘K. I987 ) Tilda Svs iiitoii. Spencer Leigh. Spring. Derek Jarman. 9() mins. l’art antobiogral‘hical stud). Part esaiiiination of post-liiiipire Britain’s decline and fall. this espressive vision ofa country edging towards anarchy evudes a technical brav ura placed vv holly at the service of a singular painterly sensibility. l-Zdiiiburgh: Filmhouse. Lawn Dogs ( l5) (John Duigan. l'S. l997) Sam Rockwell. .‘vlischa Barton. Kathleen Quinlan. l()l niins. When ten-year-old Devon (Bartoni ignores her parents‘ advice .iiid heads straight for the nearby woods. slic befriends local gardener and fellow outsider l'rent (Rockvv ell l. Adult pi‘eiudice t'iiiits their friendship in this contemporary fairytale with an ending that is both magical and inspiring. ()ne of the most iiiievpectedly delightful films of the year. See review (ilasgow; ()deoii Quay. Fdinburgh: l'(‘l.
A Life Less Ordinary l ISi (Danny Boy lc. 1K. 199") livvan Mctiregor. (‘ameion Dial. lan llolm. llll units. The follow -up to 'l’rtiiiispoiiiiie is something else entirely -- an original script that boldly plays with the conventions of the romantic comedy, .\lc(iregor is a young Scot who kidnaps his boss‘s daughter when he gets the sack. only to find his hostage turns the tables and uses events to get back at her dad. Not everything works. btit it's brilliantly designed. funny. romantic and more inventive than most of Hollyvv ood’s output combined, (ieneral release.
Lost Highway l lSl (David lynch. L'S. I996) Bill Pullman. l’atricia Arquctte. Robert Loggia. IRS mins. Further out than men the celluloid \c‘l'sim) of lit III l’t'rl/svj Fire llii/ls lt'iI/i .llt'. Lynch‘s latest radicalisation of fill” iioir traditions features typically non-linear plotliiies that exist within the logic of dreams. Haunting. provocative. and a genuinely personal undertaking. Stirling: MacRobert.
Love, Etc ( l5) (Marion \'ernous. France. I997) ('liai'lotte (iainshotii'g. Yv an Attal.
Charles Berling. IOS mins. Described as a Jules El Jim for the 90s. this finds the recent marriage of a couple who have not long known each other in trouble when the husband's childhood friend comes on the scene. A fresh look at old problems. French Film Festival. Glasgow: (El-’1‘. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Lucie Aubrac ( l 2) (Claude Berri. France. 1997) Carole Bouquet. Daniel Autetiil. lirie Boucher. I IS mins. The director of (It'i'niiiiul and Jean De Florellt' relates the true story of a woman who will stop at nothing to rescue her resistance hero husband from the clutches of the Gestapo. This passionate movie has caused controversy in France over its historical stance. The real l.ucie Aubrac will attend both screenings. French Film Festival. Glasgow: (il-‘l'. Fdinburgh: Filmhouse.
Ma Vie En Rose f l 2) (Alain Berliner. France/Belgiuiii/UK. 1997) (ieorges Du Fresne. Michele l.aroque. Jean-Philippe licoffey. 93 mins. Happy seven-year-old l.udovic loves cross-dressing and is convinced he will grow tip to become a girl. His parents hope it's a passing phase. btit hostility from their neighbours causes problems. The child‘s eye world is visually striking. the message of accepting the 'differencc' of others worth repeating. the performances by all trememdous. A refreshingly honest look at a complex subject. Fdinburgh: Filiiihouse.
Man Bites Dog ( l3) (Remy Belvaux/Andre Bon/el/Beiioit l’oelvoorde. Belgium. I992) Benoit l’oelvoorde. Remy Belvaux. Jenny Drye. 96 mins. Somewhere in the unesploi‘cd hinterland between Henry: l’orlrtiii ofti Serial Killer and This Is Spinal liq) comes this lioi'ritically comic mock-doc on a poetry-quoting iiiass-murderer. It soon sharpens its serious edge and becomes truly shocking. Fdinburgh: Filiiiliouse. Margaret's Museum ( I5) (Mort Ransen. (‘anada/l ’K. I995) Helena Bonham Carter. I ('live Russell. Kate Nelligan. 95 mins. In the late 194(1s in a windswept and isolated : corner of Nova Scotia. Bonham (‘arter's feisty woman makes her lover promise not to work down the mines that killed her father and brother. Yes. the scenery is lovely and the music is evocative. but the feeling persists that the predictable story could have been sauce/ed into half an hour Fdinburgh: Cameo.
Marion ( l5) (.‘vlanuel l’oirier. France. I997) .\larie-France l’isier. Jean-l.uc Bideau. (‘oralie 'l‘etai'd. llio mins. like a French Mike leigh. l’oirier finds drama in the most ordinary of lives. Here. a rich btit childless couple live in the same Normandy coiiiiiiuiiity' as another family vs ith four kids and mounting bills; teii-year-old Marion proves to be the bridge between the two households, French Film Festival. (ilasgovv: (il-‘l', Fdinburgh: l'lllllllOlht‘.
Men In Black tl‘(i) (Barry Sonnenfeld. US. I997) 'l‘ommy Lee Jones, Will Smith.
Vincent D'()nofrio 95 miiis. Smith and
Jones are two cry ptically named 'cosmic (i- men' who monitor estratcii'estrial aliens
liv ing on liarth. w hile stopping the nastier breed of space baddie from coloiiisiiig the planet Joncs's seeii-it-all straight man is the perfect foil for Smith's vs ide-eyed new kid
on the block. (ilasgow Show case. Virgin. lfdiiibuigh. AB(~ (’ity ('ciitrc. (ireenock: Waterfront. livine. Magnum. l’aisley.
Show case,
Mrs Brown il’(ii (John Madden. l‘K. I997) Judi Dench. B:lly (,‘onnolly. Antony Sher.
lll‘s mins. Queen Victoria’s obsessive mourning for Prince Albert is casting gloom over the come country. so Highland ghillie John Brown is called dovv it from Bahiioral
to shake tip the stuffy linglish court.
.\ladden's film can't match the comic bi'io
and visual panache of lllt' .l/tii/iitavv ()fKi/ig (it’oret'. but his understated direction undeniably suits the story. The performances are uniformly splendid. with Dench and ('oniiolly (both perfectly cast) giving the
film a surprising emotional depth.
Fdinburgh: Dominion. 17(‘l. Falkirk: Arts Centre. (ialasliiels; l’avilion.
Mulholland Falls l 18) (Ice 'l'aiiiahori. US. I996) Nick Nolte. .‘slelanie (iriffith. Chan l’alminteri. loo iiiiiis. A fictionalised tale involving l.:\l’l)'s real-life tough gtiy 'Hat Squad". 'l‘amahori's US follow-up to ()IlH'
lli'i't' lllii'riiii's strays too closely to