FILM index
FILM INDEX continued
A Short Film About Killing ( i8) (Krzysztof Kieslowski. Poland. I987) Miroslaw Baka. KrzysztofGlobisa. Jan Tesarz. 84 mins. A brutal. intelligent exploration of the mechanics of murder and capital punishment. Kieslowski builds the tension to an unbearable pitch. his documentarist‘s eye for physical detail focused unblinklingly on mortality. while his humanist's intelligence pleads for the right to life. A masterpiece. Glasgow: GET. A Simple Wish (PG) (Michael Ritchie. US. I997) Mara Wilson. Martin Short. Kathleen Turner. 90 mins. When she makes a wish for her singer-actor dad to land the lead in a Broadway musical. Mara Wilson (of Matilda fame) finds herself saddled with a bumbling fairy godfather in the shape of Martin Short. The magic world of the fairytale is updated to the 90s for a colourful but ultimately sickly sweet kids movie that features good effects. Glasgow: UCl Clydebank. East Kilbride: UCI.
Smilla’s Feeling For Snow (15) (Bille August. Germany/Denmark/Sweden. I997) Julia Ormond. Gabriel Byrne. Richard Harris. 120 mins. When Greenland native SmiIla (Julia Ormond) investigates the death of her neighbour's child in a fall. her highly developed ‘sense of snow' convinces her it was murder. An Arctic conspiracy of iceberg-sized proportions unravels in August's version of Peter Hoeg's bestseller. Stark blue photography captures the landscape so effectively it makes you shiver. but doesn‘t stop the film from being any more than a bland thriller. Falkirk: Arts Centre.
SpiceWorld: The Movie ( PG) (Bob Spiers. UK. 1997) The Spice Girls. Richard E. Grant. Alan Cumming. 93 mins. ‘A 90s Hard Day Is Night. with a pinch of Spinal Tap and a little Speed thrown in.‘ says the publicity material. The story chronicles the hectic five days in the lead-up to the girls' first live concert at the Royal Albert Hall and. on the way. crams in so many celebrity came0s. you get the sense this could be the
big screen equivalent of Noel is Home I’uriv.
Of course. plenty of hit songs are included too. General release.
Starship Troopers ( IS) (Paul Verhoeven. US. I997) Casper Van Dien. Dina Meyer. Denise Richards. l29 mins. Way in the future. Earth is run by a crypto-fascist regime. and the members of the Galactic Armed Forces are sent into space to fight a race of alien bugs hell-bent on wiping out humanity. The computer animation work is first rate and. despite its gory slice 'n' dice violence. one reading of the movie's sub- text is decidedly anti-militaristic. General release.
Stella Does Tricks ( 18) (Coky Giedroyc. UK. I996) Kelly Macdonald. Hans Mathieson. James Bolam. 97 mins. Kelly Macdonald takes on her first leading role after 'I'rainspotling. and proves to be the film's driving force. As one of a group of school-age prostitutes working in London. fuelling themselves with drugs and fantasies to keep the harshness of their situation at bay. she colours her character's toughness withjust enough loneliness and fragility.
- l‘l‘ll: SCOTTISH ARTS COUNCIL
Programme
Programme
Edinburgh EH3 7DD.
Ter: 013i 240 2443/2444
National Lottery Advancement
The Scottish Arts Council invites applications from arts organisations interested in being admitted to the National Lottery Advancement
Advancement, now in its second year, provides funding for organisations to respond to new challenges and opportunities. It helps develop long- term financial and managerial viability through a formal review of artistic objectives and management processes.
To qualify organisations must be properly constituted, based in Scotland and have traded at a broadly similar level for at least five years. Applicants must also have identified some challenge or opportunity that will result in a fundamental change in artistic or business activities.
Applications should be submitted by 16 March 1998.
Further information and revised application guidance notes are
available from the Scottish Arts Council Help Desk, [2 Manor Place,
The Scottish Arts Council aims to create a climate in which arts of quality flourish and are enjoyed by a wide range of people throughout Scotland.
“ THE UST 23 Jan—5 Feb 1998
Try and try again: Neil Morrissey in Up 'N' Under
A.l.. Kennedy‘s screenplay \oices the despair of a generation. See feature and review. Glasgow: Gl’l‘. Edinburgh: I-‘ilmhouse.
Three Colours: Blue ( IS) (Kr/.ys/iol Kieslowski. lirance. I993) Juliette liinoche. Benoit Regent. Charlotte Very. l()() mins. A young woman tries to isolate herself from friends and any notion of affection following the death of her composer husband and child in a car crash. but she cannot escape from the fragments of his unfinished composition. in which she played a major part. An expressive and symbolic film that is also emotionally satisfying. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Time For Teletubbies 120 mins. Chart toppers and role models for three-year-olds and students alike. Teletubbies come under the eye of Andy Medhurst of Sussex University during this afternoon of discussion. The diverse appeal. marketing and content of the series will be debated. Not a children's event. Edinburgh: l'ilmhouse.
Titanic (12) (James Cameron. US. I997) Leonardo DiCaprio. Kate Winslet. Billy Vane. I94 mins. Cameron tackles the story of the doomed ocean liner through a touching love story that isn't overwhelmed by the awesome special effects. Rich girl Rose (Winslet) is unhappin engaged to arrogant Cal (Zane) but falls for third-class passenger Jack (DiCaprio): love blossoms as the ship hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic. In all its on-screen glory. Titanic does indeed look like the most expensive film ever made. conveying both the scale of the disaster and the feeling of claustrophobia as the water rises. See feature and review. General release.
Tomorrow Never Dies ( l 2) (Roger Spottiswoode. UK. I997) Pierce Brosnan. Jonathan Pryce. Michelle Yeoh. I I9 mins. Media mogul Iilliot Carver (Pryce) is manipulating events to bring the planet to the brink of World War Three. but James Bond is on hand to break a few skulls and save the planet. Some of the stunts inspire more admiration than excitement. but. on the plus side. Brosnan has added a more dangerous edge to the charm and Yeoh. doyenne of Hong Kong action films. is a Bond girl who brings a lithe grace to her fight scenes. General release.
Traveller ( I8) (Jack Green. US. I997) Mark Wahlberg. Bill Paxton. Julianna Margulies. I00 mins. Long-standing cinematographer Green‘s directorial debut is set in the rural South. where a community driven by the bond of blood seams to con outsiders of their cash. However. dark menace is difficult to reproduce when you can't get The Dukes Of Harzard theme tune out of your mind. The performances are adequate. btit everything fades from the memory halfway into the closing credits. See review. Glasgow: Odeon.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (18) (Philip Kaufman. US. I987) Daniel Day- lewis. Juliette Binoche. Lena Olin. I67 mins. Ambitious adaptation of Milan Kundera's complex novel about a womanising Czech brain surgeon who falls in love for the first time with a doe-like small-town beauty at the time of the Russian invasion of I968. A dawdling and rather austere narrative is given some spice and
interest by an overwhelming eroticism. a beautifully judged evocation of Prague and gorgeous photography. Edinburgh: Cameo. Up 'N' Under ( IZ) (John Godber. UK. I997) Gary Olsen. Samantha Janus. Neil Morrissey. 98 mins. Combining comic realism with the age old triumph-over- adversity formula. Godber‘s stageplay is an uplifting tale similar in style and structure to BMW"! “if and The Full Monty. A middle- aged rugby ex-professional (Olsen) makes winners out of the lazy pub team with the help of sexy blonde gym instructor Hazel (Janus). The amusineg self-satirising approach holds an appeal for men and women alike. See review. General release. Vagabonde ( l5) (Agnes \"arda. l-‘rance. I985) Sandrine Bonnaire. Macha Meril. Yolande Moreau. l()6 mins. An austere and lyrical portrait of Mona. a dropout from society. wandering the wintry landscapes of the South of France in an aimless quest for freedom that involves only loneliness. hunger and hypothermia. An uncompromising performance from Ms Bonnaire graces this unhurried. intense and affecting memorial to a troubled and despairing representative of l9b‘0s youth. Iidinburgh: Iiilmhouse.
Views Of The Western Isles (U) 90 mins. As part of Celtic Connections. filmmaker and author Mike Russell and photographer Gus Wylie introduce a screening of Werner Kissling‘s I910 Gaelic film liriskuy. Also on show are SI Kilt/a (from I923) and the GPO film Islanders — liriskay l 93‘). Glasgow: (ii-'l'.
Viktor Und Viktoria (PG) (Reinhold Schunzel. Germany. I933) Renate Muller. Hermann 'lhimig. Adolf \‘I’ohlbruck. 100 mins. Remade later by Blake lidwards with Julie Andrews in the lead role. this underrated cross-dressing comedy boasts excellent performances and a wonderful backstage atmosphere. Muller stars as an aspiring singer who becomes a hit when she dons drag. but discovers that gender confusions have an after-effect in her private life. Glasgow: Gl’l'. Edinburgh: I’ilmhouse. Wilde (I5) (Brian Gilbert. UK. I997) Stephen Fry. Jude Law. Vanessa Redgrave.
I I7 mins. The casting of Fry as Victorian wit. novelist and playwright Oscar Wilde seems almost inevitable. and it pays off. with the actor getting beyond surface details to the intelligent. kind man beneath. Gilbert‘s film is gritty in its portrayal of homosexual relationships than most British period dramas. but first and foremost it is a moving story of tragic. obsessive love. Irvine: Magnum.
The Wings Of The Dove ( l 5) (Iain Softley. UK. I997) Helena Bonham Carter. Linus Roache. Alison Iilliott. l08 mins. An intelligent. emotionally devastating adaptation of Henry James's novel that confidently side-steps the pitfalls of stuffy costume drama. Prevented from marrying her humble lover. Kate (Bonham Carter) plots to pair him off with a rich. sickly American. Everything about this film emphasises quality. including the costumes. photography. use of Venice as a setting and — above all — the peerless performances. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
The Winter Guest (l5) (Alan Rickman. UK. I997) Phyllida Law. Emma Thompson. Gary Hollywood. ll0 mins. There‘s something about the way Rickman's directorial debut moves from one pair of characters to the next that suggests it‘s based on a play. but that's not a criticism. The film works out themes of loss and emotional dependency against a snow-covered Scottish landscape. weaving its icy metaphor through the characters' inner lives and the film's computer-enhanced images. The cast is excellent. with La\v proving herself one of the country's hidden treasures. Glasgow: City Centre Odeon. Edinburgh: Odeon. Kirkcaldy: ABC. St Andrews: New Picture House.
Withnail 8: I (I5) (Bruce Robinson. UK. I987) Paul McGann. Richard Grant. Richard Griffiths. I07 mins. Two out-of- work actors surviving 1969 London giro squalor take a break in a picturesque Lake District cottage. where one of them suffers the attentions of the ageing homosexual owner. Entertaining British comedy has a second stab at glory. and it's the bleaker end-of—the-decade elements that have lasted best. Edinburgh: Cameo.