FILM index
FILM index continued
Fargo (18) (Joel Coen. US. 1996) Frances McDormand. Steve Buscemi. William H. Macy. 97 mins. Hoping to make some bucks. a car salesman attempts to have his wife kidnapped by hitmen: btit quickly blood is spilt. As the pregnant police detective on the case. McDormand provides a warm-hearted centre for the movie. while the absurdist plot and weird local colour gain momentum. It‘ll be considered a classic. given time. lidinburgh: Odeon. Fate (18) (Fred Kelernen. Germany. 1994) 80 ntins. A remarkable independent feature from Berlin. shot in long. real-time takes on video then transferred to film. This process gives the piece a haunting. grainy. painterly quality which suits the intense story of a Russian man and the woman he meets in an underground world. Glasgow: Gl-T Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
The Flower Of My Secret (15) (Pedro Almodovar. Spain. 1995) Marisa Paredes. Juan lichanove. Rossy de Palma. 1()l mitts. The cult director moves away from hysterical high camp towards a more serious melodrama as writer Paredes despairs of her life as a popular romantic novelist. A mature. Controlled. often deeply iitoviiig work that retains some typically arch humour and sly ironies. Glasgow: Gilmorehill.
Flubber (U) (Les Maylield. US. 1997) Robin Williams. Marcia Gay Harden. Christopher McDonald. 93 mins. This remake of I961 Disney favourite The Absent Mint/ed Professor casts a subdued Williams as a scientist who invents a gravity defying goo. btit may well lose his fiancee in the process. Combining many of the worst. most annoying attributes of films designed to have ‘family appeal'. Fluh/ier merely flops when it should lly. lidinburgh: ()deon. UCl. East Kilbride: UCl. Galashiels: Pavilion. lrvine: Magnum.
Free Willy 3: The Rescue (U) (Sam Pillsbury. US. 1997) Jason James Richter. August Scliellenberg. Annie Corley. so mins. Boy and killer whale team up again to
drive home an environmental message for the 90s when Willy the orca and family are threatened by the hunters on a whaling boat. Better than its bland predecessor. l-‘ree II'i'I/y 3 develops the usual formula. and benefits front moulding the character of the main antagonist as an old-style hunter rather than the corporate villains of previous instalments. Ayr. ()deon.
The Freshman (U) (Fred Newmeyer and Sam Taylor. US. 1925) Harold Lloyd. Jobyana Ralston. Brooks Benedict. 75 ntins. Harold Lloyd's silent classic is given the live music treatment by conductor Carl Davis and the Willem Breuker Kollektiev Band. Lloyd plays a bumbling college boy who redeems himself iii the famous American football finale. Glasgow: Royal Concert Hall.
Gallipoli (Peter Weir. Australia. 1981 ) Mark Lee. Mel Gibson. Bill Hunter. I l 1 mins. lipic account of the horrific massacre of ANZAC troops on the Turkish beach-head at Gallipoli during the First World War was coolly received on its initial release. btit achieved a certain emotional truth to flesh out its action sequences. The relationship between Lee arid Gibson as two buddies who join tip is convincing. and stays the right side of sentimental. lidinburgh: Canteo.
Gattaca (15) (Andrew NiL‘L‘ol. US. 1997) lithan Hawke. Uma 'l’hurman. Jude Law. 106 ritins. In the future. discrimination isn‘t based on the colour of a man's skin. btit its genetic make-up. ‘Normally‘ born Vincent (Hawke) forms a pact with crippled Jerome (Law) to use his genetic identity in an attempt to become an astronaut. The photography is washed by coloured filters and the retro-future design is as distinctive as Blade Runner. Bold ideas develop at their own pace and. despite the intrusive ‘Hollywood' moments. (ianaea emerges as a true individual in an industry of clones. lidinburgh: l-‘ilmhotise.
George Of The Jungle (U) (Sant Weisman. US. 1997) Brendan Fraser. Leslie Mann. Holland Taylor. 9| nuns. Loincloth-clad hero Geroge (Fraser) saves San Fransican
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socialite Ursual (Mann). but his trip to the urban jungle is shortlived when lie hears of the kidnap of his hairy sidekick. Ape (voiced by John Cleese). lite plot is the usual blend of humour. action. slapstick. adventure and. of course. romance. while the knowing and punchy script is easily tip with the best of modern Disney. lidinburgh: ()deon. Galashiels: Pavilion.
Gion Festival Music ( I 2) (Kenji lvlizoguchi. Japan. 1953) 100 ntins. Mizoguclii‘s sensitively performed chamber piece centres on a pair of geishas — one. an experienced older woman; the other. a novice who wants to bring an element of romance into the essentially sordid profession. The decline iii the geisha tradition is mirrored by the change in Japanese society after WW2. Stirling: MacRobert.
Good Burger (PG) (Brian Robbins. US. 1997) Kel Mitchell. Kenan 'lltompson. Sinbad. 95 mins. A spin-off front US cable channel Nickelodeon's daytime series All That. this kids comedy is likely to fail through unfamiliarity. Two blokes working in a burger joirtt light off the advances of the fast-food chain across the road with their new sauce recipe. The next Big Night? I don't think so. Glasgow: ()deon Quay. UCI Clydebank. [East Kilbride: UCI. Greenock: Waterfront. Wishaw: Arrow.
Good Will Hunting (15) (Gus Van Sant. US. 1997) Matt Damon. Robirt Williams. Minnie Driver. 126 rttins. A young college janitor (Damon) with a history of abuse is given the opportunity to fulfil his potential as a maths genius by a kindly therapist (Williams). Hot-shot Damon arid co-star Ben Affleck won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. btit it‘s Williams iii an understated performance who steals the show. An insightful script. tenderly acted. Glasgow: ()deons. Showcase. Galashiels: Pavilion.
Great Expectation“ IS) (Alfonso Cunt-on. US. 1997) lithan llawke. Gwyneth Paltrow. Anne Bancroft. 1 1() mins. Hollywood's free adaptation of Dickens's novel turns a dank. foggy tale into a dayglo romance incorporating art. sex and the media. Hawke plays a young artist who becomes the toast of New York. btit can't get Paltrow out of his mind. Adding colour are Robert De Niro as a gruff convict and Anne Bancroft doing her version of Miss Havisham. It’s at its best when faithful to the novel. btit when the action shifts. the film dies a quiet predictable death. General release.
Happy Together ( I 5 ) (Wong Kai-Wat. Hong Kong. 1997) Leslie Cheung. Tony Leung. Chang Chen. 96 mins. Two gay guys from Hong Kong try to make a fresh start in Buenos Air‘es and disrupt their routine of breaking tip arid getting back together again. Narrativer simpler than Wong's previous movies (Cliungking lit/tress. Fallen Angels). btit certainly not devoid of distinctive directorial style. Happy 'Iitgei/ier features a colourful collage of amazing cinematography. A truly thrilling piece of cinema. Glasgow: GF’T. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Hard Rain (15) (Mikael Salonton. US. 1997) Christian Slater. Morgan Freeman. Minnie Driver. 96 mins. The mother of all storms hits the sleepy town of Huntingburg. helping a gang led by Jim (Freeman) 'liberate' $3 million. Only the elements. an armoured car guard (Christian Slater) and the crooked local sheriff (Randy Quaid) stand in their way. The faults with Hard Rain are almost too numerous to mention: it actually across as an extended Bible class. weapons are fetishised and the dialogue is rank. Glasgow: Odeon Quay. Showcase. Edinburgh: UCI. Paisley: Showcase.
The Horse Thief ( I 5) (Tran Zhuangzhuang. China. 1986) Tsehang Rigzin. Dan Jiji. 88 mins. Tibet. 1923. To provide for his poverty-stricken family. Norbu steals horses from wandering nomads and offerings reserved for the gods. His actions earn him the contempt of his village and ultimately. expulsion from his tribe. An episodic narrative. occasionally lacking in pace. The Horse T/ii'eflingers on the rituals of the tribe. with a steely gaze that renders their strangeness all the more striking. Glasgow: OFT.
Hotel De Love (15) (Craig Rosenberg. Australia. 1996) 95 mins. Passions mount at
a gaudy Melbourne hotel specialising in honeymoon stopovers when an old flame of the manager turns tip with her new boyfriend. Funny. fast and set to a 70s soundtrack. it's another comedy hit from Down Under. Edinburgh: l-‘ilmhotise.
I Know What You Did Last Summer ( I8) (Jim Gillespie. US. 1997) Jennifer Love Hewitt. Sarah Michelle Gellar. Ryan Phillippe. 101 mins. Writer Kevin Williamson broke new horror ground with Scream. htit this effort is the sort of stalk 'n' slash flick that's lucky not to go straight to video. The story follows four high school friends plagued by a murderer exactly one year after they accidentally ran over a man and ditched the seemingly dead body. Scottish first-time director Jim Gillespie joins the dots and piles on the horror cliches. Stirling: Carlton.
I Went Down (15) (Paddy Breathnach. Ireland. 1997) Brendan Gleeson. Peter McDonald. Peter Caffey. 108 mins. Recently out of cltoky. Git falls in with Dublin's fittest hoods. btit when he is assigned to cowboy-novel consuming crook Bunny. things go downhill quickly and coriiically. 'Ilte film's glories are many. chief among them the interplay of the leads. an eclectic soundtrack and the odd moment of slapstick surrealism. A gem. Stirling: MacRobert.
The Ice Storm (15) (Ang Lee. US. 1997) Kevin Kline. Joan Allen. Sigourney Weaver. I12 mins. In Nixon era Connecticut. Kline's dying affair with neighbour Weaver pushes wife Allen further irtto a numbed frigidity. just as both families' teenage children are making their first sextial forays. Lee's satiric eye may be acute btit he has a compassionate vision of human weakness. and beneath the humour is a sense of profound unease. Scene after scene. deftly directed and beautifully acted by the cast. sends a chill into the heart. Falkirk: Town Hall. Stirling: MacRobert.
Jackie Brown ( l 5) (Quentin 'l'arantino. US. 1997) Pam Grier. Samuel 1.. Jackson. Robert De Niro. 154 mins. 'l'arantino‘s blaxploitation homage is proof that the director just loves to hear his characters run their mouths off. However. the dialogue is pure pleasure in this sprawling. funky. triple-crossing heist movie about a Federal Agent sting to trap a gun runner. A classic Hollywood thriller in the sense that it is about the enjoyment of the moment. rather simply finding otit whodunit. General release.
Jour De Fete (U) (Jacques Tati. France. 1948) Jacques Tati. Guy Decomble. 87 ntins. A rural French postie sees a film about the efficiency of the American mail service and decides to smarten tip his act. Charming debut feature by Tati. effortlessly building visual set-pieces and establishing the amiable duffer of a central role that was later to become the unforgettable M. Hulot. Glasgow: Gl’l'.
Jude (18) (Michael Winterbottorn. UK. 1996) Christopher liccleston. Kate Winslet. Rachel Griffiths. 120 mins. Based on Thomas Hardy‘s uncompromisineg bitter final novel. this tremendously powerful adaptation shares the novel‘s romantic tragedy between its two central characters. Determined and honest Jude (ficcleston) is snubbed by Victorian society as he strives fora university education. btit worse is in store when he falls in love with his cousin (Winslet). Hard-hitting acting. a director and writer who truly understand Hardy's themes. and stunning photography elevate this to classic status. [East Kilbride: UCI.
A Judgement In Stone La Cerenirniie ()5) (Claude Chabrol. France. 1995) Sandrine Bonnaire. Isabelle Huppert. Jacqueline Bisset. 111 mins. An illiterate maid begins work at a posit but isolated borne in rural France and begins a strange relationship with the obsessive local postal clerk. Chabrol's masterly adaptation of Ruth Rendell's novel is like a reworked Heavenly Creatures meeting a thinking-man‘s The Hand Thu! Racked The Cradle. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Junk Mail ( 15) (P51 Sletaune. Norway. 1997) Robert Skjatstad. Andrine Szrther. Per Egil Aske. 81 mins. Roy is a postie from your worst nightmare: he will probably read your letters before you do. When he stops deaf dry cleaning woman. Line. from killing