A Toute Vitesse (15) (Gael Morel. France. 1996) Stephaiie Rideati. Iilodie Bouchez. 90 mins. Some of the cast of Andre 'l'echine‘s I995 coming-of-age drama I.('.\ ant’tlllt’ .S'uiirugex reunite for this look at the nature of friendship and lonliness. The relationship between three friends is unbalanced by the arrival of a broody. gay Algerian whose childhood friend was killed in a car crash. French navel-gazing for twentysoinethings. Iidinburgh: I-‘ilmhotise.
Afterglow (15) (Alan Rudolph. US. 1997) Nick Nolte. Julie Christie. Jonny Lee Miller. 113 mins. In Montreal. the lives of two couples intersect when the neglected wife of a young executive embarks upon at) affair with an older handyman. l-‘unher complications ensue when their respective partners also begin a relationship. M uclt of Afterglow works as farce. albeit a slow-moving one. However an echo of sweet. unidentifiable sadness lingers long after you re-emerge outside world. See review. Glasgow: (il’l‘. Almodovar Study Day ( I8) 240 mins. With the release of Live Hes/i. Spain's e/i/u/il terrible would appear to be growing tip. Sarah Jones. liducation Manager of Cambridge Arts Cinema offers an illustrated introduction to .-\lniodovai”s career. The day also includes a screening of the director's first feature. I’e/ii. Luci. Bum . . . and an open discussion. Glasgow: (II-'1'.
Amistad (15) (Steven Spielberg. US. 1997) Anthony Hopkins. Morgan I'TCCIIHIII. Djimon l-lounsou. 152 mins. After a revolt on a ship off the coast of Cuba in 183‘). a group of slaves are captured by an American naval cutter and put on trial for piracy atid murder. Spielberg botches this fascinating tale not because of historical inaccuracy. btit through narrative incompetence - the film falls apart in the courtroom. where scenes come across as [A Law done in period costume. Largs: Bai'rfields.
Anastasia (U) (Don Bluth/Gary Goldtnan. US. 1997) Voices of Meg Ryan. Christopher Lloyd. John Cusack. 94 mins. With this widescreen romantic musical adventure. animator Don Bltitli offers a film that rivals Disney. Rewriting history somewhat. evil magician Rasputin puts a curse on the Tsar’s fatnin and causes the 1917 Revolution. The child princess Anastasia survives. btit grows as an orphan. unable to remember he" past. With extraordinary action sequences. exquisite cliaracterisations and beautiful songs. (ieneral release
As Good As It Gets ( 15) (James I.. Brooks. IS. 1997) .lack Nicholson. Helen Hunt. (ireg Kinnear. 139 mins. Neurotic writer Melvin suffers froin obsessive- compulsive disorder. btit compensates for his loner life by becoming a master of abuse. Carol. the waitress in a local restaurant. is the only person tough enough to take him on. As romantic comedies go. it's an odd pairing. but the match works thanks to a sharply witty script and spot-on performances from Nicholson and Hunt. Glasgow. ()deons. Showcase. (ireenock: Waterfront Paisley: Showcase,
Bean (PG) (Mel Smith. UK. 1997) Rowan Atkinson. Peter MacNicol. Pamela Reed. 97 mins. li'etui the lllt)\ ie makes an attempt to broaden the range of Atkinson‘s tiemeiidously successful 'l'\' 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; eventuall}. however. the film upholds family values and true blue American sclimaltz. You'll like it if you like the TV show. Real grow ii-tips should stay away. Irvine: WMR.
The Big Lebowski (18) (Joel Coeii. US. 1997) Jeff Bridges. John Goodman. Steve Buscemi. I I3 itiiiis. The Coen brothers give their unique twist to a Chandler- esque LA noir. as 7(ls hippy throw b :ek Jeff "The Dude' Lebowski (Bridges) is drawn into the sordid affairs of his millionaire namesake. Suddenly he has to sleuth his way through disorganised
listings FILM
crime. Trademark oddball characters. surreal imagery and excellent performances grace this virtuoso comedy. Glasgow: Grosvenor. ()deon Quay. Iidinburgh: Cameo. Irvine: Magnum.
The Blackout (l8) (Abel Ferrara. US. 1997) Matthew Modine. Béatrice l)alle. Dennis Hopper. 99 mins. Modine plays a top Hollywood star whose addiction to drugs and alcohol is way otit of control. In the heat of Miami. his substance binge enters tornado proportions. and later he becomes convinced that. during a blackout. he killed someone. lierrara is back in the moral gutter. following the painful spiritual journey of a single character. Modine gives his all in a film that spills off the screen like an anguished howl froin a diseased soul. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
Blade Runner: the Director’s Cut ( I5) (Ridley Scott. US. 1982/92) Harrison Ford. Sean Young. Rutger Hauer. l 16 mins. ()tit go the pseudo-noir narration and the tacked-on happy ending; in comes a more defined sense that [)eckard himself may be a replicant. The look and feel remain as powerful. and the acting is superb. A flawed masterpiece is now a restored masterpiece. Stirling: MacRoben. Blues Brothers 2000 (PG) (John Landis. US. 1998) l)am Aykroyd. John Goodman. Joe Morton. 12-1 mins. liigliteen years have passed since the boys brought good music back into the souls of the masses. Jake Blues is gone to the big gigin the sky. btit lilwood embarks on a crusade to re-form the original hand. Now his sidekicks are Mighty Mack Mc'l'eer. his black stepbrother and a ten-year-old orphan. ()n one hand. there’s inept staging. stilted dialogue and rotten acting. ()ne the other are the silly gags. car crashes — and great music. General release.
Das Boot: Director's Cut ( l 5) (Wolfgang Petersen. Germany. 1981) Jurgen Prochnow. Herbeit Gronmeyer. Klaus Wenneinann. 207 mins. A hunter-killer sub is unleashed on Allied shipping in the North Atlantic. btit the captain shares few of the Nazi ideals of his superiors. This visceral. twisty action drama redefined the ensemble realism. and its claustrophobic brilliance is only i'edoubled in this 207- minute version. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith. The Borrowers (U) (Peter Hewitt. UK. 1997) John Goodman. Jim Broadbent. Celia lmrie. 86 mins. At a height of only four inches. the Borrowers hide in wall cavities and living beneath the floorboards of the Lender household. When a nasty lawyer tries to swindle the humans out of their inheritance. families big and small join forces. The design and effects create a strangely familiar. oddly unplaceable world. and children will have little difficulty suspending enough disbelief to be spellbound by the magic of the film. Glasgow: Grosvenor.
It's the end of the world as we know it: the comet's coming in Deep Impact
The Boxer (15) (Jim Sheridan. UK/US. 1997) Daniel Day-Lewis. limin Watson. Brian Cox. 112 mins. Sheridan’s follow- up to In The Name ()f'l‘he l’uI/ier brings the current drive towards a peaceful settlement right tip to date. Day-Lewis is perfect as the slow-burning ex-IRA man trying to rebuild his life and rekindle love with his childhood sweetheart despite resistance in his neighbours. The boxing scenes have a hard. realistic aggression. while the political perspective allows us to understand the demands that peace makes on a divided Republican community. Ayr: ()deon. Stirling: MacRobert. Breakdown ( 15) (Jonathan Moslow, US. 1997) Kurt Russell. Kathleen Quinlan. J.T. Walsh. 93 mins. When their car breaks down in the desert. a nightmare begins for yuppie Russell after his wife accepts a lift from truck driver Walsh. then disappears off the face of the earth. A solid. silly. amiany suspenseful romp that's stuck firmly within its particular corner of the suspense genre and is on first name terms with every cliche in the immediate vicinity. If you can bear the familiarity of the journey. then sit back and enjoy the ride. General release.
The Butcher Boy ( 15) (Neil Jordan. UK. 1997) Stephen Rea. liamonn ()wens. Aisling ()‘Sullivan. 108 mins. Jordan fuses an oblique. nightmarish view of life iii a small rual lrislt town during the early ()(Is‘ with a brutally honest. painfully funny coming-of—age story. Iiverything is seen through the eyes of twelve-year-old 1"i'ancie (Owens). who blots out the cruel reality of his home life with increasingly ferocious flights of fancy. lixtraordinary. Glasgow: Grosvenor. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
City Of Angels (Brad Siberline. US. 1998) Meg Ryan. Nicolas Cage. Dennis l-‘ranz. With a nod towards ‘A an Wenders' Wings Of Desire. Nicolas ' .:gc plays at) angel so in love with a ho aan woman (Meg Ryan) that he is torn between Heaven and Iiarth. Ryan plays a heart surgeon going through a period of self- dotibt after a patient dies on the operating table. A romantic drama about faith. Goes on general release next issue. so catch it on National Cinema Day. Glasgow: Grosvenor. lidinburgh: Dominion.
A Corner Of A Foreign Field ( IS) (Udayan Prasad. UK. 1986) 52 mins. The director of My Sun The Funaiie's TV documentary encourages three men and two women from the British Pakistani community to talk about their lives. After living in Britain for 25 years. they still note racial divisions in society. Glasgow: Gl’l‘.
Dad Savage ( 18) (Betsaii Morris livans. UK. 1998) Patrick Stewart. Kevin McKidd. Joe McFadden. 104 mins. A heist-gone-wrong thriller with Western oveitones. this itnpressive British feature tells a dark tale of buried money. murder
and tulip-farming in rural Lincolnshire. Told in a series of flashbacks. the film is at first rather confusing. but has a twisting plot. Western allusions and glowering Cinemascope in its favour. There‘s also Stewart‘s charismatic presence atid a fine young cast who make it buzz into tension- ftielled life. See review.
Dark City (15) (Alex Proyas. UK. 1998) Rufus Sew-ell. Kiefer Sutherland. William Hurt. 100 mins. Part noirish thriller. part paranoic sci-fr. Proyas' follow-up to The Crow boasts stunning effects. design and photography. Sewell plays an amnesiac who wakes to find he is wanted for murder in a night-time city run by a mysterious clique. Although it succeeds as a mystery. it's less assured in its final sci-Ii incarnation. See review. General release.
Deconstructing Harry ()8) (Woody Allen. US. 1997) Woody Allen. Kirstie Alley. Billy Crystal. 9-1 mins. Author Harry Block has writer's block. and his friends have all btit abandoned him due to his habit of recastiiig them as characters in his best-selling ‘fiction’. Allen plays with the received. perceived idea of ‘Woody Allen‘. arid Stun/us! Memories floats in the background. There are flaws in the film. but there are also many. many prime Woody throwaways. lidinbtirgh: Cameo Deep Impact ( 12) (Mimi Leder. US. 1998) Morgan Freeman. Tea Leoni. Robert Duvall. 121 mins. A massive comet is tearing towards Iiarth at extinction-level speed. President Moigan l-‘reeinan reveals that air underground shelter has been built to house a chosen few. and a national lottery will decide who gets to join the bigwigs down below. Deep Impact is a peifectly respectable disaster epic. rather like they used to make 'em. only flasher. As lotto fever rages. the film conveys disconsolation more than desperation. General release.
Electric Dance 1 71) mins. A selection of works which demonstrate how video technology has allowed choreographers to stretch beyond physical parameters. I'ileveii works are on show. including ‘Le 1"tit Bal‘ by Philippe Decoulle.
Electric Dance 2 ()2 mins. The fusion between video and dance continues with three pieces by Gert Weigelt. Ntiria Font and Bernan Hebert/Lal.aLa Human Steps. Flubber (U) (Les Mayfield. US. 1997) Robin Williams. Marcia Gay Harden. Christopher McDonald. 93 mins. This remake of 1961 Disney favourite 'l'lie Alix-en! Mini/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'. FIN/)hc‘l' merely flops when it should fly. Galashiels: Pavilion. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
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28 May—ll Jun 1998 TIIE UST25