Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Alan Morrison.
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 erribarks upon an affair witli an older handyman. 1"urther coriiplicatioiis ensue when their respective partners also begin a relationship. Much 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. Edinburgh: liilrrrhouse.
Un Air De Fami|1e(15)t(‘edric Klapisch. lirance. 1997)]ean-1’ierre Bacri. Claire Maurier. Agnes Jaotti. 109 mitts. Klapisch's follow-up to the delightful When The Cat's Away is a witty expose of family interaction. Gathering to celebrate a birthday. the
family 's dinner conversation crescendos from gossip to bitchiness. The film retains an element of its stage roots. but has a sharply comic poitit of y iew. Edinburgh: liilnihous’e. liast Kilbride: Arts Centre. Alexander The Great ( 18) ('1 heo Aiigelopoulos. (ircece/ltaly'. 198(1) 210 mins. Not the general from history. btrt a bandit who becomes a folk hero in Greece in the year's alter the Paris commune. Socialist ideals are to the fore as he kidnaps an English aristocrat and demands that land be given oy er to the peasants. Glasgow: GET. An American In Paris (1') (Vincente Minnelli. US. i951)(ieiic Kelly. leslie Caron. ()scai' l.e\ ant. 113 mins. Splendid — if sometimes garish ~ romantic musical. with Kelly on top form as a would-be artist kicking tip a storm in la belle ('Ilt’. No footie fans in the bars. however Glasgow:
(irosy error.
Anastasia (U) (Dori Bluth/( iar'y' Goldman. US. 1997) Voices of Meg Ryan. Christopher Lloyd. John (‘usack 94 mins. With this
w idescreen romantic musical adventure. animator Don Bluth offers a film that rivals Disney. Rewriting history somewhat. evil magician Rasputin ptits a curse on the Tsar's family and causes the 1917 Revolution. The child princess Anastasia survives. btit grows as an orphan. unable to remember her past. Willi extraordinary action sequences. exquisite characterisatrons and beautiful songs. Stirling: MacRobert.
Apocalypse Now! ( 18) tl-‘raneis Coppola. l'S. 1980) .‘vlartin Sheen. Marlon Brando. Robert Duvall. Dennis Hopper. 153 mins. Vietnam as The Ultimate Trip, We follow l.'S Army assassin Sheen dow nriver and deeper into the Heart ()I Darkness ruled
ox er by Brando’s mad (‘olorrel Kurtz. .»\1tern.ite1y pretentious and visually overpowering (the Valkyries helicopter attack. for example). its grandiloqtrent folly somehow pierces right to the bone of the conflict, ludinbin'gh; (‘airit-o.
As Good As It Gets ( IS) (Jatties 1.. Brooks. US. 1997)Jack Nicholson. Helen Hunt. Greg Kinneai. 139 mins. Neurotic writer Melvin suffers from obsessive-comptilsive disorder. but compensates for his lonely 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 thatiks to a sharply witty script and spot-on performances from Nicholson and Hunt. Glasgow: ()deon Quay. Back to the Future (l'ti) (Robert Veineckis. US. 1985) Michael J. l-‘ox. l.ea 'lhoiiipson. Crispin Glover. 116 mins. Deseryedly popular time-travelling fantasy adventure with street-smart Slls teenager whisked back iii time fora little chicanery' with his future parents. Glasgow; Grosyenor.
Bad Behaviour ( 18) ts‘S mitts. Not to be confused with the [es Blair film. this is a collection of six short films with gay themes. Part of the Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. Glasgow : (3171'.
Barney's Great Adventure (U) 72 mins. A kids TV phenomenon. Barney the purple
30 THE lIST 25 Jun—9 Jul 1998
dinosaur's big screen debut finds him down on a farm with a trio of kids in search of a magic egg. The all singin'.a11dancin' Barney stmts his way through the simple story with regular singalongs. making the film perfect for under-fives. General release. Bent (18) (Sean Mathias. UK. 1997) Clive Owen. Lothaire Bluteau. Mick Jagger. 116 mins. Although the story is about hiding your real identity. the cinema version of Martin Sherman‘s play never disowns its theatrical roots. The expressionistic sets sugges an equivalent mood rather than historical realism as decadent German Max (Owen) conceals his homosexuality when sent to a Nazi concentration camp. However. the film only finds its emotional centre when Bluteau is on screen. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Stirling: MacRobert. The Big Lebowski (l8) (Joel Coen. US. 1997) Jeff Bridges. John Goodman. Steve Buscemi. 1 13 mins. The Coen brothers give their unique twist to a Chandler-esque LA noir. as 70s hippy throwback Jeff ‘The Dude' Lebowski (Bn'dges) is drawn into the sordid affairs of his millionaire namesake. Suddenly he has to sleuth his way through disorganised crime. Trademark oddball characters. surreal imagery and excellent performances grace this virtuoso comedy. Glasgow: Odeon Quay. Edinburgh: Cameo. The Big Swap (18) (Niall Johnson. UK. 1998) 122 mins. Five couples agree that partner-swapping might make for good after-dinner entertainment. but jealousy. obsession and deep uncomfortable truths come to the surface. The weak cast of unknowns fail to provide the tight ensemble required. while the film proves that too much sex actually does get boring. Galashiels: Pavilion.
Blues Brothers 2000 (PG) (John Landis. US. 1998) Dam Aykroyd. John Goodman. Joe Morton. 124 mins. Eighteen years have passed since the boys brought good music back into the souls of the masses. Jake Blues is gone to the big gig in the sky. but Elwood embarks on a crusade to re-form the original band. Now his sidekicks are Mighty Mack McTeer. his black stepbrother and a ten- year-old orphan. ()n one hand. there's inept staging. stilted dialogue and rotten acting. One the other are the silly gags. car crashes — and great music. Greenock: Waterfront. Das Boot: Director's Cut (15) (Wolfgang Petersen. Germany. 1981)Jurgen Prochnow. Herbert Gronmeyer. Klaus Wennemann. 207 mins. A hunter-killer sub is unleashed on Allied shipping in the North Atlantic. but 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 redoubled in this 207-minute version. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
The Boxer (15) (Jim Sheridan. UK/US. 1997) Daniel Day-Lewis. Emily Watson. Brian Cox. 112 mins. Sheridan‘s follow-up to In The Name ()f The Father brings the current drive towards a peaceful settlement right up 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. lialkirk: Town Hall. Braveheart ( 15) (Mel Gibson. US. 1995) Mel Gibson. Patrick McGoohan. Sophie Marceau. 177 mins. Mel Gibson's long and bloody account of the life of Scottish warrior hero William Wallace boasts some remarkable battle scenes and great performances. Aiming to entertain on a wider scale than the more literate Rob Roy. Brai'elreart's Scottish passion is tempered by a few Hollywood moments — touches of sentimentality and 'dramatic' historical inaccuracy. Nevertheless. it's a litre. full- blooded attempt to tap into the spirit that fires Scotland's history and heroes. Stirling: MacRobert.
Breakdown (15) (Jonathan Mostow. 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 thejourney. then sit back and enjoy the ride. Paisley: Showcase. Broadway Damage (15) (Victor Mignatti. US. 1997) 110 mins. Complications of work. rest and bedroom play get all in a tangle in this gentle gay comedy. Marc and Robert are struggling actors with an eye on Broadway; laidback Marc always scores with the guys not knowing that his best friend Robert harbours deep love for him. Blowing away cynicism with a fresh breeze of old-style romance. Broadway Damage is as soft on the eye as pastel paintwork. Glasgow: GFT.
Calamity Jane (U) (David Butler. US. 1953) Doris Day. Howard Keel. Allyn McLerie. Gale Robbins. 101 mins. When the Deadwood stage comes on over the hill bringing the wrong Adelaide Adams to the town's music ha11.Ca1amity's in trouble again. and Wild Bill Hickok ain't too happy either. Bouncy musical with good songs. great laughs and an engagingly energetic performance front Day as the buckskinned tomboy. Glasgow: (ii-'1‘.
Chasing Amy(l8) (Kevin Smith. US. 1996) Ben Afflect. Joey Lauren Adams. Jason Lee. 11 1 mins. The third film by the writer/director of Clerks is a wry and surprisingly mature look at twentysornething relationships. Comic book artist Holden (Affieck) falls desperately in love with Alyssa (Adams). btrt she prefers gals to guys. Sexual desire and a crisis of masculinity come under the microscope in a film that's bloody funny in a risque way. Edinburgh: ()deon.
Citizen Kane (PG) (Orson Welles. US. 1941 ) Orson Welles. Joseph Cotten. Agnes Moorehead. 1 19 mins. Stunnineg successful biographical mosaic centring on a Hearst-like media tycoon. Welles‘ first film remains scintillating viewing for its sheer technical verve. ritu'rative confidence and spellbinding performances. The best film ever made'.’ Who's arguing”? Edinburgh: l‘ilmhouse.
City Of Angels ( 13) (Brad Siberling. US. 1998) Meg Ryan. Nicolas Cage. Dennis Franz. 117 mins. Cage plays an angel who falls in love with heart surgeon Ryan in this earnest but unintentionally leaden remake of Wim Wenders' sublime Wings Of Desire. Moments of high emotion are off-set by flashes of humour. but the Gothic magnificence of Wenders' film is replaced by a soft focus. filtered earnestness that pushes the story towards soapy melodrama. General release.
Clubbed To Death ( 18) (Yolande Zauberman. France. 1997) Elodie Bouchez. Beatrice Dalle. Roschdy Zem. 90 mins. Falling asleep on the last bus home. Lola
if“ {Jr
Match made in heaven: Meg Ryan in City Of Angels
finds herself stranded in an unknown part of Paris. where she meets an enigmatic. Arab guy and is sucked into the city's techno nightlife. With its hand-held camera and techno soundtrack. the stylish ('lulihetl 7}) Death is more of an atmospheric portrait than a narrative piece. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Dark City (15) (Alex Proyas. UK. 1998) Rufus Sewell. Kiefer Sutherland. William Hurt. 100 mins. Part noirish thriller. part paranoic sci-fi. Proyas' follow -up to The Crow boasts stunning effects. design and photography. Sewell plays art arnnesiac 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-fr incarnation. Glasgow: ()deon Quay. Irvine: Magnum. Deconstructing Harry (18) (Woody Allen. US. 1997) Woody Allen. Kirstie Alley. Billy Crystal. 94 mins. Author Harry Block has writer‘s block and his friends have all btit abandoned him due to his habit of recasting them as characters in his best-selling ‘fiction'. Allen plays with the received. perceived idea of ‘Woody Allen'. and Stardust Memories floats in the background. There are flaws in the film. btit there are also many. many prime Woody throwaway‘s. Edinburgh: Filiiihouse. Galashiels: Pavilion. Deep Impact (12) (Mimi Letter. US. 1998) Morgan l’reeman. Tea l.eoni. Robert Duvall. 121 mins. A massive corner is tearing towards Earth at extinction-level speed. President Morgan lireeman reveals that an underground shelter has been built to house a chosen few. and a national lottery will decide who gets tojoin the bigwigs dow ii below. Deep Impaet is a perfectly respectable disaster epic. rather like they used to make 'em. only flasher. As lotto fever rages. the film conveys disconsolatron more than desperation. General release. Dragonheart (PG) (Rob Cohen. US. 1996) Dennis Qtiaid. Sean Connery. David Thewlis. 103 mins. Disillusioncd btrt noble knight Bowen (()uaid) learns tip with the last of the dragons (voice and mannerisms by Connery) to free the land from a tyrant king ('lhewlis). Dungeons and dragons for all the family in a film that is only fun when the expertly animated. fire-breathing beast is on screen. Otherwise the storyline lumbers along. Glasgow: UCI Clydebank. East Kilbride: UCI.
Eve's Bayou ( 15) (Kasi 1.emmons. US. 1997) 106 mins. Actress Kasi l.emmons makes her debut as writer-director with this critically acclaimed sojourn through Tennessee Williams country from the viewpoint ofa ten-year-old girl Samuel 1.. Jackson stars as the head of a morally corrupt family. A special preview screening before the film opens in late August. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.