Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate. credits. brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Miles Fielder.
Altira (12) (Otomo Katsuhiro/Nakamura Takashi. Japan. 1989) 124 mins. Based on the multi-volume graphic novel by ()tomo. Akim is a mythical. futuristic tale of post- holocaust Tokyo. where pill-popping biker kids begin to unearth a government project designed to exploit the psychic and telekinetic powers of a group of laboratory- bound children. Superny animated. with a fantastic visual and narrative imagination. but you‘d be well advised to know something of the plot before you see it. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Amy Kronish Lecture Curator. archivist. critic and author (see her most recent book. World Cinema: Israel). Kronish's talk (part of Israel 50 season) examines the development of Israeli cinema over the past decade. Glasgow: GET.
Armageddon (12) (Michael Bay. US. 1988) Bruce Willis. Billy Bob Thornton. Steve Buscemi. 144 mins. Billed as "The Dirty Dozen in space‘. Michael Bay‘s sci-ii movie delivers what this year’s other event movies only promised: $125 million worth of relentless. retina-scorching. high- testosterone action. Bruce Willis leads a team of roughneck oil drillers who must save the world from an asteroid the size of Texas that's on collision course with Earth. We are not talking reality here: we are talking superior fomiula filmmaking. Edinburgh: ABC Multiplex.
Asterix and Cleopatra (U) (France. 1968) 73 mins. The diminutive Gaul and his powerful potion meet the lady with the asp and the ‘rather attractive‘ nose. His rotound chum Obelix pulls the nose off the Sphynx. sulks a bit and then the two build a new palace in record time. Glasgow: GF'T. Bertolt Brecht - Love, Revolution And Other Dangerous Things (15) (Jtitta Brtickner. Germany. 1998) 95 mins. Provocative exploration of the Bertolt Brecht myth. interrogating the contradictions in his life through historical footage. interviews and fictional scenes. Part of the German Film Festival. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Stirling: MacRobert.
Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (18) (Russ Meyer. US. 1970) Dolly Read. Cynthia Myers. Marcia McBroom. 109 mins. Self-proclaimed breast obsessive Meyer‘s first film with major studio backing. a ‘mamfest‘ worthy of his earlier homages to the female anatomy. The
tongue-in-cheek. cartoon-style adventure revolves around an all-girl rock bands rise to fame under the guidance of their transsexual manager. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. The Big Lebowski (18) (Joel Coen. US. 1997) Jeff Bridges. John Goodman. Steve Buscemi. 113 mins. The Coen brothers give their unique twist to a Chandler-esque LA noir. as 70s hippy throwback Jeff "I'he Dude' Lebowski (Bridges) 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: Grosvenor. Edinburgh: ()deon. Blood Simple (18) (Joel Coen. US. 1983) John Getz. Francis McDormand. M. Emmet Walsh. 99 mins. Auspicious debut from the Coen brothers' direction/production team. Walsh excels as the seedy Sheriff investigating a simple murder whose
devilish Texan chronicle of double-crossing is anything but simple. An enthusiastic attempt at contemporary film noir. which keeps everyone guessing even after the final frame. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Boogie Nights (18) (Paul Thomas Anderson. US. 1997) Mark Wahlberg. Burt Reynolds. Julianne Moore. 15?. mins. Doing for porn filmmaking what Com/fellas did for gangsters. Boogie Nights charts the rise. fall and redemption of a fictional porn superstar (Wahlberg) against the enormous changes wrought in the industry between the 70s and
80s. Large-scale social commentary and small-scale human dramas account for the film's epic feel. while the kitsch fashions and funky disco soundtrack create a film that is as ambitious as it is entertaining. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Le Bossu (15) (Philippe De Broca. France. 1997) Daniel Auteuil. Vincent Perez. Fabrice Luchini. 128 mitts. Originally written in the form of a 19th century serialist novel. [1' Bossu has an abundance of plot. with the action centering on the exposure of an aristocrat's dastardly bastard brother. and the restoration to wealth of an heiress. It's never easy to engage with characters who have less dimensionality than at Walt Disney cartoon — only an undemanding audience would let this go and be satisfied with the film overall. Falkirk: I’I'H. Stirling: MacRobert.
Buffalo 66 (15) (Vincent Gallo. US. 1998) Vincent Gallo. Christina Ricci. Angelica Huston. 110 mins. Life for Billy Brown is so awful that he reconstructs himself from lies upon his release from a five year prison spell. Kidnapping a young girl named Layla. Brown concocts a story for his parents. whom. it turns out. bear very little love for their son. Gallo has a black sense of humour and finds absurdity in the lives of the film‘s lower-class American characters. It becomes clear that Buffalo ()6 is a deeply life- affirming film. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Carrie (18) (Brian DePalma. US. 1976) Sissy Spacek. Piper Laurie. John 'I‘ravolta. 98 mins. DePalma's adaptation of Stephen King is still the high school angst movie to end 'cm all. Distressingly awkward teen Spacek‘s adolescent experience is so humiliating that she develops telekinetic powers. and the school bullies are to get their comeuppance when their protn night pranks fly right back in their faces. Asa filmmaker. De Palma does have an undeniable flair for the big moment like the elaborately staged final massacre. Iidinburgh: Cameo.
The Castle( 15) (Rob Sitch. Australia. 1997) Michael Caton. Anne 'I‘enney. Stephen Curry. 86 mins. In this rough-and-ready btit surprisingly engaging comedy. a naive Australian family take on the might of a faceless corporation when their suburban home is threatened by an airport development. 'Ihe filtn is dramatically awkward in places and runs out of steam before its admittedly brief running time is tip. btit the filmmakers‘ affection for their characters pulls it through. Glasgow: (irosvenor.
Character (Karakter) (15) (Mike \'an Diem. Holland. 1997) l’edja Van Huct. 12-1 mins. This Best Foreign Film Oscar winner is an unashamedly downbeat. joyless chronicle of misery on a Dickensian scale. set in 1930s Rotterdam. Robert Downey Jr lookalike Huct plays Katadreuffe. the illegitimate son of a bailiff who. it emerges is being held responsible for the bailiff's murder. and so his story unspools in
index FILM
Horror holiday: Ulrich Muhe in Funny Games
flashback. No masterpiece. then. but an intriguing example of a kind of mood and drama that few filmmakers would dare to tackle. Glasgow: GET. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Clerks (18) (Kevin Smith. US. 1993) Brian O'Halloran. JeffAnderson. Marilyn Ghigliotti. 90 mins. Just when you were sick of the very sight of the word 'slacker'. along comes Clerks and gives the whole commercialisation of the Gen X lifestyle a good hard kick up the backside. Kevin Smith's hilariously foul dialogue peps up the exchanges on life. sex and everyday living between bored convenience store check-out assistant Dante and equally bored video store manager Randal. Edinburgh: Cameo. Cousin Bette (15) (Des McAnuff. US. 1998) Jessica Lange. Elizabeth Shue. Kelly Macdonald. 108 mins. Cousin Bette brings a wicked whiff of spirit to the world of period drama. Based on a Balzac novel. it centres on a middle aged spinster whose status as poor relation is compounded when her more favoured cousin dies. The witty script picks away at the hypocracies of the aristocracy while the pacy direction drives tis towards its satisfying conclusion. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
Cube (15) Vincenzo Natali. Canada. 1998) 92 mins. Six people awake in a cubic chamber with a door in each wall. 'Ihey have no memory of how they got there. but quickly learn they are in a maze of similar cubes. many of which are booby-trapped with lethal devices. Should they attempt to escape? And how‘."1he execution of Cube is as ingenious as its concept. It‘s also a fine example of creativity on a modest budget. Glasgow: GFI'. ()deon Quay. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Dandy Dust Programme of non-mainstream film and video work and including Angela Harts Sheirl's recently completed feature. Dam/y Dust. Part of Glasgayl Glasgow: Gl-‘VW.
Dark Star (PG) (John Carpenter. US. 1974) Brian Narelle. Dre Pahich. Cal Kuniholm. Dan O'Bannon. 83 mins. Carpenter’s excellent. low-budget debut has four 22nd- century astronauts and their extra-terrestrial pet freaking out on an interminable journey through space. Witty and ironic. it satiriscs US society. popular culture and 200/: A Space Odyssey while providing solid entertainment. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Dark Victory (PG) (Edmund Goulding. US. 1939) Bette Davis. Humphrey Bogart. 105 mins. Davis has a high camp field day as the spoilt Long Island heiress who learns she has only has months to live. Part of Glasgayl Glasgow: GI’l'.
The Day Of The Beast ( 18) (Alex de la Iglesia. Spain. 1995) Alex Angulo. Armando dc Razza. Santiago Segur. 110 mins. A priest‘s research leads him to believe the anti-Christ will be born in Madrid on Christmas Day. so he immerses himself in evil. looks for clues in death metal songs and kidnaps a TV parapsychologist. The
director's follow-up to A(‘(’f(m Mutante is a devilishly funny horror comedy. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
The Daytrippers (15) (Greg Mottola. US. 1997) Hope Davis. Liev Schreiber. Parker Posey. 87 mins. Strained as a family unit. the Malones pull together when daughter Eliza suspects her husband is having an affair. So begins a chaotic and disputatious trawl through New York in a station wagon. Mottola‘s script is as painfully incisive as it is funny and compassionate. That it succeeds as a film is thanks to its talented cast. who revel in the psychological subtleties of their parts. Falkirk: FTH.
The Decline Of Western Civilization Part III (Penelope Spheeris. US. 1998) 86 mins. Punk never died: it just ran away from a dysfunctional home and went to live in LA. The third instalment in the Decline Of Western Civilisation series of docu-dramas. begun by director Penelope Spheeris in 1979. examines what makes these kids adhere to a sub-culture that is as much about friendship and support as it is safety pins and rejection of a society which has rejected them. See review. Glasgow: Gilmorehill. Delicatessen (15) (Jean~Pierre Jeunet/Marc Caro. France. 1991) Dominique Pinon. Marie-Laure Dougnac. Jean-Claude Dreyfus. 99 mins. In a sepia wasteland somewhere in the future. a butcher feeds his neighbours with thejuicy joints of his lodgers. But when former clown Louison (Pinon) arrives and falls for his daughter. an underground vegetarian resistance group come to the rescue. Hilarious blend of bizarre characters. slapstick and comic tension makes for the first true cult item of the 90s. Iidinburgh: Filmhouse.
The Devil's Advocate (18) (Taylor Hackford. US. 1997) Al Pacino. Keanu Reeves. Charlize Theron. 145 mins. Hot shot lawyer Kevin Lomax (Reeves) is recruited by a New York firm. btit comes to realise its founder. John Milton (Pacino). is head of something a lot more scary than the legal industry. This modern-day morality play allows Pacino to grandstand in a part that's plainly absurd. while Reeves is too wooden for his supposedly charismatic role. St Andrews: New Picture House.
Dil Se (PG) (Mani Ratnam. India. 1998) 175 mins. A journey through the seven shades of love. as classified by ancient Arabic literature. In Hindi without subtitles. Iidinburgh: Cameo. Divorcing Jack (15) (David Caffrey. UK. 1998) David 'Ihewlis. Robert Lindsay. Laura Fraser. 1 10 mins. The year is 1999 and the independent state of Northern Ireland is united around slick Prime Ministerial candidate Michael Brinn. The focus. however. is on journo Dan Starkey and his failing marriage. his boozing and his infidelity with an art student who gets murdered. The puzzle extends to all quarters of the new state and ends in treachery and explosions. Irvine: Magnum.
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22 Oct—5 Nov 1998 THE “ST 35