The List: 18 Feb 1999 (27/116)

Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate. credits. brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Miles Fielder.

American History X ( 18) (Tony Kaye. US. 1998) Edward Norton. Edward Furlong. l(X) mins. Preview screening of what may become one of the cinematic controversies of the year. an examination of the current state of racial tension in the US. Norton gives another mesmerising (Oscar-nominated) performance. here as a reformed white supremacist. out ofjail after doing time for the murder of two black rapists. and attempting to stop younger brother Furlong from following in his shaven-hcaded footsteps. Glasgow: GI’I‘.

Antz (PG) (I’iric Darnell/lint Johnson. US. I998) The voices of Woody Allen. Sharon Stone. Gene Hackman. 83 mins. When worker ant Z-4l95 (Allen) meets Princess Bala. he falls cotnpletely in love; btit. while trying to prove himself as a soldier. he uncovers a dastardly plan to flood the colony. Ant: is brightly coloured and full of gags. so adults will chuckle while kids are pulled in by the slick computer animation. General release.

Babe: Pig In The City (I’G) (George Miller. US. I998) James (.‘romwell. Magda Szubanski. 99 mins. Just as precocious as before. young Babe accidentally injures Farmer Hoggett and puts the farm in jeopardy . In desperation Mrs H and Babe set off to make a fee-paying appearance at a State Fair. But fate is not smiling upon the farmer's vs ife and her innocent pig. as their adventures in the big city begin. Edinburgh: Brunton 'lheatre. .\Iotherwell: h'loviehouse. General release.

The Battle Of Chile ( I5) (Patricio Guzman. Cuba/Chile. l977) 287 mins. Documentary covering the weeks leading tip to the overthrow of the Allende government by General Pinochet's armed forces in collusion with the CIA. The film was smuggled out of Chile into Cuba where Guzman and a group of Cuban filmmakers spent Iour years editing it. Informative. moving. remarkable. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.

Black Beauty (U) (Caroline 'Ihomson. US/UK. I994) Sean Bean. David Thewlis. Peter Cook. 82 mins. The most famous horse in children's literature returns in a faithful screen version by debut director 'I‘homs-on. who wrote The Secret (iurtlt'n. lit/inm/ Stissurltrtttrlv and Tllt' Nightmare [iv/ore C/trtvI/ttuv The pace sets off at a gallop. and should intrigue adults as well as younger viewers. Iidinburgh: Lumiere.

The Blackout ( l8) (Abel I-‘errara. US. 1997) \latthew Modine. Beatrice Dalle. Dennis Hopper. 99 mins. .‘vlodine plays a top Hollywood star vv hose addiction to drttgs and alcohol is way out 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. I-‘errara is back in the moral gutter. following the painful spiritual journey of a single character. Edinburgh: I-‘ilmhouse (I-‘ilm Guild).

Blithe Spirit (PG) (David Lean. UK. 1945) Res Harrison. Constance Cummings. Kay Hammond. Margaret Rutherford. 96 mins. A cynical novelist and his new wife are haunted by the mischievous ghost of his first wife. Noel Coward's stage play glides successfully onto the big screen using dated. but adequate. special effects and wonderfully British dialogue. Edinburgh: St Brides.

The Brothers McMullen ( l5) (Iidward Burns. US. I994) Iidward Burns. Jack Mulcahey. Michael McGlone. 97 mitts. Adultery. commitment. splitting tip. fidelity - the main topics of conversation for three Irish-American brothers who are each undergoing a period of adjustment in their personal lives. Iidward Burns' award- winning debut is a low-budget indie charmer. with a well-crafted screenplay and charismatic performances. Edinburgh: Cameo.

Buffalo 66 (15) (Vincent Gallo. US. I998) Vincent Gallo. Christina Ricci. Angelica Huston. IIO 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. ﬁnding absurdity in lower-class American life. but it becomes clear that Buffalo 66 is a deeply life-affirming film. Falkirk: FI'H.

A Bug's Life (U) (John Lasseter. US. I998) Voices of: Dave Foley. Kevin Spacey. David Hyde Pierce. Denis Leary. 95 mins. Made by Pixar Animation Studios (Tb-v Story). A Bug fv Life takes us to Ant Island. where the colony is being oppressed by a gang of menacing grasshoppers. When inventive but clumsy worker ant Hik incurs the wrath of gang leader Hopper. he heads off to find help heavyweight help in the battle against his oppressors. General release.

Dancing At LughnasatPG) (Pat O‘Connor. lreland/UK/US. I998) Meryl Streep. Michael Gambon. Catherine McCormack. 95 mins. The screen version of Brian Friel's successful and much loved play is strong in its sense of a community and a time — rural Donegal in I936 — but doesn‘t quite develop any character outside of the fivesisters at the centre of the story. Edinburgh: Cameo. Dominion.

Dennis (PG) (Nick Castle. US. I993) Mason Gamble. Walter Matthau. Joan Plowright. 98 mins. When Dennis‘ folks go off on business. the mischievous little brat is left in the hands of his elderly neighbours. A Home Alone scenario from the John Hughes stable. Glasgow: Grosvenor

Domenica d'Agosto Sunday In August (Luciano Emmer. Italy. I950) Anna Baldini. Franc lnterlenghi. Elvy Lissiak. 75 mins. Charming comedy drama with a fine eye for detail as a disparate group of city slickers head out of town for a day at the sea-side. Edinburgh: Italian Cultural Institute.

Don't Go Breaking My Heart (PG) (Willi Paterson. UK. I998) Jenny Seagrove. Charles Dance. Anthony Edwards. Suzanne (Seagrove) is a widow with two young children. surrounded by a group of loving friends who are — it seems - intent on fixing her up with a new man. In particular. randy dentist Frank (Dance) and his rival American sports therapist Tony (ER‘s Edwards). Effortlesst watchable while hardly pushing the envelope of screen romance. General release.

The Eel (l8) (Shohei lmamura. Japan. 1997). Koji Yakusho. Misa Shimizu. Il7 mins. Imamura‘s Palme D‘Or-winning film about two wounded people. 'I'akuro. a man who murdered his adulterous wife and Keiko. the woman he discovers after an attempted suicide. A study of integrity. its comedy rests in 'I'akuro's readjustment to society and its tragedy in the way elements in his present mirror more serious elements in his past. Simplicity is its strength. See review. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.

Elizabeth (l5) (Shekhar Kapur. UK. 1998) Cate Blanchett. Geoffrey Rush. Christopher Ecclestone. I20 mins. Not your typical frock flick. Shekhar Kapur's film may be ravishing to look at. but it's altogether darker and more disturbing than you'd expect. A political thriller from 'I'udor history. in which Blanchett‘s performance turns cherished notions about Iingland's Virgin Queen on their head. Glasgow: ()deon Quay. Edinburgh: Lumiere. ()deon. UCI. Kilmarnock: Odeon.

Enemy Of The State ( I 8) (Tony Scott. US. I998) Will Smith. Gene Hackman. 128 mins. A chance meeting with an old college friend plunges the unwitting Smith into a dangerous. convoluted conspiracy involving a rogue National Security Agency boss with an agenda of his own. When his life is electronically invaded and systematically dismantled his only hope is ex-CIA surveillance expert Hackman. A slick. entertaining stab at updating the 70s conspiracy thriller. Glasgow: Odeon Quay. Showcase. UCI Clydebank. Edinburgh: ABC Multiplex. Cameo. UCI. East Kilbride: UCI. Paisley: Showcase.

Continued over page

index FILM

RSNO

IHI lilASllllW

Illlllll IIIIIIIIIIII HAIl Saturday 20 February 7.30pm But IllIicB llI‘ll 2!” bill

The List: 18 Feb 1999 (Issue 353)