“ FILM index
FILM INDEX continued
Europa (15) (Lars von Trier. Den/Fra/Ger/Swe. I991) Jean.Marc Barr. Barbara Sukowa. IO7 ntins. A young American visits post-war Germany and falls in love with an enigmatic woman . . . but forget all that. because Eiimpa exists purely for the sake of its visuals. The images are indeed stunning but this is simply an exercise in cinematic showmanship. pretentious and unfulfilling. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
Ever After (PG) (Andy Tennant. US. 1998) Drew Barrymore. Dougray Scott. Angelica Huston) 120 mins. Why filnt a story synonymous with Walt Disney animation? Because this purports to be the definitive one. The filmmakers invest the tale with PC values. m0st obviously in a heroine who shows ‘girl power' independence and intellect. Stirling: MacRobert.
Evita (12) (Alan Parker. US. 1996) Madonna. Antonio Banderas. Jonathan Pryce. 135 mins. Parker‘s genuine epic. based on the Tim Rice/Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. boasts huge crowd scenes (up to 40.000 extras. according to sources) and stars on top form. The film belongs very much to Madonna in a gift of a role. which follows the rags-to-riches life of Eva Peron from poverty to her place in the hearts of a nation. Kilmarnock: Odeon.
Fairytale: A True Story (U) (Charles Sturridge. UK. 1997) Florence Hoath. Elizabeth Earl. Paul McGann. 98 mins. In telling the story of two Edwardian girls who cause a sensation when they capture a photographic image of fairies. Fairytale manages to be more coherent and less downbeat than the similar Photographing Fairies. Edinburgh: ABC.
Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (18) (Terry Gilliam. US. 1998) Johnny Depp. 118 mins. As adaptations of cult books go. Gilliam's take on Hunter S. Thompson's assassination of the American Dream is a glorious mess of a movie. It remains true to the author‘s vision of moral torpor and psychosis. whilst injecting a good shot of Gilliam‘s own obsessions. Flawed. certainly. but epically degenerate. And thus pure gonzo. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
Fire (15) (Deepa Mehta. Canada. 1996) Shabana Azmi. I04 mins. Sensitive examination of the break up of a New Dehli family as seen from the perspective of devoted wife Radha. When Radha‘s brother- in-law brings his feisty. new wife into her home. the ties that bind begin to unwind. Falkirk: FTH.
The First Of The Few (U) (Leslie Howard. UK. 1942) Leslie Howard. David Niven.
I 17 mins. Wartime propaganda movie scripted by Terence Rattigan in which clean- cut star of yesteryear Howard (who also directs) plays R.J. Mitchell. inventor of the Spitfire — that wee plane that won the battle of Britain. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
From Dusk Till Dawn (l8) (Robert Rodriguez. US. 1996) George Clooney. Harvey Keitel. Quentin Tarantino. 108 mins. For its first third. this Tarantino-scripted movie is a suspenseful kidnap thriller as two killers on the run (Clooney and Tarantino) hole up with three hostages in a Mexican strip club. Then the tone changes into an sfx-heavy vampire western as the clientele spring fangs. Repetition abounds in a messy. tedious affair that‘s neither scary nor funny. Stirling: Allanpark.
The Funeral (18) (Abel Ferrara. US. 1995) Christopher Walken. Chris Penn. Annabella Sciorm. 99 ntins. The troubled past of a gangster family merges with a current revenge plan in Ferraia‘s period movie. While Walken gives an airily haunted performance and Penn is riven by inner demons barely under control. but it's their wives (Sciorra and Isabella Rossellini). all long-suffering looks and pragmatic pessimism. who tell the real story. Falkirk: FTH.
Glengarry Glen Ross ( 15) (James Foley. US. 1992) Al Pacino. Jack Lemmon. Ed Harris. Alan Arkin. 100 mins. The combination of Foley's camera and Mamet's dialogue makes for verbal choreography in this hard-hitting. word-heavy account of the bonding and back-stabbing in a US real estate office. The cast are magnificent. Pacino and Lemmon outstanding.
28 I’ll! UST 18 Feb-4 Mar 1999
Underrated director Foley does wonders to break out of the stageplay format. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Go West and The Goat (U) (Buster Keaton/Malcolm St Clair. US. 1925/21) 70/20 mins. Double bill of slapstick comedy in which Buster takes a trip to the Wild West and is involved in a case of mistaken identity. which leads to one of the great. frenzied chases. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
La Grande Illusion (PG) (Jean Renoir. France. 1937) Jean Gabin. Pierre Fresney. Erich von Stroheim. Marcel Dalio. I 17 mins. Renoir‘s classic prison cantp escape story is more than the strong anti-war statement that won it praise at the time of its release; it is also an ironic social analysis highlighting class differentiation. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Heavy Rotation (Various. UK. 1998) I27 mins. Promos and short films mixing music from the club scene (Coldcut/Hexstatic. Protean Vision Quest. 082) with computer generated imagery. Edinburgh: Filnthouse. Hello Frisco Hello (PG) (Bruce Humberstone. US. 1943) Alice Faye. John Payne. Laird Cregar. 98 mins. Liver period musical set on the Barbary Coast revolving around a girl singer's rise to stardom. Edinburgh: St Bride‘s Centre.
Hideous Kinky (15) (Gillies Mackinnon. UK. 1998) Kate Winslet. Said Taghmaoui. Bella Riza. Carrie Mullan. 99 mins. Winslet‘s young Englishwoman takes her two daughters to Morocco in 1972. where she leads a carefree life until the girls demand sonte stability in their lives. Adapted from Esther Freud‘s semi- autobiographical novel. director Mackinnon vividly captures the spirit of time and place in a work that leaves a deep. lasting impression. Glasgow: GFI". Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Hilary And Jackie ( IS) (Anattd Tucker. UK. 1998) Emily Watson. Rachel Griffiths. David Morrissey. 122 ntins. 'lhis biopic of Jacqueline du Pré. who died front multiple sclerosis in 1987. has incensed the classical music world. However. based on the book A Genius In The Famin by the cellist's sister Hilary and brother Piers. it tells a complex. honest and moving story. In its exploration of the tangled skeins of sibling rivalry and love. Hilary Aiit/ Jackie is superb. Glasgow: GFI‘. Odeon Quay. Showcase. UCI Clydebank. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. ()deon. UCI. East Kilbride: UCI. Paisley: Showcase. Holy Man (PG) (Stephen Herek. US. 1998) Eddie Murphy. Jeff Goldbum. Kelly Preston. 114 mins. Asa vehicle for comedians. cinema is responsible for producing some of grossest offences to good humour. In Hon Matt. Murphy plays G. a guru who shakes up the. er . . . shopping television world. Religion and commerce might be prime material for biting satire. btit Murphy‘s follow-up to Dr Dolittlc doesn‘t bite. See review. General release.
The Horse Whisperer ( I 2) (Robert Redford. US. 1998) Robert Redford. Kristin Scott Thomas. Sam Neill. 168 mins. As with Redford‘s previous directorial efforts this is a fine looking and intelligent film. pitting the yuppie values of east coast magazine editor Scott Thomas against the virtuous all- American qualities of Midwesterner Redford. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
How Stella Got Her Groove Back ( I 5) (Kevin Rodney Sullivan. US. 1998) Angela Bassett. Whoopi Goldberg. 125 ntins. Grabbing a chance for a couple of weeks away from the strain of career attd single parenthood. Stella jets off to Jamaica with her life-long mate Delilah. 'lhere slte meets meets Winston Shakespeare and they fall iii love. All hunky dory so far. except he is half her age and so both families are bound to object. All you get here is an elongated I.ilt advert. Kilmarnock: ABC.
Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rahte Hain (Satish Kaushik. India. 1998) Attil Kapoor. Anupam Kher. Vijay returns to India front the US to join the family business. His father. Vishwanath has high h0pes for him. including marriage. but the Western attitudes Vijay has brought with him cause a family rift. In Hindi without subtitles. Edinburgh: Cameo.
In A Lonely Place (PG) (Nicholas Ray. US. 1950) Humphrey Bogart. Gloria Grahame. Martha Stewart. 91 tttins. Bogart is on peak form as the self-destructive Hollywood hack suspected of nturder in this (art and cynical mystery. Grahame is an appropriate foil as the woman in the opposite bungalow who offers a shoulder to cry on. Glasgow: GI’T. Insomnia (15) (Erik Skjoldbjaerg. Norway. 1997) Stellan Skarsgard. Sverre Anker Ousdal. Bjorn Floberg. 97 mitts. After a police detective commits manslaughter while attempting to catch a murderer he conceals his crime. but his troubled conscience keeps him awake at night. One of the ntost original thrillers itt years. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
In The Company Of Men (18) (Neil LaBute. US. 1996) Aaron Iickhart. Matt Molloy. Stacy Edwards. 97 mins. ’Ihc misanthropy of American commerce is right tip there on screen. fifty feet high. as Chad and Howard plan to date the same vulnerable woman and dump her w itltout warning. It's corporate Aitterica's strongest- will-survive ethos which is the real target iii this powerful independent that's full of sucker punches. Edinburgh: Cameo.
lThink I Do (15) (Briatt Sloan. US. 1998) Alexis Arquette. Guillermo Diaz. 87 ntins. A group of George Washington University graduates are re-united at a social gathering (iii this case a wedding) attd unresolved issues are settled by the score. Although matters are settled a tad too tidily. as an 'alternative lifestyle' take on featherweight romantic comedy. it succeeds well enough. Glasgow; ()deon Quay.
Happy families: Giorgio Cantarini. Roberto Benigni and Nicoletta Braschi in Life Is Beautiful
Jack Frost (PG) ('I‘roy Miller. US. 1998) Michael Keaton. Kelly Preston. Mark Addy. I02 mins. Neglegent husband and father Jack Frost chooses to go on a road trip with his band rather than a holiday with his family and is killed lit a car accident. However. he gets a chance to begin afresh when he is reincarnated as. erm . . . a snowman. Despite cloying sentiment and obvious humour Jack Frost ltas a simple. puerile charm that eight-year-olds will enjoy. General release.
Jailhouse Rock (PG) (Richard 'Ihorpe. US. 1957) Iilvis Presley. Judy Tyler. Vaughn 'l'aylor. 96 mins. ()ur lilv spends some time iii the local penitentiary. where he learns to mime to a backing track. wave a guitar around attd swivel his [ire-cheeseburger hips. ()it his release it's itot lottg before he's The King Of Rock 'n' Roll. Art it ain't. btit there's a great Iciber and Stoller score in this early not-too-bad Presley screen outing. Glasgow: GI’I’.
Jungle lack — The Star (U) (Flemming Quist Moller. Stefan Fjeldmark. Jorgen I.erdam. I996). 72 mins. Animated adventure from the Northern Europe in which the feline Jack becomes the reluctant star of a film. Beauty Attd 'I'he Cutie. playing the lead opposite bombshell starlet. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
Le Iour Se Leve (PG) (Marcel Carlie. France. 1939) Jean Gabin.Ar1etty. Jules Berry. Jacqueline Laurent. 87 ntins. Standout performance by Gabin as a doomed factory worker. holed tip with a gun in an attic. surrounded by police. remembering iii flashback the circumstances ofjealousy attd murder that brought him there. One of the ntost memorable examples of French poetic realism. I-‘alkirk: I’7I‘H.
Key Largo (PG) (John Huston. US. l948) Humphrey Bogart. Lauren Bacall. Edward G Robinson. 101 ntins. Iidward G‘s gangster boss attd his boys ltolc tip lit a hotel in the Florida keys. Bogart‘s army officer is already tltere. along with the ltotel owner's daughter. Bacall. As a storm breaks out the tension rises iii Huston's taut drama. Glasgow: (ii-'1‘. [{diiiburgh: Filmhouse.
LA. Confidential ( l8) ((‘urtis Hanson. US. I997) Kevin Spacey. Guy Pearce. Russell ('rowe. Kim Basingcr. I35 ntins. Adapted front James Iillroy‘s neo-noir itovel. the best American film of 1997 evokes a glitzy post~ World War II I.o.s Angeles underpinned by an all-pervasive. festering corruption. Ait intricate. drop-dead brilliant plot links bent cops. good cops. Hollywood star lookalike prostitutes and the mob. Personal appearance at the (ii-'1' by soundtrack composer Jerry Goldsittitlt (with extracts front LA. Confidential) on Fri 19 Feb. Glasgow: (ii-'1‘. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
The Last Viking (12) (Jesper W. Nielsen. 1997) 88 mins. In this Viking saga with a message a warrior chief sets off on a quest