Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate. credits. brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Alan Morrison.
Affliction ( l5) (Paul Schrader. US. I999) Nick Nolte. James Cobiirii. Sissy Spacek. 84 mins. There's no arguing the dedication that underpins Nick Nolte‘s performance as small-town New Hampshire lawman Wade Whitehouse in Schrader's otherwise inaccessible film. Patronised by his employer. divorced by his wife. hated by his daughter and living in the shadow of childhood beatings by alcoholic father. Wade is forced to grin and bear it. Glasgow: GFT. Falkirk: FTH.
American History X ( (8) (Tony Kaye. US. I998) Edward Norton. Edward Furlong. I I7 mins. A fierce. uncomproniisiiig study of racism amongst white working-class youths. American History X is as provocative as it is visually arresting. The film pulls no punches in its depiction of racist violence. but explores more fully the origins of bigoted attitudes that inform it. Glasgow: GI-‘l‘. Odeon City Centre. Edinburgh: ()deon.
An Ideal Husband (PG) (()liver Parker. UK. I999) Rupert Everett. Cate Blanchett. Julianne Moore. l()0 mins. When scheming Mrs Clieveley blackmails brilliant politician Sir Robert Chiltern behind his loving wife's back. Ioafing Lord Goring comes to his friends assistance in this fine adaptation Oscar Wilde's play. The cracking cast do justice to the archetypal Wildean witticisms. Glasgow; GFI‘. ()deon Quay. Edinburgh: Dominion. Galashiels: Pavilion.
Antz (PG) (Eric Darnell/lint Johnson. US. I998) The voices of Woody Allen. Sharon Stone. Gene Hackman. 83 mins. When worker ant Z-4l95 meets Princess Bala. he falls completely in love: but. while trying to mow himself as a soldier. he uncovers a dastardly plan to flood the colony. Brightly Coloured and full of gags vv itli slick computer animation. Edinburgh: Odeon. Ayi': Odeon.
Apocalypse Now! ( I8) (Francis Coppola. US. I980) Martin Sheen. Marlon Brando. Robert Duvall. Dennis Hopper. I53 mins. Vietnam as The Ultimate Trip. We follow US Army assassin Sheen down river and deeper into the Heart of Darkness ruled over by Brando's mad Colonel Kui'tz. Alternater pretentious and visually overpowering. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
Apt Pupil ( I5) (Bryan Singer. US. I999) Ian McKeIlen. Brad Renfro. Dav id Schwinimer. Ill inins 'l'his finely acted adaptation of a Stephen King novella tells the story ofTodd (Renfroi. an academically gifted 10-year-old. who is researching the Holocaust when he finds a photo of a Nazi that resembles Kurt Diissander (McKeIIeii). an old man living nearby. (ilasgovv, ()deon Quay. Showcase.
Arlington Road ( I5) (Mark l’ellington. US. I998) Jeff Bridges. Tim Robbins. Joan Ctisack. ll7 mins Single parent. widower and university lecturer in American terrorism Bridges becomes suspicious of neighbours Robbins and Cusack when he discovers a worrying. hidden past in this paranoia thriller. Glasgow: (ii'osvenor.
The Band Wagon (ll) (Vincente Minnelli. L'S. I953) Fred .-\\l.tll'c‘. ('yd Charisse. Jack Buchanan III iiiins 'I'Iie Sniein'ln The Rain writing team gives The Hand Iii/gun‘s somewhat o\ci'tised plot .i new lease of life. Astaire sings and dances his way through the role of a washed tip iiiov ie star vv ho falls it) love with Charissc's ballerina while attempting to make his comeback. Glasgow: (:i-‘ii ‘ Barney's Great Adventure (Ui 72 mins. A kids T\' phenomenon. Barney the purple dinosaur's big screen debut finds him down on a farm with a trio of kids in search of a magic egg Perfect for tinder-lives Avr: ()tletilt. 1 Beloved ( l 5) (Jonathan Demine. LES. I998) Oprah Winfrey. Danny Glover. 'l‘handie Newton. Kimberly lilisc I73 iiiins I-evv Itovcls convey the emotional and psychological consequences oI slavery as vividly as Tom fvrloi'i‘ison‘s Pulitzer Prize
winner. Beloved. Unfortunately Demme's rather conventional film doesn‘t have the same power as the book. Glasgow: Grosvenor. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
Best Laid Plans (l5) (Mike Barker. US. I999) Alessandro Nivola. Reese Witherspoon. Josh Brolin. 93 mins. It's impossible to reveal much of the plot of this super-stylish. well-crafted thriller without ruining it — so let'sjust say it invoives The reunion of two old college pals and an accusation of rape. There‘s much to recommend: a palpable atmosphere of brooding menace and dark desire. a plot full of U-turns and an enormously impressive cast. General release.
Black Cat. White Cat (I5) (Emir Kusturica. Germany/France/Yugoslavia/Austria/Greece . I998) Florijan Ajdini. Branka Katic. Bajram Sevredzan. I29 mins. Crazy film from the Yugoslavian director of Antoni: Dream and Underground. set within a community of gypsy people and telling a tale of dodgy deals. family ties. young love and magical occurrences. A sensory overload delight. Glasgow: (iI-T Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Blue Eyed (l5) (Bertram Verhaog. Germany/USA. I996) Gotz George. 88 mins. The first screening in Glasgow of a remarkable. award-winning documentary. Ever since the death of Martin Luther King. Jane Elliott has organised workshops in which she splits participants into two groups. Those with brown eyes are given privileges. those with blue eyes feel discriminated against. Extremely thought- provoking. Glasgow: GI‘T.
A Bug's Life (U) (John Lasseter. US. I998) Voices of Dave Foley. Kevin Spacey. David Hyde Pierce. 95 mins. The colony of Ant Island is being oppressed by a gaiig of menacing grasshoppers. Wheii inventive btit clumsy worker ant I-‘Iik incurs the wrath of gang leader Hopper. he heads off to find help heavyweight help in the battle against his oppressors. Edinburgh: Dominion. UCI. East Kilbride: UCI.
Bulworth (18) (Warren Beatty. US. I998) Warren Beatty. Halle Berry. Oliver Platt. I08 mins. In the final stages of a political campaign. disillusioned Democratic senator J. Billington Bulworth finds himself unable to mouth the bland platitudes needed to get himself i‘e-elected. So he buys S l0 million worth of life insurance. hires an assassin to bump him off. and speaks his own mind for (he first time in years. Edinburgh: Cameo. Lumiere.
Burnt By Frost ( I 5) (Kiiut Erik Jensen. Norway. I997) IOO mins. A man named Simon is haunted by the scars of his childhood and victimised by his neighbours in a remote atid close-knit community in noitherii Noiway . Following the outbreak of World War II. the Russians and Americans arrive and Simon's troubles intensify with the Normway's shifting political allegiances. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Central Station ( l5) (Walter Salles. Brazil. I998) Vinicius de Oliveira. Fernanda Montenegro. I I0 mins. Salles's international hit is the story of a young Rio de Janeiro street urchin and a former schoolteacher who go on the run together in a film explores that Latin American mainstay. the search for a missing loved one. Edinburgh: Cameo. Filmhouse. Falkirk: l-TH. Stirling: MacRobert.
Citizen Kane (U) (Orson Welles. US. l94l I Orson Welles. Joseph Cotton. Dorothy (‘omingore I I9 mins. (it/:en Kane remains one of the towering and groundbreaking artistic achievements of the century 'l'old mainly in flashback. we see the life story of Charles l-‘oster Kane (loosely based on William Randolph Hearst. the iiiegalomaiiiacal newspaper magnate) through several viewpoints. It's all kicked off with one word. ininiortalised in celluloid; 'Rosebtid‘, See preview. (ilasgovv: (ii-T Edinburgh; Filmhouse.
A Civil Action ( l 5) (Steven '/.aillian. US. I999) John 'I‘i'avolta. Robert Duvall. William H. Macy. I I5 lllllls 'I‘i'avolta‘s slick. ambulance-chasing lawyer grows a heart when he adopts a hopeless case. btit in so doing comes a cropper. An intelligent and candid examination of the corruption inherent III the US legal system, (ilasgovv. ()deon Quay.
The Corruptor ( l 8) (James Foley. US. I998) Chow Yun-Fat. Mark Wahlberg. Ric Young. IIO mins. Intended as a dramatic vehicle for Hong Kong hero Chow Ytin-Fat and as an opportunity for Glengarry Glen Ross director James Foley to try the action genre. this action-drama about corrupt cops in New York‘s Chinatown is somewhat stilted. General release.
Cousin Bette ( I 5) (Des McAnuff. US. 1998) Jessica Lange. Elisabeth Shue. Kelly Macdonald. l08 mins. Based on a Balzac novel. the story centres on middle-aged spinster Bette. whose status as poor relation is compounded when her more favoured cousin dies. The witty script picks away at the hypocrisies of the aristocracy. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
The Craft (l5) (Andrew Fleming. US. I996) Robin Tunney. Fairuza Balk. Neve Campbell. RachelTrue. l0l mins. A newcomer to an LA school falls in with a trio of misfits who turn out to be a teenage witches coven. Revenge on their tormentors begins to backfire however. as queen goth Balk goes out of control. Scarier than a lot of teen horror. but only for an adolescent audience. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Dark Crystal (PG) (Jim Henson. Frank Oz. UK. I982) 94 mins. The Muppet men branch out with this unoriginal children‘s fantasy surrounding the quest fora missing shard from the all-powerful dark crystal which must be retrieved to prevent evil consuming the known world. Edinburgh: ABC Film Centre.
Deconstructing Harry ( I8) (Woody Allen. US. I997) Woody Allen. Kirstie Alley. Billy Crystal. 94 mins. Author Hairy Block has writer‘s block. and his friends have all but 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 Stan/mi .I/eniories floats in the background. Glasgow: GITI‘.
Deep End Of The Ocean ( IS) (Ulu Grosbard. US. I999) Michelle Pfeiffer. Treat Williams. Whoopi Goldberg. l05 mins. Pfeiffer puts her experience of motherhood to good use in this moist-but-not-sopping missing child drama. It begins in Maddison. Wisconsin in I988. where Beth Cappadora. the adoring mother and wife. crumbles when her three-year-old Ben. is abducted. Nine years later. a young boy knocks on the door and Beth is convinced it is Ben. See review. Glasgow. ()deon Quay. A BC Film Centre. Edinburgh: ()deon.
Divorcing Jack ( l5) (David Caffrey. UK. I998) David 'lliewlis. Robert Lindsay. Laura Fraser. I It) niiiis. I999 in the independent state of Northern Ireland: The focus is on
journo Dan Starkey and his failing marriage.
his boo/.ing and his infidelity with an art student called Margaret. Margaret gets murdered and Starkey finds himself wanted by the IRA. the UVF and the RUC. Stirling: MacRobert.
8mm ( I 8) (Joel Schumacher. US. I999) Nicolas Cage. Joaquin Phoenix. James Gandolfini. |23 lllllls, Family man and private investigator Toni Welles is asked by a rich widow to track down the source of a reel of film. apparently depicting the vicious murder of a teenage girl. l:()l' a mainstream :..ovie. this is fairly explicit while the treatment of the subiect matter is laudably adult. Glasgow: Showcase. Edinburgh: UCI. liast Kilbride; UCI. Paisley: Showcase. Eternity And A Day (PG) ('l‘lieo .-\ngelopoulos. Greece. I999) Bruno Ganz. Isabelle Renauld. l33 mins. With a cinematic vocabulary of scrutinisingly slow and elegant tracks. the Greek director doesn‘t so much unravel a story as intuitively btiild towards one. (ianz wanders around 'I'hessaloiiiki with several things on his mind. using his late wife's letters to evoke memories of the past. Glasgow: GFI‘. lidinbui'gh: l:lItIIIlt)tl\L'.
Ever After (PG) (Andy ‘l'ennant. US. I998) Drew Barrymore. Dougray Scott. Angelica Htiston) 130 mins. Why film a story
sy nonymous with Walt Disney aniiiiation'.’ Because this purports to be the definitive one. The filmmakers Ill\ est the tale with PC values. most obv ioiisly in a heroine who shows ‘girl power" independence and intellect (ilttsgtivv. (il‘vl-
Everyone Says I Love You ( I 2) (Woody
l Allen. US. I996) Allen. Alan Alda. Drew
index FILM
Barrymore. Edward Norton. I00 mins. Allen takes a stab at the musical genre with this tale of an large. eccentric New York famin making wedding preparations. The cast of untrained singers are successful in varying degrees. Glasgow: GFT.
eXistenZ (I5) (David Cronenberg. Canada/U K. I999) Jennifer Jason Leigh. Jude Law. Willem Dafoe. 92 mins. Ari intriguing movie game about two fugitives on the run from reality. eXistenZ posits a future-now where groups of people participate in virtual reality games by literally plugging consoles that resemble foetuses into their bodies. Bizarre. magnetic and playfully grotesque. Glasgow: Odeon Quay. Edinburgh: Cameo. Odeon. UCI.
The Faculty ( 15) (Robert Rodriguez. US. I998) Elijah Wood. Clea Duvall. Salma Hayek. 104 mins. The Faculty fits neatly into the niche we‘ve come to expect from Kevin ‘Screuni‘ Williamson's pen: lots of great-looking young actors. a rock soundtrack and plenty of nods to past movies (here sci-ti) for those in the know. Glasgow: Showcase. Edinburgh: Cameo. UCI. Irvine: Magnum. Paisley: Showcase. Fear Of Fear (Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Germany. I975) 88 mins. Acute psychological study about a young pregnant woman who develops an unexplainable fear. Her comfortable family life is no release and when she gives birth to her son things spiral out of control. Glasgow: GFT.
Fist Of the North Star (18) (Toyoo Ashida. Japan) 1 IO mins. In the aftermath of a nuclear war. biker gangs roams the ravaged land. Only Ken. master of the North Star martial art. can rebuild society. save the world. etc. The material has already been covered in the seminal Mad Max films. Here the rather ropey animation is no substitute for live action Mel and co. One for the Anime fans. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Forces Of Nature (I2) (Bronwen Hughes. US. I999) Ben Affleck. Sandra Bullock. l06 mins. Ben is a nervous flyer seated next to eccentric Sarah on the flight that will take him borne to his wedding. When the plane crashes before take off he gets Sarah as his unwelcome sidekick on a cross country road trip. A teeny (in both senses) romance. General release.
Forrest Gump (l2) (Robert Zemeckis. US. I994) Tom Hanks. Robin Wright. Gary Sinise. I42 mins. Even those with the lowest le can rise to the top in the land of the free. as this picaresque tale sets out to prove. But despite its incurably sweet hero and its fairly standard love story core. Forrest Gump has a surprisingly dark-tinted view on recent American history. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Four Little Girls ( I 2) (Spike Lee. US.
I998) l()2 mins. Lee first foray into documentary filmmaking is a no-holds- barred study of the civil rights movement of the 60s which focuses on the bombing of an Alabama Baptist Church in which four children were killed. Part of the American Independence Tour. Glasgow: GFT.
Gadjo Dilo ( l 5) (Tony Gatlif. France. I998) Romain Duris. Izidor Serban. Rona Hartner. l00 mins. Translating as ‘crazy foreigner'. Gad/o Dilo is the term used by a community of gypsies to describe Stephane. a young Parisian on a personal mission to Romania in search of a gypsy singer. The simple story of a man's enriching experience of a new and unusual culture. Glasgow: GFT.
Get Real ( I5) (Simon Shore. UK. I999) Ben Silvei'stone. Charlotte Brittain. I I0 mins. Sixteen-year-old Steven who
juggles the twin pressures of' home and
school life in Basingstoke. while coming to terms with his homosexuality. Comparisons with l995‘s feelgood comedy Beautiful Thing are inevitable. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Gods And Monsters ( I5) (Bill Condon. UK/US. I999) Ian McKeIlen. Brendan Fraser. Lynn Redgrave. I IS mins. Moving. lovingly crafted film following the last days of English-born filmmaker James Whale. director ofthe I931 Frankenstein. In I957. while in retirement iii Hollywood Whale strikes up a tentative. homoerotic friendship with his handsome gardener. Edinburgh: Lumiere. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith. Falkirk: FI'H.
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27 May—l0 Jun 1999 THE U8T27