FILM index
FILM INDEX continued
Tensions surface before long and a disturbing family secret is revealed in Vinterberg's brilliant black. black comedy. The stripped down technique - band-held cameras. no unnatural light - creates an intense and claustrophobic atmosphere. Edinburgh: Filthtise.
Forces Of Nature ( 12) (Bronwen Hughes. US. I999) Ben Affleck. Sandra Bullock. loo mins. Ben is a nervous flyer seated next to eccentric Sarah on the flight that will take him home 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. Largs: Barrtields Cinema.
Frenzy (I8) (Alfred Hitchcock. UK. I972) Jon Finch. Barry Foster. Barbara Leigh-Hunt. I I6 mins. Late entry in Hitch's career and one of his crudest. nastiest tiltns (no bad thing). Finch is the miserable Londoner accused of a number of serial killings. Edinburgh: Cameo. Funny Games ( l8) (Michael Haneke. Germany. I996) Susanne I.othar. Ulriche Millie. Frank (iiering. I03 mins. A wealthy family are subjected to an increasingly horrific series of 'games‘ by two young men. beginning with humiliation and ending in torture and murder. The horror-thriller set tip seems familiar. bttt Funny Games is one the most innovative and shocking films to reach our screens this decade. Chilling. calculated. cerebral. brilliant. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. George Of The Jungle (L?) (Satn Weisman. US. I997) Brendan Fraser. Leslie Mann. Holland Taylor. 9| mins. Loincloth-clad hero Geroge (Fraser) saves San Fi'ansiscan socialite Ursula (Mann). bttt histrip to the urbanjttngle is shortlived when he hears of the kidnap of his hairy sidekick. Ape (voiced by John Cleese). The plot is the usual blend of humour. action. slapstick. adventure and. of course. romance. while the knowing and punchy script is easily tip with the best of modern Disney. Glasgow: (irosvenor.
Gods And Monsters ( I5) (Bill Condon. UK/US. I998) Ian McKeIlen. Brendan Fraser. Lynn Redgrave. I IS mins. Moving. lovingly crafted filrti following the last days of English- born filmmaker James Whale. director of the |93I Frintkt'ttslt'ni. In I957. while in retirement in Hollywood suffering frotn the side effeCts ofa stroke that causes him to re- live episodes from his past life Whale strikes tip a tentative. homoerotic friendship with his handsome gardener. East Kilbride: Arts Centre.
Happiness ( I8) (Todd Solondz. US. I998) Cynthia Stevenson. Lara Flynn Boyle. Philip Seymour Hoffman. I39 mins. 'l‘hree sisters. two small boys. one psychologist and a phone- harassmeut specialist. Ottt of these unlikely elements 'l'odd Soloiitlz ltas wrought pure cinematic gold. which veers from belly laughter one moment to stark pathos in another. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
High Art ( I8) (Lisa Cholodenko. US. I999) Ally Sheedy. Radha Mitchell. Patricia Clarkson. l02 mins. A refreshingly intelligent tale of doomed lesbian love. writer/director Cholodenko's debut feature chronicles the complex romance between ambitious picture editor Syd (Mitchell) and once famous photographer Lucy Berliner (Sheedy). The over-written script has a studied. airless feel. bttt the scenes of sexual tension and trembling desire between Syd and Lucy achieve a palpable erotic charge. Edinburgh: Cameo. Human Traffic ( I8) (Justin KCI’TIgaI‘I. UK/lreland. I999) n Kerrigan. 95 mins. One of that rare breed — a good movie about contemporary dance culture. Set in Cardiff. although it could be anywhere. the filth follows a gang of friends over a non-stop weekend of boozing. mobile phonecalls and drug-inspired clubbing. Iidtitburgh: Cameo. The Idiots (I8) (Lars von Trier. Denmark/ France/ltaIy/Netherlands/Germany/Sweden. I999) Bodil Jttrgensen. Jens Albinus. I I4 mins. In l.ars von 'I'rier's follow tip to Breaking The Waves. a bunclt of ‘idiots' run a little bit amok in their village. get thrown oitt of tea-rooms. make whoopee at the swimming baths and disrupt board meetings. Btit these misfits are as sane as you or I. with a simple aim to test society's attitudes to the disabled. Appreciation naturally conquers enjoyment bttt T/lt' Itliuiv is a challenge well wonh taking up. Edinburgh: I-ilmhouse. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
42 THE lIST 22 Jul-S Auq I999
The Imposters ( I5) (Stanley Tucci. L'S. I999) Stanley Tucci. Billy Connolly. Oliver Plait. I00 mins. Actor/director Stanley Tucci‘s follow-up to the mouthwaterineg marvellous Big Night is a farce set aboard a l930s ocean liner. centring on the comic hi-jinks of two unemployed actors. Tucci has assembled a wonderful cast. including Connolly. Plait. Isabelle Rosellini. Campbell Scott (Tttcci's creative partner on Big Night). Steve Buscemi and Lili Taylor. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (I8) (Danny Cannon. US. I998) Jennifer Love Hewitt. Freddie Prinze Jr. Brandy. IOI mins. Last summer's survivors win a holiday in the Bahamas. but soon discover that someone witlt a fish hook is gutting the hotel staff. Judge Dru/(l director Cannon stays depressineg close to the horror formula. Largs: Barrtields. It All Starts Today (a Commence Aujourd'ltui) ( l2) (Bertrand Tavernier. France. I999) Philippe TotTeton. ll8 mins. The story of a nursery school teacher trying to cope in a northern French towtt of high unemployment and despairing poverty is told here by Bertrand Tavernier with his usual eye for detail. There's a feeling. however. that Tavernier believes he‘s telling us something new. In fact. filmmakers have recently been tripping over themselves to tell us how pr0strate the region has become. Edinburgh: l-‘ilmhouse.
Jack Frost (PG) (Troy Miller. L's. I998) Michael Keaton. Kelly Preston. Mark Addy. l()2 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 in 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 .lui-k Flint has a simple. puerile charm that eight-year-olds will enjoy. Edinburgh: Odeon.
Jackie Brown ( I5) (Quentin 'l‘ar'antiito. [78. I997) Pam Grier. Samuel l.. Jackson. Robert De Niro. I54 mins. Tai'antino's blaxploitatron homage is proofthat the director jttst loves to hear his characters run their mouths off. However. the dialogue is pure pleasure iii this sprawling. funky. triple-crossing heist mos ie about a Federal Agent sting to trap a gun runner. A classic Hollywood thriller in the sense that it is about the enjoyment of the moment. rather simply finding out w hodunit. Edinburgh: Cameo.
The James Gang ( l5) (Mike Barker. L'K. I997) Helen McCrory. John Hannah. Jason Flemyng. 99 mins. Burnt out of her council flat by loan sharks. stoic Edinburgh mum Bernadette (McCrory) begins a crime spree. desperately trying to keep her family together. Despite the strong social themes inherent in the story. there's more than a sprinkling of humour too. and some fine acting. notably from McCrory. Not great. bttt not that bad either. Glasgow: (ll-T.
Iour De Fete (U) (Jacques Tati. I-‘rauce. I948) Jacques Tali. Guy Decomble. 87 mins. A rural French postie sees a film about the efficiency of the American mail service and decides to sntarten tip his act. Charming debtrt feature by Tati. effortlessly building visual set-pieces and establishing the amiable clutter of a central role that was later to become the unforgettable M. Hulot. Edinburgh: l-‘ilmhouse. Glasgow: (il-‘I'. The King And I (PG) (Walter Lang. L'S. I956) Deborah Kerr. Yul Britiner. Rita .‘vlorenol. I33 mins. Visually spectacular film version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical with Kerr's prim widow falling for Brtnner's autocratic monarch and teaching him a thing or two along the way. General release. Koyaanisqatsi (L1) (Godfrey Reggio. L‘S. I983). 87 mins. Philip Glass soundtrack arid Ron Fricke's cinematography are the twin pillars ofthe narrative voice in this first film of Reggio's ‘qatsi' trilogy. It opens with a single deep red word. some archaic cas e draw rugs and a mottrnfttl hunt. All of which represents our collective ‘Iil‘e ottt of balance'. a translation from the Hopi Indian word ‘koyaanisqatsi'. Perfect filmmaking in harmony with all its creative elements. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Kundun I IS) (MIII'IIII Sc‘titsCsc. L73. I997). I40 mins. SCorsese's biography of the fourteenth Dalai Latna is also a painstaking record of a culture close to extinction. The beauty of Tibet and gentle nature of the people is disrupted by invasion by China. btit the Dalai Lama remains true to the ideal of nort-
\ iolence. A highly cinematic. though lieav rly
Minor villain: Dr Evil's double. Mini-Me in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
wrought film. Kinit/nn also features a pulsating music score by Philip Glass. The first hour. while beautiful to watch. does seem to pass very slowly. btit. by the end. it has a curious calming energy all of its own. Edinburgh: Cameo. The Lady Vanisbes (PG) (Alfred Hitchcock. LTK. I938) Margaret Lockwood. Michael Redgrave. 97 mins. The lady in question vanishes from a transcontinental train speeding home to Britain. All the stiff upper lipped gents onboard get involved and have a generally fine time solving the mystery. Edinburgh: Cameo. Last Night ( I5) (Don McKeIlar. Canada. I999) ) Don McKellar. Sandra Oh. David Cronenberg. 94 mins. There are six hours left until the world ends. bttt there's no Bruce Willis blasting asteroids here: Lust Night is about real people experiencing real emotions. As their particular brand of anger. grief. wonder OI“ frustration works its way towards a resolution. each character fulfils his or her dream iii an against-the-cltx‘k scenario. Edinburgh: Catneo. The Last Unicorn (L?) (Rankin Ji‘lBass. L's. I982). 93 mins. Animated tale in which a young unicorn undertakes a quest to discover whether she is the last of her breed. Glasgow: (.il-‘l’. Life Is Beautiful (La Vita E Bella) (PG) (Roberto Benigni. Italy. I998) Roberto Benigrti. Nicoletta Braschr. llo mins. A comedy about the Holocaust'.’ Surely not. Well. that's what Italian writer-director-star Benigni has done in fashioning a poignant comic fable about the resilience of the human spirit and the power of the imagination. A humane and movtrtg film. Edinburgh: Cameo. Little Voice ( l5) (Mark Herman. UK. I998) Jane Horrocks. Brenda Blethyn. Michael Caine. 97 mins. Horrocks recreates her acclaimed performance in Jim Cartwright's I992 hit play as a repressed Northern girl who reveals a remarkable gift for impersonating great pop divas. Little Voice‘s astonishing talent is discos era] and exploited by her brassy. titan-hungry mother's latest lover. failed talent agent Ray Say. Horrocks is sensational as are Blethy n as the mother and Carrie as the sleazy agent. Edinburgh: Cameo. Motherwell: MovieHouse. Made In Hong Kong ( I5) (I-‘ruit Chan. Hong Kong. I999) Sam Lee. I08 trims. Chan's audacious debut is a brazen reton to the ‘everything's Iine' official line on the ex- colony's future: eschewing glitzy metropolitan ' locations in favour of claustrophobic out-of- town housing estates with their teenage suicides. organised crime rings and dysfunctional families. Glasgow: (iI-T. Madeleine (PG) (David Lean. UK. I949) Ann Todd. Leslie Banks. Elizabeth Sellat's. I I4
mins. Lean's wife Ann Todd stars as a woman who finds herself tip against the moral hypocrisy of Victorian Glasgow. Pressurised on all sides by the men around her. she finds herself in court accused of poisoning her French lover. A strong depiction of a heroine who refuses to become a victim. Ayr: Odeon. The Matrix ( IS) (The Wachowski Brothers. US. I999) ) Keanu Reeves. Carrie-Anne Moss. Lawrence Fishburne. I39 mins. In the futtue. reality is actually an illusion — the human race is enslaved by a computer virus which has taken over the world. Computer genius Neo (Reeves) is one of the few people who doesn‘t believe his eyes. so it's tip to him and a couple more cyber comrnandoes to save the world. General release.
Maya StonefacelThe Cinema Ticltet (PG) (Lars Berg. Norway. I995/96). 85/l5 mins. Mitt-u Sltmtffilt't' is a fresh and fttnny family film about a IO-year-old on the warpath. The Cillt’llltl 'Iii'kt't is the tale of a boy's struggle to pay for his first cinema experience. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Mighty Joe (PG) (Ron Underwood. L’S. I998) Charlize Theron. Bill Paxton. I I4 mins. Whichever way you cut it. Mighty Joe is just another big monkey movie. Despite infinitely more sophisticated effects than its I949 predecessor. this version is far less involving or entertaining — it's so predictable you would think the monkey wrote it. Ayr: Odeon. Edinburgh: Odeon. Kilmarnock: Odeon. Largs: Barrtields. Motherwell: MovieHouse. Mouseltunt (U) (Gore Verbinski. US. I997) Nathan Lane. Lee Evans. Christopher Walken. 98 mins. Lane and Evans play hapless brothers who inherit a decrepit mansion. bttt when they decide to renovate and auction it. a resident rodent is not willing to be evicted. An excellent blend of Laurel and Hardy slapstick and black humour. Manse/Inn! is sheer entertainment and has some real belly laughs. The tone and the pacing are spot-on throughout. and the sets and special effects are the icing on the cake. Stirling: Carlton.
Mulan (U) (Barry Cook. Tony Bancroft. I998) Voices of: Ming-Na Wen. Donny Osmond. Eddie Murphy. 89 mins. After Disney's tastily designed venture itito Greek mythology with lien-tiles. the studio has brought its lens to bear on the rich and colourful possibilities of Chinese legend. The most striking aspect of this romantic epic is tts magnificent animation. Details of character. movement and expression are as fine as should be expected from the world's best known cartoon studio. bitt the stunning large-scale set pieces are truly astonishing. while the design team stirs in an authentic flavottr ofChina. General release. The Mummy ( I2) (Stephen Sommers. US. I999 ) Brendan Fraser. Rachel Weisz. John Hannah. I IS mins. The secret of the film's