FILM listings FILM LISTINGS continued
Eyes Wide Shut (18) (Stanley Kubrick, US, 1999) Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sidney Pollack. 159 mins. Had Kubrick chosen to stage his adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler’s Dream Novel in its original fin de siecle Viennese setting, audiences might have found the whole primitive Freudian mess easy to stomach. Transposing the would-be decadent psychosexual shenanigans to contemporary Manhattan, however, proves disastrous. What makes Eyes Wide Shut just about watchable is the screen presence of its two stars. The couple went to Kubrick humbly, submitting themselves to the vision of a genius. If only they’d thrown their Hollywood weight and commercial sawy around, the stars may have left the director with a more memorable cinematic epitaph. See feature and review. General release. The Faculty (15) (Robert Rodriguez, US, 1998) Elijah Wood, Clea Duvall, Salma Hayek. 104 mins. The Faculty fits neatly into the niche we’ve come to expect from Kevin ‘Scream' Williamson ’5 pen: lots of great-looking young actors, a tightly packaged rock soundtrack and plenty of nods to past movies for those in the know. This time, however, Williamson's ‘genre- busting’ goal is the sci-fi B-movie. Director Robert Rodriguez (Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn) ups the gore count far beyond the ‘ 15’ certificate suggests and gives us the best screen monster since Alien. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Festen (15) (Thomas Vinterberg, Germany, 1998) 106 mins. Made under the banner of DOGME 95, a chief dictum of which filmic manifesto is that the inner lives of the characters must justify the workings of the plot, in this case the story of a country house party given to celebrate the 60th birthday of rich patriarch Helge Klingenfeldt. Tensions surface before long and a disturbing family secret is revealed. Stirling: MacRobert. The Flintstones (U) (Brian Levant, US, 1994) John Goodman, Rick Moranis, Elizabeth Perkins, Rosie O’Donnell. 92 mins. Fred is promoted to an executive post at the quarry, but only as a Stooge for his
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boss’s corporate rip-off; nevertheless, money and power go to the Flintstones’ heads, causing friction with the Rubbles. The movie keeps to the TV series’ prehistoric parody of modern suburban life, adds bright and chunky sets and a post- yuppie morality tale on greed that doesn't quite sit right, and comes out a little plot- heavy. The one-liners will be picked up by adults, kids will get bored. But it’s no the yabba-dabba dodo it could have been. Ayr: Odeon.
The General's Daughter (18) (Simon West, US, 1999) John Travolta, James Woods, Madeleine Stowe. 116 mins. Travolta is an undercover detective in the US Army’s Criminal Investigation Division trying to get to the bottom of an explosive murder case on a military base in the Deep South. The victim is the daughter of General about to make a bid for the Vice Presidency and so with the aplomb of Miss Marple Brenner sizes up the numerous suspects. The General is Daughter would like us to take its pulp prurience seriously, but remains empty- headed pap. See review. General release. Get On The Bus (15) (Spike Lee, US, 1997) Ossie Davis, Isaiah Washington, Charles Dutton. 122 mins. In October 1995, a group of black men take a three-day bus trip from South Central LA to Washington DC for the consciousness-raising Million Man March. Lee conceives the bus as a microcosm of black America, but simply ticks ofl" the issues (and the stereotypes) on an agenda. Holding the film together, however, is a performance of enormous dignity from veteran actor Ossie Davis. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Go (18) (Doug Liman, US, 1999) Sarah Polley, Desmond Askeu, Katie Holmes. 100 mins. Liman‘s follow up to Swingers comprises three interlocking stories about slacker kids at work, play and getting into trouble in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. 00 may not have Swingers’ Rat Pack jokery, nor Jon Favreau’s quirky dialogue and borrows its structure from Tarantino’s film, but the cumulative impact of the story mixing is enormously entertaining. Right here, right now, Go is the movie equivalent
of Big Beat music, much of which is featured on its great soundtrack. General release.
Happiness (18) (Todd Solondz, US, 1998) Cynthia Stevenson, Lara Flynn Boyle, Philip Seymour Hoffman. 139 mins. Three sisters, two small boys, one psychologist and a phone-harrassment specialist. Out of these unliker elements Todd Solondz has wrought pure cinematic gold, which veers from belly laughter one moment to stark pathos in another. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Instinct (18) (Jon Turtletaub, US, 1999) Anthony Hopkins, Cuba Gooding Jr. 123 mins. Dr. Ethan Powell (Hopkins), stationed in Africa to study apes, is found two years after his disappearance in the jungle. Upon his discovery, he savagely kills three men and injures two more, but is ultimately imprisoned. Enter Dr. Theo Calder (Gooding Jr), a psychologist dedicated to the cause of getting Powell to break his cell-induced silence. All very uninspiring from Turtletaub, who found he could do nothing original with the romantic comedy (While You Were Sleeping), either. See review. General release.
In The Alleys Of Love (tbc) (Khosro Sinaie, Iran, 1991) 87 mins. Beautifully shot documentary about a young man returning to his war-ravaged hometown after a ten year absence. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Irma Vep (15) (Olivier Assayas, France, 1996) Magic Cheung, Jean-Pierre Leaud, Natalie Richard. 98 mins. Fictional film director Rene Vidal hires real-life Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung for a remake of pulp crime drama Irma Vep, but he loses interest in his film and instead becomes increasingly obsessed with his oriental star. the film’s real drama is an expose of filmmaking, which is far more cynical than, say, Living In Oblivion. The observations are assured and full of insight, which makes for fascinating viewing - great filmmaking about awful filmmaking. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
It All Starts Today (12) (Bertrand Tavemier, France, 1999) Philippe Torreton. 118 mins. The story of a nursery school
teacher trying to cope in a northern French town of high unemployment and despairing poverty is told here by Bertrand Tavemier with his usual eye for detail. There's a feeling, however, that Tavemier believes he’s telling us something new. In fact, filmmakers have recently been tripping over themselves to tell us how prostrate the region has become. Edinburgh: Lumiere. The Italian Job (PG) (Peter Collinson, UK, 1969) Michael Caine, Noel Coward, Benny Hill. 100 mins. Re-released for its 30th anniversary, this Iarf-a-minute caper movie ties in nicely with the sixties cockney kitsch sensibility that's been infusing fashion, pop and film ever since Blur put out Park Life. Lock, Stock And 'I\vo Smoking Barrels paid homage to The Italian Job with its scaled down cliff-hanger ending, but the Michael Caine film is the granddaddy of caper movies. The centre piece remains the mini cooper car chase across, atop and under the streets of Turin, while Caine's closing line is top: "Ang on a minute lads, I've got a great idea.’ Glasgow: Odeon Quay, Showcase Cinema. Edinburgh: UCI.
The King And I (U) (Richard Rich, US, 1999) Ian Richardson, Miranda Richardson, Martin Vidnovic. 87 mins. Animated version of the true story of Anna Leonowens and her experiences as a teacher for the royal family in 19th Century Siam. Cracking songs by Rodgers and Hammerstein and, being animated, the facility for more active roles to be taken by talking elephants, sentimental chimps and proud panthcrs. It’s a cracking ride. Glasgow: Odeon At The Quay. Edinburgh: Lumiere. Ayr: Odeon. Kilmarnock: Odeon.
Knowledge 0f Healing (U) (Franz Reichle, Switzerland, 1996) 90 mins. Documentary examining the Tibetan approach to medicine. An Austrian pharmaceutical entrepreneur and reserach scientists in Vienna and Jerusalem seek to augment Western techniques with Tibetan wisdom Ieamt from the Dalai Lama and his personal physician, Dr Tcnzin Choedrak. Glasgow: GF'I‘.
Lancelot Du Lac (15) (Robert Bresson, France, 1974) Luc Simon, Vladimir
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