FILM index
FILM INDEX continued
Hail The Conquering Hero (U) **** (Preston Sturges, US, 1944) Eddie Bracken, Ella Raines. 101 mins. In a kind of reverse Saving Private Ryan scenario, a group of marines, veterans of Guadalcanal, take mothers boy Woodrow Truesmith home, passing him off as a hero in honour of his father who died in WW1. Sophisticated wartime comedy. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Hideous Kinky (18) **** (Gillies Mackinnon, UK, 1998) Kate Winslet, Said '1‘agmaouhi. 98 mins. From the battlefields of France in Regeneration to the Morocco of the 19705, Mackinnon adapts Esther Freud’s novel about a young woman who leaves London and a failed relationship behind and takes off with her kids for sunnier climes, peace, love and happiness. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Holy Smoke (18) ** (Jane Campion, US, 2000) Kate Winslet, Harvey Keitel, Julie Hamilton, Pam Grier. 114 mins. Winslet courageously throws herself into the role of Ruth, a spirited young woman who falls under the spell of a Guru in India, and then finds herselfconfronted by an American Exit Counsellor (Keitel) enlisted by her Australian family to lure her back home. Holy Smoke is packed with provocative ideas, but Campion‘s failure to explore them and, more damagingly, her heavy-handed attempts at comedy, wipe out any interest the film might hold. Edinburgh: Cameo. Honest (18) ** (Dave Stewart, UK, 2000) Nicole Appleton. Natalie, Appleton, Melanie Blatt. 105 mins. Eurythmics guitarist Stewart directs three quarters ofAll Saints in this 605 London-set gangster film. The Saints play three sisters living in the East End who attempt to better themselves by dressing up in drag and robbing the West End‘s rich. Local criminal hard nuts and a handsome American student pose very different problems for the girl's career improvement efforts, but they pull together for that one last job . . .Ayr: Odeon. Falkirk: ABC. Kirkcaldy: ABC. Wishaw: Arrow Multiplex.
The Insider (15) ***** (Michael Mann, US, 2000) Russell Crowe, Al Pacino, Christopher Plummer. 157 mins. Mann's heist movie, Heat, boasted some electrifying set pieces, yet while The Insider contains virtually no ‘action’ there‘s a terrific sense of dramatic urgency that drives the film. It all starts in the mid-90$ with Jeffrey Wigand, the corporate man who blew the whistle on the American tobacco industry, triggering a $246 million lawsuit. The performances are excellent and not since All The President’s Men has fact and drama merged so powerfully on screen. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: Odeon. Falkirk: EFH Cinema. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith. Largs: Vikingar Cinema.
Inspector Gadget (U) *iHr (David Kellogg, US, 1999) Matthew Broderick, Rupert Everett, Joely Fisher. 79 mins. Disney ’5 take on the French kids' cartoon follows the part human, part gizmo Gadget's (Broderick) quest to become a proper, respected cop. Unfortunately, the dastardly Claw (Everett) has a scheme for world domination, which includes creating an evil
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doppelganger of the trenchcoated wonder. The Inspector‘s many contraptions will delight younger viewers, and oldies will be amused by the plentiful self-referential moments. Edinburgh: Odeon. Ayr: Odeon. The Iron Giant (U) ***** (Brad Bird, US, 1999) Jennifer Aniston, Harry Conick Jr, Vin Diesel. 86 mins. In this animated film adaptation of'l'ed llughes's classic children's story about a boy who befriends a 50ft. robot from outer space. the action is transported from rural England to small- town America in the late 1950s. The resulting film is a fast-moving thrillfest featuring bongo-beating beatniks, a great rockabilly soundtrack and explosive destruction on a grand scale. 'Ihis being a kids film, through, it's violence with a conscience. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
The Joys Of Smoking (18) (Nick Katsapetses, US, 1999) Matthew Rozen, Deborah Cordell. 86 mins. Grey and his lover Daniel are about to commit to each other. Meanwhile, dyke couple Lorna and Kerr are separating. Into the fray arrives Daniel's neurotic mother and alcoholic sister, so Grey decides to document everything as part of his graduate thesis on unhealthy relationships. Part of the Lesbian And Gay Film Festival On Tour. Glasgow: GET. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Kevin 8: Perry Go Large (15) it (15d Bye, UK, 2000) Harry Enfield, Kathy Burke, Laura Fraser. 82 mins. This big-screen spin- off for one of the sketches from TV's Harry Enfield And Chums follows its two teenage characters on a quest to lose their virginity and become top DJs. The key influence here is the Carry On series, so prepare yourself for a stream of erection, urinating and vomiting gags. There are some enjoyable performances, but there's a nagging sense that, with this predictable satire, Enfield and chums are milking a cash-cow. General release.
Life Is Beautiful (PG) whit (Roberto Benigni, Italy, 1998) Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi. 116 mins. A comedy about the Holocaust? Surely not. Well, that‘s what Italian writer-director-star Benigni has
ANNUAL EXHIBITION 2000
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Duncan ofJordanstone College ofArt and Design A faculty of the University of Dundee
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has proved to be a sleeper success in the US
done in fashioning a poignant comic fable about the resilience of the human spirit and the power of the imagination. A humane and moving film. Glasgow: Grosvenor.
Limbo (15) **** (John Sayles, US, 1999) David Strathairn, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Vanessa Martinez. 128 mins. Sayles isn't a filmmaker to toe the line, so when he goes to Alaska to shoot a film in which three individuals become marooned in the wilderness, it‘s unsurprising than what he comes up with is a well-crafted, solidly told tale that's less action adventure and more psychological/sociological study of people and place. And Sayles takes his time, easing us into the environment and the lives of the principal characters, before the forces of nature give the plor its dramatic twist. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Love Me Not: Boys' Shorts (18) (Various, 1998-99) 84 mins approx. From erotica to kitsch to hilarious, a programme of new gay shorts including: Barry Dignam '3 dream Kitchen, Didier Blasco's Pain au chocolat, Duncan Tucker‘s The Mountain King, Bradley Rust Grey 's thCH and Bavo Defurne’s Campfire. Part of the Lesbian And Gay Film Festival On Tour. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Love The One You're With (15) *~k* (Robbie Moffat, 2000, UK) Paul Cunningham, Hazel Ann Crawford. 92 mins. Filmed in Glasgow with largely local actors, Love The One You 're ll’ith highlights the realities of homelessness in the city. London property dealer Charlie Grant (Cunningham) finds himself stranded in Glasgow without cash, credit cards or car after an impounding and a mugging. Befriended by the local homeless he spends the long weekend on the streets and in the soup kitchens. A worthy glimpse into Glasgow‘s underworld and homelessness problem. Here, the medium really is the message. Glasgow: Odeon Quay, Showcase. Edinburgh: UGC. Paisley: Showcase.
Love's Labour‘s Lost (U) is“ (Kenneth Branagh, US, 2000) Kenneth Branagh, Alicia Silverstone, Adrian Lester. 93 mins. Branagh’s attempt to make Shakespeare
multiplex-friendly will shock textual purists for he has taken the early, wordy, romantic comedy, cut 70 per cent of its dialogue and filled the holes with show tunes from the 305 and 405. Branagh‘s most audacious, and frankly maddest, Shakespeare adaptation to date proves to be a funny, engaging, and consistently entertaining trifie. Galashicls: Pavilion.
A Luv Tale (15) (Sidra Smith, US, 1999) Tichina Arnold, Michael Colyar. 55 mins. An unashamed romantic comedy set in the tough world of magazine publishing. Overworked and overlooked by her boss/boyfriend, editor Candice ’s stressful life takes an interesting turn when she meets journalist Taylor on a photoshoot. Supported by The Olive Tree (George Camarda, US, 1999, 26 mins). Part of the Lesbian And Gay Film Festival On Tour. Glasgow: GFI‘. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Magnolia (18) **** (Paul Thomas Anderson, US, 2000) Julianne Moore, William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John C. Reilly, Tom Cruise. 185 mins. P.T. Anderson's follow-up to his superb 70s LA porn industry fiick, Boogie Nights is a snapshot of the lives of a dozen residents of LA's San Fernando Valley . Their stories are sad, funny and moving without ever becoming overly-sentimental and Anderson’s script is full of humble humanity and beautifully observed moments. And the quite stunning miraculous conclusion is audacious but it works - the same can be said of the whole film. Edinburgh: Cameo. A Man Is A Woman (L'homme est une femme comme les autres) (15) it (Jean-Jacques Zilbermann, France, 2000) Antoine de Cauncs, Elsa Zylberstein, Michel Aumont. 99 mins. De Caunes' Parisian clarinettist Simon Eskenazy is the last in the line of Eskenazy Jews. His uncle (Aumont) hopes for a continuation of the family name; he‘s even willing to offer ten million francs for Simon to switch sexual proclivities. Plenty of room for farce, especially when it looks like Simon's going to take up with the eccentric Yiddish soprano Rosalie (Zylberstein). But Zilbermann's muted movie keeps retreating from expectation without finding sure footing of its own. See review. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Mansfield Park (15) **** (Patricia Rozema, US, 2000) Frances O’Connor, Alessandro Nivola, Jonny Lee Miller. 112 mins. Rozema has supplemented her adaptation with extracts from Jane Austen's own letters and journals, turning the novel's heroine — a poor girl who is adopted by wealthy relatives and taken to live in the grand house of the title — into a quick- witted, sharp-tongued free spirit budding writer. The film may not be strictly faithful to the novel, but there’s no mistaking its intelligence, vigour and wit. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
Maybe Baby (15) but (Ben Elton, UK, 2000) Hugh Laurie, Joely Richardson, Joanna Lumley. 90mins. Sam (Laurie) and Lucy (Richardson) are happy in love and successful at work (he's a BBC commissioning editor and she's a theatrical agent). The only blot on this idyllic London landscape is that the couple desperately