FILM index
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34 THE “ST 5—19 Oct 2000
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FILM INDEX continued
The Cell (18) ** (Tarsem Singh, US, 2000) Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, Vincent D‘Onofrio. 108 mins. A serial killer (D'Onofrio) has lapsed into a coma without revealing the whereabouts of his latest female captive who remains imprisoned in a booby-trapped cell. As a last resort the FBI request a psychologist (Lopez). who has been experimenting with a radical new therapy (‘ncurological syntactic transfer system'), to delve into Carl's disordered mind. A sadistic and derivative film, cobbled together from countless earlier serial killer outings and virtual reality extravaganzas, offering no real suspense and the slendercst of characterisations. General release. Chicken Run (U) inhHr (Nick Park/Peter Lord. UK. 2000) Voices of Mel Gibson, Julia Sawalha, Miranda Richardson. 85 mins. For their first feature Aardman studios have re-written the WWII P.O.W. experience as an Orwellian satire, albeit with laughs. So. Stalag 17 becomes a battery farm and the camp commandant farmer 'I‘weedy ‘s domineering wife, while in the hutches, Ginger rallies her fellow hens to fly their coop. Though the characters aren‘t as established as Wallace and Gromit and the feature length running time slows the action, Aardman continue to work real wonders with their familiar Plasticine animation. General release.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (U) *ttir (Ken Hughes, UK, 1968) Sally Anne Howes, Dick Van Dyke, Lionel Jeffries. 145 mins. Lengthy, effects-filled children's adventure conceived in the wake of Mary Poppins" huge commercial success but with a charm (and great songs) all of its own. Dick Van Dyke is the mad inventor whose flying car propels his children and romantic interest Howes to a far-off land of adventure. GET. Glasgow.
Cinema Paradiso(1’(}) *ttt (Giuseppe 'I‘ornatore, Italy France, 1988) Phillipe Noiret, Jacques Perrin. Salvatore Cascio. 123 mins. Told largely in flashback. the winner of the 1990 Oscar for Best I’oreign Film traces young Salvatore's infatuation with his village cinema. and his growing friendship with its projectionist (played to perfection by Noiret). Essentially. it's 'I'ornatore's lament for the joyous movie- going experience of his youth and a recognition of the price we pay for our maturity. Grosvenor, Glasgow.
Dancer In The Dark (15) **** (Lars von Trier. Denmark. Sweden Germany. France. 2000) Bjork. Catherine Denueve. David Morse. 137 mins. Ilaving founded the Dogme school of back-to-basics filmmaking, von Trier's now turned his back on it with this digitally-shot homage to the Hollywood musical. Set in oils America. it‘s the story of Czech immigrant Selma (played by Bjork, whose extraordinary performance takes naturalism to its extreme). a single mother whose only escape from her dreary factory work life are her daydreams which transport her into a Hollywood-style musical. As with Breaking The Haves, the drama revolves around a naive young woman who becomes the victim of circumstance, and the ensuing protracted tragedy gives the film astonishing emotional clout. GI-'I'. Glasgow; Cameo. Edinburgh. Dinosaur (PG) iii (Eric Leighton. Ralph Yondag, US. 2000) Voices of DB. Sweeney. Julianna Margulies, Joan Plowright. 82 mins. This latest computer animated offering from Disney follows the journey of Aladar the Iguanadon as he flees across the meteor-ravished wasteland of prehistoric Earth alone after being separated from his family. Initially. the excitement is contagious; the CGI scenes are so realistic it‘s not that hard to believe what you are watching could be real. Then tragedy strikes; the lemurs talk. And talk. Yet as the predictable and. ultimately. boring storyline of Dinosaur unfolds, that winning Disney formula is guaranteed to keep any dinosaur crazy four-year-old pinned to his or her seat without scaring them too much. See review. ABC. Iialkirk; Pavilion, Glenrothes; Carlton. Stirling.
Donald Cainmell's Wild Side (18) *** (Donald Cammell. US, 1995 2000) Anne Heche. Christopher Walken. Joan Chen. 112 mins. In 1995. ll'iltISide's producers re-cut
the film against Cammell‘s wishes. In April 1996 he shot himself. Now the Performance co-director's last movie sees the light of day in the form he intended. This psychosexual thriller, in which four players — banker, racketeer, estranged wife and bodyguard fuck each other over both metaphorically and literally, is an uneven affair. Nevertheless, the cast are thoroughly entertaining, and CammeIl says some interesting things about the
sex/power."money nexus. Cameo, Edinburgh.
Dr Dolittle (PG) * (Betty Thomas, US, 1998) Eddie Murphy, ()ssic Davies, Oliver Platt. 85 mins. A turkey with Rex Ilarrison in its original form, and still pretty dire this time round. This wild famin adventure offers crude bottom humour for the Babe audience, but the talking animals gimmick battles with cheesy morality and nothing comes together. Carlton, Stirling.
Earth (15) at“ (Deepa Mehta, Canada, 1998) Aadmir Khan, Nandita Das, Rahul Khanna. 105 mins. It's taken a longtime for the second part of Indo-Canadian Mchta's trilogy about India to reach our screens. 'Ihe previous film Fire. which deals with a lesbian relationship, is just out on video, while Water is causing an uproar in India where it's currently filming. Dealing with just as volatile subjects as the other films, Earth looks at the cataclysmic Partitioning of India in 1947. Powerful material which engages with its story of childhood friendships destroyed by national events. East Kilbride Arts Centre, East Kilbride. East Is East (15) ***** (Damien O‘Donnell, UK, 1999) Om Puri, Linda Bassett, Jordan Routlcdge. 96 mins. Based on Ayub Khan-Din‘s play, East Is East draws its perfectly balanced mix of belly laughs and tears from the conflict within a multi-racial family living in Salford in the 70s. Head of the Khan household, George attempts to force his sons into arranged marriages in a belated effort to preserve tradition, but. born in England. the sons are having none of it. Odeon At The Quay, Glasgow.
Ecstacy (15) *** (Gustav Machaty. Czechoslovakia, 1933) Iledy Lamaar. 90 mins. Banned by Hitler and shunned by the Pope. Eestacy brought a response bordering on the crazed. Iledy Lamaar plays a child bride whose husband suffers impotence, driving her to seek loving attention elsewhere. The controversy? Iledy romps around in the nude with gay abandon, which led to her real-life hubby going bananas and threatening to destroy all available prints. Filmhousc. Edinburgh.
The Exterminating Angel (18) *~k** (Luis Bunuel. Mexico, 1962) Silvia Pinal, Enrique Rambal. Jacqueline Andere. 95 mins. Bunuel‘s satirical drive may not be as fine as in The Discreet (.‘harm ()f The Bourgeoisie. but this remains a classic example of what could be called Cinema of the Absurd. A group of dinner guests are unable to leave the room in which they ate; soon the small-talk descends to insults. A brilliant depiction of how breaches in social etiquette become the breakdown of society‘s laws. Film Guild at the I’ilmhouse, Edinburgh.
Eraserhead (18) ***** (David Lynch, US. 1976) Jack Nance. 90 mins. You may never eat jelly babies again after the repellent but compelling tale of Henry, his haircut, his girlfriend. his strange offspring and a sizeable quantity of pus. Disturbing stuff, mercifully filmed in black and white. Cameo. Edinburgh.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (15) *** (John Hughes. CS. 1986) Matthew Broderick. Jennifer Grey. Charlie Sheen. 103 mins. A sunny Spring day in Chicago is far too good to spend locked in a classroom so the irrepressible I-‘erris Buellcr feigns a malady. cuts classes and promises his two best friends a day to remember. Characteristically Ilughcs teen comedy that scores with fresh dialogue and appealing characterisations. but has the drawback of some laboured farce and the need to make meaningful statements. Cameo, Edinburgh.
Fife Film 81 Video Festival (Various. L'K. 3000) The first of what is hoped to be an annual event has screenings of student works from I-‘ife's finest filmmakers. Among the film titles are ‘(‘orn Dolly .‘ylaker'.