FILM LIST

magical cinema, and an early animated short by perverse Polish eroticist Walerian Borowczyk. The cult starts here. Edinburgh;

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l o This section aims to provide a review

of every film to be seen in central , Scotland over the next fortnight. For programme times see individual j cinema listings. U - Universal, suitable for all ages. PG - Parental Guidance suggested as some scenes may be unsuitable for younger children. 15 - fin-one under the age of 15 admitted. 18 - tip-one under the age of 18 admitted. 0 About Last Night (18) a (Edward Zwick, Us, 1986) Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Jim Belushi, Elizabeth Perkins. 113 mins. David Mamet‘s Sexual Perversity ' . in Chicago has been homogenized and chocolate-coated by the Hollywood treadmill until it almost resembles a yuppie Love Story. However, enought sharp, cynical writing remains and the dispatches from the sexual battleground are truly insightful. Belushi and Perkins, 1 workmate and flatmate respectively, engage in some witty, vituperative sparring and give the best performances but Lowe offers the cutest ass. Edinburgh; ABC. Glasgow; ABC Sauchiehall Street o Alchemists Of The Surreal, Programme One (PG) The first programme in a series which seeks to focus on the short films of bizarre Czech Jan Svankmajer and peculiar American duo The Brothers Quay, ; both ofwhom use stop-motion , photography and odd little puppet , figures to create the horribly 3 disturbing surrealistic unease of their unfairly neglected work. Here their dark and brooding fantasies are placed in context with the films of George Melies. the grandfather of

6 The List 3 l6 October

Filmhouse 0 Aliens ( 18) (James Cameron, US.

1986) Sigourney Weaver, Carrie

. Hehn, Michael Miehn. 137 mins. ; Revived from a 57-year snooze in deep space, warrant officer Ripley is

cajoled into joining a marine rescue mission to the planet 1.8426. home

from home for the original alien.

A nerve-shattering sequel that not

" o C‘ , ' ." 1‘ s v- JUN?

only matches but cannily surpasses its predecessor. Glasgow; Odeon,

Rio. Edinburgh; Odeon O Amadeus (PG) (Milos Forman.

US, 1984) F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulces, Simon Callow. 160 mins. A

' risible title fight for a place in

posterity between a God-fearing but mediocre talent and a musical genius

with bad manners. Music’s good. I Glasgow; GFT ' 0 Another Country (15) (Marek

Kanievska, UK. 1984) Rupert Everett. Colin Firth, Cary Elwes. 90 mins. Fictional exploration ofthe milieu and circumstances at an English public school that may have resulted in the nest oftraitors that emerged in the fifties led by Guy Burgess. Edinburgh; Filmhouse

o Backto the Future (PG) (Robert Zemeckis. US. 1985) Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd. 116 mins. Expertly-cast, wittin scripted time-travelling Oedipal fantasy adventure. A worthy crowd-pleaser. Edinburgh University Film Society. Edinburgh Odeon. Late. (See Panel). 0 Betty Blue ( 18) (Jean-Jacques

MONA LISA

Mona Lisa (18) (Neil Jordan, UK, 1986) Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, Michael Caine.104 mins. Times, and crimes, change, but some people remain constant. Released from prison after a long stretch of porridge, the dim-witted

. George still operates in an Agatha

' Christie world of Ciuedo-style crime where the culprit is usualiythe butler

i with the candlestick in the pantry. His

} naively and desperate need to find

% someone to love, iii equip him iorthe

: harsh reality oldishonour, deceit and

immorality.

Employed as a chauffeur to black prostitue Simone, who works London’s West End hotels, he becomes enamoured of the glamour and sophistication she represents. She grows to value his friendship; a rare male confidant in a brutal, survival-of-the-fittest profession. Fuelled by his romantic iongings and

an innate sense of decency George

agrees to enter the lions’ den and resuce Simone‘s friend from the evil

ART 29/BOOKS 38/FILM elktosasrneola auhuslcth/opsnas/spom Mama: 9.

Beneix, France, 1986) Beatrice Dalle, Jean-Hughes Anglade. 120 mins. Beneix is back. The maker of Diva returns with a tempestuous and tragic tale of amour completement fou.By turns electrifying, exasperatin disturbing, touching, and even downright silly, Beneix‘s movie‘s greatest asset is that it is all ofthese. Superficial it might be, but here is a film ofcolour, movement and emotion, a film that is CINEMA in capital letters. Edinburgh; Filmhouse

0 Blood Simple (18) (Joel Coen, US, 1984) Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh. 98 mins. A Texan bar-owner hires a private eye to kill his wife and her lover, but the detective tries to trick him by faking their deaths. A : gleefully serpentine film noir ' Edinburgh; Edinburgh Film Guild 0 The Blues Brothers (15) (John Landis, US. 1980) Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Carrie Fisher. 133 mins. Bloated, self-indulgent, anarchic comedy-adventure. Edinburgh; Filmhouse

0 Broadway Danny Bose (PG)

clutches of underworld Mr Big

Mortwell. It's almost like a fairytale with George a white knight charging off' to rescue a distressed damsel from the wicked Black Prince and win the hand

of his lady. However, this is 1986 Soho vice where even tarnished white , knights are an anachronism. George's j noble quest ends in an explosive confrontation from which he emerges a sadder but wiser individual.

Neil Jordan is a magically gifted storyteller and Mona Lisa is an assured and tender ‘fairytaie gone wrong'. Aimospherlcally capturing the seedy underbelly of tourist London he weaves ' a spellbinding once-upon-a-time narrative raising an ordinary bloke to the status of folk hero. Well served by his cast and crew, the heart of the film is a painfful and heartbreaking performance from Bob Hoskins as . George- not too bright, vulnerable and flawed, he makes a powerfully human figure. His perfectly modulated illumination of the character can’t fall to leave the viewer shaken and stirred. If Hoskins doesn't win next year’s Oscarthen there’s absolutiey no , justice. The best British film of the 3 year, Mona Lisa is a poetic and deeply 9 affecting tale of innocence abroad that should be seen (Allan Hunter)

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