FILM LIST
Babette's Feast (U) (Gabriel Axel, Denmark. 1987) Stéphane Audran, Jean-Philippe Lalont, Bibi Andersson. 103 mins. Gabriel Axel's exemplary adaptation of this Isak (Out Of Africa) Dinesen novella initially constructs a forbidding wall of austerity to conceal the delights that lie in store. Ultimately, however, it relents and rewards the viewer with both a delicious gastronomic experience and an exquisite slice of cinematic narrative.
Set on the harsh, windswept Jutland
the film follows the lives of two pious, spinster sisters who carry on the good
Lutheran sect. They are miraculously
their housekeeper Babette, a Frenchwoman to whom they have offered sanctuary over the past dozen
meagre resources into plentiful provisions. Babette is something of a mystery
a devout. elderly community. However, she is clearly devoted to the
past—a lottery ticket, renewed annually by a friend in Paris. One day she receives word that her ticket has
may prepare a special meal to
of theirtather's birth. They agree, but when a shopping list of quail. turtle,
the doorstep they have second
Bland. formulaic cop stuff with moral
and a comic dog. A performance of hard-working charisma from Dreyfuss saves it. Edinburgh: Dominion.
I Stromboli (PG) (Roberto Rossellini. Italy. 195(1) Ingrid Bergman. Mario Vitale. Renzo Cesana. 81 mins. Sparks hardly flicker never mind fly in this shortened version of the first
who arrives in Stromboli with her fisherman husband. Unable to establish a home or a rapport with the islanders she
The island volcano explodes but little else ignites; listless. incoherent and dreary. Edinburgh: Filmhouse
1(lSugarbaby(15) (Percy Adlon, W. Germany. 1985) Marianne Sagebrecht. Eisi Gulp. 86 mins. The unlikely romance between an overweight. middle-aged
driver is the engaging focus of thisquirky offering: a strange beguiling work at once warmly appealing and slightly repellent.
sexuality and desirability. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Ornella Muti. Alain Delon. ll()mins. Opulent. condensed Proust for the art house set with Irons as the French aristocrat infatuated by the lower class Muti. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Swedenhielms (U) (Gustav Molander. Sweden. 1935) Gosta Ekman. Karin Swanstrom. Ingrid Bergman. 88mins. Modest domestic fare in which the impecunious Swedenhielm family build
peninsula during the late 19th century,
works of their late lather, the Dean of a
assisted in their philanthropic deeds by
years and who, in return, ekes out their
woman, rather out of place among such
sisters and retains but one link with her
won and she is richer by 10,000 francs. To celebrate, she asks the sisters if she
commemorate the imminent centenary
champagne and vintage wine arrives at
dilemmas. well-mounted action highlights
collaboration between Bergman and lover Rossellini. She plays a Lithuanian refugee
attempts to escape. even though pregnant.
undertaker‘s assistant and a young subway
that forces us to re~examine our notionsof
I Swann in Love (18) (Volker Schlondorff. France/W. Germany. 198-1) Jeremy Irons.
BABETTE’S FEAST
thoughts, wondering if such pleasure is compatible with their piety, and speculation mounts that witchcraft could be afoot. The least proceeds with the participants sworn not to enioy the food. However, when the mouthwatering courses appear as it by magic from the kitchen and fine wine is effortlessly imbibed, a mellow glow consumes all the guests; tongues loosen, dispositions melt and both bodily and spiritual appetites are satisfied in an evening of warmth and companionship not dissimilar to the one experienced in John Huston’s The Dead.
The preparation and presentation of the central banquet in Babette’s Feast
their hopes for the future on the fact that their great but scatter-brained scientist father will be awarded the Nobel Prize. When this seems increasingly unlikely their hopes are dashed and the proud son feels he can no longer marry his wealthy girlfriend( Bergman). She strugglesto convince him otherwise. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Teen Wolf Too (PG) (Christopher Leitch. US. 1987) Jason Bateman. Kim Darby. John Astin. 94 mins. Witless duplication of the 1985 original with Fox’s cousin proving his worth as a collegiate boxing champion. Mindless nonsense. Glasgow: Cinema. Strathclyde: Odcon Hamilton.
I Tenue de Soiree ( 18) (Bertrand Blicr. France. 1986) Gerard Depardieu. Miou Miou. Michel Blane. 85 mins. Outrageous menage a trois black comedy with Depardieu as a randy gay burglar who steals the mouse-like Blane away from his bossy. gold~digging partner. A wild and rambling mess that is not as hipor coherent as it appears to think itself. Edinburgh: EUFS.
I Three Men and a Baby (PG) (Leonard Nimoy. US. 1988) Tom Selleck.Ted Danson. Steve Guttenberg. 103 mins. A trio of swinging bachelors about town get landed with a little‘un and much wee wee and poo poo ensues. Large grossing American comedy remake of French original. To be reviewed. Edinburgh; Odeon.
I Trading Places ( 15) (John Landis. US. 1983) Dan Aykroyd. Don Ameche. Eddie Murphy. 116 mins. A ‘Prince andthe Pauper' lifestyle-swapping comedy sparked. once again. by the dynamic presence of Murphy. Edinburgh: Odeon.
is a joy to behold as we witness in fine detail a true culinary genius at work. The results of such a least being consumed are also precisely judged with boisterous good humour, perception and real feeling. Without giving away too many of the plot details, placed throughout like silver coins in a plum pudding, this is a film about memory, the interrelationship of past and present, comradeship and the worth of an artist, however materially poor. Beautifully photographed, performed with spirit, particularly by Audran, it is a virtuallyflawless production; an unmissable treat for the gourmet filmgoer. (Allan Hunter)
I Trouble in Mind (15) (Alan Rudolph. US. 1985) Kris Kristofferson. Keith Carradine. Genevieve Bujold. 112 mins. Rudolph's phantasmagorieal blend of gangster movie. fantasy melodrama and modern day western with desperate characters trying to go straight in the moral playground of Rain City. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The Unbearable Lightness of Being ( 18) a (Philip Kaufman. US. 1987) Daniel Day-Lewis. Juliette Binoche. Lena Olin. Derek de Lint. 167 mins. See panel. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cannon.
I Underthe Cherry Moon ( 15) (Prince. US. 1986) Prince. Steven Berkoff. 1(leins. Stylish but exceedingly silly tale oflIis Purpleness wowing the ladies in the South of France as a gigolo adventurer ( sniggcr ). The filrnic equivalent ofvanity publishing. Glasgow: GET.
I The Untouchables ( 15) (Brian De Palma. US. 1987) Kevin Costner. Sean Connery. Robert DeNiro. 119 mins. The best American drama of 1987 as naive Treasury officer Costner. gritty Irish cop Connery (the part that has just won him. as Best Supporting Actor. his first Oscar). and a group of incorruptibles tackle the bloated criminal empire of Prohibition kingpin Al Capone. Central; Cannon. Strathclyde; Cannon.
I La Vie Privee (PG) (Louis Malle. France. 1961) Brigitte Bardot. Marcello Mastroianni. Gregor von Rezzari. 95 mins. At the height ofher famea renowned movie idol resents the loss of her privacy and retreats from the public glare. Well photographed if rather austere romantic drama more interesting forthe parallels with Bardot's own life than for
any inherent qualities. Edinburgh: French Institute.
I Viva Maria (PG) (Louis Malle. France. 1965) Brigitte Bardot. Jeanne Moreau. George Hamilton. 113 mins. A once in a lifetime teaming ofthese two Gallic greats provides a great deal ofeffervescent amusement in a droll divertisscment about two soubrettes caught up in a Mexican revolution. Edinburgh: French Institute. I Voyage to Italy (PG) (Roberto Rossellini. Italy. 1954) Ingrid Bergman, George Sanders. Paul Muller. 84 mins. A quiet English couple whose marriage is on the rocks visit Naples to dispose of property left to them by a relative. Whilst the wife goes sightseeing the restless husband decides on divorce. However. they are reconciled whilst witnessing the beauty and simplicity of a religious procession in a small village.
Earnest. anaemic romantic drama from which the prevailing mood oftedium rarely lifts. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Walpurgis Nighl ( U) (Gustav Edgren. Sweden. 1935) Lars Hanson. Victor Seastrorn. Ingrid Bergman. 75mins. Murder. blackmail. infidelity and abortion abound in this torrid Swedish melodrama. suprisingly tough for its day with Bergman as a secretary who bears her boss‘s child. Edinburgh: Filmhouse "The Water Babies (U) (Lionel Jeffries. UlCPoland. 1978) James Mason. Billie Whitelaw. Bernard Cribbins. 92 mins. Unexccptional children‘s fantasy mixing animation and live action in the story ofa young chimney sweep in Dickensian London who runs away into a magical pool and a series of underwater adventures. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I White Mischief( 18) (Mike Radford. UK/US. 1987) Greta Scacchi. Charles Dance. Joss Ackland. 107 mins. Kenya. 1941. Sir Jock Delves Broughton shoots his wife's lover. Lord Errol. and is acquitted by the colonial court.
Resolutely dreary African sexual shenanigans. lackadaisically acted and dreadfully slow. which manages to make what sounds like quite intriguing source material into a cold and lumpy pudding of a movie. Strathclyde: Cannon. ()deon Ayr.
I Wish You Were Here ( 15) (David Leland. UK. 1987) Emily Lloyd. Tom Bell. Geoffrey I Iutchings. 92 mins. Amatory misadventures of a precocious teenager in a drab 1950‘s seaside town.
Enjoyable. bittersweet comic treatment of the sexual mores oftimes gone by.with an energetic performance from perky newcomer Ms Lloyd. Glasgow; Cannon Clarkston Road. Grosvenor. Central; Cannon.
I Withnail 81 I (15) 1? (Bruce Robinson. UK. 1986) Richard E. Grant. Paul McGann. Richard Griffiths. 107 mins. See panel. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I A Woman's Face (U) (Gustav Molander. Sweden. 1938) Ingrid Bergman. Anders lIenrikson. Gunnar Sjoberg. 104 mins. IIorribly disfigured by a childhood burn. Bergman has become an embittered blackmailer. Undergoing plastic surgery at the hands of a famous surgeon she finds outer beauty and inner spiritual redemption. Remade in 1941 withJoan Crawford. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The World According to Garp (15) (George Roy Hill. US. 1982) Robin Williams. Glenn Close. John Lithgow. 131 mins. The life of aspiring young novelist T.S. Garp is complicated by a bestselling authoress mother and a group of radical feminists who‘ve cut out their tongues.
Rambling adaptation of the engaging
John Irving novel is most at home with the easygoing childhood section and runs out of steam long before the end.but John Lithgow‘s performance as a transsexual football player is a real Showstopper. Somehow Irving seems to work better on the page than the screen though. Edinburgh: EUFS
20 The List 15 — 28 April 1988