FILM LIST
Andersson. Margaretha Krook. 81 mins. Bergman at his most impressive and intense. Andersson is an actress in the middle ofa breakdown and refusing to speak. Ullmann the nurse lookingaftcr her. As the two develop a symbiotic relationship. the difficulty of and need for communication between human beings is examined. A film that remains an almost physical and often psychologically disturbing experience. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The Philadelphia Story (PG) (George Cukor. US. 1940) Katharine Hepburn. Cary Grant. James Stewart. 112 mins. Splendid sophisticated Hollywood comedy with Stewart as a scandalsheet reporter covering the society wedding of recently divorced Hepburn. ex-hubby Grant lurking in the wings. and romance recurdling despite itself. Sparkling dialogue and charismatic performances all round make this one ofthe best of its kind. Remade as the musical. High Society. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Pink Floyd The Wall (Alan Parker. UK. 1982) Bob Geldof. Christine Hargreaves. Bob Hoskins. 95 mins. An ambitious attempt by Parker and the Floyd‘s Roger Waters to turn the band's album The Wall into a visual. almost dialogue-less story. in which a schoolboy named Pink grows up to be an isolated rock star. The result did not match the ambition. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge.
I The Public Enemy ( PG) (William Wellman. US. 1931 ) James Cagney..lean Harlow. Edward Woods. 84 mins. Archetypal Cagney vehicle. in which he plays a petty thiefwho graduates to bootlegging. murder and crime kingpin status. Classic scene: ('agncy pushes a grapefruit into moll Mae Clarke's face. Edinburgh: Film Guild.
I Rain Man (15) (Barry Levinson. US. 1988) Dustin Hoffman. Tom Cruise. Valeria Golino. 114 mins. Small—time hustler Cruise kidnaps his previously unknown autistic savant brother Hoffman when their father bequeaths his $3 million fortune to the latter. Their initially cold relationship warms as the two cross America by road. and they learn to value one another. The year‘s major Oscar winner is a warmhearted and touching buddy movie that scrupuloust avoids sentimentality. and boasts a detailed and compassionate performance from Hoffman. Edinburgh: Broughton Film Society.
I ReelerAnd The Model ( 15) (Joe Cromerford. lreland. 1987) Ian McElhinney. Carol Scanlon. Sean Lawlor. 90 mins. Reefer (McElhinney) and his two accomplices inhabit a dilapidated trawler on the West Coast of lreland. living offa dodgy underworld past of [RA involvement. but his relationship with the pregnant and homeless Model (Scanlan) becomes a catalyst that pitches the band into one last job. Fresh look at lrish machismo and politicking. that's slightly undercut by narrative clumsiness.
Eastern Scottish coach excursions from Edinburgh to Glasgow concerts
ERASURE, HUE & CRY. SIMPLY RED.
TANITA TIKARAM. JIMMY SOMERVILLE. CHRIS REA, UBAO. WET WET WET
return fare only £3. 95 for seat reservations & details
tel 031 558 76 76/7
~ .‘ v. i
Sisters (15) a (Michael Hellman, US, 1988) Patrick Dempsey, Jenniler Connelly, Sheila Kelly, Andre Gregory. 94 mins. Well this is a turn-up lorthe books, as Michael Hellman, the Yank expat who lnllicted Restless Natives upon us, has directed a winsome and intriguing contemporary fairy tale based around the inellable mysteries at contact between human beings. Set in the outskirts of wintry Quebec, the narrative lollows student Patrick Dempsey expecting a raunchy Christmas in Quebec with girllriend Jenniler Connelly, but also linding himsell the object of her sister Sheila Kelly’s attentions, and increasingly beluddled by the labyrinthine castle in which this lamin oi eccentrics make their home. It’s an exasperating, tlavoursome piece that somehow leaves quirky lragments in the memory long alterthe llnal credits have rolled, and its delicate textural shifts are a long way from Hottman’s amateurish cinematic beginnings.
‘A piece at shit’ is how he now describes 1982’s Privileged, made whilst still at college under the auspices ol the Oxlord Fllm Foundation, but which proved calling card enough lor him to be taken on as directorlor his lrlend Nlnlan Ounnett’s alorementloned Edinburgh-set comedy. Later seeking help under the
SIST
ans '
benevolent wing at Robert Redtord's Sundance Institute, it was through Bob’s Industry connections and script development seminars that Holtman and partners achieved their elusive break into the US Industry with the downbeat middle-American odyssey Promised Land, now lollowed by Sisters. Hollman praises Redlord’s inlluence as ‘very hands-oil, because even though he has right of llnal cut he’s given it to us on both occasions. That’s basically unheard ol.’
Originally in Oxlord doing a second degree in medieval literature, Hottman still shares a house in London with university pals Rick Stevenson and Rupert Walters, respectively screenwriter and producer on the current project, which initially was born out at a number ol barnstorming sessions across the kitchen table. Once destined lor academia belore the movies got in the way, Hoffman’s enthusiasms still indicate the years spent in study. ‘In Sisters 1 like the tension between narcissism and symbiosis,’ he explains, ‘the conflict that Patrick leels between the desire to protect the sell trom all these weird people, and the desire to seek symbiosis in a relationship. And while I don’t really expect the audience to pick up on it, there are echoes for me at Chretien de Troyes’ medieval version at Parsllal, where the innocent tool Is searching through the labyrinth to lind out who he is. It interests me how those old stories and myth patterns continue to resonate.’
And is this the sort ol stutt he uses to impress studio execs into giving him millions ol dollars? ‘Oh nol’ the tanned American laughs heartily. ‘I tell them the movie has comedy, laughs, sex and naked girls. Those are the words they understand.’ (TrevorJohnston)
From Fri 19. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Odeon.
Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Road House (18) (Rowdy Herrington, US. 1989) Patrick Swayze. Ben Gazzara, Kelly Lynch. 114 mins. Swayze moves from Dirty Dancing to dirty dunting when he becomes bouncer-in-chief at the savage Double Deuce nightclub. Utterly execrable macho nonsense. but full of satisfying cheap thrills ifyou take it in the right spirit. Glasgow: Odeon. Strathclyde: UCl Clydebank.
I Roselyne And The Lions ( 12) (Jean-Jacques Beineix,France.1989) Isabelle Pasco. Gerard Sandoz. Philippe Clevenot. 130 mins. Several years after Berry Blue. Beineix returns with typically stylish and obsessive exercise charting young Isabelle Pasco's progress as a lion tamer. Forget the eight out often critics who haven't expressed a preference. this is one sleek movie. whiskers and all. Central; MacRobert Arts Centre.
I Rouge ( 15) (Stanley Kwain. I long Kong. 1987) Anita Mui. 93 mins. A Chinese ghost story that leaps between the 30s and present day Hong Kong. Two lovers fulfill their pact to meet again 50 years after their deaths in Hell. thus showing that Kwain can‘t think much of Hong Kong. Stylish love story with a great performance by Mui. Glasgow: GFT.
I Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (PG) (Michael Schultz. US. 1978)The Bee Gees. Peter Frampton. Frankie llowerd. 111 mins. Along with.S'ururduy
Night Fever and Grease. the Robert Stigwood Organisation also regaled the Seventies with this turkey of turkeys based on the Beatles album of the same name. Incredibly. the plot centres on the Lonely Hearts Club Band aka The Bee Gees and their efforts to fight offmusicindustry capitalism in the shape of Frankie Howerd. At this point words fail the critic. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Sex, Lies and Videotape (15) (Steven Sodcrbergh. US. 1989) Andie McDowell. Laura San Giacomo. James Spader, Peter Gallagher. 101 mins. The sex: John (Gallagher) is conducting a steamy affair with his sister-in-law Cynthia (San Giacomo). The lies: they neglect to tell his wife. Anne (McDowell). The videotape: John‘s buddy Graham (Spader) gets his kicks by filming women's sexual confessions. 26-year-old Soderbergh‘s first feature is a strikingly assured. funny and thoughtful piece of work. forcing us to examine our own attitudes toward sex. and won the Palme d‘Or at Cannes. Edinburgh: Cameo. Odeon. Strathclyde: UCI East Kilbridc.
I Shirley Valentine ( 15) (Lewis Gilbert. UK. 1989) Pauline Collins. Bernard Hill. Tom Conti. llOmins. Gilbert‘s screen version of the celebrated Willy Russell play. now expanded from a monologue to include Hill as the insensitive hubby and Conti as the Greek bit of stuffShirley meets on a Mediterranean holiday that
turns into a voyage ofself—(re)discovery. Collins is outstanding in the title role of frustrated Liverpudlian housewife. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Dominion. Odeon. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr. UCl Clydebank. UCl East Kilbride.
I Slsters(15) it (Michael Hoffman. US. 1988) Patrick Dempsey. Jennifer Connelly, Sheila Kelly. 94 mins. See review. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Odeon.
I A Strange Place To Meet ( 15) (Francois Dupeyron. France. 1988) Catherine Deneuve. Gerard Depardieu. Nathalie Cardone. 97 mins. Debut director Duperyon‘s film has a certain appealing quirkiness. A man pulls into a lay-by. throws his wife from a vehicle and speeds off. In the adjacent cafe Deneuve. certain that hubby will repent and return. remains and here she meets the lay-by's other resident. Depardieu. a doctor hiding from life. The two bring a genuine credibility to their rather odd roles in this emotionally intense yet curiously distanced movie. Central: MacRobert Arts Centre.
I Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier(PG) (William Shatner. US. 1989) William Shatner. Leonard Nimoy. DeForest Kelley. James Doohan. 107 mins. ln which James Tiberius Kirk makes his directorial debut. On the plus side most of the characters are as well written and credible as they were in the television series. albeit with rather more grey hairs. But the plot turns out to be the normal formula hokum. Strathclyde: UCl East Kilbride.
I Student Films A programme ofshort films by students at Napier Polytechnic and Edinburgh College of Art. which showcases some of the best work produced in their film departments over the past two years. with Anda Aikmcn's bizarre psychodrama Sodderr particularly outstanding. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Sylvia Scarlett (PG) (George Cukor. US. 1936) Katharine Hepburn. Cary Grant. Edmund Gwenn. 90mins. Hepburn is forced to dress as a young boy to escape apprehension when her embezzler father is about to be caught by the authorities. The two go on the run. falling in with a touring theatrical company. but the appearance ofcon-man Grant is to set offall manner ofromantic complications. Strange shifts in tone from farce to tragedy make this an intriguing product of the Hollywood of the time. Edinburgh University Film Society.
I The Terrnlnalor ( 18) (James Cameron. US. 1984) Arnold Schwarzenegger. Michael Biehn. Linda Hamilton. 107 mins. In 2029 machines have all but conquered the planet but a saviour is at hand in the form of a new human leader. The machines respond by sending Schwarzenegger's cyborg back in time to 1984 on a mission to kill the future leader's mother. Inventive. excitingly-paced science-fiction adventure with a notable performance from Arnie in his first villainous role. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I The Three Amigos (PG) (John Landis, US. 1987) Steve Martin. Chevy Chase. Martin Short. 105 mins. A rare Martin misfire as Steve and the boys go vainly . searching for laughs in old Mexico as silent screen stars mistaken for real cowboy heroes. A dreadful comedy-musical fiesta turkey that barely musters a sympathetic chuckle. Glasgow: GFT.
ITrack 29 ( 18) (Nic Roeg. UK. 1988) Theresa Russell. Gary Oldman. Christopher Lloyd. 91) mins. Bored American housewife Russell has a lonely marriage with eccentric surgeon Lloyd. who devotes more time to his train set than his spouse. When Oldman turns up. she wonders if he is her long-lost son from a brutal teenage sexual encounter. Or is he just the product of herfrustrated . imagination? Brash psychodrama which doesn‘t really go anywhere despite abundant visual and verbal trickery and the artistic cred ofdirector Roeg and
24 The List 12 — 25 January 1991)