FILM
TILAl
.. ‘1'. 1 ‘ Tilai (PG) (ldrissa Ouedraogo, BurIrino Faso/Switzerland/France, 1990) Rasmane Ouedraogo, Ina Cisse, Roultietou Barry, Assane Ouedraogo. 81 mins. When Saga (Basmane Ouedraogo) returns to his native village In Burltino country alter a two year absence, he is shocked to find that Iar Irom waiting lalthlully tor him, his beautliul fiancee, Nogma (Cisse), has become his tather's second wile. Despite this lirst infidelity, Nogma still loves him and soon they are involved in an illlclt affair, but, as in every small rural community, there can be no secrets. No matter that everyone is sympathetic to the young lovers’ plight, they have technically committed incest: Saga must die. Ya Tilai-that is the law.
Dispatched by the village elders to pertorm the awtul deed, Kuilga (Barry), Saga's young brother, is caught in a contllct. The night is darlt, the plains are large and the lovers tryst has taken them away lrom the village walls. Should his loyalties lie with his tamiiy and the lite oi his own brother, or with the law, harsh and dogmatic? One way or another, blood must be spilled lor the waiting village.
In Tilai, ldrissa Ouedraogo takes and develops some oI the themes and attitudes ol traditional lite In BurItino Faso which he lirst explored in Yaaba. Again, the grand vistas and haunting countryside dominate the action and dictate an intemal rhythm, this time exquisiter complemented by the Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand) soundtrack. European eyes accustomed to a highly-stylised tilm language, could at lirst tind this hard to master, even meandering, yet the themes are universal: love, tradition and the breaking ol unjust laws. if the manner at its execution is couched in an alien grammar, the content—an interweaving oi Oedipus with Romeo and Juliet- is instantly recognisable. By using a largely amateur cast in this magnificent setting, Ouedraogo has at once been truly loyal to his roots and his achievement is to have created a movie with lntemational appeal, but which remains innater Alrican. (Thom Dibdln)
Edinburgh Filmhouse Sun 24 Feb—Sat 2 Mar.
I PmiectA (15) (Jackie Chan. Hong Kong. 1984) Jackie Chan. 98 mins. The series of Hong Kong movies continues with this action thriller. set at the turn of the century. in which naval hero Chan turns his fists of iron upon smugglers. conmen and pirates along the Hong Kong coast. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Project A: Part 2 (15) (Jackie Chan.110ng Kong. 1987) Jackie Chan. 98 mins. Our hero returns to the ranks of the Hong Kong police force. and this time the target for his fine-tuned mind and body is corruption in the corridors of power. More of the same action/comedy/adventure for those who enjoyed Part 1. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I lie-Animator 2 (18) (Brian Yuzna. US, 1990) Jeffrey Combs. Bruce Abbott, Claude Earl Jones, Fabiana Udenio. 96
mins. Following in the gorin humorous footsteps of the original, Brian Society Yuzna re-animates Herbert (Combs) and Dan (Abbott). whose pranks with Herbert‘s serum in Stuart Gordon‘s original caused a massacre in the morgue. This time. their plan is to assemble a jumble of spare body parts— human and other— and produce a re-animated woman. Things do not. of course. go quite to plan. with predictable, ifenjoyably disgusting. results. Strathclyde: UCl East Kilbride.
I Reversal of Fortune (15) (Barbct Schroeder, US. 1990) Jeremy Irons. Glenn Close. Ron Silver. 111 mins. Dramatic reconstruction. via Jewish American defence lawyer Alan Dershowitz‘ book, of the famous Von Bulow case. in which the European aristocrat (played with typical detachment
by lrons) was convicted ofattempting to murder his fantastically rich wife (Close). The film follows his appeal. led by the exaggeratedly flamboyant Silver as Dershowitz. but for legal reasons is unable to offer any judgement on his guilt or innocence. and does little more than intrigue and eventually frustrate the audience. Glasgow: Odeon. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr.
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 cxecrable macho nonsense. but full of satisfying cheap thrills ifyou take it in the right spirit. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Rocky)! (PG) (John G. Avildsen. US. 199(1) Sylvester Stallone. Talia Shire. Burt Young. Sage Stallone. 104 mins. All that battering has taken its toll and Rocky discovers he‘s brain-damaged (no. don‘t titter). Thanks to an unscrupulous accountant. he's broke too. and his son‘s having a rough time at school. What to do‘.’ Become a trainer/manager. of course. But when'his disciple (Young) gets lured away by big money. Rocky finds vicarious victory eluding him. The last (we‘re promised) and most subtle ofthe sequence. but that‘s not saying much. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Edinburgh: UCl. Central: Caledonian. Strathclyde: Odeon Hamilton. UCl Clydebank. UCl East Kilbride.
I The Rookie (15) (Clint Eastwood. US. 199(1) Clint Eastwood. Charlie Sheen. Raul Julia. Sonia Braga. 107 mins. Weather-beaten LA. cop Eastwood gets a sensitive new boy to break in afterhis previous partner‘s killing. Though initially mistrustful of one another. their exposure to common dangers. . . hey. waidaminnit . . . ain‘t we hoid this befawsomewhere‘.’ Um— yes. actually. Strathclyde: U(.‘1 Clydebank.
I The Russia House (15) (Fred Schepisi. US. 199(1) Sean Connery. Michelle Pfeiffer. Roy Scheider. James Fox. 117 mins. Dated foray into Cold War espionage thrillerdorn. which has Connery as a vague British publisher inexplicably engaged by the intelligence boysto smuggle some documents out from under the Ruskies‘ noses. llis blase expectations of the whole business are thrown out of kilter by the appearance of lovely Ms Pfeiffer. and a familiar wish-fulfilment adventure ensues. Despite the strength of the original material (John Le Carre). the script (Tom Stoppard). the cast and the director, however. it all looks pretty outmoded now. no matter how much unperestroiking Gorbie's up to. See preview. page 16. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Grosvenor. Edinburgh: Cannon. UCl. (‘entralz Cannon. Strathclyde: Cannon. [7(‘1 Clydebank. UCl liast Kilbride.
I Shock Corridor ( 15) (Samuel Fuller. US. 1963) Peter Breck. Constance Towers, Gene Evans. James Best. llari Rhodes. 1(11 mins. Breck's heroic reporterallows himself to be committed to an asylum in order to investigate the murder ofan inmate. As the slow process ofobtaining reliable information from the deranged witnesses frustrates him. so the surroundings begin to wear down his own sanity. and his latent neuroses arise to speed his descent into madness. Slightly hard to believe. but it‘s an enthrallingand stunningly photographed ride. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Short Time ( 12) (Gregg Champion. US. 199(1) Dabney Coleman. Matt Frewer. TeriGarr. 97mins. Contrived comedy-thriller with (‘oleman as a somewhat timid policeman erroneously informed that he has only two weeksto live. Realising be can best provide for his family by being killed on duty. he begins assiduously seeking out dangerous assignments — only to find. ofcourse. that
"One of the top rgcekvzkfrfircilfigjxgflmsoflhe year"
"Enjoyable and fresh...A superb young cost” GeolfAndrew, TIMEOUT
"Humour and lightness of touch”
THE INDEPENDENT
HIPPOLYTE GIRARDOT
A film by
MIREILLE PERRIER
A wok»
V'THOUT P'TJ?
N MONDE
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SANS PlTl
Prix Louis Delluc 1990 Cesar Awards for Best First Film and Most Promising Young Actor 1990 European Film Awards Nomination 1990 Critics Award Venice Film Festival 1989
GLASGOW FILM THEATRE 25 FEBRUARY - 2 MARCH
The List 22 February - 7 March 199121