INDEX FILM
hedonism is also a love story in the manner of Manhattan, though without the intellectual subtlety of that homage to NYC. Martin plays eccentric weatherman Harris K. Telemacher. who sets out to find sanity and true love in a crazy society. Not as funny as it should be. but nonetheless an enjoyable entertainment. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The Maids ( 18) (Christopher Miles, UK, I
1974) Glenda Jackson, Susannah York.
Vivien Merchant. 95 mins. Disappointing .
version of Genet‘s claustrophobic masterpiece about sado-masochistic fantasies. Jackson and York fail to bring any real conviction to their roles as Parisian maids planning, but never carrying out. the murder oftheir
employer. An example of British theatre‘s
influence on its cinema. in the worst sense. Glasgow: GFT.
I The Man With Two Brains ( 15) (Carl Reiner. US. 1983) Steve Martin. Kathleen Turner, David Warner. 93 mins. Zany Martin-Reiner romp in which the great man plays a brilliant brain surgeon driven to the depths of despair when he weds Turner. a man-hungry murderess with a penchant for driving elderly husbands to early graves and pocketing their legacies. Deliriously delightful. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I A Matter of Life and Death (PG) (Michael §
Powell/Emeric Pressburger. UK. 1946)
David Niven. Kim Hunter. Roger Livesy.
Raymond Massey. 104 mins. Wonderful film that rises above its beginnings as a piece of wartime propaganda about goodwill between Britain and the USA. Niven is an RAF pilot who finds himself before a heavenly tribunal when he bales out of his burning plane. A witty and stylish fantasy with a fair share of on-target satire. Glasgow: GFT.
I Mlsery(18) (Rob Reiner. US. 1991) Kathy Bates. James Caan. Frances
Sternhagen. Richard Farnsworth. Lauren :
Bacall. 107 mins. Adapted from Stephen King‘s novel. this psychological chiller centres on a popular author with literary aspirations (Caan) who finds himself trapped. following a nasty car accident. with his ‘number one fan‘ (Bates, who won the Best Actress Oscar for the role). Gradually, he becomes aware ofher psychosis. and is forced to bide histime until he can contrive an escape. The talents of all concerned are employed to
superb effect. to produce a movie ofgreat
originality. subtlety and entertainment value. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Mississippi Burning ( 18) (Alan Parker. US. 1988) Willem Dafoe. Gene l-lackman. Frances McDormand. Brad Dourif. 127 mins. This study ofracial hatred in the deep South ofAmerica stirred up a hornet‘s nest ofcontroversy. but gained six nominations and an Oscar. Despite its commercial context it remains a powerful thriller full of good intentions. and few mainstream directors would dare even to try and bring such a flammable subject to the screen. Glasgow: GFT.
I Monster In A Box ( 12) (Nick Broomfield. UK/USA. 1991 ) Spalding Gray. 89mins. See review. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I My Blue Heaven (PG) (Herbert Ross. US. 1990) Steve Martin. Rick Moranis. Joan Cusack. 96 mins. Jolly but unremarkable pairing of Martin and Moranis. as a retired gangster and his FBI minder. assigned to keep him straight in a suburban hell. Guess what? It ain‘t easy. The script by Nora When Harry. . . Ephron helps keep the comedy rolling. though. and all in all it‘s quite good fun. though too basically safe for any serious belly laughs. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I My Girlfriend's Boyfriend L 'A mi De Mon Amie (PG) (Eric Rohmer. France. 1987) Emmanuelle Chaulet. Sophie Renoir. Eric Vieillard. 102 mins. The sixth and final offering in Rohmer‘s series of Comedies er Proverbes examines the relationship between computer
Monster In A Box (12) (Nick Broomfield, UK/US. 1990) Spaldlng Gray. 90 mins. Those of you who’ve been plumbing the depths of despair for the last eighteen months after missing out on Spalding Gray’s sell-out performances at Mayfes11990, your pain is now at an end. For those of you who were fortunate enough to get tickets for the piece's short Glasgow run, innate curiosity will probably make you want to see Nick Broomfleld’s unobtrusive screen adaptation. Those of you who enjoyed Gray’s previous celluloid monologue, the Jonathan Demme-directed Swimming To Cambodia, will surely be interested in catching up on this seguel-in-all-but-name. Those of you who’ve never heard of Spalding Gray, hell, check out Monster In A Box anyway, it sure beats being asleep for the rest of your life.
Actually, this current offering takes up the story where Swimming To Cambodia left off. The mix is pretty much the same as before: man sits behind desk, dlgresses through a string of off-centre anecdotes, shows all complete set oi New England Jewish intellectual’s neuroses. Lurking silently on the table beside him is constant concern number one, his massive autobiographical novel - literally the Monster in A Box — penned
MONSTER IN A BOX
which captures and justifies one’s
From 24 Nov: Edinburgh Filmhouse.
over a long period as a means of confronting the death of his mother. Trouble is, now that he’s a movie celebrity in the wake of STC, he keeps getting offered various projects which keep him from his labours on the great work. The word rate does have a tendency to drop when there are fact-finding missions to El Salvador to be undertaken or glitzy Iigs to the Moscow Film Festival to be snapped up while the golng's good.
Although director Broomfield (responsible for the wickedly funny industry expose Driving Me Crazy) throws in the odd camera flourish and Laurie Anderson’s electronic score pipes up at moments of emphasis, it's Gray’s quizzical, ironically removed manner and carefully paced writing
attention for the full 90 minutes. His is In many ways a privileged lifestyle, performance artist and occasional Hollywood actor, but his witty cataloguing of many a passing oddity and curious situation reminds us of the
constant stream of everyday absurdity that passes through our own : experience. Hopefully, we're on our way towards a trilogy with this one. (Trevor Johnston)
From 3 Dec: Glasgow Film Theatre.
programmer Renoir and shy civil servant Chaulet and their awkward search for love. Typically perceptive and self-assured work from the Gallic master. with the usual apparently spontaneous performances. Glasgow: GFT.
I A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy‘s Revenge (18) (Jack Sholder. US. 1985) Mark Patton. Kim Myers. Robert Englund. 84 mins. Five years after the first movie. Freddy is still alive and slashing. plaguing a youngster‘s dreams so he can take over his body and kill all the local kids. Lacklustre rehash of Wes Craven‘s superior original. but it set the ball rolling for the rest of the series. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Notebooks 0n Cities And Clothes (U) (Wim Wenders. Germany. 1989) Yohji Yamamoto. Wim Wenders. 81 mins. Wender‘s fashion documentary follows
renowned designer Yamamoto from his Tokyo studio to the roofof Paris‘s Pompidou Centre. Less interesting and convincing are his tenuous links between the world of fashion design and film-making. It all seems like an item picked up for a fiver at a jumble sale. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Omen ill: The Awakening ( 15) (Jorge Montesi/Dominique Othenin-Gerard. US, 1990) Faye Grant, Michael Woods. Asia Vieira. 97 mins. Don‘t be fooled by the certificate - there is absolutely nothing gory or even scary in this dreadfully inadequate American TV movie that is trying to make a fast buck offoverseas
cinema audiences. A couple adopt a little 3 girl who turns out to be the daughterof Anti-Christ Damien Thorn and a series of
mysterious (but tedious) events follow. An insult to fans of the original trilogy. All
UCls (2nd Week).
I Other People's Money (15) (Norman Jewison, US. 1991) Danny DeVito, Gregory Peck. Penelope Ann Miller. Piper Laurie. 101 mins. A little too late to catch the ‘greed is good‘ zeitgeist ofthe late 80$, Jewison's latest has DeVito as a predatory moneyman out to gain control of a New England wire works. lmplausible romance begins between the diminutive corporate raider and his lawyer adversary (Miller). while the script tries to draw attention to the outmoded Major Statement but succeeds only in becominga dubious celebration ofthe joys of capitalism. Glasgow: Cannons. Edinburgh: Cannon. All UCIs.
I Paris Trout ( 18) (Stephen Gyllenhaal. US, 1991) Dennis Hopper. Barbara Hershey. Ed Harris, Tina Lifford. 99 mins. Hopper is on trademark psychotic form, this time in the Deep South during the late 19405. When a young black man fails to keep up the payments on a carhe bought from shady businessman Paris Trout, the latter assumes white superiority and kills his client‘s sister. But this drives his wife into the arms of a local lawyer. albeit after an unbelievably gratuitous sex scene that goes well beyond anything Frank even imagined in Blue Velvet. Interesting, but by no means stunning. G1asgow:GFT.
I Point Break ( 15) (Kathryn Bigelow, US. 1991) Keanu Reeves. Patrick Swayze. Gary Busey. Lori Petty. 120mins. Director Bigelow (Blue Steel. Near Dark) takes on Hollywood‘s action/adventure big boys at their own game and comes out on top. Reeves is the eager young FBI recruit on the trail ofa group of latex-masked bank robbers who are known to be surfers. Board under arm. he heads for the waves. Bigelow tackles cliches of buddy partnerships. macho bullshit and thriller shoot-outs with fresh energy. creating a terrific movie that has one foot in reality. the other in an absurdist world. See feature. General release.
I Powaqqatsi (PG) (Godfrey Reggio. US. 1988) 97 mins. Follow-up to Kayaanisqafsi is another visual collage. this time examining how Third World societies have been exploited. Once more the result is beautifully photographed. and Philip Glass again provides the impressive soundtrack. but somehow the impact of the original has been lost. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Prospero’s Books ( 18) (Peter Greenaway. UK. 1991) John Gielgud. Michael Clark, Isabelle Pasco. Michel Blane. 125 mins. Greenawaytransforms Shakespeare‘s The Tempest into a visual feast by using groundbreaking High
j Definition Television technology.
Gielgud delivers a near-definitive Prospero. backed up by an impressive European cast. and Michael Nyman‘s
f score is perhaps his best yet. A film like no . other, immersed in illusion as both subject I matter and form. Edinburgh:Filmhouse. . IOuadrophenia (18) (Frank Roddam.
UK. 1979) Phil Daniels, Leslie Ash. Philip i Davis. Sting. 120 mins. Mods and rockers I live it up on Brighton beach by swapping buckets and spades for chains and sticks. g Lively first half has enough energy. music. ; violence and period flavour to carry it ; along. but all too soon it degeneratesinto ' some sort of treatise on the morality of youth, set to tunes by The Who. Glasgow: GFT.
I Rambling Rose (15) (Martha Coolidge. US. 1991) Laura Dern. Robert Duvall. Diane Ladd. Lukas Haas. John Heard.
110 mins. Sleepy Georgia of 1935 is the setting for this coming-of-age period piece
in which a barefoot farm girl is taken in by
a more prosperous family. Rose (Dem) is
a naive temptress and among those who
fall for her simple charms are
thirteen-year-old Buddy (Lukas Haas of
Witness fame). A delicately handled. ' finely balanced movie that oozes with nostalgia. Glasgow: Cannon Sauehiehall
The List 22 November— 5 December [—991 19