FILM SCOTTISH

BUSHES

I New British Expo: Oliver Stone's multiplicity ol‘ styles in .\'l)’/\' will be nothing to the range on display in .\'l}.\' the New British lispo section (it this year's l)ratnhuie Tidinhurgh l-‘ihn Festival. A comprehensive showcase ol" domestic lilm production. \llX will attempt to present e\er_\ British film (single dramas oxcr ()0 minutes in length) tnade in the last year to an audience ol‘ buyers. l'unders. progrannners. journalists and lilmniakers around the world. it's a hold undertaking by the l"c‘sti\;il. underlining a commitment to the LR industry while allowing exposure l‘or several works that might. l'or any number ol‘ reasons. tte\ cr reeeix e theatrical e\posurc.

‘l5or many l'ihnmakcrs. this will be their lirst cltance to see their work on the big screch says l’cstival director Mark Cousins. ‘l’or talent scouts. it will also he the lirst time that they \\lll have been able to see a year's worth ol British l‘ilms in one place.‘ No l'ilms will he rejected and no charge w ill be tnade tor the screening as registration is free (NBX lilms are distinct l‘rom those selected by the Festival l‘or puhlic screenings). The lull NBX progrannne runs from Tuesday 22 until Sunday 27 August. the last six day s ol the l’estival. and will include seminars. debates and

SCOTTISH FILM

an ‘open serecn‘ section where producers ol short lilms attending the e\ent will have an opportunin to present their work. li\po ('luh passes. priced Lil). \\ ill gi\e access to the entire exent. which is being co- ordinated by ls'atol Kttllk. lortneily ol‘

3 liuro-.-\l.\l. Registration l'orms are

ax arlahle tiom the l)ramhute lidinhurgh

liilni l‘t‘sllHll. liilmliouse. SS l.othian Road. lfdinhmgh. lill.i 9H7. tlll.‘~l

228 ~lll5l or la\ lllil 229 55lll l. I Celtic Film and Television Festival:

Welsh language leaturc-length drama

innit/tin Hit/.ltllizn'. a revmrkmg ol' the :\rthurian legend. was awarded the

Spirit ()I'Thc l:L‘\ll\Lll award at the lhth ('cltie l’ilm and 'l'ele\ iston l‘estnal. lteld this year m l‘ort William. Scotland picked up three awards: lily-S's prol'ile til~ Kl). l.ainj_'. ./lt\/ .'l/1Ul/l('}' Sinner, won the Documentary l‘eaturc category; l’at llaikins’s Tartan Short Mutt/rm won a Special Jury :\\\ard. and Malcolm ('lark l'ollow ed in the loolsteps o: l’cter ('apaldi. winning the l-‘irst 'l'ime Director :\\\ard l'or his documentary on (‘oathridge

hotly hnildets. S/Iui‘l Slur/ids: lltm/ Men. I St Bride’s Film Festival: Alter liottt' years. it's already one ol Scotland's best community l'ilm L‘\L'llls ~ lidinhurgh's St liridc's l‘ilni liestixal celebrates the centenary ol' einema with a w ide range ol' screenings. workshops and exhibitions between Monday 2-1 and Saturday 29 April. Highlights include an ()pening (iala. in aid ol' Lolltian :\utistte Society. ol‘ classic musical Sine/11' In '/'//t’ Rum teo directed by Stanley Donen. who will he the subject ol a major retrospective at this year‘s l>ramhuie lidinhurgh l-‘ilm Festival l. a rare screening ol' llertolueei's In /.l!//(I. and a finale. also lor the Lolltialt .-\utistic Society. consisting of It's A ll’mn/mf/it/ Life and a subsequent ceilidh. See Listings and Index l‘or details. or contact the box

()l-l‘lCC ()Il lll3l 3—H) I405.

Scots might stand in unison to belt out ‘Flower Of Scotland’ at Murrayfield, but concepts of national identity don’t always equate with the self-identity of individuals. This conflict, as well as the media portrayal of Scotland and Scottish stereotypes, is under examination in Stand Up, a short film written and directed by film student Fraser MacDonald and the local Vagrant production team.

Stand Up tells the story of a young comedian’s dilemma when opportunity ; knocks and he’s able to leave behind his native land - elements of which pervade his on-stage routine and daily life - by moving down to the more lucrative London circuit. The project, currently shooting in Edinburgh, is one of fourteen (and the only one in Scotland) to be selected under this year’s prestigious Fuji Film Scholarship. The award means that Stand Up, which will also be the filmmaking team’s degree submission .

l 32 The List 2| Apr—4 May 1995

Identity crisis A “I t

production assistance and reduced equipment hire (although local sponsorship is still required to help completion).

All too often, student films of

exceptional quality languish on video

tape without gaining substantial exposure. The Fuji Award will enable MacDonald to assemble a rough print on film, and already he has a

Z commitment from London’s Gate and 1 Bitzy cinemas, and the Cameo in

Edinburgh, to screen the short with a

forthcoming feature. A finished version of Stand Up should be ready in

early June, ready to face the response the wider real film-going public. (AM)

w ' bit of a cold-hearted bastard ainhis

LOVE IN THE STRANGEST WAY

Love In The Strangest Way: ’very little subtlety’

Barely allowed to draw breath on its theatrical release in Scotland, Christopher Franks’s French thriller stalks the shadows of the Fatal Attraction sub-genre. Julien (Thierry Lhermitte) is a happy family man but a

job as an executive with a debt collection agency. When his wife and young son go off on holiday, he takes the opportunity to indulge in a night of passion with Angela (Nadia Fares), a young women he notices at the cafe opposite his office. She agrees to an amicable split, so he’s in a bit of a sweat when she is hired as child- minder to his son and moves in to the flat below his.

There’s very little subtlety in the film’s set-up over-emphatic chords underline the meaningful looks as the lovers first catch each other’s eye. Angela keeps us guessing as to her hidden agenda, which raises her slightly above the usual psycho-sex babe aiming a knife at the phallic ego. In its later stages, the film shifts into a much better paranoia thriller, although its narrative devices constantly border on the farcical. (Alan Morrison)

love In The Strangest Way (15) (Christopher Franks, France, 1994) Thierry Lhermitte, Maruschka Detmers, Nadia Fares. 107 mins. Available from Tartan Video at £15.99.

Colin Mclaren and Steve Stand Up at the Scottish Film School at Napier University, receives essential

I Shadows Of Our Forgotten Ancestors ( t2) An early work by the late Sergo Paradjanov. this marked the start of his troubles with the Soviet authorities.culminating in live years imprisonment in a gulag. To western eyes. the film‘s ‘controversies' are its strengths: an excessively romantic rendering of a Carpathian love story. with strong expressionistic colouring attd vibrant realisation ol‘ local traditions. Right from the thrilling point- ollview sltot of a falling tree at the opening. the idiosyncratic camerawork draws tlte viewer immediately into the scene. (Connoisseur. 115.99)

I Preston Sturges (U) Subtitled ‘The Rise And Fall ()l~ An American Dreamer". this docutnentary the lirst in an zlnteriemi Mastery series pulls together lilm clips. interviews and biographical voiceover to profile the talents of Hollywood's first writer- director. A personal hero. Sturges charged his screenplays with energetic pacing. hilarious dialogue and a rare American brand of irony. (Academy. £l5.99)

I A Better Tomorrow Ill (18) Chow Yuri-Fat slips back into the dark raincoat of the character who brought him to fame. Mark Gor. although this time the director isn‘t

John Woo but the l producer of the series.

Tsui Hark. The third instalment is. ill fact. a prequel. going back to Vietnam in 1974 to chart ! the events that turned our easy-going hero into a toothpick-chewing killer. Stylish. but not the groundbreaker the original was. nor the action blast of its sequel. (Made In Hong Kong. 1. l 3.99)

I Le Miraculé ( l8) Allet' being hit by a car. uninjured con man l’apu tries to wheedle some . money out ol‘ an insurance company. but a mute investigator is suspicious and trails him to Lourdes. Jean-Pierre Mocky's little- known movie is a lrenetic. absurdist satire on greed and religious commercialisation. With a set of characters who are almost sideshow l'reaks. the overall impression is of a crazin comic circus act captured on film. right down to Michael Nyman's demented fairground music. (Lumiere. 1' I499)

I Invincible Shaolin ( l8) An evil warlord causes the shaolin masters ol‘ north and south to light among themselves. but pretty soon they‘ve teamed up to save the day. The director and stars of notable kung fu ensemble piece Fire Vwmnx gather again to indulge in some incredible acrobatics and agile action. (Made in Hong Kong. :2 l 3.99)

I WR: Mysteries Of The Organism (l8) Dusan Makavejev‘s filmic collage from l97l shows

the el’l'ect ot‘ the West's more liberal attitude to sex on the repressive regimes ol‘ the liast. 'l‘wo elements dominate: documentary material on radical sexologist Wilhelm Reich and a lictionalised tale (ii a Yugoslav woman's attempts to tree up the attitudes M a Soviet skater. This is anarchic lihnmaking where comedy is a revolutionary tool. But Makavejev knows that persecution is universal: Reich may have fled Stalin. but he died in a US jail. hounded for his theories. lt'sjust a pity that this video version. despite carrying the director's approval. also sul'l‘ers censorship. blanking out any sign ol' on-screen erections. (Connoisseur. £ l5.99)

I Sweeney 1 8: 2 t 18) This double movie helping on one tape ol' the l‘lying Squad coppers still retains a clear British 70s TV feel to it. even with more sex. more violence (those jacket collars could put somebodys eye otlll) attd more swearing. The first film is a bit of a disappointtnent. although its government sex sleaze plot does have a topical ring to it. The sequel is much better: seminal Brit cops 'n‘ robbers territory with a tougher. tighter and more authentic script. And I'm pretty sure that. even when he's propping up the bar on and off duty. John Thaw‘s Regan could drink the same actor's Morse under the table any day.

(Lumiere. £10.99)