INDEX FILM

and his father Cesar. the owner of a bar. Into the equation comes Fanny. who uses Marius‘ jealousy over her courting by the older Panisse to coax a reluctant engagement. A great love story and portrait of life in the French sea port. See also Fanny and Cesar. Edinburgh: Filmhousc. I La Marseillaise (PG) (Jean Renoir. France. 1938) Pierre Renoir. Lise Delamare. Louis Jouvet. 135 mins. Financed by the French unions. this episodic and overlong period piece follows the 1789 march from Marseilles by a group of peasants looking to do their hit for the Revolution. One of Renoir's personal favourites. but its lack of pace or moments of real power make it one of his least successful. Edinburgh: Film Guild. I The Mask (PG) (Charles Russell. US. 1994) Jim Carrey. Cameron Diaz. Peter Reigert. 95 mins. A timid bank clerk finds an ancient mask that allows him to fulfil his innennost desires as a suave charmer and crime-fighting whirlwind. An amalgam of 20s. 30s and 40s decor. The Mark has a skimpy plot. but its rousing musical set-pieces and eye-popping computer-generated effects (like a live action Tex Avery cartoon) make it a surprise hit. Glasgow: MGM Filrn Centre. I Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (PG) (Bryan Spicer. US. 1995) Paul Freeman. Gabrielle Fitzpatrick. Amy Jo Johnson. 95 mins. A strictly juvenile big screen version of the TV show with the Angel Grove teenagers battling the evil lvan Ooze. Wearing their colour-coded jumpsuits. they use good old-fashioned teamwork to tumble and kickbox their way through oodles of monsters. The fights are well- staged. btrt some of the effects are tacky. it's all panto—bland enough to keep the kids happy. Glasgow: MGM Parkhead. I Muriel's Wedding (15) (PJ. Hogan. Australia. was) Toni Collette. Rachel Griffiths. Bill Hunter. 105 mins. Ugly duckling Muriel decides to leave behind her boring life in Porpoise Spit and search for her Prince Charming in the big lights of Sydney. A bouncy Abba soundtrack and fairy tale ambiance add to the chann of one of the year‘s best crowd-pleasers. As sparkling. in its on n way. as The Adventures Of Priscilla. Glasgow: Gl’T. I Mute Witness (18) (Anthony Waller. UK/Russia/Gerrnany. 1995) Marina Sudina. Fay Ripley. Olcg Jankovskij. 98 mins. Accidently locked in a Moscow film studio. a mute sfx artist (Srrdina) inadvertently stumbles on what she believes is the filming of a snuff movie. But when the body disappears. a complicated game of cat-and-mouse ensues. Waller's debut is a smart. witty and knowing thriller that offers blood-freezing chills and edgy black humour in equal measures. See review. Stratbclyde: MGM Film Centre. Edinburgh: Cameo. I My Darling Clementine (PG) (John Ford. US. 1946) Henry Fonda. Victor Mature. Linda Darnell. 97 mins. Ford actually met the real Wyatt Earp. but it's notjust authenticity that makes this take on the gunfight at the OK Corral a classic western: a shoot-out is a shoot-out. so Ford builds towards it with a finely orchestrated set of incidents. The acting is excellent. from Fonda's lawman to Mature's tormented Doc llolliday. Edinburgh: Filmhousc. I My Girl 2 (PG) (Howard Zieff.US.1993) Anna Chlumsky. Austin O'Brien. Dan Aykroyd. Jamie Lee Curtis. 98mins. While off at her uncle‘s for the summer. Vada (Chlumsky) researches the life of her deceased mother for a school project. This sequel to 1992's surprise hit opens the story out a little and still manages to be sweetly nostalgic and painfully honest in a young teen sense at the same time. Not to everyone's taste. but an uncommonly touching coming~of-age story. Glasgow: MGM Parkhead. I The Icon Bible (12) (Terence Davies. UK. 1995) Gena Rowlands. Jacob Tierney. Diana Scarwid. 92 mins. The setting may be different - the US Southern Bible Belt in the 19405. lifted from the novel by John Kennedy Toole but the concerns are identical to Davies‘s previous works (Distant Voices Still Lives. The Long Day Closes). A boy's memory is forever marked by his violent. absent father. his overly sensitive mother and his flamboyant night-club singer aunt. Strong women. weak men. pain and tiny momean ofjoy: Davies has made the same film again. albeit beautifully. particularly on account of Mick Coulter's widescreen photography. Fife: Adam Smith. I lift! Of The Iguana (15) (John Huston. US. 1964) Richard Burton. Ava Gardner. Deborah Kerr. 118 mins. One of the more satisfactory screen adaptations of Tennessee Williams' work has Burton as the unfrocked. alcoholic priest who finds work as a bus-tour guide in Mexico and becomes involved with both spinster-poetess Kerr and earthy hotel‘owner Gardner. Particulary fine performances all round and a satisfying balance between pathos and comedy. Edinburgh: Filmhousc. I Iifltt 0n [till (15) (Jim Jarmusch. US. 1992) Winona Ryder. Beatrice Dalle. Gena Rowlands.

Giancarlo Esposito. 129 mins. Los Angeles. New York. Paris. Rome. Helsinki. Five cities. five taxi rides. five chance encounters. The director of Mystery Train and Dorm By Law pushes aside narrative arid goes instead for visual unifomtity in a claustrophobic setting. Character studies with a mildly philosophical aftertaste. Edinburgh: Cameo.

I Noir et Blane ( 18) (Claire Devers. France. 1986) Francis Frappat. Jacques Martial. Josephine Fresson. 80 mins. A mildmzrnner‘ed accountant fomts a bizarre and increasingly hazardous sado-masochistic relationship with a burly masseur while working at a health club. Devers planned to make a documentary but when her research ran into hostility. she decided to work in the basic premise of a short story by Tennessee Williams. The result is a spare. claustrophobically intense study of pain and pleasure. desire and brutalisation. Uncomfortable and disturbing. Edinburgh: Filmhousc.

I Orphee ( 15) (Jean Cocteau. France. 1950) Jean Marais. Marie Dea. Maria Casares. 95 mins. Cocteau creates an unrivalled cinema fantasy in this stunning modern version of the Orpheus legend. replete with surprising technical tricks and the director's personal brand ol poetry. Glasgow: GFT.

I Pocahontas (U) (Mike Gabriel/Eric Goldberg. US. 1995) With the voices of Mel Gibson. lrene Bedard. Billy Connolly. 81 mins. The true story of Pocahontas is given a splash of Disney colour. reducing her from heroine to lovesick bimbo as she falls madly in love with white settler Captain John Smith. The cliched beauty of the leads. the

cutesy animals and talking tree make it a Haves),

and even the songs are tuneless warblirig ballad... Only the animation is worth a mention. Glasgow: MGM Parkhead. Edinburgh; l'Cl. Stratbclyde: UCls. WMR.

I ll Postino (U) (Michael Radfor'd. llaly. was) Massimo Troisi. Philippe Noiret. Maria Grazia Cucinotta. 108 mins. When exiled (,‘hilean poet

Pablo Neruda (Noiret) an‘ives on a remote island ,

off the Neapolitan coast. he aids local rostman Mario (Troisi) to woo the village barmaid. Gently paced and full of Mediterranean sun. Radford's film is nicely unsentimental. Sadly. Troisi died the day after shooting was completed. but he couldn‘t have left a finer legacy. Glasgow: GFT.

of Montrose (John Hurt) and a maliciously psychopathic Englishman (Roth). Rob Roy MacGregor is determined to win back the honour of his name. Alan Sharp's script is rich. witty and literate; Caton-Jones‘s direction injects a little action. but doesn't pander to Hollywood; and all the performances are wonderful. A stirring epic which refuses to contpt‘ottttSC. making it one of the best films about Scotland and the Scottish psyche ever made. Central: MacRobert.

I Ruffian Hearts ( 15) (David Kane. Scotland. 1995) Maureen Beattie. Vicki Masson. Ewen Br'ernner. 89 mins. A mixed bunch of Glaswegians chase romance in writer-director Kane’s brilliantly balanced comedy. Against a backdrop of uncrnployrricnt. tacky clubs and seedy tenements. their lives overlap. bringing small joys and larger disappointments. Kane's script sparkles. but he also proves his worth in

the director‘s chair. coaxing terrific

performances from his ensetrrble cast. Glasgow: GFT.

I The Santa Clause (L?) (John Pasquin. US. 1994) Tim Allen. Judge Reinhold. Wendy Crewson. 98 mins. When he unknowingly dons that famous t‘cd suit. divorced toy company executive Scott (‘alv in discovers a clause that means he's legally bound to be Santa from that moment on. TV star Allen (Home Improvement) is a corrrpeterrt lead in this upbeat festive tale that tries hard to appeal to the widest possible audience. Glasgow: Odeon. MGM Parkhead. Edinburgh: l'Cl. Str'athclyde: Odeon Ayr. UCls. WMR.

I Scarlace ( 18) (Brian De Palma. US. 1983) Al Pacino. Steven Bauer. Michelle Pfeiffer. 169 mins. (‘ubarr crrrigrant Pacino builds a vast Mrarni crime empire on foundations ofcocaine. btrt his life is destroyed when he loses control of hrs on n indulgence. Overbearing moralising dorrrinates this sweeping gangster saga. with stylish violent highlights the De Palma traderrrark as ever. liifc: Adam Smith.

I Seven ( 18) (Dav id Finchcr. US. 1995) Brad Pitt. Morgan Freeman. Gwyneth Paltrow. 127

mins. The outline is familiar two cops track down a serial killer -- but Seven is a step ahead of

its T1\';ll.\. 1-‘romitsopening title sequence orrwar (1s. it's an extremely dark movie which is inds through the most twisted recesses of

i human nature. liach dcth rs a graphic

I Pride And Prejudice (PG) (Robert 7.. Leonard.

US. 1940) Greer Garson. laurence Olivier. Edmund Gwenn. 116 mins. MGM flattened much of the irony ofJane Austen's novel. but it‘s still a sparky script (by Aldous Huxley). and the perfonnances by Olivier (as the dashrrrg Darcy) and Carson (the cool Elizabeth Bennett) are nicely pitched. Followed by a seminar on tlze effectiveness of adapting Austen fer the screen. especially in the light of the successful BBC serial. Glasgow: Gl’l‘.

I Public Access (15) (Bryan Singer. US. 1993) Ron Marquette. Dina Brooks. Burt Williams. 90 mins. An enigmatic stranger arrives in the perfect small town in middle America and begins unearthing hidden rcsentments via hi. cable TV show. Oblique shots of objects and body parts in close-up. coupled with fragmented soundtrack noises make this a skilfully structured exercise in cinematic unease. Fascinating. scary and brilliantly photographed. it paved the way for director Singer's success

. with The Usual Suspects. Glasgow: GET. I Pulp Fiction (18) (Quentin Tarantino. US.

1994) John Travolta. Samuel Jackson. L'rna Thurman. Bruce Willis. 150 mins. Much more

rnterpretation of one of the seven deadly sins. giving Alien A‘ director Firrcher the material for

an intense stylistic exercise in horror. General

release.

I Shaft ( 15) (Gordon Parks. US. 1971) Richard Rourrdtree. Moses Gunn. (‘harles Cioffi. 100 mins Not really as blaxploitative as it's reckoned to be. this hardhoiled private eye thriller lras a decent cast. a tight plot. and that LOOJ Oscar-winning title song from Isaac Hayes in its favour. Better than its two sequels. the plot

centres on the kidnapping of a gangster's

daughter. Glasgow: GET.

I Showgirls (18) (Paul Verhoeven. US. 1995) Elizabeth Berkeley. Kyle Maclachlan. Gina Gershon. 130 mins. Director Verhoeven and writer Joe Eszterhas combine again for an unbelievably crude 'cxpose' of Las Vegas pond life. wrth an ambitious young woman moving up in the world from a lap-dancing dive to a casino revue. A catalogue ofexploitation cliches.

' clunky dialogue and gratuitous topless set pieces

ambitious than Reservoir Dogs. the most awaited

second feature of the 90s has rrrany scenes that crackle with Tarantino wit. and a few others that fall flat as the writer-director bravely experiments. Interlocking stories in the pulp crime manner concern hitmen. ailing boxers. gang bosses and their molls. drug fiends. and assorted riff-raff. A surprise Cannes Palme d'Or winner is a trip. all the way. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Reservoir Dogs (18) (Quentin Tarantino. US. 1992) Harvey Keitel. Tint Roth. Michael Madsen. 100 mins. A gang of hoods. known only to each other by colour-coded nicknames. meets at an abandoned warehouse to figure how out their rigorously planned heist went so drastically wrong. The best debut in years from writer-director Tarantino. whose stylish violence seduces the audience into complicity. Brilliant in every sense of the word. Edinburgh: Cameo.

I The Item 0' Min Guerre (15) (Daniel Vigne. France. 1982) Gerard Depardieu. Nathalie Baye. Stephane Peau. 123 mins. 1n the sixteenth century. a young man leaves his village. to return from war nine years later. He is welcomed borne by his wife. but rumours begin to insist that he is an impostor. Fascinating and engagingly muddy realisation of traditional French myth. which culminates in a gripping courtroom scene and a twist in the tail. Edinburgh: Cameo.

I Rob Roy (15) (Michael Caton-Jones. US/UK. 1995) Liam Neeson. Jessica Lange. Tim Roth. 130 mins. When he is betrayed by the Marquis

that should be consigned to the video shelves and sticky liarrky brigade as soon as possible. See review. General release.

I The Silence: or The Palace (15) (Moufida Tlatli. 'l‘unisia/France. 1994) 127 mins. A young woman returns to the palace where she was born and. in a series of flashbacks. relives her upbringing in tire-independence Tunisia. Female director Moufida Tlatli constructs a complex view of a repressive regime. where intricate rituals reduce women to objects for the pleasure of the princes. Glasgow: GET.

I Something To Talk About (15) (Lasse llallstrorn. US. 1995) Julia Roberts. Dennis Quaid. Robert Duvall. 106 mins. Roberts is the wife and mum who kicks out husband Quaid when she realises he's been playing around. thereby forcing her parents (Robert Duvall and Gena Rowlands) to assess their own marriage. Hallstrom. director of What '5 Eating Gilben Grape". comes up with a simply plotted. beautifully cast domestic melodrama. Glasgow: MGMs. Edinburgh: Dominion. MGM. UCI. Strathclyde: UCls.

I The Swan Princes: (U) (Richard Rich. US. 1995) With the voices of John Cleese. Jack Palance. Steven Wright. 94 mins. Swan Lake in its fairytale form. with all the expected ingredients that modern children's animated features contain talking animals. bland but cute heroes. musical routines. An evil magician casts a spell on a princess. turning her into a swan. And any film that features Palance doing a song called ‘No More Mr Nice Guy' has to be worth a visit. Edinburgh: Odeon.UC1. Stratbclyde: UCls.

I Taxi Driver (18) (Martin Scorsese. US. 1976) Robert De Niro. Cybill Shepherd. Jodie Foster.

Batch are best rrrrn err: romaine", .

FIRST IIIJI . lI Devil In 'A Blue Dress Deanel Washington is Easy Rawlins. a World War 11 vet turned detective, in Carl Franklin’s moody noir version of Walter Mosley’s novel. Edinburgh: F r'lmhouse. ' I Babe Far more than a kids’ comedy about a talking pig, this surprise cult crossover is to One Man And His Dog what Have I Got News For You is to Question Time. General release. I The War Kevin Costner keeps to the background and lets Elijah Wood deliver one of the best child actor performances ever in this engaging coming-of-agc period movie. Limited general release. I The Whlte Balloon A girl's trip to the market to buy a goldfish becomes an unexpectedly fraught trip in this award-winning Iranian realist film. Edinburgh: Cameo. Filmhousc. I Seven Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt descend into some stylishly bleak shadows to solve a series of murders based on the seven deadly sins. General release. BEPEIITORY yi- Mien Hearts David Kane’s portrait of the overlapping lives and loves of a group of modem-day Glaswegians deserves further exposure after its BBC2 showcase slot. Glasgow: CF]: I lioir et Blane A shy accountant begins a sado-masochistic relationship with a black masseur in this brilliantly observed character study. Edinburgh: F ilmhouse.

114 mins. An alienated taxi driver in New York is so repelled by the squalor and the moral decay around him that he is driven to terrible violence. One of the key films of the Seventies with the Scorsese-De Niro partnership at its peak. Fife: New Picture House.

I Le Teetaueet D'Orphee (15) (Jean Cocteau. France. 1960) Jean Cocteau. Edouard Derrnithe. Jean Marais. Maria Casares. Yul Brynner. 83 mins. The enfant terrible's second dip into the Orpheus legend was also his last film. and pretty obscure it is too. unless you're familiar with his earlier work. This time. there‘s little but recycled imagery to see as Cocteau allows himself to be overwhelmed by a barrage of fantasy and pessimism. eventually giving up on the real world altogether. Glasgow: GFT.

I Three Coleus Trilogy(15)(Knyszrof Kieslowski. France/Poland/Switzerland. 1993/94) Juliette Binoche. Julie Delpy. Zbigniew Zamachowski. lnene Jacob. Jean-Louis Trintignant. 98/91/96 mins. Kieslowski's masterful trio of films. theoretically based around the ideals of the French Revolution Liberty. Equality. Fraternity - gets to the heart of the contradictions of the new Europe. but never loses sight of its human heart. Glasgow: GFT.

I The Week of leis. (18)

(Philip Kaufman. US. 1987) Daniel Day-Lewis.

Juliette Binoche. [Jena 01in. 167 mins. Ambitious adaptation of Milan Kundere's

complex novel about a womanising Czech brain

The List 12-25 Jan 1996 31