PREVIEW FILM
mamm- Future daze
Over the years. Kathryn Bigelow' has proved herself to be one of the best action directors working iti l--loll_\'w'ood. She tells Nigel Floyd about her latest big screen blast. Strange Days.
With filtiis like Near Dark. li/at' Steel and I’m/III lireak. Kathrxn Iiigelow has established herself as a gifted actioti director whose ‘\ iscei'al. cathartic. high-iiiipact’ style of filnimaking confidently matches that of her male contemporaries. .\'ow. with Strange Days, Bigelow has created an action- paek'ed science fiction filrn that tests the limits of the genre b_\ inxtaposing elements of filtn noir. techno thriller. political commentar} and onc stot‘}. "The challenge.‘ she explains. ‘was to create a hybrid tnox ie that would maintain the balance between two different stories. lissentiallx. it’s the story of these two characters. l.eniix and .\Iaee_\'. set on the exe of the millennium in a flash-point societ} w here a techtiolog} has been itixented that enables you to experience slices of (\IIIL‘t' [k‘tlpIes' II\L‘s ‘cIil‘si. ‘~‘- Ilic‘It are now being sold on the black tnarket What we wanted to do was to maintain
.. “t t»? ..
g, a
Kathryn Bigelow plans a shot for Strange Days with star Ralph Fiennes
the balance between that social earn as and the more intimate on'e stol‘}. which is something far more personal and ob\ itllls‘I}' far more emotional.‘
This mixing of genre elements is
‘As people move further behind their high-security tences, so their appetite for genuine experience increases.’
t_\pi.'al of lsigclow 's films. which.
' although oltcn operating w ithiti a genre
framework. haxe IIL‘\ er allow ed themselxcs to be constricted b} it. The
’ director is also fascinated b} tnarginal = groups or indix'iduals w hose peripheral
lifestyles throw into relief the moral
1 \ alues of ‘normal' society. a theme that
RENFIELD STREET, GLASGOW HEART OF THE CITY
EON
Trainspotting (18) Sense and Sensibility (o) Jumanji (PG) Bab6(m Braveheart (15) SE7EN (12)
NEW RELEASES - MARCH
1st When Saturday Comes (15) 15th Restoration (15) Get Shorty (‘5) Nixon (15)
22nd Toy Story (PG)
ACCESS/VISA /SW|TCH HOTLINE: 0141 333 9551 11am - 7.00pm DAILY
24 HOUR INFORMATION: 0142 693 3413
| re—surfaces iii Strange Days.
Ralph I"iennes pla}s l.enn_\ \ero. an ex-x'ice cop turned scller of bootleg
dreams which others can then 'iaek‘
into' and \ icariously enjo}. Is’ccorded tising ‘wiie technology that duplicates the poinrof-xiew and adrenalin rush
I experienced b} the wearer. these “clips'
l
incite the same responses in the luck}
\ iew er. :\s l.ennx. the self st_\ led 'Santa ('Iatis of the Subconscious‘. so slickI} ptits it: "This is not like 'l'\' onlx better. This is life a piece of somebodx 's life. I’ure and uncut. straight from the cerebral cortex. You‘re there You‘re doing II. seeing it. hearing ll . ii.‘
The synthetic experiences that l.enn_\ sells run the gamut from crude home porno to real life crime; biit if his trade is dubious. so too is his anaesthetised
feeling
CITIZENS THEATRE
After the success of our production 0f TRAINSPOTT/NG last year, the Citizens' Company presents
Irvine Welsh's
Marabou . Stork Nightmares
A lurid tale of violence, abuse and redemption. Adapted by Harry Gibson 1 — 23 March 1996
Tickets on' sale now — £6l£2 Please phone the Box Office to reserve
your seats on 0141-429 0022.
SEATS STILL
AVAILABLE
‘ was inx'olx ed. as main people w ci‘c. iti
incident and the riots that followed. l
ctistoniers' insatiable demand for authentic-sectiiirig ‘clips‘, ‘l’or instance.’ Bigelow explains. ‘l.ennx Nero st!) s. “We all need to take a walk to the dark end of the street sometime. but sex can kill you and the streets are a war rotie." And as people more further behind their high~securit} fences. which actuallx present them from experiencing raw life as we once knew it. so their appetite for genuine experience increases. But what the} don't realise is that the “wire” is not the lechnolog} to satisfy that cra\ ing. In fact. it’s a pacifier. it prexcnts tlietii from focusing on the social issues which created that siege mentality in the first place,‘
Issues such tts pox el'l}. lut'tttI discrimination and the abuse of political pow er. ()ne scene echoes the infamous hotite tnox ic footage of Rodne} King being beaten bx police officers. an incident which sparked the subsequent I.os .-\ngeles riots. These references are both conscious tittd crucial. saxs lligelow: "This script was presented to me almost four xcars ago. iust on the heels of the Rodnex King
the clean-up of dow ntow n l.os .'\ttches. Actually quite a lot of the images come born that experience. from being there and seeing part ol the CH} which xou lix e iii being destros ed. lrom seeing arm} personnel on the streets It was a wry tito\itig experience and I felt that we needed to take responsibilitx for that cultural history'
Strange /)a\.\ o/n II.\ (In /1.r i" .I/ar‘. Jamex ( 'ana'rint '\ xt'rt ( n/n'ai furl/1e ltlni l\ pri/r/Is/it t/ in Penguin at MUM
l
The I Isl .3; I'ic‘h T .‘sIdt' I000