Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate. credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Alan Morrison.
Alien Resurrection (18) (Jean-l’ierre Jeuncl. IIS. I997) Sigouriiey Weas er. Winona Ryder. lll5 mins. livil hoffins clone Ripley and the unborn alien inside her. but the monster escapes and rampages about a labyrinthine spaceship. It's a shaky premise. with a pick ‘n‘ mix selection of elements from earlier .’lll('l3 iiioyies l)l'll('tl/t'.\\('ll director .leunet retains enough of his own distinctive. retro-future vision but damages the series' seiious tone with unfunny one- lmeis. liqually out of place is Winona Ryder. litliuhiirgli. (Iiiiieo. All Over Me ( lSi (Alex A Sy l'. (a Sichcl. l'S. l99hi 9') mins. With a fabulous sotmdti‘.’icl; from indie (iain to l’atti Smith. this triumphant story of a [\ltl\ generation hahy dyke's comiiig-of-age plays out in New York's Hell's Kitchen. l'ii‘st Scottish screening. (ilasgow. (ill. Alphaville ( I5) (Jean-l uc (iodard. l-t'ancc. I915) l'itldie Constantine. Anna Karma. llowai‘d \‘ernon. 9S miiis linioy ahle mid- (itls ( ititlard caper which turns coiiteiiiporai'y l’aris into Alpha (ill. a chilly city of the future from which such concepts as low and tenderness have been banned. linter Constantine‘s grizzled gumslioe lenimy Caution and were set for an extended and highly idiosyncratic homage to comic strip heroism. lidinhurgli: liilmhousc. An American Werewolf In Paris ( Is) (Author!) Waller. llS. l997i'l‘om li\‘(‘l(‘ll Scott. .ltilie Delpy. Vince \'ieluf. .loliii landis's l9Sl lllU\lt‘.‘l/l .'lIII(’I'I('tlIl lli't'eittill ln Loni/on w as an entertaining mix of scares and black comedy. British director \‘v'aller managed the same balance in his debtit. :llltlt' llitnt'sx. so could he a good replacement and digital technology pi’otiitscs c\t'n licltel‘ lt'ansl'tn'malions. (ilasgtiw (ii'tisyeltm‘. L'Appartement ( (it (t itllt's Miiiiouni. liiancc. W90) Vincent ('assell. Romanc llohringcr. .lean-l’liilippe l’colfcy. llh mins. Young exec Max ((‘asselll finds himself drawn into the mystery of his own past when a chance encounter in a cafe sends him hot on the trail of the girl he lo\ ed and lost. Mimouni marshals the switchhack between past and present with effortless elan it's all very llitclicockian. httt the film's emotional component stops it from being tllL‘t'L‘ pastiche. Quite possibly the ctitilcsl l‘i'ciich debut since lhitt. l‘alkii'kf Arts Centre. Bean (l‘(ii (.\lel Smith. I'ls’. I997) Rowan Atkinson. l’etci' .\laci\'icol. l’amela Reed 97 mins. liean the ll]()\ ie makes an attempt to broaden the range of Atkinson‘s tremendously successful 'l'\' sight—gag character by sending him off to California to he mistaken for an art expert. Most gags are agreeably daft: several are tiresomer lasatorial; eventually. however. the film upholds family values and true blue American seliiiialtz, You’ll like it if you like the 'li\' show. Real grow n-ups sliotild stay away last Killii'ide: ll(‘l_ .\lotlici‘well: Movieltouse. Big Night ( l5) (Stanley 'l'ucci/Caiiiphcll Scott. US. I995) Stanley 'l‘ttcci. 'l'ony Shalhouh. Ian llolm. ll(l mins. Brother l’rimo and Secondo l’ilaggi run a New Jersey Italian restaurant that's all htit bankrupt because of l’rimo's punctilious attitude to cuisine. so Secondo is persuaded to set tip a 'hig night' for famous singer l.ouis l’rima. The 50s setting is nicely btit simly detailed. the cliaracterisations strongly observed and the dialogue gently humorous. A warm and inviting independent movie that doesn't slip into easy resolutions. lialkirk: Arts Centre. Boogie Nights ( IS) (l’aul ’lliomas Anderson. US. I997) Mark Wahlberg. Burt Reynolds. Julianne Moore. l5? mins. Doing for porn filiiiinaking what (him/fellas did for gangsters. Boogie Nights charts the rise. fall and redemption of a fictional porn superstar (Wahlberg) against the enormous changes wrought in the industry between the 70s and
LA. woman: Andie MacDowell in The End Of Violence
80s. large-scale social commentary and small-scale human dramas account for the film‘s epic feel. while the kitsch fashions and funky disco soundtrack create a film that is as ambitious as it is entertaining. (ieiieral release.
The Borrowers (I!) (Peter Hewitt. Uls'. I997) John (ioodman. Jim Broadbent. Celia lmrie. 86 mins. At a height of only four inches. the Borrowers hide in wall cavities and living beneath the floorboards of the lender household. When a nasty lawyer tries to swindle the humans out of their inheritance. families big and small join forces. The design and effects create a strangely familiar. oddly unplaccable world. and children will have little difficulty suspending enough disbelief to be spellbound by the magic of the film. (ieneral release.
Cathy Come Home (l’ti) (Ken l,oacli. UK. I966) Carol White. Ray Brooks. 79 mins. l.oach's seminal (locu-drama affected the nation in a way that any TV broadcast is unlikely to do today. causing the issues to be debated and a new realist style to be born. White plays a young homeless woman struggling to keep her family together and. although the lines between victim and victimiser might be rather simply drawn. it remains an impassioned piece of work. 'lhis screening marks the 30th anniversary of Shelter. the charity launched to help homeless people like Cathy. and will be introduced by representatives of Shelter Scotland. lidinburgh: liilmhouse.
Chasing Amy ( l8) (Kevin Smith. US. I996) lien Afflect. Joey Lauren Adams. Jason Lee. I I l mins. The third film by the writer/director of ('lerks is a wry and surprisingly mature look at twentysomething relationships. Comic book artist Holden
(A ffleck) falls desperately in love with Alyssa (Adams). but she prefers gals to guys. Sexual desire and a crisis of masculinity come under the microscope in a film that's bloody funny in a risque way. liast Kilbride: Arts Centre.
The Cloud-Capped Star (15) (Ritw'ik (iliatak. India. I960) |26 mins. Neither a llollywood extravaganza nor the precise lyricism of Satyajit Ray. (iliatak's evocation of a woman's struggle to retain hope in an unjust world is a highly mannered. forcefully emotional melodrama. The purpose isn't simply to describe the daily grind of post—war India. but also the wider effects of modernity on a society already contending with its own primitiveness. l-‘alkirk: Arts Centre.
Come and See ( l 8) (lilim Kliinov. USSR. I987) Alexei Kravchenko. ()lga Mironova. I42 mins. Klimov's epic account of an atrocious Nazi massacre in Byelorussia in I943 is one of the genuinely great films of its decade. 'llie horrific events are seen through the eyes of a young boy (Kravchenko). who ages visibly throughout a remarkable performance. Not simply a meditation on Russian history. btit an epic about mankind. at once harrowing and visionary. which demonstrates that film can still take on the most monumental of issues in a serious fashion. (ilasgow: (il-‘l‘.
Cop Land (l5) (James Marigold. US. I997)
Sylvester Stallone. Robert De Niro. Harvey Keitel. Ray Liotta. 105 mins. Stallone plays sheriff Freddy Hefiin. bossed around by the NYPD men who make their home in Garrison. New Jersey. When he uncovers deep-rooted police corruption on his turf. he has a one-shot chance to win back his self- respect. Like LA. Confidential. Cop [and has a stormer of a plot. but is essentially a character-driven movie. The acting is. unsurprisingly. in a league of its own. with Stallone's lumbering hero providing his best role since Rocky. Iargs: Barrfield.
Dead Man Walking (15) (Tim Robbins. US. I995) Susan Sarandon. Sean Penn. Robert Prosky. l22 mins. A nun (Sarandon) begins her own difficult spiritual journey when she becomes religious advisor to a brutal murderer (Penn) facing the death penalty. Sarandon‘s presence is unshowy and committed. Penn's vivid and deeply insightful. and Robbins's achievement is to make a film whose intensity and compassion ranks it far above the usual run of Hollywood pulp. Glasgow: Gilmorehill. The Devil's Advocate (l8) (Taylor Hackford. US. I997) Al Pacino. Keanu Reeves. Charlize Theron. I45 mins. Hot shot lawyer Kevin Lomax (Reeves) is recruited by a New York firm. but comes to realise its founder. John Milton (Pacino). is head of something a lot more scary than the legal industry. This modern-day morality play allows Pacino to grandstand in a part that's plainly absurd. while Reeves is too wooden for his supposedly charismatic role. (ieneral release.
Devil's Island (15) (l-‘ridrik 'l‘hor Fridriksson. Iceland. I997) Baltasar Kormakur. (it’in Halldorsson. Sveinn (ieirsson. l03 mins. Fridriksson's follow-up to Cold Fever is not nearly so freewheeling. although it also contains a winning mixture of humour and heartache. Following the fortunes of an impoverished extended family living on a former US army base. the film shows the painful consequences of a clash of two inimical cultures - America and Iceland — where imported values are as out of place as a bright red convertible against the wild. barren landscapes. Edinburgh: l-‘ilmbouse.
The Devils (l8) (Ken Russell. UK. l97l) Oliver Reed. Vanessa Redgrave. Dudley Sutton. Ill mins. Based on the play by John Whiting. which was based in turn on Aldous Huxley's The Devils ()f Lulu/('72. this account of demonic possession and witchcraft in l7th Century France was the film in which Russell's work metamorphosed from arty eccentricity into full-blown gothic monstrosity. complete with masturbating nuns and a public burning. Mad Ken is nothing if not controversial. and your reaction will probably depend on how you stand on the director's idiosyncratic visions. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
The End 0! Violence (I5) (Wim Wenders. US/Germany/France. I997) Bill Pullman. Andie MacDowell. Gabriel Byrne. I20 mins. Reminiscent of those open-ended paranoia thrillers of the 70s (The C(tlll't'!‘.\‘(lllt)ll. The Parallax View). The End Of Violence casts a caustic eye on modern
index FILM
LA. where reality and fiction are both most keenly experienced through the camera lens. The plot revolves around the city's hi-tech surveillance system and a murder attempt on a top film producer. but although the themes are intriguing. the overall effect is very patchy. (ilasgow: (il7l‘. (iilmorehill. lidinburgh: Filmhouse.
The English Patient ( 15) (Anthony Minghella. L'K/L’S. 1996) Ralph I-‘iennes. Juliette Binoche. Kristin Scott Thomas. 162 mins. A mysterious stranger. suffering from horrific burns. is cared for by a Canadian nurse during the final days of WWII. In flashback. we discover more about the great romantic affair whose tragic climax brought him to this state. Anthony .‘vlinghella alters the focus of Michael 0ndaatje's Booker Prize-winning novel to concentrate more on boiling passions in the North African desert. Spectacularly filmed on location. the film boasts magnificent perfonnances from each and every one of the leads. lilinburgh: Cameo.
Event Horizon ( 18) (Paul Anderson. US/UK. 1997) Laurence l~'ishhurne. Sam Neill. Joely Richardson. 9| mins. The crew of a rescue ship discover that hell has been unleashed inside a missing craft that reappears near Neptune. as their deepest fears begin to terrorise them in physical form. liffectively a haunted house movie set in space. liven! Horimn boasts stunning "I'echno Medieval' design; but tight editing leaves the characterisation and story stripped to within an inch of their lives. Stirling; MacRohert.
Face/Off ( 18) (John Woo. US. I997) John 'l‘ravolta. Nicolas Cage. Joan Allen. 133 mins. FBI agent Sean Archer ('l'ravolta) undergoes radical surgery to become terrorist Castor 'l‘roy (Nicolas Cage); but when 'l‘roy comes out of a coma and undergoes a similar operation. he too is able to slip into his enemy's domain -- domestic and professional. l’art horror. part sei-fi. full-on action. with a cast that's uniformly excellent. l’aisley: Showcase.
Follow The Moonstone (Hi (Mike Alexander. UK. 1996) 45 mins. Central to this lyrical film capturing the beauty of Celtic music is a performance of llenning Sommerro's Viking Suite by Aly Bain and the B'l~ Scottiin Ensemble. set to images ofShetland seascapes. Also on show are two shorter works by the same group of filmmakers — Shetland sessions and Transatlantic Sessions. (ilasgow: (il’l'.
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23 Jan~S Feb 1998 THE "ST 41