daughter are sold as slaves to a tyrannical baiht't. Years later. the sort is reunited with his blind. crippled mother. A slow pace and beautiful images add to the film's power. Iidinburgh: Iiilmhouse.
Sense And Sensibility (U) (Ang Lee. US/ UK. I995) Iimma 'l‘hompson. Kate Winslet. Alan Ricktnan. Hugh (irant. I35 mins. Denied their inheritance when the father of the household dies. the female members of the l)ashwood family face a precarious futttre which complicates the romances of sensible lilinor (’l hompson) and emotive Marianne (Winslet). 'I‘hompson's adaptation keeps the wordplay cngagtnly tart and sharp-vs itted. but never loses sight of the powerful frustrations simmering beneath the surface. Infinitely more satisfying than your typical fluffy period piece. Irvine: Magnum.
Shall We Dance ( l3) (Masayuki Suo. Japan. I996) I I7 mms. SIrn'I/i [fill/mini). Japanese style. A happily married man joins a dance school to give his life a lift and strikes up a wartn relationship with his troubled partner. A surprise hit at the US hos office. it's premiered in Scotland as part of the ('ruisaid benefit Academy Awards Party. Edinburgh: i:llllll)()ll\C.
Shooting Fish ( l 3) (Stefan Schwartl. L'K. I997) Kate Ileckinsalc. I)an I5utterman. Stuart 'l'ow nsend. HM mins. 'l'wo contrasting con men recruit a beautiful assistant and set about fleecing the complacent rich (big fish) in order to help the poor (themselves). The director and producer of Sol! 70/). l/un/ S/mn/tlcr turn a contrived. cheesy and very busy plot Into a sublime story that unfolds on screen \\ ith seamless case. A breathlessly pacy movie. Kirkcaldy; Adatu Smith. Stirling: MacRobet't.
A Simple Wish (P(i) (Michael Ritchie. US. I997) Mara Wilson. Martin Short. Kathleen Turner. 9() mins. When she makes a wish for her singer-actor dad to land the lead In a Broadway musical. Mara Wilson (of Mull/(Iii fame) finds herself saddled with a bumbling fairy godfather in the shape of Martin Short. The magic world of the fairytale is updated to the 9(ls for a colourful but ultimately sickly sweet kids tnovie that features good effects. Ay r: ()deon.
Smilla's Feeling For Snow I IS) (Hillt-
August. Germany/Denmark/Sweden. I997) Julia Ormond. Gabriel Byrne. Richard Harris. l20 mins. When (ireenland native SmiIla (Julia Ormond) investigates the death of her neighbour‘s child in a fall. her highly developed 'sense of snovv' convinces her it was murder. An Arctic conspiracy of iceberg- sized proportions unravels in August's version of Peter Hoeg's bestseller. Stark blue photography captures the landscape so effectively it makes you shiver. but doesn't stop the film frotn being any more than a bland thriller. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith. SpiceWorld: The Movie (PG) (Bob Spiers. UK. I997) The Spice (iirls. Richard Ii. (irant. Alan Cumming. 93 mins. ‘A 90s Ilun/ Dark Night. with a pinch of Spinal 721/) and a little Speed thrown in.’ says the publicity material. The story chronicles the hectic five days in the lead-up to the girls' first live concert at the Royal Albert Hall and. on the way. crams in so many celebrity cameos. you get the sense this could he the big screen equivalent of .Vm'l's Home I’urli. Of course. plenty of hit songs are included too. lidinhurgh: UCI. \‘Vishaw: Arrow.
Stella Does Tricks ( I 8) (Coky (iiedroyc. UK. I996) Kelly Macdonald. Hans Mathieson. James Bolam. 97 mins. Kelly Macdonald takes on her first leading role after 'l'ruinsjmlting. and proves to be the film's driving force. As one of a group of school-age prostitutes working in London. fuelling themselves with drugs and fantasies
to keep the harshness of their situation at bay.
she Colours her character's toughness with jtist enough loneliness and fragility. A.L. Kennedy's screenplay voices the despair of a generation. Stirling: MacRobert. Wishaw: Arrow.
Swimming With Sharks ( I S) ((icorgc Huang. US. I995) Kevin Spacey. Frank Whaley. Michelle Forbes. 95 mins. (Kim! Suspect and ()scar-winner Spacey dominates affairs as a monstrous Hollywood studio executive who bullies new boy Whaley in this impressive debut by Huang. Movies about movies are nothing new. but like the best (The I’Iincr. etc). this one gets beyond the glamour to say tneaningfttl tlungs about the priorities of work and nightmarish master-and-servant relationships. (ilasgow:
Gilmorehill.
The Threepenny Opera (PG) (OW. Pabst. Germany. I93 I) Rudolf Forster. Carola Neher. Reinhold Shunzel. ll3 mins. Brecht and Weill's musical play is shifted to Victorian London. where gentleman thief Mack The Knife tnakes his way between the social classes. The satire remains strong and the songs are excellent. Watch out for Lotte lenya as the prostitute Jenny. decades before she tried to poison James Bond with her secret knife-shoe in From Rttvvitt Will) Love. Stirling: MacRobert.
Titanic ( I 3) (James Cameron. US. I997) Leonardo DiCaprio. Kate Winslet. Billy Zane. I94 mins. Cameron tackles the story of the doomed ocean liner through a touching love story that isn't overwhelmed by the awesome special effects. Rich girl Rose (Winslet) is unhappin engaged to arrogant Cal (Zane) but falls for third-class passenger Jack (DiCaprio): love blossoms as the ship hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic. In all its on~screcn glory. 'Iilmtic does indeed look like the most expensive film ever made. conveying both the scale of the disaster and the feeling of claustrophobia as the water rises. (ieneral release.
Tomorrow Never Dies ( )2) (Roger Spottiswoode. UK. I997) Pierce Brosnan. Jonathan Pryce. Michelle Yeoh. I 19 mins. Media mogul [Elliot Carver (Pryce) is manipulating events to bring the planet to the brink of World War 'l'hree. btit James Bond is on hand to break a few skulls and save the planet. Some of the stunts inspire more admiration than excitement. but. on the plus side. Brosnan has added a more dangerous edge to the charm and Yeoh. doyenne of Hong Kong action films. is a Bond girl who brings a lube grace to her fight scenes. KirkcaIdy: Adam Smith.
TV Melodrama ( I2) Will the Douglas Sirk season continues to have 'em weeping in the aisles. this one-offevent examines ltow cinematic definitions of melodrama apply to
the small screen. Needless to say. soap operas '
and serials feature heavily. and excerpts from 'I'lu'v Life and IJI'()()/\'.\f(l(’ will be shown. (ilasgow; (il-‘l‘.
Ulysses' Gaze (PU) ('l‘heo Angeloupoulos. Greece/France. I995) Harvey Keitel. Maia
index FILM
Morgenstern. Erland Josephson. ISO mins. Keitel plays an American filmmaker who goes to (ireece in search of an early piece of undeveloped film. His journey echoes the Homeric odyssey of Ulysses but also moves us deeper into the troubled heart of the Balkans. Angeloupoulos is a genuine master. and this ambitious film shows remarkable formal accomplishment and emotional power. The presence of Keitel and a script substantially it) linglish should open him tip to a wider audience. Kelso; Rosy.
Under The Sltin ( I8) (Carine Adler. UK. I997) Samantha Morton. Claire Rushbrook. Rita 'l'ushingham. 85 mins. Sisters Iris (Morton) and Rose (Rushbrook) are devastated when their mother ('I‘ushingham) dies frotn a brain tumour. and his resorts to a series of increasingly high-risk sexual encounters which alienate her from both family and friends. Director Adler allows her three lead actresses to establish ftill and rounded characters with remarkable simplicity. but her plotting is wayward. Iidinhurgh: Cameo.
Les Voleurs ( IS) (Andre 'I'cchine. France. I997) Daniel Auteuil. Catherine Deneuve. Laurence Cote. I [8 mins. Slickly cast. Andre (lat/whine) 'l‘echine‘s film alternates between perspectives to create complex and twisted characters and jumps in time to chip away at a smooth family veneer to reveal an involvement in dangerous criminal activities that crosses generations. Lev Vulcan's intensity fizzles drastically towards the end. however. and. like a piece of croissant that you jtist can't swallow. the overlong dénouement is tiresome and unsatisfying. See review. (ilasgow: (il’l‘.
Wag The Dog ( l5) (Barry Levinson. US. I997) Robert De Niro. Dustin Hoffman. Anne Heclie. 97 nuns. A spin doctor cooks tip a fictitious war to help a US President through a tricky and scandal-tilled re-election campaign — all done-and-dustcd well before Clinton's Monica Lewinsky scandal surfaced. But outside its frighteningly impeccable timing. this Mamet-scripted satire comes in heavy handed fortn. As one ‘prohlem' after another is encountered and solved. the cool.
Continued over page
-VARIETY
“A TREAT”
“VANESSA REDGRAVE’S TOWERING PERFORMANCE”
~lNDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
“PERFECTLY CAPTURES THE'S‘P'IRIT OF THE LITERARY MAS’TERPIECE..."
~TIME OUT
“THE PERFORMANCES AREATRIUMPH OF ENSEMBLE ACTING” ~THE NEW YORKER
VANESSA REDGRAVE IN VIRGINIA WOOLF’S
NATASCHA McELI-IONE RUPERT GRAVES MICHAEL KITCHEN ALAN COX A FILM BY MARLEEN GORRIS
'I' M RS D A L LOWAY.
"II.- - wommmnmrmwounm O m.”nflIfl-C0-Uk
Now showing at Filmhouse, Edinburgh & GFT, Glasgow
m “mu-1mm
20 Mar—2 Apr 1998 TIIE LIST 33