Amistad ( IS) (Steven Spielberg. US. I997) Anthony Hopkins. Morgan Freeman. Djimon Hounsou. 152 mins. After a revolt on a ship off the coast of Cuba in l839. a group of slaves are captured by an American naval cutter and put on trial for piracy and murder. Spielberg botches this fascinating tale not because of historical inaccuracy. but through narrative incompetence the film falls apart in the courtroom. where scenes come across as [A Law done in period costume. Irvine: Magnum.

Anastasia (U) (Don Bluth/(iary Goldman. US. I997) Voices of Meg Ryan. Christopher Lloyd. John Cusack. 94 mins. With this widescreen romantic musical adventure. animator Don Bluth offers a film that rivals Disney. Rewriting history somewhat. evil magician Rasputin puts a curse on the Tsar's family and causes the I9I7 Revolution. The child princess Anastasia survives. btrt grows as an orphan. unable to remember her past. With extraordinary action sequences. exquisite characterisations and beautiful songs. General release.

Annie Hall (15) (Woody Allen. US. I977) Woody Allen. Diane Keaton. Tony Roberts. 93 mins. Warm. wistful. wonderfully witty Woody discourses on love. death and life in the Big Apple in this multi-Oscar-winning autobiographical comedy-romance. Edinburgh: Cameo.

Artichokes Will Grow In Mimongo ( I 8) (Fulvio Ottaviano. Italy. I996) 80 mins. Taking its inspiration from American indies like Clerks. this breezy comedy follows a graduate as he tries to get a job using a self- help book. The impending marriage of the love of his life and a Romeo of a roomate don't help matters. Italian Filtn Festival. Glasgow: GFI‘. Iidinburgh: Filmhouse.

As Good As It Gets ( l 5) (James 1.. Brooks. US. I997) Jack Nicholson. Helen Hunt. Greg Kinnear. I39 mins. Neurotic writer Melvin suffers frotn obsessive-compulsive disorder. but compensates for his lotier life by becoming a master of abuse. Carol. the waitress in a local restaurant. is the only person tough enough to take him on. As romantic comedies go. it's an odd pairing. but the match works thanks to a sharply witty script and spot-on performances from Nicholson and Hunt. General release. Bakunin's Son ( IS) (Gianfranco Cabiddu. Italy. I997) 89 mins. Guiseppe 'I‘ornatore‘s company produces this docu-drama about a miner and union leader who rose to fame in Sardinia iii the 30s and 4()s. A stirring tribute to a man of the people. Italian Film Festival. Glasgow: (il-‘I'. Iidinburgh: Filmhouse.

Banarasi Babu (no cert) (David Dhawan. India. I997) 180 mins. Kader Khan promotes a joint venture with the son of his village friend in this movie in the mould of The 'Iirming ()f The Shrew. In Hindi with no subtitles. Iidinburgh: Cameo.

The Best Man (IS) (Pupi Avati. Italy. 1997) I06 mins. An emigrant returns home to act as best man at his best friend's wedding. but the bride-to-be is having serious doubts and sees the new arrival as her savior. A wry comedy that was selected as Italy's Oscar contender. Actress Ines Sastre (see Frontlines) will attend the screenings. Italian Film Festival. Glasgow: GI-‘l‘. Iidinburgh: Filmhouse.

The Blackout (I8) (Abel Ferrara. US. I997) Matthew Modine. Béatrice Dalle. Dennis Hopper. 99 mins. Modine plays atop Hollywood star whose addiction to drugs and alcohol is way out of control. In the heat of Miami. his substance binge enters tornado proportions. and later he becomes convinced that. during a blackout. he killed someone. Ferrara is back in the moral gutter. following the painful spiritual journey of a single character. Modine gives his all in a film that spills off the screen like an anguished bowl from a diseased soul. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.

Blackrock (18) (Steve Vidler. Australia. I997) 90 mins. A seventeen-yearold throw a party celebrating the return home of his best mate. btit when a crime is committed. their relationship sours. Teenage dilemmas are set against a pounding soundtrack in this fast-paced thriller. Australian Film Season. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.

Bliss(18) (Ray Lawrence. Australia. I985) Barry Otto. Lynette Curran. Helen Jones.

I l2 mins. Advertising executive Otto suffers a massive heart attack and is clinically dead for four minutes. When he regains consciousness he believes himself to be in Hell and begins tojot down all the bizarre happenings that substantiate this conviction. Generally considered an improvement on Peter Carey's original novel. this is a weird and blackly humorous parable about love and death, given immense credibility by the committed performance of Otto. Glasgow: OFT.

Boogie Nights ( I 8) (Paul Thomas Anderson. US. I997) Mark Wahlberg. Burt Reynolds. Julianne Moore. l52 mins. Doing for porn filmmaking what (;()()df(’ll(l.\' did for gangsters. Boogie Nights charts the rise. fall and redemption of a fictional pom superstar (Wahlberg) against the enormous changes wrought in the industry between the 70s and 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. Glasgow: Odeon Quay. Iidinburgh: ()deon.

Das Boot: Director's Cut ( IS) (Wolfgang Petersen. Germany. I981 ) Jurgen Prochnow. Herbert Gronmeyer. Klaus Wermernann. 207 mins. A hunter-killer sub is unleashed on Allied shipping in the North Atlantic. but the captain shares few of the Nazi ideals of his superiors. This visceral. twisty action drama redefined the ensemble realism. and its claustrophobic brilliance is only redoubled in this 207-minute version. lidinburgh: Filmhouse.

The Borrowers (U) (Peter Hewitt. UK. I997) John Goodman. Jim Broadbent. Celia Irnrie. 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 law yer tries to swindle the humans otit of their inheritance. families big and small join forces. The design and effects create a strangely familiar. oddly unplaceable w orld. and children will have little difficulty suspending enough disbelief to be spellbound by the magic of the film. Glasgow: GITI'. Iidinburgh: ()deon. Ayr: ()deon.

The Breakfast Club ( I5) (John Hughes. US. I984) Iimilio Estevez. Anthony Michael Hall. Molly Ringwald. 97 mins. 'I)on't you forget about me' sang Simple Minds on the soundtrack. but unfortunately that's pretty much what Hollywood did to Hall. Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy. Iisteve'l. and Ringwald fared slightly better over the years. but they all showed a lot of promise in this archetypal Brat Pack movie about five stereotyped teenagers discovering themselves during detention. Iidinburgh: Cameo.

Bride of Frankenstein (PG) (James Whale. US. I935) Boris Karloff. Colin Clive. Iilsa Lanchester. 75 mins. h‘larvcllously dry comic horror as Iirnest Thesiger‘s gin- soaked Dr Praetorious persuades Clive's good Baron Frankenstein that his monster needs a mate. setting the scene for the hilarious climactic creation sequence where the stern lanchesterjoins Karloff in the ranks of the living undead. Virtually remade by Mel Brooks as Young l-‘runkt'nsrr'm and badly abused by Franc Roddam's disastrous The Bride. nothing can quite match the outrageous piquancy of the original. Iidinburgh: St Bride‘s.

The Bride's Journey ( I 5) (Sergio Rubini. Italy. I997) l04 mins. Director Rubini also stars as a stable groom who accompanies a noblewornan to meet her future husband after her escorts are killed in an ambush. An elegant costume epic with a picaresque spirit. Rubini will attend the screenings. Italian Film Festival. Glasgow: (il’l‘. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.

Briganti Di Zabt'lt (IS) (Pasquale Scimeca. Italy. I997) 88 mins. After being exiled on suspicion of being a subversive. a poor farm worker returns home and helps his friends wage a guerilla war against landowners and the Mafia. Italian Film Festival. Glasgow: Gilmorehill. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.

Continued over page

index FILM

"Love etc. iLLustrates what is ~great about French cinema: Leisurely, observant, eccentric and overftowing with atmosphere."

Film Review

**** "Exqui si te Love

triangle...finety detailed performances"

The Guardian

"Charming comedy of romantic manners”

Sunday Telegraph

"Reminiscent of Truffaut”

The Observer

patrick godeau presents

yvan attal chartotte gainsbourg Charles

a fitmby

marion vernoux WNW"- mijlian ba rnes "talking itover" exandre

mm awn-dama- taar'ron vernoux... dodtneherrym a let mom paw

I'm """'°“""""“" .1

Il|~-:|.'iu “on ‘m Atttltio

STARTS FRI 17 Filmhouse EDINBURGH

88 LOTHIAN RD 0131 228 2688/6382

16—30 Apr 1998 THE US? 29