film
index
Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Miles Fielder.
The Adjuster t lSi tAtorn ligoyaii. Canada. l‘)‘)li lilias Koteas. Arsiiiee Khaniian. Matrry (‘haykin It)? mins. A disparate array of plot elements -- an insurance adjuster. film censors. a kinky couple combines with off-killer 'Iii III l’t'tiAs-isli humour and some bizarre s isuals in Atom (The Street llereu/Ieri lif—‘Uyan‘s movie. 'A filtn abotrt believable people doing believable things in an unbelievable way" is how he describes it. Weird and. in its own way. wonderful. lidinburgh: liiliirhouse.
Alexander's Ragtime Band (PU) tllenry King. l‘S. W38) 'l‘yron Power. Alice liaye. Don Ameche. ltlo mins. Between NH and WW two songwriters vie for the affections of a rising musical star. 'llie Zo-sorig soundtrack is the star of the show. with an Oscar nomination for the Irving Berlin lyrics and a statuette for Alfred New man's music, lidinburgh: St, Brides 'l'heatre.
Amateur t Hi tllal Hartley. l’S. I‘M-ll Isabelle Huppert. Martin Donovan. lilina l.owensohn. 105 mins. Isabelle. an ev-nur. writing porn stories. meets amnesiac I Thomas on the streets of New York; soon they find that his past is somehow linked to Sofia. a porn actress. and two violent corporate assassins. The patented Hartley dialogue and wit is ever present. btit this time there are a few filmic jokes thrown in with references to specific genres and other movies (ilasgow: (il'l~
Anastasia ll'l tl)on Bluth/(iary (ioldman. l'S. I‘M'Yi \‘oices of Meg Ryan. (‘hristopher Lloyd. .loliri (’usack. 0-1 mins Willi this
w idcsci'ecii romantic musical adv eiittire. animator l)on Bluth offers a film that rivals l)isiiey. Rewriting history somewhat. evil magician Rasputin puts a cur se on the ‘l’sar's family and causes the I‘ll 7 Revolution 'llie child princess \nastasia survives. but grows tip as an or pliaii. unable to remember her past With e\traordinary action sequences. esqtiisite charactei'isatioiis and beautiful \Ull‘L'\
Antz tl’(ii tlirrc Darnell/lint Johnson. l7S. l‘NSl ‘l‘lie voices of Woody Allen. Sharon Stone. (iene llackman. S3 Illflls, When worker ant X-Jl‘l‘ tAlleni meets l’rincess Bala tStonel. he falls completely iii love; btit. while trying to prove himself as a soldier. he uncovers a dastardly plan to flood the colony .-liif: is brightly coloured and ftrll of gags. so adults w ill chuckle while kids are pulled in by the slick computer animation. (iener'al release
Babe: Pig In The City rl’t } r itieorge Miller. l'S. l‘NSi .lames (‘romw ell. Magda S/tibanski 9‘) turns but as precocious as before. young Babe accidentally iiirtii'es l’ariiier lloggett and puts the farm Ill leopardy lii desperation Mrs H and Babe set off to make a fee-pay mg appearance at a State lair. Btit late is not smiling tipoii the farmer's wife and her innocent pig. as their adventures in the big city begin. A darker film than the original. lit/lit" l’re /ii The ( ‘iit is nevertheless entertaining See rev iew. (ieneral release
Barney’s Great Adventure «tr 73 turns, A kids 'l‘y' phenomenon. Barney the purple dinosaui”s big screen debut finds him down on a farm w itli a trio of kids in search of a magic 'l'he all singin'. all dancin‘ Barney struts his way through the simple story with regular singaloiigs. making the film perfect for tinder-fives Stirling Kltlc‘Rtibel‘l
The Big Sleep t l’( i l t How .tl‘d lltiw ks. l'S. l‘Mbi Humphrey Bogart. Lauren Bacall. .lohn Ridgely. Martha \'rckers. ll-l mrns Marlowe gets caught tip iii the peccatlilloes of the Sternwood laiiiily .ts he tries to stop a spot of blackiliatl Needless to say. the broad knows more than she lets on Witty. sultry. atmospheric. mainstream III/ii iioir with Bogey' and Bacall doing their e\ce||ent double act. lidinbui‘gb: (‘ameo
Bill Douglas Trilogy 1 Di r Bill Douglas. l'K. UPI/7 ATS) 43/55/73 iiiitis. ‘l'liis trio of films about a boy growing tip in a harsh mining comriiuiiity represents perhaps the
40 THE lIST 3—-i7 Dec 1998
peak of Scottish filmmaking. Bare narrative. stark images. painftrl memories — the distillation of feeling on screen is as close to poetry as cinema gets. lidinburgh: l.tiniiere. Blade ( 18) (Stephen Norringtoii. L'S. lWSi Wesley Snipes. Stephen l)orff. Kris Kristofferson lll mrns. Young Brit director \on'ington's techno-v ampire mov re based on the Marvel (’omics character - is marred by weak storytelling and flashy computer-game \ rsuals. ()ne hoped for sustained atmospherics and coherent mythology: instead. this fashionably updated take on v ampire lore squandcrs its innovative ideas on a series of disrorntcd set-pieces. (ieneral release. Body Heat i lS‘i tl.;iwi'ciice l's'asdan. l'S. WSI l William Hurt. Kathleen ‘l‘urner. Richard (‘reiina llti nuns. llui‘t has the bots for 'l‘trriier so her hubby ('reniia is set for an early grave and the insurance company for a big pay -out. Splendid update of Double little/tinny with a drenchriigly sweaty atmosphere tthe ses has a lot to do with iii and a script that leaves teethmarks lidinburgh: (‘ameo The Boy From Mercury fl’(il tMartin Duffy. l’K/l‘i'ancc. I‘Nbl .lames Hickey. Rita ‘l‘usliingham. 'l‘om ('ourtney. S7 mins. liight-year-old llarry tllickeyi believes he has special powers granted him throtrgh his birthplace berrig Mercury rather than Dublin a belief boosted by visits to the Saturday morning film club and his lack of a father figure. An irresistible tale of memory. loss and the search for a better future. If you manage to sit through this witliotit wilting flllt)_lL'll_\ at llickey is painfully innocent performance. then you have the heart of a tyrant Stirling Allanpark. The Boys tISi tRowan Woods. Australia. l‘WSi David Weiiham. l.y iiette (‘urrair ’l‘oiii (iollelle. Sb liillis. Director Rowan \Voods' fierce study of male violence. family loyalty and domestic imprisonment dissects the twisted psyclio-dy namics of a dy sftrnctional. working-class family, ('otipled wrtli scriptw r'rtei' Stephen Sew ell‘s deft handling of the coiiiples time-shift inherited from (iordon (iraham's original stage play. Woods' rich visual language transforms 'I’Irt' lint \ into a quintessentially cinematic experience. And a damned scary one at that. See preview and review. lidinburglr (‘ameo Chitty Chitty Bang Bang tl' i rls'eri lltrghes. l'ls'. l‘flrSi Sally Anne llowes. Dick Van l)y ke. l.ionel .leffrres. l-li mins. lengthy. effects-filled children‘s adventure conceived in the wake of .lltii'v Pup/mic huge commercial success bttt w itli a charm rand great songsi all of its own, Dick Van l)y ke is the mad rtiveiitor whose flying car propels his children and romantic interest llowes to a far-off Iaiid of adventure lidinburgh: l‘ilmhotisc The City Of Lost Children t l5i ilean- l’ieri'e Jeunet/Marc Caro. l-‘rance. I‘NS‘ Ron l’erliiiaii. Daniel limilfork. Judith \‘ittet. ll: mirrs. ()n a mist-shrouded oil rig. mad
No place like home: Meryl Streep in Dancing At Lughnasa
scientist Kraiik ages prematurely because he cannot dreaiir. and so he kidnaps children from the local port and steals into their sleeping hours, A visually wonderful. wacky fairytale from the makers of Delicatessen. that brinis over with cinematic imagination. lidinbtirgh; ('ameo.
Comfort And Joytl’m r llrll l-or-syth. t‘ls'. IOS-li, Bill Paterson. lileanor David. l’atrick Malahide. Rikki litiltoii. A qtrirky Scottish comedy. along the lines of l’orsytli‘s earlier (irt'eurv 'v (ii/'l. which doesn't quite hit the mark iii the same endearing way. l’aterson is in fine form. though. as a disc iockey with more personal problems than he can handle who manages to get caught tip in an underworld dispute over the territorial rights of ice cream vans Supported by the short film ("tint/t IVr'uvs, lidiiiburglr l.timiere,
The Cow t l5) t Karel Kacliy na. ('zech Republic. I905) So mins. ‘l‘hrough the story of Adam. the son of an unmarried mother living in a lonely mountain settlement. ls'achy'ua's film meditates upon eternal questions about the meaning of existence. Part of the ('lech (‘inema on ’l‘oui' season. See preview (ilasgow' (il'l
Dancing At Lughnasa fl’(ii tl’at ti't'onnor.
lreland/l'K/l'S. l‘NS) Meryl Streep. Michael (ianibon. ('atherine .‘vlcCormack. 95 mins. 'l'he screen version of Brian l'i‘ic‘l's successful and much loved play is strong in its sense of a community and a time rural Donegal iii I‘lfib - btrt doesn‘t quite develop any character outside of the five sisters at the centre of the story It's a strong criseriible piece that doesn‘t let any one per‘lorriiance tip the acting scales. nor does director l’at ()'(‘onnor underline any of its themes w rtli the heav y -haiitled red ink of a school e\ani test. See prev rew and review (ilasgow (ill. ()deoii ()tiay. lidinburgli i‘illlllllvltlst‘. Dead Man i lSi tliiii .larmtrscli. l'S. I‘NFI .lohiiiiy l)cpp. (iary l‘arnier. lance lleni'icksen. Ill mins After heading otit west for .tlob vacancy that‘s already been filled. accountant Bill Blake illeppl finds a posse on his fall after the shooting of his would-be employer's son With a bullet in his own chest. Blake hooks tip w itli an liidiaii called Nobody flairmeri. who reckons this is the spirit of the poet Blake and so prepares a proper funeral. (iloriotisly shot in black and white. meticulously paced and imbued w itli a spiritual transcendence. .larmusch‘s esisteiitial Western is innovatiy e and tinespected. (ilasgow. (il‘l‘.
Dead Man's Curve l I Sr r l)an Roseii. t'S. WWI Matthew l.illard. Michael \ai'tati. Randall Batiiikoff Sb mins When over- privileged college kid 'l‘im hears of a policy to reward students with straight A grades if their roorii-mate commits suicide. lie persuades ('hi'is to help hiiii kill Rand. This film has a complicated plot. and things
sw riig this way arid that: orin by the end do you realise how very paranoid the world is (ilasgow. ()deon Quay.
! Deconstructing Harry t 18) (“body Allen. I US. NO?) Woody Allen. Kirstie Alley. Billy (‘rystal ()4 mins. Author Hairy Block has writer's block. and his friends have all btit abandoned liriii due to his habit of recasting them as characters in his best-selling ‘fiction'. Allen plays with the received. perceived idea of 'W'oody Allen'. and Stun/us! .llt'nrorrev floats in the background. There are flaws in the film. btit there are also many. many prime Woody throwaways. (ilasgovy'. (irosvenor. The Doom Generation t I b’) ((iregg Araki. France/L'S. l‘)‘)7l Parker l’osey. 85 mins. A road movie with a cool couple and a sex maniac along for the ride. Stylised visuals with plenty of sex. violence and rock 'n' roll The Doom (intern/ion has been called A’rilirrul Born Kr'l/erv with a sense of humour. That's because Araki has America's moral majority in his sights with this smart. provocative film. lidinbtrrgh: l-‘ilmhouse. Dr Dolittle tl’(il (Betty 'l‘homas. US. 1998) liddie Murphy. ()ssie Davies. ()liver l’latt. SS riiins. A turkey with Rex Harrison in its original form. and still pretty dire this time rotrnd. 'l‘his wild family adventure offers crtrde bottom htrmour for the Bribe audience. bill the talking animals gimmick battles with cheesy morality and nothing comes together. (ilasgow: Virgin. lidinburgh: ABC Multiples. ()deon. Ayr: ()tleon. Kilmarnock: ()vlL‘Ull. Elementary School tl’(}i (Jan Sv'ei'ak. (‘lech Republic. I‘M] i f)(l nrins. Debut film from the director of the ()scar-w inning Kit/m set in I‘Ho iii an all-male school in Prague. infamous for its bad behaviour When a new teacher arrives. his status as an es-soldier gains the blind admiration of his ptipils. Set during a period of transition — after the defeat of fascism. before the iron grip of communism ~ the film captures the playfulness of childhood. Part of the Czech (‘menia on four season. See preview. (ilasgow (il’l‘. Elizabeth f l5) (Shekhar Kapur. UK. l‘NSl (‘ate Blanchett. (ieof'frey Rush. Christopher licclestorie, l2(l mms. Not your typical frock flick. Shekhar Kaptrr's film may be ravishing to look at. btit it's altogether darker and more disturbing than you'd espect. A political thriller from Tudor history. in which Blanchett's performance turns cherished notions about [England's Virgin Queen on their head. (ilasgovv: ()deon Quay. lfidinbtirgh: ('ameo. Dominion. (ialashiels: Pavilion. The Exorcist I IS) tWilliam liriedk'in. L'S. l‘)7.‘~i Linda Blair. lilleii Btirstyn. Mas \‘oii Sy dow. l Ill mins. liarnest priest \"on Sydow steps in to save poor little possessed girl in this hugely effective scarefest. Now re- released in remastered form. vvrtli a super stereo soundtrack tso you can hear those obscenrties in full). Dead good. dead scary. dead priest. (ilasgow: ()deon Quay. [{tlrnbnrgh: l'('l. Kelso: Rosy.