FILM index
FILM INDEX continued
Bleeder (18) **** (Nicolas Winding Refn, Denmark, 2000) Kim Bodnia, Mads Mikkelsen, Rikke Louise Anderson. 97 mins. Refn’s new journey to the heart of Shitsville, Copenhagen is every bit as sordid, crushing and mesmerising as his debut, Pusher. Bleeder shows the collapse of Louise and Leo’s relationship in the face of unwanted pregnancy, suffocating sibling racism and Leo’s burgeoning Travis Biekle— style obsession with guns. The brilliant opening sequence here is a life-affirming mother of all cinema homages, and with superb naturalistic acting from Refn's regulars and a mean visceral script, this is the cinema of alienation par excellence. Glasgow: GFI‘.
Boys Don't Cry (18) ***** (Kimberly Peirce, US, 2000) Hilary Swank, Chloe Sevigny, Peter Sarsgaard. 114 mins. Writer/director Kimberly Peirce ’s first feature is based upon the life of Brandon Teena, the transgendered Nebraska girl who lived her life as a male, and whose love affair with a smalltown girl named Lana Tisdel met a bloody end in 1993. Swank is simply astonishing. The credibility of the film rests entirely upon her performance, but it’s a burden she shoulders with consummate skill and grace. A humbling example of brave, beautiful, brutal filmmaking. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Braveheart (15) **** (Mel Gibson, US, 1995) Mel Gibson, Patrick McGoohan, Sophie Marceau. 177 mins. Mel Gibson's long and bloody account of the life of Scottish warrior hero William Wallace boasts some remarkable battle scenes and great performances. Aiming to entertain on a wider scale than the more literate Rob Roy, Brave/team’s Scottish passion is tempered by a few Hollywood moments — touches of sentimentality and ‘dramatic' historical inaccuracy. Nevertheless, it’s a fine, full- blooded attempt to tap into the spirit that fires Scotland’s history and heroes. Edinburgh: UGC.
Breaking The Waves (18) **~k** (Lars von Trier, Denmark/France, 1996) Emily Watson, Stellan Skarsgard, Katrin Cartlidge. 158 mins. In a close-knit Calvinist community in the north of Scotland, a young woman faces banishment from the church when she makes a self-sacrificing pact with God in order to save her husband's life. Unlike von 'I‘rier’s austere arthouse works (Europa), this intimate melodrama is raw and exposed. Emotional connection transcends everything else in one of the most moving films ever made. Glasgow: GilmorehillGlZ.
A Bug's Life (U) **** (John Lasseter, US, 1998) Voices of: Dave Foley, Kevin Spacey, David Hyde Piercc, Denis Leary. 95 mins. Made by Pixar Animation Studios (Toy Story), A Bug's Life takes us to Ant Island, where the colony is being oppressed by a gang of menacing grasshoppers. When inventive but clumsy worker ant Flik incurs the wrath of gang leader Hopper, he heads off to find help heavyweight help in the battle against his oppressors. Glasgow: Gl’I‘, UCI. East Kilbride: UCl.
Burnt By The Sun (15) ****~k (Nikita Mikhalkov, Russia, 1994) Nikita Mikhalkov,
m
Thurs 15th June
Topsy Turvy (12) 7:30pm Thurs 22nd June The Insider (15) 7:30pm
Sun 25th June ET. The Extra Terrestrial (U) 5:00pm
Holy Smoke (18) 7:15pm
Mon 26th June
Being John Malkovich (15) 7:30pm Tickets and further information from
The Steeple Box office (Tel: 01324 506850) or on the day from the hall
38 THE “ST 8—22 Jun 2000
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Stephan Elliott (Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert) casts Ashley Judd in the role of femme fatale in his voyeuristic thriller Eye Of The Beholder
Oleg Menehikov, lngeborga Dapkounaite. 134 mins. Mikhalkov’s Oscar-winner is a genuine masterpiece. The gradual slide from the glory of the Revolution into the terror of the Stalin dictatorship is concentrated into the events of a single summer’s day in 305 Russia, as the country household of a popular Soviet officer is disrupted by the return of his wife's former lover, now a government informer. The sense of tragedy is immense, as the sunny, idyllic opening gives way to a darker, more uncertain reality. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Chariots of Fire (PC) the (Hugh Hudson, UK, 1981) Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nigel Havers. 123 mins. Worryingly jingoistic vision of the 1924 Paris Olympics and the exploits of runners Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell that, in its numerous slow-motion races, is to blame for Vangelis soundtracks becoming synonymous with athletics. Nevertheless, it won a fair few Oscars, although writer Colin Welland’s legendary ‘The British are coming’ warning to Hollywood proved about as prophetic as Manchester’s bid for the 2000 Olympics. Glasgow: GilmorehillGlZ.
The Cider House Rules (12) the (Lasse Hallstrdm, US, 2000) Tobey Maguire, Michael Caine, Charlize Theron. 126 mins. Maguire takes the lead as Homer Wells, an orphan who grows up to continue the worthy work of his mentor and surrogate father, Dr Larch (Caine). On route to manhood, Homer undertakes a small-scale odyssey around 19405 New England, during which time he works on an apple farm and has an affair with farm owner Candy Kendall (Theron). Somewhere between lrving’s screenplay and llallstr‘m's direction there's an overabundance of sentimentality which undermines Irving‘s brand of tragi-comedy. Stirling: MacRobert.
A Clockwork Orange (18) *ttt (Stanley Kubrick, UK, 1971) Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Warren Clarke. 137 mins. The night of ‘ultra-violence’ committed by Alex (McDowell) and his gang of ‘droogs’ gives it its notoriety. But subsequent victimisation by the State still provides much food for thought. This fable of law and disorder, crime and punishment might easily be recast in 21st century Britain. So, it’s about time the British public got to see the late master’s most infamous film. Edinburgh: Cameo. Kelso: Roxy. Oban: Highland 'l'heatre. Stirling: MacRobert.
Complicity (18) iii (Gavin Millar, UK, 1999) Jonny Lee Miller, Keeley llawes, Brian Cox. 100 mins. Journalist Cameron (Jonny Lee Miller) is, at first glance, a regular young Edinburgh-based professional. The police, however, have fingered hitn as a serial killer, guilty of some of the most gruesome murders Scotland has ever witnessed. Those familiar with lain Banks’s novels will recognise the trademark
darkness. Millar, who is directed The Crow Road, has turned the book into an ambitious movie, and an adult one. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
The Cup (PG) **** (Khyentse Norbu, Australia, 1999) Orgyen Tobgyal, Neten Chokling, Jamyang Lodro. 93 mins. The Cup scores a hat trick of firsts: first film directed by a lama, in the Tibetan language with a cast solely comprised of monks. And it's about football, specifically the footy fever that grips the monks of Chokling Monastery during the 1998 World Cup. Eliciting spirited performances from his cast, Norbu achieves his goal in creating a simple, humorous, humane film. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (15) *t* (Mike Mitchell, US, 2000) Rob Schneider, William Forsythe, Oded Fehr. 88 mins. When cleaner Deuce breaks gigolo Antointe‘s prized fish tank he attempts to pay for it by becoming a gigolo himself. But visions of the highlife are shattered when his dates turn out to be a 500 pound woman, an eight foot giant and a girl with Tourettes syndrome. Side-splitting moments make no concession to political correctness, but the film fails to sustain these highs. General release.
Down To You (12) *** (Kris lsacsson, US, 2000) Freddie Prinze Jr, Julia Styles, Henry Winkler. 96 mins. This summer rom- com partners pretty young things Prinze Jr and Styles as New York college students, A] (a trainee chef) and Imogen (an artist). Love begins to take priority over their career plans, but various obstacles threaten their flowering relationship: a seductive vixen, an anxiety-ridden friend, a crazy roomate, and a guy who thinks he’s Jim Morrison. General release.
Drive Me Crazy (12) *wk (John Schultz, US, 20(Xl) Melissa Joan Hart, Adrian Grenier, Stephen Collins. 91 mins. High school fashion victim Nicole (Hart) and earnest protest-loving Chase (Grenier) are dumped by their respective other halves. Though Nicole and Chase are polar opposites, they agree to date each other in order to arouse jealously in their exes. For a time they, yep, drive each other crazy, but then, surprise, surprise, they find that the true dream boats were closer than they ’d ever imagined. Yawn. See review. General release.
Earth (15) *iii (Deepa Mchta, Canada, 1998) Aadmir Khan, Nandita Das, Rahul Kltanna. 105 mins. It's taken a long time for the second part of lndo-Canadian Mehta’s trilogy about lndia to reach our screens. The previous film Fire, which deals with a lesbian relationship, isjust out on video, while Water is causing an uproar in lndia where it's currently filming. Dealing with just as volatile subjects as the other films, Earth looks at the cataclysmic Partitioning of India in 1947. Powerful material which engages with its story of childhood
friendships destroyed by national events. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Edinburgh College Of Art Degree Show (no cert) (Various, UK, 2000) Within these graduation films from the Art College you’re likely to find tomorrow’s top filmmaking talent. Last year, graduate Adrian J. McDowell went on to win a BAF'TA prize for his film, Who ’5 My Favourite Girl?. See review next issue.
Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
The End Of The Affair (l8) whit (Neil Jordan, UK/US, 2000) Ralph Fiennes, Julianne Moore, Stephen Rea. 101 mins. This is a diary of hate,’ explains narrator Bendrix (Fiennes), as he attempts to piece together the memories of his war-time affair with Sarah (Moore), the wife of high- ranking civil servant Henry (Rea). Jordan captures the rancorous tone and bitter intensity of Graham Grahame Greene’s source novel in this potent adaptation, the impact of which is compounded by a trio of commanding performances. Edinburgh: Lumiere. Kilmarnock: Odeon.
Erin Brockovich (15) **** (Steven Soderbergh, US, 2000) Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, Aaron Eckhart. 133 mins. Unemployed single mother Erin (Roberts) shoehoms her way into a filing clerk position with Finney’s California law firm. There she accidentally uncovers a conspiracy to conceal the poisoning of the local community, which leads to the largest direct action lawsuit in American history. This might sound like a cliched John Grisham thriller, but it’s based on a true story and Soderbergh’s direction and Roberts’ performance are faultless - together they prove that mainstream American cinema can be something truly great. Glasgow: Odeon Quay, Showcase. Edinburgh: ABC, Dominion. Paisley: Showcase.
Extreme Screen (U) it 40 mins each. Although the lwerks experience impresses on a technical level, neither of these films transcend entertainment as lumbering fairground attraction. Everest is a dry-as- sand account of a recent expedition up the big yin. Filmed in the style of a Sunday afternoon docudrama, it also has the dubious honour of rendering a remarkable adventure mundane. A much better bet is the visually wondrous The Living Sea, an ‘edutaining’ look at mankind’s relationship with the sea (with voice-over from Meryl Streep). Edinburgh: UGC.
Eye Of The Beholder (18) tank (Stephan Elliott, US, 2000) Ewan MeGregor, Ashley Judd, Jason Priestly. 109 mins. McGregor is a lonely, obsessive British intelligence agent tracking a woman (Judd) across America, hooked on the belief that her experience has something in common with his own. But she is a ruthless killer without need for human contact. What could they possibly share? It's a tired old set-up, and despite a lot of emphasis placed on the psychological dimension, the film never shakes itself free of cliches. See review. General release. Fantasia 2000 (U) *** (Various, US, 2000) Voices of Steve Martin, Bette Midler, Quincy Jones. 75 mins. When Walt Disney first came up with the idea of turning classical music pops into an animated pot pourTi, he originally envisioned that Fantasia would continue to be renewed by additional material. Sixty years on, his dream has at last came to fruition with this new collection of musical highlights. The star of the show is the one segment retained from the original, the Dukas ‘Sorcerer’s Apprenticc’ set-piece with Mickey Mouse in a pointy wizard’s hat and lots of buckets of water. Glasgow: Odeon Quay, Showcase, UCI. Edinburgh: UCl, UGC. East Kilbride: UCI. Paisley: Showcase.
Festen (15) **** (Thomas Vinterberg, Germany, 1998) 106 mins. Made under the banner of DOGME 95, a chief dictum of which filmic manifesto is that the inner lives of the characters must justify the workings of the plot, in this case the story of a country house party given to celebrate the 60th birthday of rich patriarch Helge Klingenfeldt. Tensions surface before long and a disturbing family secret is revealed. Glasgow: GFI‘.
The Filth And The Fury (15) *** (Julian Temple, UK, 2000) 107 mins. ln his second attempt at defining the Sex Pistols story,