footing of its own. Edinburgh: Filmhouse, Lumiere.
Mansfield Park (15) this: (Patricia Rozema. US, 2000) Frances O'Connor, Alessandro Nivola, Jenny Lee Miller. 112 mins. Rozema has supplemented her adaptation with extracts from Jane Austen’s own letters and journals, turning the novel’s heroine - a poor girl who is adopted by wealthy relatives and taken to live in the grand house of the title - into a quick- witted, sharp-tongued free spirit budding writer. The film may not be strictly faithful to the novel, but there's no mistaking its intelligence, vigour and wit. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
The task Of Zorro (PG) **** (Martin Cam ibell, US, 1998) Antonio Banderas, Catl rine Zeta Jones, Anthony Hopkins. 137 mins. As a piece of old-school matinee hokum, The Mask ()onrro flashes its blade with the best of them, but it’s also clever enough to draw in a new audience by plundering every manifestation of the action-adventure formula. With the dark Latin looks of a romantic hero and a physical ability to pull off the film's acrobatic stunts and comedy, Banderas is perfectly cast — an Errol Flynn for the 90s. Swordfights haven't looked this good since Basil Rathbone last headed for the staircase. Kilmarnock: Odeon.
Maybe Baby (15) iii (Ben Elton, UK, 2000) Ilugh Laurie, Joely Richardson, Joanna Lumley. 90 mins. Sam (Laurie) and Lucy (Richardson) are happy in love and successful at work (he’s a BBC commissioning editor and she’s a theatrical agent). The only blot on this idyllic London landscape is that the couple desperately want a baby to fulfil their blissful lives. Written and directed by Elton, it's no surprise that there are some very funny lines in a film that's destined to be heralded as the new Four Weddings. General release.
A Midsummer Night's Dream (PG) *‘k‘k‘k (Michael Hoffman, US, 1999) Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Calista Flockhart. 115 mins. Not since Max Reinhardt's 1934 version has any film sought to pay loyal tribute to this classic tale of misbegotten romance and fairy magic. Until now. Hoffman, cautious that the text’s classical Greek setting might distance his audience, has relocated to Tuscany at the turn of the century and draws upon those changing times to highlight the conflict between the old and young generations in the story. Kline stands out in the role of Bottom, while the lush world of nymphs, satyrs, centaurs and Medusas is a beauty to behold. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
Mystery Men (PG) tit (Kinka Usher, US, 1999) Ben Stiller, William H. Macy, Janeane Garol'alo. 122 mins. Although it's a spoof, Mystery Men is more knowing about the conventions of American comic book superheroes than other comic adaptations — that‘s largely down to Mystery Men '5 origins in Bob Burden's Dark Horse Comic, Flaming Carrot. Caped crimefighter Captain Amazing has been kidnapped by super villain Casanova Frankenstein and it’s up to underachiever heroes: the Mystery Men to save the day. Dunfermline: Odeon.
Napier Degree Show The documentary and fiction films range from black comedy to period drama to science fiction thriller. The graduates will also be showcasing their University‘s co-production scheme which has seen students working with their fellows in Munich, Dublin and Athens. See review next issue. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Never Been Kissed (12) *Hr (Raja Gosnell, US, 1999) Drew Barrymore, David Arquctte, Michael Vartan. 107 mins. As journalist Josie Geller, Barrymore is given her first undercover reporting assignment: to go back to high school as a student to find out about modern education from the inside. Needless to say Jessie has some problems adjusting to the priorities of her new life and, at school first time around, Josie was far from Miss Popular. Capitalising on the considerable charm of its star, Never Been Kissed is a cheery, upbeat affair, enjoyable enough for the popcorn cinema audience. Glenrothes: Rothes Halls.
The Next Best Thing (12) it (John Schlesinger, US, 2000) Rupert Everett, Madonna, Malcolm Stumpf. 109 mins. Gay landscape gardener Robert (Everett) and
unhappy and unlucky in love yoga teacher Abbie (Madonna) are best friends . . . who have a child together and share parental responsibilities. But when Abbie meets the man of her dreams, the arrangement becomes complicated and a child custody case ensues which threatens to destroy the friendship. There's no doubting the very current relevance of the alternative domestic life pictured here, but this comedy/melodrama is completely lacking chemistry, surprisingly between Everett and Madonna. Even the once great Schlesinger can't work some much needed alchemy between his star pals. See review. General release.
A Night At The Opera (PG) HM (Sam Wood, US, 1935) The Marx Brothers, Margaret Dumont, Kitty Carlisle, Allan Jones, Walter Woolf King. 90 mins. The Brothers (minus Zeppo) were at the height of their comic powers when they made this masterpiece. This time they’re helping an opera company get back on its feet, but not before they've had a hand in wrecking it in the first place. Glasgow: Grosvenor.
The Ninth Gate (15) ** (Roman Polanski, US/France, 2000) Johnny Depp, Frank Langella, bena Olin. 133 mins. Depp's ‘book detective' Dean Corso is hired by collector Boris Balkan (Langella) to locate copies of a text that may well have been illustrated by Satan himself. When the people Corso meets die in odd set-piece scenes that bring those pictures to life, he knows he’s dealing with forces much more powerful than any of human origin. Though Polanski's film nods to the likes of Edgar Allen Poe, the dominant literary influence would appear to be Dennis Wheatley. There’s only a minimal amount of tangible suspense or scares. and the dialogue clunks so loudly it brings an elephantine subtleness to mumbojumbo. Edinburgh: UGC Cinemas. St Andrews: New Picture House. Not One Less (PG) tintika (Zhang Yimou, China, 2000) Wei Minzhi. 100 mins. A teacher of a small school in an isolated, impoverished village is forced to leave the education of his 28 pupils in the hands of 13-year-old substitute Wei Minzhi for a month. But with poverty forcing over one million students to leave school to look for work every year in China, Wei is set the task of retrieving a desperate student from the big city. Essentially, this is a personal interest perspective on a dramatic social problem. The cast comprises non- professionals, and the calibre of the heart- rending performance by Minzhi makes the film all the more impressive. See review. Glasgow: GET. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Once Upon A Time In The West (15) **** (Sergio Leone, US, 1968) Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards. 165 mins. Probably Leone’s best film, this classic western details in operatic fashion the drive of crooked railroad magnate Fonda to cheat widow Cardinale out of her land, until lone stranger Bronson comes to town. Brilliant Morricone score, achingly slow pacing, and an enthusiastic use of the wide screen mark this out as an idiosyncratic gem. See review. Glasgow: GET. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
One Day In September (15) ***** (Kevin MacDonald, UK, 2000) Narrator: Michael Douglas. 94 mins. Macdonald's Oscar-winning documentary about the Palestinian organisation Black September's terrorist action at the 1972 Olympic Games plays like a tense political thriller. The tragic story is told through grieving Israeli relatives, a vengeful Mossad agent, feckless Bavarian security officers and the sole living terrorist. lfgaining the full context of the Arab/Israeli struggle is your goal, libraries are full of the stuff. If an absorbing retelling of a jet black day where the sport/politics interface fatally clashed, then this should be your starting block. Glasgow: GET. Pokemon (U) it (Michael Ilaigney/ Kunohiko Yuyama, Japan/US, 2000) 96 mins. Cloned Pokemon (pocket monster) Mewtwo embarks on world dominance and so hero kids, Ash, Brock and Misty, accompanied by their Pokemon, set out to make him see the error of his ways. Cue a great deal of gratuitous fighting and an
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index FILM
Al I graduates
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out and go to the
Fair.
There's a hiin degree of ch0ice for graduates who get down to this first-class fair- Here's a tiny selection from the depth of sectors and emplovers represented at HMBSECC
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See a substantial breadth of career opportunities at the SECC
UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW CAREERS SERVICE
THE SCOTTISH. GRADUATE
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IT'S FREE AT THE SECC. Mon 26th & Tues 27th June.
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