IAn American Tail it‘tilhm “Itllll. t ‘s. I‘lh‘hi With the \oiccsol l)oni I)eI tiise. Madelame Kalil]. ( ~Iii istophcr I’lummer. Sll mins. the late l‘lth centurv 'I he Mousekevs it/ tamiI_\ make their was lrom trouble-tor n Russia to a rte“ lite in

America. but tiiev trrid the streets ot \esv York are not at all paved \sith gold. A \s ealth ol background detail til\[‘I&l_\\ liliith'sadmirabls painstakingapproach to animation Strathclide: (‘Isdebank ‘I'en IAlieni I\l t Ridlei Scott. I'S. 19”") Sigour'rtes \Veav er lan lIoIm..Iohn Hurt. I In mms Agatha ( ‘hr rstie in outer space as a lr'eighter lands on a lll}\lc'lltltls planet and is ingeniousiv lll\ aded b} a ravenous intruder \\ hich proceeds to chomp its \\ a} throuin the cast Iist ('entral: Regal IAliensi I? l (lamest ameron. I "S. I‘Lsri) Sigout‘ncs \\ e.i\ ei . \Irchael Biehri. I3—7mllls Rc‘\ M ed IIt‘III .r Sim-ai- snooze in deep spacc. \\ at 1 ant ( )llicer' \Vetn ct ls caioled into iommg a marine rescue mission to the planet that Is home tortlie original alien beasriel ni'elentingh paced \\ ith a tei i iticalh guts_\ per‘lor'maiice lroni \\ ea\er. this nerve-shreddiiig sequel not only matches itspredecessoi but c.iiiiiiI_\ surpassesir. ('entral: Regal. IAngel r IS iifs'c-il laid-an. t‘K. 1%.?) Stephen Rea. Ra) .\Ic.v\ttaI|'\ . ‘5 mins. The .sa.\ophonist ma touring N. Ireland shim band tiiids himself a \\ itriess to the brutal killing or an innocent deat’ mute girl. and his Iite begins to disintegrate as he graduaII} gets di'avs ii into the conﬂict. Brilliant debut leature from Jordan. an achievement he has yet to surpass. notable for a true quality of poetic realism that the British cinema all too rareI) achie\ es. Edinburgh: I-‘ilriihouse. IAngel Heartt lb‘) (Alan Parker. 1 'S. l‘)t\'7ercke_\ Rourke. Robert De Niro. Charlotte Ramplirig. 113 mins. Scrult’). unshav en private eve Ilarr} Angel ishrred by the mysterious I.ouis ( ‘_vphre to track dovvn a missing I-‘orties crooner \s ho has reneged on a Iil‘e-or-death deal. I Iis investigations lead him to a seed} Ne“ ()rleans dominated b} voodoo cults and extremer dead bodies in this

uncomliir'table mating ot \ isceral gore and mood) tilrn noii‘. (ilasgovs : ( iros\crtot

I Babette's Feast l t ' l t ( iabriel .-\\e|. Denmark. 198") Stephane Audran. .Ieaii-I’hilippe I.alont. Bibi .-\ndcr'ssori. Ill} ruins. the .Ititlaiid periirrsuladurmg the late 19th ceriturv I'siled I‘l‘c‘llc‘ll housekeeper Audran vs ins lll.llllll lrancs m a IUIIL‘I} and uses the monei to prepare .i sumptuous banquet mar king the centeriar} ot' the birth ot a Iutheian dean \s hose surv i\ irig spinster daughters carry on his good vsorks among the poor and

needs. “on ex er. \s hen a shopping list ol quail. turtle. champagne and \ intage \\ inc arriies the sisters begin to murder it such pleasure is compatible \srth their piet} .. A delicious gastronomic e\per'ience and an exquisite slice ot cinematic iiai'r‘atix e Iidiiibuigh: Izdmbuigh I-ilm ( iiiild. I The Beekeeperi lsii'l llco Angeloupoulis. ( ir'cccc. I‘lhtil Marcello .\Iasroiarmr III mriis I)eso|.ilcIzuiopeari road niov ie. as beekeeper' .\Iastroianrii leaves his taiiiih alter the marriage or his daughter . and takes up \HIII a soung hitch-hiker \\ ho tagsalorig m his\aii Izvocatise and mood} stutl. leedmgoll the barren Imes ot the ( ii'eck landscape. but coming indoors tor a prolonged and bleak scene on the stage oi an abandoned cinema, (ilasgrns. (il‘wl I Big t I’(i)(l’erin_\ Marshall. Is. l‘).\.\i 'I orn l Iariks. Izli/abetli I’erkms. Robert loggia lllvl mms I: ieai-oldlodill)a\id .\Iosco\\ ) has no luck \s ith the school beaut} because ol his dmiiniitnestature I Iou e\ ci . upon discov er mg a neglected larr‘gi'ound \\ ishmg machine. he irimpsorit ol bed the nut morning to tind hisbo) ish sell rtovs mapped in an adult packaging (I om I lariksi ()ut ol all the role—reversal mo\ resoiit

this unit. lilk’ Is Us till the most strcccssiur. becatIse I out l Links otters a most appealing chat actcr‘isalrori as the dope} innocent at large. and because it treats the situation \\ ith a little intelligence

("ilasgovv ( ~ariiiori ( ~Iai kston Road. ()dcon. Salon I'cillllltllgill ( )deori. (‘entiaI (ariiiori Stratliclsde: :\.\I(' (I'chitallis I en. ( annon. Relbui ne. I a Scala. ( )deon .r\_\ i . ( )dcon I lamilton. Rlalto.

I Biloxi Bluesr lSii.\like \ieliols. t ‘s. IUSM .\Iatthe\\ lliodcrick.('hristopher

\\ alkeri. ( "ores I’ai ker Ill" mms Second instalment (alter Brie/iron limit Ir

llunioin l ol .\'eil Simon's mm ic aiitobiogiaphs lociisseson his inisadveriruiesasan .tllll} iookicduiirig the d\ mg dais ol \\ oi Id \VAr I no .-\ lainiliar recipe ot basic trammg capcisand the lust Io\ c routine is tiaiisloi med riito something tresh b\ a sass_\ script. \\ alken and Itroder rck's cliche‘lree per loiinances. and the practised cinematic cratt ol director Mike Nichols Stiathclvde. Rlalto.

I Body Heati IM t I an rence ls'asdaii. I 'S. I‘ i\\ iIIiarn Ilurt. Kathleen lurncr. Richard('renna IItiinms. Ilurl hasthe hots loi lur her so Iier hubby ('icrma issct


The Fruit Machine (15) 2:“: (Philip Saville, UK, 1988) Tony Forsyth, Emile Charles, Robert Stephens, Robbie Coltrane, Bruce Payne, Claire Higgins. 103 mins. A pair at Liverpool teenagers, Eddie (Emile Charles), a sensitive boy who lives in a world at movie tantasy. and Michael (Tony Forsyth), who hustles his way through lite by entertaining various ‘Uncles‘, decide thattorvery dilterent reasons they wantto escape to the land of milk and honey, the South.

Betore they leave however, a trip to outrageous gay club The Fruit Machine results in their witnessing the brutal murder at camp hostess Annabelle (Robbie Coltrane). Hitching a lift with an ageing opera star (Stephens), the boys are pursued by the enigmatic killer, but when they reach Brighton their attention is drawn towards the plight at a patrol dolphins, on display in a tacky aqua show, whose situation at entrapment seems to mirrortheir own. As the stalking killer comes ever closer, the young lads try to think up some way at helping the animals escape.

Scripted by Frank Clarke ot ‘Letter To Brezhnev' tame, this is an altogether more ambitious attempt to tackle the subjects at gay persecution, the AIDS epidemic, and the North/South divide and to do so within the lramework ot a



movie that attempts a daring stylistic blend of melodramatic escapism, touching emotional drama, and streetwise edge. Not surprisingly the result sometimes seems to pull in several dillerent directions at once, but one still has to applaud a British movie with this amount at ambition.

For some, the sight at Robbie Coltrane in a yellow gingham number will be worth the price at admission, butthe lilm‘s othergreatstrengths are in Clarke‘s wonderful eartortart Scouse dialogue, and the enormously natural and appealing performances oi the two young leads. However, while

director Philip Saville handles the underwater sequences with a certain élan, the symbolic weight otthe dolphinsthemselves and the sight at Bruce Payne‘s icy slayer (apparently representing the AIDS virus) at times threatens a thematic overload toppling the whole tilm into bathos. That this does not entirely happen is due to the untorced warmth ol the boys' developing relationship, portrayed with a cherishable insight and delicacy, that brings them and the audience through the disparate adventures that are thrown at them. (TrevorJohnston).

The List 38 ( )ct IllNov 198813