Boxoffice-June.1989

Marc Dalens (Francois Cluzet) and his beautiful wife Aimee
(Giulia Boschi), as seen through the eyes of their young
daughter, France (Cecile Ducasse).
Living in a stark, arid Third World country is fraught with
plenty of daily tensions and discomfort — oppressive heat,
flourishing bugs, reliance on generators for power — compounded
bv the frequent absences of Marc, whose duties as
father and husband are secondary to his district responsibilities
His role as a father is somewhat adopted by Protee (Isaach
de Bankolc), the Dalens' handsome black house "boy;"
adored by France, he is at once her best friend and protector.
Her mother, beautiful and bored, fares less well; her abundant
energy is channelled into ferocious overhauls of the kitchen
and garden, and into suppressing her own sexual attraction to
Protee. When that attraction is
finally made explicit, Protee's
angr\' rejection of Aimee results in his demotion to the garage,
and his ultimate betrayal of young France.
While "Chocolat" feels a bit vague, a bit unfinished, it's an
interesting first feature. Denis, who worked with Wim Wenders
on "Paris, Texas" and "Wings of Desire," clearly learned
a great deal about creating atmosphere from that director.
There are the same long, slow, poetic movements of the camera,
the vivid creation of time and place, and the ability to
reveal the most subtle shadings of relationships. The music,
by jazz composer Dollar Brand, is also terrific But ennui
seems to permeate the film to the extent that it reaches the
audience, too — "Chocolat" feels extraordinarily s-l-o-w at
times, which is not helped by an uncomfortable sense of
detachment from the characters.
What "Chocolat" does most potently is to create the sense
of a lifestyle that is on the verge of death, already a corpse
really. Marc, who loves Cameroon, knows that the end is near;
reminders of the impermanence of white rule surround the
colonials. There's a plaque on the Dalens' house that reminds
them that Cameroon was once a German settlement. The
blacks, though oppressed, enjoy a tight society; it is the whites
who are the true outcasts. This is not a colonial society that is
overripe and rotting, as in "White Mischief" It is instead a
society that has dried to a husk and is slowly blowing away.
Rated PG-13 for nudity.— Lesa Sawahata
REVIEW DIGEST
story type key: (Ac) Action: (Ad) Adventure: (An) Animated: (B)
Biography: (C) Comedy: (Cr) Crime: (D) Drama: (DM) Drama with
Music: (Doc) Documentary: (F) Fantasy: (H) Horror: (M) Musical:
(My) Mystery: (OD) Outdoor: (Pol) Political: (R) Romantic: (SF)
Science Fiction: (Sus) Suspense: (W) Western.
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Accidental Tourist PG (WB)
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EDGE OF SANITY
Anthony Perkins, Glynis Barber and Sarah Maur-Thorp
Produced by Edward Simons and Harry Alan Towers
Directed by Gerard Kikoine Written by J P Felix and Ron Ral
ey
A Millimeter Films release Horror, rated R Running time 86
min. Screening date: 4/5/89
"Edge of Sanity" is a camp, soft core variation on Robert
Louis Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Alternately
appalling and embarrassing, this kinky mess could provide
unintended fun as a midnight movie, but its bleak future no
doubt lies on the video shelves.
Anthony Perkins, who took a wrong turn somewhere, stars
as Henry Jekyll, a reclusive scientist who is working on a
ground-breaking new form of anaesthetic. One night, one of
his lab monkeys knocks over a beaker, causing a gas which
turns Henry into... Jack Hyde, or, for the purposes of this screwy
thriller^ Jack the Ripper. That's right, "Edge of Sanity"
fuses together Stevenson's classic with the Ripper saga, providing
twice the gore for your entertainment dollar.
Perkins spends half the movie in pasty whiteface makeup
and red-rimmed eyes, carving up street stmmpets with a
razor. He also manages to insinuate himself into as many
situations as possible that can provide opportunities for young
women to bare their breasts. It's just razors and breasts galore
for about 90 minutes, with no bothersome plot intruding itself
into the goings-on.
"Edge of Sanity" has a twisted, Ken Russell-influenced look
to it which is fun for a little while (there are more crooked
camera angles and gaudy colors than an average "Batman"
episode). But there is also a leering, exploitive quality to the
movie which makes one pity those on screen, particularly
Perkins One memorable scene, during which the doped-up
Hyde delivers a lengthy soliloquy while addressing the
exposed rear end of one of his intended victims, made us
cringe in our seats, wondering how this once-interesting actor
ended up being the butt of such ghastly material.
R.ited R for nudity and gore —Tom Matthews