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. 1° IS S § iiiil Accidental Tourist PG (WB) E^,i Z 3 < 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
SNEAK PREVIEWS The following films are tentatively scheduled for release during the months of August and September The distributors, however, cannot stress strongly enough that these dates and titles are subject to change. WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S Andrew McCarthy and Jonathan Silverman star as two eager insurance clerl
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