Boxoffice-July.1995

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••••• CANNES REVIEWS
CANNES REVIEWS In the key roles, Hugh Grant plays Meredith Potter, an exacting director of a repertory company whose desperate town is still recovering from years ofbombardment; dreaming of escape from the blue-collar aunt and uncle who care for her, a motherless girl, Stella (Georgina Gates), joins the rep as assistant stage manager and falls in love with Potter; with ticket sales slow for the rep's season, a much-admired actor, PL. O'Hara (Alan Rickman), comes aboard for a run of "Peter Pan". Not only does audience turnout increase, but Stella is able to matterof-factly lose her virginity with O'Hara in her continuing pursuit of understanding life. Although it strains credulity, what comes nextbetween Stella and O'Hara (who still pines for a young woman who'd exited the Isles years ago) carries a powerful emotional impact. As does the film as a whole. What will make this a tough sit for mainstream stateside audiences when Fine Line begins its rollout late this month, however, are the movie's themedarkness and desperation reside inside every human soul— and its dialogue, which with its Liverpudlian lingo sometimes resists decipherization. (The name of the film's costume trainee— one Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh— symbolizes this difficulty.) The usually light Grant performs admirably in this darker turn, and Rickman is equally on the money, but it's Gates who captures the most attention, not only because her character is the film's focus but because she seems to inhabit Stella's cells. Unlike those of Newell's recent optimistic work, the denouement here is depressing, but for specialized audiences who value artistic excellence this might be a minor-key masterpiece.— KiHi Williamson SAFE •••1/2 Starring Julianne Moore. Directed and written by Todd Haipies. Produced by Christine Vachon. In Cannes' Directors Fortnight. A Sony Classics release. Drama. Rated R for a sex scene and some language. Running time: 118 min. What would you do if you discovered your environment was toxic— so toxic you couldn't live in it anymore? That's the dilemma facing Carol White (Julianne Moore) in "Safe." Moore is fascinating as an affluent housewife whose insulated existence in Southern Galifornia's San Fernando Valley is presumed "safe." The wife of a corporation man, she's demure and pleasant as she attends to her routine— picking up the dry cleaning, meeting friends for lunch, driving the Mercedes to the mall. Suddenly, she begins experiencing anxiety attacks, nose bleeds and fits of vomiting. FLASHBACK: NOVEMBER 10, 1958 What BOXOFFICE said about.... FATHER PANCHALI [For the first time in four decades, a classic film from India was slated at Cannes. Satyajit Ray's "Father Panchali," which won the fest's Human Document Prize in 1956, was set for a May 18 Director's Fortnight screening presented by the Merchant & Ivory Foundation and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Film Archive, which have restored many of the late director's works. This summer, Sony Classics continues its rollout of "Father Panchali" and eight other Ray titles.] As the first major Indian film to be shown in the U.S., this tragic and truthful drama about life and death in a povertystricken Brahman family is powerful, out-of-thc-ordinary fare for art-house patrons. Produced and directed by Satyajit Ray, who also wrote the screenplay, this has won many awards, including at Cannes — an exploitable factor for class ^ y^ bookings. Although beautifully photo- •'5lfc, graphed (many shots are like tapestries) ^"^ and splendidly acted, the picture's pace is too deliberate and the theme too depressing for general audiences. But, for those discerning moviegoers who appreciate the unusual or exotic, it will prove an unforgettable experience. The acting is intensely real, with Uma Das Gupta giving a sensitive portrayal of Durga, the young girl who steals fruit for her old grandaunt but loves her mother and little brother, and Chunibala Devi is both touching and amusing as an aged crone. The latter's pitiful death in a field, alone and unwanted, is a dramatic highlight. In the end, after more heartbreak for the devoted family, they set out hopefully for another city with their meager belongings. Her physician, a paternal type, believes her problems are but psychological. Xander Berkeley is stunningly cold as Carol's husband, Greg. His relationship with his wife is shallow and uncommunicative as the two play out their traditional marital roles. Eventually, it becomes apparent that Carol's illness results from environmental sensitivity; she can no longer tolerate traffic fumes, perfume fragrances and the everyday chemicals surrounding her. She leaves for an Albuquerque holistic center whose sterile environment comes complete with face masks, oxygen tanks, purified water and foods with reduced mold antigens. Carol begins to metamorphosize as she's forced to live life on its own terms. The multilayered "Safe" takes a hard look at our world. It's a beautiful movie, featuring haunting music and bold visuals. But it's anything but comfortable: This film will give audiences a frightening outlook on their world. In "Safe," which Sony Classics had slated for a solo debut in New York in late June, writer/director Todd Haynes ("Poison," "Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story") once again takes thought-provoking subject matter and turns it into a meaningful visual commodity. —Pat Kramer LISBON STORY ^^1/2 Staning Riidiger Vogler and Patrick Bauchaii. Directed and written by Wim Wenders. Produced by Ulrich Felsberg and Paolo Branco. In Cannes' Un Certain Regard. No distiibiitor set. Mystery. Not yet rated. Running time: 105 min. Winner of three major awards at previous Cannes fests (for "Paris, Texas," "Wings of Desire" and "Faraway, So Close"), writer/director Wim Wenders finds himself out of the competition selection and in the less prestigious Un Certain Regard sidebar. And with good reason. Moving him ever closer to complete incongruity, Wenders' latest effort showcases both the best and worst of the famed German auteur's aesthetics. The mostly English-language "Lisbon Story" centers on the curious adventures of a movie sound technician (a compelling Rudiger Vogler) who bolts to the Portuguese capital at the urgent call of a filmmaker friend for whom he's been assembling a soundtrack. Upon his arrival, he discovers his friend has disappeared, leading the technician into an apparently thickening web of intrigue. July, 1995 R-55
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35T»: JULY 1995, $4.95 ^FECIAL REP
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The business magazine of the motion
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This Season's Hottest Sequel. Cinem
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Boxoffice-July.1995

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