Boxoffice-July.1997

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on CD.KU^ RftVf»'i.-ir-i.' — — REVIEWS LA PROMESSE •^^^ Starring Jeremie Renter, Olivier Gourmet and Assta Ouedraogo. Directed and written by Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne. Produced by Luc Dardenne and Hassen Daldoul. A New Yorker release. Drama. French-language; English subtitles. Unrated. Running time: 93 min. For more than 20 years, Belgian brothers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne have been making documentaries together. Their subject matter has usually centered on the Leftist worker movements of the 1960s, their preference a directorial style admittedly "theatrical" and subjective. Now, moving away from the constraints of "reality, to which we were accountable," the duo has turned to fiction features. With "La Promesse," their third, they've created a work of great emotional depth and impact that ironically draws much of its power from low-key, naturalistic performances captured with a shooting style more often associated with traditional documentary making. Set in the post-industrial limbo of a dead factory town, "La Promesse" follows 15- year-old Igor, a boy learning how to be a small-time hustler from his father Roger. Together they toil in the town ' s only growth industry: the exploitation of illegal immigrants by providing them with false papers, flophouses and off-the-books construction work. Igor's moral awakening comes with a covered-up accidental death of an African illegal. Igor must either betray his father or the promise he made to the dying man to look after his wife and infant. The Dardennes have written a compelling, believable script and have drawn excellent performances from mostly unknown or inexperienced actors. But the truly wonderful thing about "La Promesse" is how the film's style and structure seem spontaneous, almost casual, obscuring all the thought and work necessary to achieve that effect. The camera is always in just the right place, with many scenes shot in continuous handheld takes that move with and pan between actors in place of cutting. And the brothers have the courage to allow emotionally significant events to transpire in wide unbroken shots, often with a major character's back to camera. This type of approach could easily seem gimmicky in less skillful hands, but here it's an integral part of a remarkable achievement. Alex Albanese GRIND ^1/2 Starring Billy Crudup and Adrienne Shelley. Directed by Chris Mentis. Written by Laura Lau and Chris Kentis. Produced by Laura Lau. A Castle Hill release. Drama. Unrated. Running time: 96 min. A worthless effort displaying egotism rather than talent, "Grind" is indeed a grind—torpid, bland, lifeless and hollow. PREVIOUSLY REVIEWED: JUNE. JULY AND AUGUST RELEASES In light of our continuing commitment to bring you reynews as early as possible, we now^ provide a reader guide to upcoming releases we've already critiqued. The alphabetical list below notes Hie issue of BoxoFFKE in vi/hicn the review appeared, gives its star rating, and provides updated distributor and release date informaHon. "Bandwagon" -k -kit 111: CFP, 8/15 ltd; see April 1997. "Bliss" ••••: Triumph, 6/6 ltd; see May 1997. "Box of Moonlight" **U2: rrimark, 7/25 NY, 8/8 LA; see Nov. 1996. "Brilliant Ues" •••: Castle Hill, 7/11 NY; see April 1997. "Differentfor Girls" ••: First Look, 8/15; see March 1997. "Dream With the Fishes" ••1/2: Sony Classics, 6/20 NY; see June 1997. "Fall" •••: Orion, 6/20; see April 1997. "Forever MoTjart" ••••: New Yorker, 7/4; see Jan. 1997. "For Roseanna" -kick: Fine Line, 6/18 NY; see March 1997. "The Full Monty" ie*kk: Fox Searchlight, 8/15; see April 1997. "Gabbeh"kkk: New Yorker, 6/25 NY; see Feb. 1997. "Guantanamera" •••1/2: CFP, 7/2; see April 1997. "Hamsun" if^ki/2: First Run. 8/6; see March 1997. "The Innocent Sleep" ••1/2: Castle Hill, 6/27; see June 1996. "In the Company of Men" ••1/2: Sony Classics, 8/8; see April 1997. "La Rencontre" ••: Artistic License, July; see March 1997. "Love Serenade" -k-kl/l: Miramax, 6/20 NY/IJi; see Aug. 1996. "Mon Homme" •••: Artificial Eye, August; see March 1997. "Mouth to Mouth" •••1/2: Miramax, 6/6 NY/IA; see Sept. 1996. "Paperback Romance" kkl/l: Goldwvn, 8/1; see May 1997. "The Pillow Book" •••: CFP, 6/6; see July 1996. "Shall We Dance?" kkkMl: Miramax, 6/27 NY/IA; see May 1997. "Temptress Moon" kkk 1/2: Miramax, 6/13; see May 1997. "Timothy Uary's Dead" ••: Strand, 6/6 lA; see May 1997. "Vlee's Gold" ••••: Orion, 6/13 NY/IA; see April 1997. "When the Cat's Away" ••••: Sony Classics, 6/20 NY; see Feb. 1997. Its worst aspect is the pretentious sensibility of writer/director Chris Kentis, who makes labored attempts to integrate existential elements in a simple film noir character study. Billy Crudup ("Sleepers") tries mightily to overcome the colorless role the script provides him, and he nearly succeeds. He plays an ex-con who moves in with his older brother (a one-note Paul Schulze) after being released from prison. Predictably, the parolee falls for his brother's wife (a pretty but vapid Adrienne Shelley) as he toils in a monotonous factory job when he's not drag racing. He gets into even more trouble when he partners with his brother and a crooked boss in a car insurance scam that goes awry. Already cursory narrative exposition is further damaged by a lack of character development and motivation and by a lack of chemistry between Crudup and Shelley. Kentis' helming is long on amateurish staging and slack pacing—and long on pauses that are supposed to be pregnant with meaning. His idea of alienation and ennui is to have the actors stare into space or to have scenes suddenly fade out, condemnably faux artistic daring. Dale Winogura RUDYARD KIPLING'S THE SECOND JONGL£ BOOK: MOWGLI & BALOO ir Starring Jamie Williams, Bill Campbell and Roddy McDowall. Directed by Duncan McLachlan. Written by Bayard Johnson and Matthew Horton. Produced by Raju Patel A TriStar release. Adventure. Rated PG for some mild adventure violence attd briefmild language. Running time: 90 min. In the past, Disney has released two versions of the Rudyard Kipling classic "Jungle Book." The first was animated, the latter five-action. But this live-action film is really more a prequel to the animated work, albeit without songs and talking animals. Set in the 1890s, this latest Kipling reworking opens with Mowgli (newcomer Jamie WiUiams) as a 10-year-old wild boy living with his wildlife family in thejungles of India. In a pitiful performance, Roddy McDowall ("Planet of the Apes") takes the pre-King Louie throne as King Murphy. Mowgli s jungle teacher, Baloo the bear, and his protector, Bagheera the panther, are back, but the filmmakers seem to overlook the fact that, as characters in a prequel, they need introduction. A supposition triat audiences will already be familiar with Mowgli & CO., given that this film is aimed at single-digit ages, is probably unwarranted. A simple plotline has two monkeys trying to kidnap Mowgli and bring him back to their king. A circus talent scout ('The Rocketeer's" Bill Campbell) also wants Mowgli, but the scout's quest requires the aid of Mowgli's uncle, who has his own hidden agenda. None of this has any dramatic zest; if not for the bumbling antics of the monkeys, there would be no relief from a long and lingering boredom the film endengers. Any adults along to accompany the kids will be put off bv the film's lowbudget low-techery, in which the closeups of actors and animals are superimposed or spliced together.— Dwayne E. Leslie
— REVIEWS THE FIFTH ELEMENT iîc* Starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Milla Jovovich and Chris Tucker. Directed by Luc Besson. Written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. Produced by Patrice Ledoux. A Columbia release. SF. Rated PG- 13for intense sci-fi violence, some sexuality and brief nudity. Running time: 125 min. — In his most recent films "La Femme Nikita," "The Professional" and now "The Fifth Element"—an index of filmmaker Luc Besson's artistic success has been the amount of romantic frisson generated by his story. In his newest, in which a 23rd century taxi driver (Bruce Willis) must protect a young/old gamine (Milla Jovovich) who as the eternal and DNA-reincamated perfection of life is the world's only hope against an evil force, that success is more modest. Fortunately, a concomitant success index of Besson's ability to dazzle audiences with action pyrotechnics—has not lessened. READY THEATRE SYSTEMS SOFTWARE FOR TICKETING, CONCESSIONS & COMPLETE INVENTORY CONTROL 800 676-9303 616 463-8458 Response No. 130 SVSMS!SSS!&SIS!SSMSMSMSSSMSSSMSSSJS!SMSMSMSMS!S!SISISMSMSISMSIBISMS!S!SISMSISISMSMl I I I I I I I I I I I I I I SUPERGLO A durable pearlescent, smooth surface offers maximum reflectivity & light distribution. HURLEY SCREEN SILVERGLO A smooth, aluminlzed surface offering the highest reflectivity for special applications such as 3D. raw- 16 A heavy guage matte white surface offering excellent light distribution, image clarity, and color rendition. Screen Framing • All Types Available FAX # (410) 838-8079 AUTOMATED HIGH SPEED U/L APPROVED TICKETING EQUIPMENT Factory Service, the only authorized manufacturer and repair center. I I 1 1. AUTOMATICKET A Division of Cemcorp 110 Industry Lane - P.O. Box 296 Forest Hill, MD 21050 HURLEY SCREEN CORP. A Subsldiar/ of Cemcorp 410-838-0036 • 41^879-3022 • 410-879-6767 • 41^836-9333 BM&S!S!&S!SISSSISMBISMSMS!S!SSSIS!SISSSMSMMSISMSISISISIS!&SMSSS!SMSMSS&SSS!S!SSSSS!SMSMW\ Response No. 57 FARE "FIFTH": Luc Besson transports audiences to a 23rd
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