Festival offers 27 films from 12 countries

Press, 24 April 1986, Page 10

Festival offers 27 films from 12 countries

cinema

hans petrovic

The 1986 Canterbury Film Festival, which will be held at the Westend from tomorrow until Thursday, May 8, comprises an interesting mixture of new and old, commercial, tacky and arty movies, fully deserving a thorough perusal of the programme. The 27 films from 12 countries include two previously unreleased works from major experimental directors: Sam Fuller’s thriller, “White Dog,” and Robert Altman’s tragedy, “Streamers.” Also featured are two New Zealand films never before screened in Christchurch, “Pallet on the Floor” and “Kingpin,” and an Australian children’s film, "Molly (the Singing Dog).” The festival also gives us a first opportunity to catch two films which, no doubt, will return later for commercial release: Woody Allen’s “The Purple Rose of Cairo,” and “Plenty,” starring Meryl Streep. On the adult-tacky side, there are “Pink Flamingos,” “Female Trouble,” “Ladies on the Rocks” and “Sweet Movie”; while the two horror-comedies

are Steve Martin’s “The Man With Two Brains,” and "Howling 2 (Striba, The Werewolf Bitch)," with Christopher Lee. Reservations can be made at the Westend. Last-minute alterations may be made to the following programme. FIRST WEEK Tomorrow and Saturday, 2 p.m n “Molly (The Singing Dog),” Australia: Maxie is a lonely little girl who is given the task of looking after Molly, a scruffy mongrel kelpie. She soon discovers Molly’s secret: if you really love her, she will sing for you. Garry McDonald (better known as Norman Gunston) plays a wicked clown, supported by members of the Flying Fruit Fly Circus. Tomorrow, 5.30 and 8.15 p.m., “Dream Child,” England: In April, 1932, Mrs Alice Hargreaves sails for New York to collect an honorary degree from Columbia University. Now aged 80 and slightly senile, she is to be the guest of honour at the Lewis Carroll Centenary, for as Alice Likkell she was the young child who inspired the “Alice in Wonderland” stories. lan

Holm stars as Carroll in this beautiful adult-fan-tasy. Tomorrow, 11 p.m n “Pink Flamingos” and “Female Trouble,” United States: Released in 1973, “Pink Flamingos” was the first true underground classic to crawl into the mainstream cinema, and its impact has been accurately described as “creating permanent ripples in cesspool comedy.” Starring the truly awful transvestite, Divine, “Female Trouble” is another exercise in bad taste that piles one outrage on top of another. Saturday, 5.30 and 8.15 p.m., “The Shooting Party,” England: A group of elegant men and women gather at an estate in the heart of the English countryside. The year is 1913, the guests drink, dine, gamble, gossip and indulge in a little discreet adultery, oblivious that their society will soon be blown away with the outbreak of the Great War. Sunday, 5 p.m., “The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez,” United States: The story is based on a true incident. A Mexican cowhand is tried in an atmo-

sphere of racial prejudice, and sentenced to death for murder. “Cortez” is a memorable screen classic in the style of "The OxBow Incident,” which moved the Hollywood westerns away from simple sagebrush sagas into intelligent studies of human courage and moral principle. Sunday, 7.30 p.m., “White Dog” and “Streamers,” United States: In “White Dog,” a woman runs over a large dog and takes him home. The dog recovers, but turns out to have been trained to kill — only blacks. “Streamers,” directed by Robert Altman, investigates the horror of enforced army life and its destructive force in the lives of ordinary young men. Monday, 5.30 and 8.15 p.m., “La Crime (CoverUp),” France: Two killers disguised as policemen march into the Palace of Justice in broad daylight and execute a prominent prosecutor in his own office. At first the authorities try to disclaim all knowledge of conspiracy, but, as public outrage

builds, they reluctantly order an official investigation. Tuesday, 5.30 and 8.15 p.m., “Edith’s Diary,” West Germany: Edith, a beautiful, intelligent woman, seems to be having an emotional breakdown. Lately, she has taken to furtively keeping a diary of her daily experiences. The problem is that the events recorded seem to be' quite different to real life. Is Edith going mad? Or is something much more sinister going on .. ? Wednesday, 5.30 and 8.15 p.m., “Mishima, A Life in Four Chapters,” United States/Japan: On November 25, 1970, the internationally famous Japanese author and poet, Yukio Mishima, commit-

ted ritual suicide. His public disembowelment was an act of protest at the abandonment of the traditional way of life by the Japanese in favour of modern materialism. This film tries to recreate the other-worldly quality of this strange man and his even stranger work. Thursday, 5.30 and 8.15 p.m., “Ladies on the Rocks,” Denmark: Against all professional advice, two young women decide to take their outrageous cabaret act on a tour of the Danish provinces. Their bawdy performance was previously only seen by family and friends at social occasions, and proves rather too much for the less sophisticated rural folks to handle.