Festival ushers in nine films

Press, 28 April 1989, Page 27

Festival ushers in nine films

By

ROBYN NUTHALL

The second week of the Pacer-Kerridge Festival, being held at the Westend theatre, will bring nine new films to Christchurch. “Clara’s Heart” is one of the numerous films Whoopi Goldberg took on after her rise to fame in Steven Spielberg’s “The Color Purple.” In this film she plays a Jamaican housekeeper giving a young boy (played by Neil Patrick Harris) support and affection at a time when his family is breaking apart. “Playing Away” is a comedy about a West Indian cricket team which travels to a small English village to play a match to commemorate "Third World Week.” “Playing Away” and “Clara’s Heart” will be screened today. “Hansel and Gretel” will be brought to life for families at tomorrow’s matinee, and “The Accidental Tourist” will get a preview in two sessions tomorrow. “The Accidental Tourist” stars William Hurt, Kathleen Turner and Geena Davis. Davis won an Academy Award for her performance in this film (best supporting actress).

Hurt plays a touristguide writer who believes that you can travel without being exposed to new and different experiences — his guide books tell the reader how to get a hamburger in nearly every main European city. When Hurt’s character, Macon Leary, finds his marriage collapsing and breaks his leg, he returns to live with his family. ' The rest of the Learys are just as predictable — their kitchen cupboards contain items in alphabetical order and their favourite shops are hardware shops. Into this small world comes an eccentric dog trainer, played by Geena Davis, who challenges Leary into trying some of the adventurous side of life. At this point Leary’s wife thinks she might return to the marital fold — and both women place Leary in a philosophical dilemma, as well as a romantic one. “The Kitchen Toto,” a film set and filmed in Kenya, will get two screenings in the festival — on Sunday and on Wednesday. The film’s writer and director, Harry Hook,

chose the continent he knew best as the scene of his first film. In it he uses the observations of a small boy to tell some of the story of the Kenyan uprising which eventually led to the country’s achieving independence from British colonial rule, in 1963. Hook was born and raised in Kenya and wanted to show how the political violence of the time was perceived by ordinary people. “I spoke to a lot of the people who worked for my parents, and what emerged was that most of the ordinary people had the problems of double allegiance,” he said. "On the one hand they were working for Europeans; at the same time, they were black Africans. “The problem with double allegiance, of course, is that you inevitably find yourself on the wrong side.” Hook saw more than 5000 applicants before choosing Edwin Mahinda for the title role. “Hanna’s War,” also on Sunday and Wednesday, is the realisation of an ambition the writer-producer-director, Menahem Golan, held for 23 years. It is the true story of a

young Jewish woman’s fight to save her fellow Jews in World War II from death in German concentration camps. Although she was born in Hungary in 1921, Hanna Senesh chose to live in Israel when faced with Hitler and his regime of anti-semitism. But in 1944 Hanna decides to take her own steps against the genocide of her race. “Her life and her resistance work demonstrate that, contrary to the popular belief, all Jews were not passive victims in World War II,” said Golan. Hanna is played by Maruschka Detmers, a 24-year-old Dutch actress. Monday’s festival offerings are “Crossing Delancey” and "Dominick and Eugene.” “Crossing Delancey” illustrates the questions faced by a young urban professional woman who is advised by a matchmaker to meet a man who is apparently not suitable — a man with a pickle stand. This situation is brought about by the young woman’s grandmother. The film’s writer, Susan Sandler, says that the relationship between the young woman, Izzy Gross-

man, and her grandmother, “Bubble” Kantor, is based on . Sandler’s friendship with her own grandmother. “I sat curled up at my grandmother’s window listing to her stories,” said Sandler. “She gave me warmth and history at a time when all I knew was instability and loneliness. “In many ways, Izzy’s adventures are my own.” “Dominick and Eugene” is co-produced by a former “M.A.S.H.” actor, Mike Farrell, and stars Tom Hulce (“Amadeus”), Ray Liotta (“Something Wild”), and Jamie Lee Curtis (“A Fish Called Wanda”). It is the story of twin brothers, one of whom suffered brain damage after a childhood fall. Dominick “Nicky” Lucaino works on a rubbish truck. His wages are helping his brother to get through medical school. But all the influences on Nicky work to make him confused about the motives of the people around him, in particular those of his brother, Eugene. Finally Nicky’s bewilderment leads him to a dangerous act of courage and to his hiding places of the past.