SEVEN MINI-REVIEWS
Film reviews by Wayne Citrin
Copyright 1988 Wayne Citrin
BAGDAD CAFE
Hefty German woman (Marianne Saegebrecht) finds herself stranded at a motel in the middle of the California desert with a bunch of American oddballs. She finds friendship, and brings some happiness into their lives. Film seems somewhat remote and uninvolving during the viewing, but grows on you afterwards. Two and a half stars.
FIVE CORNERS
The best film I've seen so far this year. Several interlocking stories about young people in the Bronx in 1964, centered around the homecoming of a psychopath just out of prison. Offbeat story and dialogue written by the writer of MOONSTRUCK. Reminiscent of THE WANDERERS and DINER. Three and a half stars.
HIGH SEASON
A romantic farce set in a village on the Greek island of Rhodes during the tourist season. The set of interlocking stories concerning romance, entrepreneurialism, espionage, and art theft, is coherent and funny. The scenery is incomparable, and Jacqueline Bisset, although looking her age, is still beautiful. Only problem in the film is the romance between Bisset and her ex-husband, played by Edward Fox, which is completely lacking in chemistry. There's enough in this film to make up for that, though. Three stars.
THE KITCHEN TOTO
In the Kenya of the Fifties, a young African boy whose father has been killed by the Mau-Mau, is forced to take a job as a "kitchen toto" (or helper) in the house of the British chief of police. He becomes caught up in the revolution and is divided in his loyalties between the Africans and his British employers. The film presents a well-rounded and even-handed treatment of the British colonials and their African servants, but I felt that the treatment of the Mau-Mau as evil thugs was too shallow and took away from whatever points the film made on behalf of the British. Two and a half stars.
THE LEOPARD
I read the novel last year and have been looking for the film (on video or in a theatre) ever since. The film, by Visconti, is a meticulous recreation of the classic novel about a Sicilian prince (Burt Lancaster) and his adjustment to Italian unification and the rise of the bourgeois society. Visconti decided to leave out the last few chapters (for time reasons, probably, although the film still lasts almost three hours), which unfortunately tends to blunt the point that the novel tries to make. There's still enough here, though, to make the film worthwhile, even if you haven't read the book. Three stars.
MOONSTRUCK
I finally got around to seeing this after reading some negative reviews and was pleasantly surprised. Something of a romantic fantasy, but with intelligent, well-rounded characters and witty dialogue. Cher and Nicolas Cage put in excellent performances, and I can't even look at Vincent Gardenia's face with out breaking up. Three stars.
WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT
Nothing I say will keep anyone from going to see it, but I thought it was a low-grade "Chinatown" with a "Howard the Duck" ending. Yes, the technical virtuosity was admirable, but that's only enough to give it two stars out of four.
Wayne Citrin (citrin@ji.berkeley.edu)
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