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PARTISAN R EV I EW
whi ch o ne interviewer compared
to
a Wes te rn , is abo ut Muslim Andalusia
in th e twelfth cemury. Th e philosoph er Ave rroes, w ho inspired hi s yo ung
followers to study the Greek philosoph ers, dedi ca ted hi s life to fi ghting
aga inst narrow reli g io us o rth odoxy. Th e film 's ce lebrated direc tor, C hahine,
an Egyptian w hose las t film was banned in Ef,'Ypt, combin es po liti cal
courage with a sense fo r comedy by tellin g a se ri o ll s sto ry about th e need
for fi-eedom in thi s t;1S t mov ing, entertaining mega- produ cti o n.
Tc'lIill,f? Lies ill A llleri{(l,
a tale abo ut a Hun ga rian teenager who li es to
shortcut hi s way into Ameri ca and hi s fath er, w ho studi es to fulfill hi s
dream o f becomin g a citize n, illuminates th e stru ggle o f every new immi–
grant. In thi s to uching drama, th e gullibl e I<. archy is taken in by a
four- nushin g di sk jockey-an updated ve rsio n of the swindling tri cks ters
preyin g o n greenh orn s. Wheth er to rat o n hi s crooked benefac to r and
become a citi ze n o r to give up hi s qui ckl y ga in ed ri ches is I<.archy's emo–
tional dil emma, whi ch is po rtrayed by an exce ll ent cast th at keeps th e
audi ence in suspense. It is a comin g-o f-age story w ith whi ch everyo ne can
identi fY.
In
The
Apostle
Itobert Du va ll is bo th director and star. Seekin g sa lva–
tion for an ac t of viol ence-whil e runnin g from th e law-he bapti zes
himse lf and se ts up a mini stry in a black bayou town in Lousian;l . Hi s
impressive perfo rmance brilli aml y lays open th e appea l o f evangeli st preach–
ers to simpl e peopl e. In thi s parti cul ar case, th e peopl e replace th e apos tl e's
own famil y. N eve rtheless, thi s film 's relati o nship to the idea o f famil y is ten–
uo us at bes t.
From he re o n, the f..1 mil y theme no longer ho lds unl ess we count the
mute ex-eon's videos of hi s fa th er in
r:allclI A lI,f?cls
as mo re than an o ther
aspect of hi s obsessio ns. Outside the home, he brea ks into stores afte r hours
and fo rces hi s customers to buy hi s wares. H e is no t th e main character in
thi s feveri sh film set in Ho ng I<.o ng-a masterpi ece of rec kl ess, fi-e nzied
actio n, po rtraying a di spassio nate, profe ssional hit man, hi s glamo rou s book–
ing age nt who prefers mas turbati o n to men and shares hi s livin g quarters but
whom he neve r meets, a crazy blonde pros titute wh o goes in for philoso–
phy , and an assortment o f o th er weirdos.
Kiss alld Kill,
about a pair o f yo ung, good- loo kin g drifters wh o ea rn
their keep by " ro lling" th e businessmen Nikki pi cks up and wh o are o bli g–
ed to escape wh en o ne o f their marks accidemall y di es, is anoth er
thrill er-cum-art film. Whil e pursued through th e superb Au strali an land–
scape by th e police and the sports cel ebrity whose incrimin atin g tape was
in th e suitcase they stol e, th ey con and kill eve ryon e who trusts and harbo rs
them and eventuall y come to distrust each o th er. In a fin al twi st, we lea rn
th at AI has a fath er who, though di sowning him , hires th e to p- notch lawyer
who eventuall y gets them o fT th e murder rap- to bask in th e sun.
