Show Standard-Examin- er Friday October 21 1988 7Q Movies concept sustains ‘Wings of Desire’ movie By DONALD PORTER Standard-Examine- Movie Review staff r The movie “Wings of Desire” may have the most compelling story idea in years: Unseen angels coexist with humans on earth moving through cities with the endless task of comforting the sad and lonely the sick and afflicted and the like ’ Humans don’t know the angels are there but when one of the heavenly beings takes their hand or gives them a hug they feel better — relieved or sustained It is a remarkable notion for a film and Wim Wenders (“Paris Texas”) succeeds at transforming his idea into a warm loving movie Bruno Ganz plays Damiel an angel watching over the city of Berlin He writer-direct- or ‘Wings of Desire1 wanders through city streets apartment complexes passenger airliners flying over the city and public transit cars listening to individuals’ thoughts seeking out those who need his help He can’t intervene in their lives but he can make them aware that there is hope — in all situations there remains hope We discover from conversations between Damiel and his partner Cassiel (Otto Sander) that they have been present from the beginning of time They love those they watch over but have no real depth of emotion — at least not in the sense that humans can experience a wide range of emotions — because they have not lived a physical existence They do not have the luxury of sensory perceptions like taste and smell or the feeling of what it’s like to hold a pencil or book in their hands The burden of infinitely observing humanity but not interacting has begun to take its toll on Damiel and he begins fantasizing about what it would be like to live as a human being While comforting Marion (Solveig Dommar-tin- ) n cira trapeze artist in a cus his frustration gives way to a human emotion: romantic love But the only way to fulfill his desire to love Marion is to become a human and abandon his angelic life It would be the ultimate sacrifice to abandon immortality for love Wenders weaves this love story almost surreptitiously We are so fascinated by the dual existence of angels and humans on the same physical landscape that we are taken aback somewhat by Damiel’s pondcrings In addition to the love story another funny but moving subplot is woven into the tale Peter Falk plays himself — an American movie actor in Berlin to make a movie And as the actor wanders the streets of Berlin the home of his ancestors Damiel observes him And much to the angel’s astonishment Falk seems more aware of the spirit’s presence than anyone he’s ever encountered “Wings of Desire” is a wonderful film full of hope It takes an enchanting look at the possibilities offered by a Christian belief in a spiritual world Ganz’s Damiel is a kind soul with a run-dow- ’ gentle smile His interest in the human world knows no bounds He hungers — desires — to share the experience to ex- perience the ups and downs that all be- ings around him do daily The chore facing the actor is to convey his desire without verbalizing it His eyes the slump of his shoulders the cor- ners of his mouth must tell the tale to a large extent his narration of the story can contribute only so much Wenders has created an amazing piece of work here It keeps us off guard nev- er knowing what to expect next And it is satisfying — so so satisfying If you have a heart you will love this movie “Wings of Desire” is playing exclusive- ly at the Trolley Square Theaters in Salt Lake City I I ' i i i Actress associates Druggie role with ‘The Accused’! By DAN GERINGER Newspapers Kmght-Ridde- r A unusual lis for Fox strides into the small interview room in the Gulf & Western skyscraper fills the joint with cigarette smoke then quietly reveals NEW YORK — Kelly McGilblond stunner in a a skin-tig- black ht “Bright Lights Big City” ickirkV r Michael J Fox stars as a confused young New Yorker in that she has novel It’s a real breakout role for Fox because - he plays a character who’s definitely down on his luck — and jnost of it’s his own fault A blockbuster - of the best-selli- 1 because was by two raped men in 1979 Video Vignettes Porter McGillis whose movie roles range from the Amish apple of Harrison Ford’s eye in “Witness” to Torn Cruise’s love object in “Top Gun” has never revealed this part of her past before Almost 10 years after it happened she is visibly ill at ease talking about it McGil“The Accused” lis as the attorney who prosecutes e victhe attackers of a tim played by Jody Foster The fictional story line bears striking similarities to the 1983 New Bedford Mass case in which several patrons of a bar raped a woman stall st anti-dru- co-sta- rs gang-rap- A horror-comed- y starring Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis as a married couple killed in an : accident and confined to their home after death They want to haunt the new owners out of the house but aren’t frightening enough so they hire (Michael Keaton) — a nasty demon — to do the chore for them The film is a bore basically except when Keaton is on the screen But that’s not often because his is a supporting role The movie should have been more about him and less about his employers (Rated PG for language and violence) “Critters 2: The Main Course” Betel-geu- - “Critters" which had furry tle aliens being hunted down by extraterrestrial bounty hunters The bounty hunters are back with the for a second but the g humor that set the original apart from bad sci-- horror efforts is gone What’s left is an exercise in grotesque moviemaking (Rated PG-1- 3 for vio- lence gore and language) lit- fuzz-bal- ls man-eatin- on a pool table se A sequel to the darkly funny fi United Artists Pictures Inc Swoosie Kurtz as Megan Avery who comes to aid of Jamie Conway (Michael J Fox) 16 in Berlin” Martin Sheen plays a judge in the trial of two men for hijacking an airplane from the Soviet bloc to West Berlin Excellent performances by Sheen and Sean Penn in a supporting role as one of the hijackers But Worth a the drama is look (Rated PG for language) “Little Nikita” ': River Pheonix and Sidney Poitier star in this thriller about an FBI agent who tries to help a young man who has just found out his parents aren’t e Americans — they’re Soviet spies Poitier gives a re “Judgement so-s- o big-tim- markably good performance in a lukewarm film His character is a man of many layers many secrets A fair thriller (Rated PG for language) “Two Moon Junction” No stars “Three O’Clock High” alumnus Richard Tyson stars in this brain-dea- d Southern Gothic romance Ostensibly a love story this film is little more than dressed up porn — and very stupid to boot The only good thing about it is a subversively fun turn by Kristy McNichol as a gal who lives life on soft-co- re foul-mouth- fun-lovi- ed n’ the edge Miss it (Rated R for nudity adult situations lan- guage and violence) “White Mischief” A film about decadence and intrigue in the ranks of privileged Britons living in East Africa during World War II Ostensibly a murder mystery this film does little more than wallow in the perversities of the idle rich While it may warm the hearts of those with socialist inclinations it’s worth neither the time nor money it takes to view it (Rated R for nudity adult situations language and violence) McGillis says that when she was first shown a script she was given the choice of playing either the victim or the lawyer Although she knew that the victim’s role was a much flashier part and the one that everyone would be talking about the actress elected to play the emotionally repressed lawyer who undergoes tremendous personal changes as she gets increasingly involved with the victim’s helplessness "Having been raped by two men who broke into my New York apartment in 1979” McGillis says tensely working her hands rapidly as if washing them “having been a victim I didn’t feel compelled to play the vic- tim” She says two men broke into her apartment one night and raped her She called the police They showed up in large numbers But no report was filed McGillis says she had to call the police department the next day By DONALD PORTER Movie Review staff d For anyone tired of the our society the past several years “Tapeheads” attempts to get some paybacks for you d An undeniably although two budding fun about movie curiously music video makers “Tapeheads” attempts to savage the medium and expose it for what it is — nothing but hype Actually that might be giving too much credit to the movie But what the heck the filmmakers accomplish it even MTV-inspire- ‘Tapeheads’ glitz pervading dim-witte- if they didn’t really set out to “Tapeheads" has been sitting on a shelf unreleased since January In the meantime its stars John Cusack and Tim Robbins have gone on to substantial success Cusack starred as Buck Weaver in “Eight Men Out” and Robbins played Ebby Calvin “Nuke" La-Loo- sh in “Bull Durham” work They wind up paying their dues in odd ways — commercials animal funerals and the like — which make up some of the funnier bits in the film But what they really want what they dream of is to bring fame to a legendary rhythm and blues duo the Swanky Modes It would be lunacy to attempt to tell the story of “Tapeheads” since it’s so rambling and jumbled Just be assured that amongst all the chaos there are enough little gems of comedy and jabs at the recording industry and MTV-lik- e If you’ve seen those films you know how terrific these guys are But don’t go to “Tapeheads” expecting quality approaching “Eight Men Out” or “Bull Durham” Expect only to have a fairly good time that you’ll feel guilty about later Ivan Alexeev (Cusack) and Josh Tager (Robbins) are buddies who tire of their regular jobs and yearn to find success as music video makers Ivan’s a schemer a used car salesman type and Josh is the quiet artist They risk all quit their jobs and hit the streets to hustle some video FAMILY MENU SERVING ORIGINAL MANDARIN & SZECHUAN CUISINE LUNCHES Start at $295 DINNERS TAKE OUT ORDERS MOUH811 30 mi-lf - 5 11 30 m-- 1 1 pmpfi 9 pm-- 9 wi pm f pened” That last phrase echoes a chilling moment in the film where Foster confronts McGillis with that very thought Throughout the film the justice system i$ clearly stacked against the rights of the victim who in this case is an inarticulate uneducated worn: an who the rapists insist wa$ “asking for “She was it” drunk” McGillis says of Foster’s character “She was-dresse- provocatively She was dancing provocatively But whn she was attacked she said no Every woman every child every man has the right to say no No means no No does not mean yes” ! McGillis says she is revealing the fact that she was raped in order to “give other young women the courage to stand up and say something I’ve never hidden this from anyone It just never came out Over the years I felt very us about this I don’t feel particularly courageous now in talking about this Bqt I’m glad it’s out in the open” Also out in the open is the fact that McGillis became a star almost immediately after her motion picture debut in “Reuben Reuben" while she was still a drama student at the prestigious Julliard School The sudden fame was too much too soon “I hated it” McGillis says “The whole fishbowl thing was a very scary thing especially for someone like me who likes to hide I was overwhelmed” - -- Far from being embarrassed by the dc-layed release of “Tapeheads” the two actors should be happy about it It’s definitely problematical but they approach their performances with such wild abandon and the movie takes such a “Who takes this stuff seriously anyway?” attitude that we can’t help but like it 'Wtttdb TO prosecuted and jailed I ask her if there was a jury tri-al with any similarities to the onq in the movie “None of your damn business’4 she snaps angrily as if I have crossed an invisible line between what she is willing to talk about and the privacy she wants to protect Almost immediately she ' softens “Listen” she says “the point is not to talk about the details of my rape The point is that despite the fact I had a house full of policemen the night of the rape I had to pursue things myself the next day in order to get a police report filed I had to insist that a report be filed If I hadn’t insisted the whole thing would have just been dropped as if it never hap? COMBINATION DINNER Start at - 627-273- 9 4SS 3740 WASHINGTON OGDEN BIVO at Store The Cosmetic Cosmetic Store" 'Your Discount IBwBBn 30 New Shipment Has Arrived This Week On Cosmetics Fragrances Skin Care app Urr 70 DCTAII -- HE I MIL!I Hurry While Supplies Last ’Bldg G-- 15 Freeport Center 776-438- 5 1 television to satisfy Robbins contrary to his recently ac- quired Nuke LaLoosh persona is the se- date half of the team Cusack has the wilder character and he has fun with it CHINESE FOOD AT ITS BEST!!! URGE LUNCHEON and insist that a report be filed The two rapists she says were glitz takes it on the chin in ‘Tapeheads3 MTV-inspir-ed Standard-Examine- she herself darkly humorous movie and very good It also boasts a fine supporting cast including John Houseman Kiefer Sutherland Jason Robrads and Diane Wi-eg One of the best films ever made (Rated R for language and drug use) 16 “Beetlejuice” : s “The Accused” Don r mini-dres- strong feelings about her role in Paramount’s new rape case 2 film version this i d |