26 - Wednesday, March 21, 1990 - North Shore News

maid’s
Tale just
doesn’t gel

The Handmaid's Tale ** (Nova Entertainment) Rated R (at the Gran-
ville, Park & Tilford and Oakridge Cinemas)

some Uzis and overthrown the government. Do visions

| magine that Jim and Tammy Faye Baker have grabbed

of a repressed and rigid nation with poor fashion sense
come to mind? That’s the premise of Margaret Atwood’s
tale of fundamentalists in control.

Thanks to pollution, nuclear ac-
cidents and disease, most women
are sterile. The handful who have
active repro tracts are the property
of society’s elite, the Command.
ers. Ina degrading ritual (based on
the Biblical story of Rachel and her
handmaid), these fertile hand-
maids have sex with their masters
while the wives look on.

film review

To keep things simple, the
women have been color-coded.
Wives wear blue, handmaids are
in red and the aunts are brown.
The aunts train the handmaids
armed with a trusty cattle prod
and Gestapo tactics.

Kate (Natasha Richardson) has
been caught trying to flee the
country. She is dressed in red and
renamed Offred (of Fred). She
resides with Security Commander
Fred (Robert Duvall) and his wife,
Serena Joy (Faye Dunaway}. Fred
is a fascist, but he does offer
Kate/Offred forbidden glimpses of
the past. In private, he shows her
banned Vogue magazines and
plays Scrabble with her (she wins).

Serena Joy realizes two things —
{1) her husband is about as potent
as a glass of warm milk, and (2) a
baby is security. To protect her
position, she arranges a dangerous
liaison between her handmaid and
the chauffeur (Aiden Quinn).

Love among the ruins:

Just why this film doesn’t click is

hard to pinpoint. the acting is
good, with a special nod to
Elizabeth McGovern as Moira. the
strong-willed lesbian who fives
because “they don’t hang you if
your ovaries are jumping.” There
are effective moments, both

* touching and tense. The plot is

grounded in reality, albeit more
Middie-eastern than Narth Ameri-
can. And the pace is brisk.

Somehow, it doesn’t gel.
Perhaps it’s the unrelenting
bleakness of the lack of conflict
(after all, victimizing someone for
two hours doesn’t allow for many
confrontations). The characters are
so full of stifled emotions, that the
film becomes colorless. By the
end, there’s only a feeling of
detachment.

And, hey, if you've seen one
Orwellian future...
Brazii *** (MCA Home Video)
Rated Mature

Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam
gives Orwell’s 1984 the once-over
in his lengthy big-budgeted movie.
Dazzling sets and effects nearly
drown the slight story of a quiet
dreamer (Jonathon Pryce) struggl-
ing against a brutal society of red
tape on the brink of collapse. Keep
your eye out for Robert De Niro in
a Cameo appearance and count
the false endings.

NORTH SHORE VIEWS

West Van Odeon: My Left Foot,
The Fabulous Baker Boys, Born on
the Fourth of July
Park Royal: Glory, Driving Miss
Daisy, Men Don’t Leave
Park & Tilford: Handmaid's Tale,
Madhouse, Born on the Fourth of
July, Lord of the Flies, Revenge,
Bad Influence
Showtime Hotlines: Farious
Players 681-4255, Cineplex Odeon
687-1515

DEEP COVE BIKE SHOP
CLEARANCE SALE
ALL BIKES MUST GO

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SPRING SPECIAL

ot 3 Lt SAVE-ON- FOODS & DRUGS VIDEO’ DEPARTMENT-

Coupon

Video Express Ticket Reg. $14.88
Good for 10 Movie Rentals & 1 Free Movie Rental

TOUCHSTONE Raiease gate
DME VIDECD March 21

Save 20% on these Converse ™ fashions.
Choose from T-shirt, fleece pants or
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Reg. 21.98-29.98. Each .... 17.48-23.98
Save 15% on men’s ERX 150 hi-cuts and
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Reg pnces stated ate Sears prices

Ary Pay SPECIAL $4.00

Limit 2 Express Tickets per customer. This coupon expires on

March 24, 1990 at Park & Tilford store only
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OFF
with coupon

’

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20% off all women’s and men's Reebok”
shoes...Newport, Princess and more.
Reg. 44.95-99.95. Ea. pr. ...35.96-79.96

Selection varias by store

SALE PRICES IN EFFECT UNTIL SUN. MARCH 25, 1990

while quantities last

SEAIRS

your money's worth...and more

NORTH VANCOUVER, Capilano Mall, open dally 9:30-5:20, Thurs. and Fri. till 9, Sun, noon to 5
Sears Canada inc Salistaction quatanteed of money retunded ”

There's a Sears store near you... shop today at: Burnaby

Monday, Tuesday and Saturday 930am to 5 30 p

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Reg” ‘and “Was” refer to Sears Canada Ine. prices

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m Wednesaay. Thursday and Friday tH 900 pm

Shop Sunuay from 12 noon ta 500 pm Capitano Mall 965-7722, Shop: Monday. Tuesday. Wednesday and Satutday 930 am to 530 pm
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