USCCB - (Film and Broadcasting) - Ten Best List for the Year 1987

Ten Best List for the Year 1987

Cry Freedom -- The story of Steve Biko (Denzel Washington), the black South African leader who died in 1977 from police mistreatment, is linked to that of Donald Woods (Kevin Kline), a local white editor who had to escape from his native land to reveal the truth of what had occurred. Director Richard Attenborough's large_scale dramatization re_creates an authentic sense of the enormity of South Africa's racist policy of apartheid and effectively conveys the need for social and political change in that tragic land. Meancing atmosphere and some stylized violence. A-II-adults and adolescents (PG) 1987
The Dead -- James Joyce's story of a family gathering on the Feast of the Epiphany in 1904 Dublin makes a small but beautifully crafted mood piece that ends somberly in the reverie of a wife (Anjelica Huston) on the long-ago death of a boy who was in love with her and the reflections of her husband (Donal McCann) on the transitory nature of love, life and the world. Director John Huston's warm evocation of the period and its characters is enlivened by the excellent performances of a largely Irish cast. A few indelicate words and mature references. A-II-adults and adolescents (PG) 1987
84 Charing Cross Road -- Screen version of New Yorker Helene Hanff's autobiography telling of her 20-year transatlantic correspondence with a London bookseller, starting with an inquiry about some rare books in 1949 and ending with his death in 1969. Though they never meet, the book seller (Anthony Hopkins) and the book lover (Anne Bancroft) come sharply into focus through letters sharing their mutual love of literature and other cultural matters. Director David Jones does extremely well in conveying the spiritual meeting of minds underlying their long-distance friendship. This uplifting celebration of kind and gentle souls may be above the heads of the very young, but they would benefit from seeing it with their parents. A-I-general patronage (PG) 1987
Hoosiers -- Dedicated but dictatorial coach (Gene Hackman) leads a small town high school basketball team to the 1952 Indiana state chammpionship while effecting some attitude adjustments in the community and rebuilding his self-esteem along the way. Director David Anspaugh's film recalls and celebrates a vanishing American rural ethic where integrity is everything and winning is the spice of life. Brief instances of midly vulgar language and a courtside scuffle. A-I-general patronage (PG) 1987
Ironweed -- Story set in 1936 Albany, N.Y., about a hobo (Jack Nicholson) who visits the wife (Carroll Baker) and family he had deserted 22 years before after having drunkenly caused the death of his infant son. Scripted by William Kennedy from his own novel and directed by Hector Babenco, the result is less the story of a few days in the life of a Depression-era bum than it is a challenging meditation on the quality of lost souls. Some adults will be repelled by its depiction of the brutalizing conditions in which derelicts live as well as several needlessly explicit sex scenes. A-IV-adults with reservations (R) 1987
Jean de Florette -- The first in a two-part adaptation of Marcel Pagnol's novel about a crafty farmer (Yves Montand) who in the early 1900s cheats a man from the city (Gerard Depardieu) out of the farm he has inherited by blocking the spring that is its only source of water, a wrong righted in "Manon of the Spring." Directed by Claude Berri, the French production is beautifully crafted and its sympathetic characterizations make the suffering and final tragic ruin of the city man, his wife and small daughter all the more affecting. Realistic depiction of the unfortunate family's hardships and a passing sexual reference. A-II-adults and adolescents (PG) 1987
La Bamba -- Pop biographical homage to teenage rock singer Ritchie Valens (Lou Diamond Phillips) sets his meteoric success and tragic death against the poverty and oppression of the barrios of Southern California and ethnic bias of middle-class suburbia. Director Luis Valdez makes an effective study of Valens' struggle against cultural stereotyping and his relationship with his wayward brother (Esai Morales). Scenes of domestic violence, a brief instance of nudity and some profanity are overcome by the film's overall inspirational tone and depiction of positive youthful aspirations. A-II-adults and adolescents (PG-13) 1987
Manon of the Spring -- The conclusion of a two-part adaptation of Marcel Pagnol's novel about French country life in the early decades of the century details the revenge of a young woman (Emmanuelle Beart) on the farmer who ruined her family and on the community who let him get away with it (as told in "Jean de Florette"). Directed by Claude Berri, the story of long-overdue retribution builds to a powerful finale in which wrongs are righted and justice finally served. Mature treatment and brief nudity. A-III-adults (PG) 1987
Matewan -- Arriving in the coal fields of West Virginia after World War I, a union organizer (Chris Cooper) tries to help miners win a bitter, bloody strike. Written and directed by John Sayles, the fact-based movie is admirable in its idealistic picture of the workers' solidarity in standing together against the company's reliance upon force. Some graphic violence and a verbal account of a sexual assault. A-III-adults (PG-13) 1987
The Whales of August -- Two aged sisters (Bette Davis and Lillian Gish), sharing a cottage on an island off the coast of Maine, rely upon each other since one is blind but wealthy and the other is poor but kind. Director Lindsay Anderson's picture of old age and sibling rivalries is finely told through mood and characterization, and though sentimental, it is full of heart and small truths. Some incidental profanity. A-II-adults and adolescents (PG) 1987