CINEMA / Critic's Choice

Sheila Johnston
Wednesday 11 May 1994 23:02 BST
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Schindler's List

Spielberg's first grown-up film - and this sombre, black-and-white, three-hour epic about the Holocaust, and one man who made a tiny difference, is moving, exhilirating and thoroughly absorbing. As Schindler, the German war profiteer who discovered his better nature, Liam Neeson is filmed with all the glamour of a real, old-fashioned Hollywood star.

La Scorta

Ricky Tognazzi's better than competent thriller about a team of young cops called in to protect a Sicilian judge was a huge box-office hit in Italy, where it struck major chords. The action relies more on implicit threat and Ennio Morricone's pulsing score than shoot-outs, and though there may be a shade too much male bonding for northern European tastes, it feels suitably without illusion and looks suitably grimy.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

This is the kind of low-key, borderline whimsical drama that looks a breeze but is near impossible to achieve without overdosing on sentiment or patronising its characters, but Lasse Hallstrom has managed it. Johnny Depp is the eponymous misfit, Leonardo DiCaprio excellent as his mentally disabled brother. It has a tough core: it's a feel-good movie that you could cut your fingers on, if you didn't handle it with care.

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