lorry kubert
jf 5 firsts
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ambiguity than shock
Review by Doug Beckwith
77?e Other is advertised as the shocker film of the year.
Frankly, that is not true. It's an ambiguous film.
Yet, this ambiguity is not necessarily bad. It was created by
director Robert Mulligan (The Summer of '42) to provide that
eerie atmosphere and mistaken identity so essential to the plot
of this film.
The story deals with the possession of a soul by a
misguided, malevolent spirit. The soul in question belongs to
the likeable young Niles Perry, one of two identical twins. The
Perry twins, Niles and Holland, with the help of their
grandmother, Ada, seemingly had begun experimenting with
supernatural games, magic trinkets and mental self-projection.
After a series of "accidental" deaths on the Perry farm, Ada
realizes the games have ended and an evil force has gained
control of Niles. The occult comes into full view in the
relationship between Niles and Holland.
As the plot develops, intricate twists in the action create
new and unanswerable questions about the fated Perry family.
Not all of the suspense, however, is a product of the plot.
Mulligan very skillfully utilizes all the subtle devices that
movie directors are supposed to know about, but that
audiences never consciously realize.
Alternating with the colorful shots of pastoral life is a great
deal of darkness, which creates a dank and dismal atmosphere.
Mulligan also keeps his camera close to the actors. Tension
grows as we see his figures, but not what is going on about
them.
The film can have a strange and somewhat unpleasant
effect. One is never sure if Niles is truly possessed by a spirit or
just schizophrenic, or which characters are really alive or dead,
or for that matter, just where the plot is leading.
The publicity posters for this film asks us not to reveal the
secret of the ending. To tell the truth, the ending is too
ambiguous to understand, much less reveal.
The Other is an escapist fantasy which is generally
entertaining if you are one who enjoys that genre of subtle
cinematic shockers. It also speaks in new voices about the
supernatural as well as the perception of reality.
However, it is not a horror film. We know the horror in The
Other is only fiction. It does not report the horrors and
atrocities that real people are constantly faced with in this real
Nworld around us.
Giant harp
captures
winds ' song
Search deep inside yourself, then find a
certain hill and climb it until you've reached
the top. There you'll find universal happiness
and tranquility. At the top is a harp. Its prow
surges forth into the black voids which man has
only begun to touch quietly with his fingertips.
The Harp seems as if it has always been there
and will always remain there . . . singing with
the wind and stars.
The Wind Harp, "Song From the Hill" is a
new double album released by United Artists,
and has to be one of the most unique records
I've listened to in a long time.
The Wind Harp is a giant instrument
constructed in a year and a half at the peak of a
tall hill by Ward McCain. The harp is designed
so wind passing over and around its sail of wires
creates sound.
On the record there are two cycles,
"Seasons: Beginnings, Springsong, Solstice,
Summersong, Turnings, Harvest, Winterwhite
and Cycles End" and "Elements: Fire, And
Earth, And Air And Water."
I really don't know exactly what to say
about The Wind Harp, but then maybe I
shouldn't say anything. The Harp's song is not
meant to be analyzed and interpreted and
scientifically studied, rather, it is to be
experienced and spiritually absorbed.
The winds have been around since the
Creation. Man has never been able to perfectly
harness them. Listening to the Harp's song, man
realizes his own insignificance.
As the Harp weaves its strange and eerie song
of love, anger, warmth and cold, ony's inner
self ignores the petty problems and
accomplishments of the day, and looks inside
for simple contentment and enlightenment.
Something we all too often disregard.
Beauty is without bounds; the rivers, also
free, overflow their banks. The winds' fingertips
caress the strings and bring forth sounds like
lovers' sighs.
The Wind Harp has to rank as one of the
most treasured parts of my musical collection.
But perhaps the poem by 11-year-old Debbie
Lanni which appears on the inside cover of the
album, can best describe the reasons for my
enthusiasm.
Sometimes
she sounds like a ghosty house
and sometimes
like a flying saucer
but mostly
she sounds like everything singing
Tar, tar away.
For those of you who might be thinking of
buying tickets for Lincoln Broadway League or
Lincoln Community Concert, you might be
interested to know that there is also going to be
a UN L-based concert series.
The Cultural Affairs Committee, in
association with University Friends of the Arts,
is presenting four concerts: Cellist Leonard
Rose on Dec. 8, Violinist Danial Heifitz on Jan.
27, pianist Gina Bachauer on Feb. 15 and
Tenor Jess Thomas on April 17. All concerts
will be held in Kimball Recital Hall.
Season tickets for the series will go on sale
soon, so if you have a limited budget to work
with, this'll give you something to think about
when you're deciding which series to buy.
Don't forget Cheech and Chong at Pershing
Auditorium on Friday and Black Oak Arkansas
on Sept. 29.
The Weekend Film this week is Who is Harry
Kellerman in the Nebraska Union Small
Auditorium at 7 and 10 p.m. on Friday and
Saturday and in the East Campus Union on
Sunday at 7 p.m.
, 1
, mil
Faculty
recital
features
Rometo
"Faculty recitals are an important part of our total music
education program. They give students the chance to hear
professional level performances in a wide variety of advanced
musical literature," said John Moran, head of the School of
Music at UNL.
The recitals, given at Kimbal Recital Hall every Tuesday
night, afford students a chance to hear staff members as
performers in their own right, Moran said.
'This is a chance to hear high quality performances
students would normally have to travel quite a distance and
spend a small sum of money to hear," he said.
The recital on Tuesday will feature new faculty member,
Albert Rometo, in a percussion recital.
"I hope people will come to find out just what all is
involved in percussion," Rometo said. "As a percussionist I am
involved with many different instruments, not only drums."
Many people don't know what all is involved outside of
drums because that's what is available to them, he said. No one
ever informs them otherwise.
A Marimba, a vibraphone and a set of tympani are some of
the instruments Rometo will be playing, in addition to a
multi-percussion set.
In a multi-percussion set, a number of instruments are
drawn together for one piece. Rometo will be playing four
graduated tom-toms, cymbals, woodblock, a triangle, a brass
drum, snare drum and four tympani in the multi-percussion set
for "Partita For Solo Unaccompanied Percussion," a
contemporary piece by William L. Cahn.
For the listener not acquainted with the great variety of
sounds these instruments can give individually, the
combination should provide an exciting finale to the recital, he
said.
Rometo will also play two pieces on the Marimba, a
keyboard percussion instrument of rosewood bars and
resonating pipes. From one to four mallets are used to strike
the notes.
"Sonata III Opus 5" is a baroque piece written around
1700 by Arcangelo Corelli. Originally it was written for
violin, Rometo said. "Sonata" by Thomas Pitfield will also be
played on the marimba.
"La Scuola Del Flauto I Opus 51, No. 1" by Louis Hugues
will be played on the vibraphone, an instrument much like the
marimba, which uses metal bars and a series of rotating discs in
each resonating pipe to produce the sound. The piece is a flute
duet where one part moves on the keyboard around the
sustained notes of the other part.
"Four Pieces for Tympani" by John Bergamo will also be
included in the program.
Rometo recently completed work on a Master of Music
Degree in Performance at the University of Ohio. Along with
being the first full time percussion instructor at UNL, his
duties include assisting direction of the marching band.
'These performances," Moran said, "are considered
equivalent to the research that is done in other areas. Naturally
our emphasis is on performance. For example, we can't put a
violin piece in a technical journal.
'The amount of research and practice that the faculty puts
into their concerts we consider an important part of their
professional development."
page 10
daily nebraskan
friday, September 22, 1972