Tuesday, October 26, 1982
Page 8
Daily Nebraskan
Arte
A whole lot of sinnin9 going on
is
if -"
CHARLES BUKOWSKI
Stale 'Ham on Rye'
recounts bleak reality
of Bukowski's youth
Ham on Rye
Charles Bukowski
Black Sparrow Press
Charles Bukowski writes like Roberto Duran used
to box - no frills or wasted motion, just straight shots
to the gut. Bukowski is as real as herpes.
"Ham on Rye" is Bukowski's remembrance of things
past. Beginning with his first conscious memory and
proceeding through his early 20s, "Ham on Rye" is an
account of a bleak experience of youth that is helpful
in explaining his later misanthropic view of life. However,
Book Review
this bleakness makes "Ham on Rye" less appealing than
his short stories and other novels. In his other works,
Bukowski's redeeming virtue is the keen sense of the
absurd, which is lacking in "Ham on Rye." But if you're
into being morose, this even beats Lou Reed doing
"Heroin."
Maybe Bukowski is getting tapped out of ideas, as he
has published 40-odd books of prose and poetry since
1960. Making his reputation first as a poet, Bukowski
is particularly well regarded in Europe. He branched
into prose when he wrote a column for an underground
paper in Los Angeles during the '60s.
A compilation of these columns was published as
"Notes of a Dirty Old Man." Buy it - this captured the
essential Bukowski. Here was a guy pushing SO, just
this side of being a wino and hanging around with a
bunch of idealistic young commies who forgave any
eccentricities because French critics approved of his
poetry. Always autobiographical in approach, Bukowski's
columns ended up describing endless rounds of parties
where he runs amok and gets away with it because of his
big-time reputation. Artists can always get away with
murder or breaking windows because they're so sen
sitive, you know.
"Notes of a Dirty Old Man" showcases Bukowski's
encounters with the then nascent youth culture, the LA.
police and other stories of general madness. My personal
favorite involves Bukowski rolling into a neighborhood
gas station to fill up an "inflatable love doll" while the
attendants heckle him.
His novels, including "Post Office," aren't as funny
as his short stories. His favorite topic there is menial
jobs Bukowski has known his share of these, as his first
book wasn't published until he was 42. Yet amid the
depressing reality of being a working-class hero, Bukowski
still throws in his crazy humor.
Unfortunately, "Ham on Rye" lacks these punch
lines. It does explain how Bukowski became what he
is, but it's not a pretty picture. His parents used to beat
him regularly, he had an obscure skin disease that caused
disfiguring boils to wreak havoc on his face, plus he was
9 poor kid going to Hollywood High. Bukowski was
like the Elephant Man, as he still had your basic human
feelings though he was reviled by virtually everyone. No
wonder he turned cut to be somewhat cynical.
Pat Higgins
By Jeff Goodwin
The Catholic Church
always has been a popu
lar subject for Hollywood.
The newest film dealing
with life in the Vatican
is "Monsignor," starring
superpriest Christopher
Reeve.
Reeve plays Father John
Flaherty, a young priest
who becomes an army chap
lain during World War II.
Flaherty gives the last
rites to a dying soldier.
Then, immediately after
ward, when the Nazis at
tack, Flaherty mans the
machine gun and helps to
wipe out the Germans and
starts a counterattack. Sin
No. 1.
Flaherty is then trans
ferred to the Vatican, where
he helps shore up the
Vatican's sagging finances
by going into the black
market. He is aided by
his childhood buddy, Lodo
Varese, who introduces Fla
herty to Mafia hoodlum
Don Appoloni.
Appoloni at first rejects
Flaherty's proposal out of
hand, calling him a crooked
priest. Then Flaherty makes
it clear to Appoloni that
he is associated with Cardi
nal Santoni, and Appoloni
accepts his offer. Sin No. 2.
Clearly, Father Flaherty
is not your Barry Fitzgerald
Bing Crosby type of priest.
But wait, mere's more.
Flaherty meets and falls
in love (or at least lust)
with the young postulant
nun, Clara (played by Gene
vieve Bujold). But he never
tells her that he's a priest.
Sin No. 3.
Despite all of his sin
ning, Father John continues
to rise in the Vatican
ranks and eventually gains
control of all its financial
resources.
But to accomplish this
. ;-
mmm
r
Photo courtesy of 20th Cntury-Fox
Christopher Reeve as Father Flaherty in "Monsignor"
fellow Cardinals and re
treats to a remote monas
tery in upstate New York.
But, like Nixon, he
makes a comeback, re
turning to the Vatican after
his mentor, Cardinal San
toni, becomes Pope.
Reeve plays the role of
Flaherty well, giving the
character a certain innocen-
most moral man of all is
Appoloni (played by Jason
Miller, who turns in a
remarkable p?iformance).
At their first meeting, he
tells Flaherty that the three
most important things in
his life are his family,
his honor and his church.
We don't know -much
about Flaherty's family, but
15 Movie Review
he must use the mob's
money. This shaky house
of cards comes falling down
for Flaherty when his old
buddy Varese, who is front
ing the operation for the
mob, takes a powder, and
a whole lot of the mob's
money goes with him. Fla
herty is denounced by his
ce, even though he is
a rogue priest. Flaherty is
not so much of a crook
as he is an achiever. If
the only way to get the
Vatican out of .the hole
is to go into the black
market, that's what he'll
do.
It is ironical that the
you get the irnpression
that his honor and his
church, while important to
him, aren't the most im
portant things in his life.
Indeed, one gets the feeling
that Flaherty's biggest pas
sion is power. We might
have liked him more if he
was just a Brooklyn guy
making a mint and helping
out his neighborhood pals.
One aspect of the film
that is never adequately
explained is Flaherty's re
lationship with Clara. It
starts off innocently enough
and then, almost casually,
develops into a passionate
affair. All of that can't
be explained by pure horni
ness. The film also ends rather
abruptly, with Flaherty's re
turn from exile to the
halls of the Vatican. One
isn't quite " sure if he is
reformed or if he is ready
to plot more mischief.
This film is worth seeing
if only for the performances
of Reeve and Wilier. An
added bonus is the beautiful
scenery of Rome or, as
they used to say in the
barbarian movies, "the
splendor that is Rome."
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