Tuesday, January 17, 1984
Daily Nebraskan
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Review by Steve Absxiotes
A wild and decadent surprise awaits
. those who come to the Sheldon Film
Theatre this week to see Liquid Sky.
The film was directed by Slava Tsuker
man, a Russian emigre who came to
the United States in 1973. As I watched
the film, I couldnt decide exactly how to
let it entertain me. It was an intriguing
dilemma, to be sure.
Liquid Sky is an androgynous, punk
rock, science fiction, drug fantasy. Uni
quely weird but highly artistic, it is the
quintessential film on the punk culture.
The drunken and chaotic day-today
life for Margaret (Anne Carlisle), a
beautiful punk fashion model, is alter
ed even more drastically when a space
ship the size of a dinner plate lands on
the roof of her penthouse apartment.
The alien is in an inter-galactic search
for people who are having sex. When it
finds them, it kills the people in the
midst of orgasm, using the opiates
released in their brains for its own
energy.
The alien finds Margaret's active
crash pad quite lucrative and decides
to stick around for awhile, long enough
to zap several of her male and female
lovers who invariably climax before
she does. Adrian (Paula E. Sheppard)
Margaret's roommate, sells heroin to
the local junkies from her opium den
which overlooks the New York City
skyline.. Garish decor and neon lights
are indiscriminately hung all over the
place.
The quality of the acting is a second
ary consideration the actors re
semble the characters they portray so
much. This is with the possible excep
tion of Carlisle, who plays both the tall,
blonde, slender Margaret and her slick
male model counterpart"Jimmy." If
good actors should truly be androgy
nous, then Anne Carlisle is an actor's
actress, as it were. As Margaret, Carli
sle capably conveys a nihilist consum
ed with anger, rage and erotic passion,
all at the same time. She discovers a
way to do away with the creeps from
the club who raped her, with the help
of the apen. When she says, "Let's go
back to my place" she means it.
Cartoonist offers absurd view
Merk Alan Stsmaty
WasMntoon
Consdon and Weed ($7.95)
Mark Alan Stamaty is the world's
greatest living cartoonist.
I discovered this early my fresh
man year when I stumbled across
copies of the Village Voice, an un
usual newspaper. I found Stamaty's
; "Cartooon" was even more unusual
Instead of the standard satire or
cheap laugh or serial, Stamaty dealt
with philosophy, psychology and so
cial commentary purely from a det
ached, absurdist point of view. Many
of his comic strips related to his own
personal artistic conflicts. Some were
just plain weird. But a genius shone
through and Stamaty had the artis
tic ability to fully express ideas which
could not be adequately expressed
in other media. He raised cartoon
drawing to its fullest potential.
After President Reagan took power,
though, Stamaty's cartoons took a
decisively more political tone. In
one strip he has the"idiocracy" tak
ing over. One character says to the
other: "Since when did you become
so political?" to which the other
responds "Since they started driving
Boole
Review
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Anne Carlisle and Paula Sheppard in a scene from Liquid Sky.
Contrast adds to effect
The absurdity of the plot together
with Margaret's day-glo make-up and
her fantastic feathery costumes con
trast with her simple vocabulary, which
is continually punctuated by four-letter
words and the normal dialogue of the
film in general. The setting of the film is
depicted in such a strange fashion that
an ordinary line like "Oh, I forgot, I'm
not ready," or "Let's order Chinese!"
becomes funny in a twisted way. Whe
ther this comic reaction is intentional
or accidental, it works brilliantly and is
consistent throughout.
The photography in Liquid Sky,
which is another term for heroin, is
exquisite and breathtaking, and cer
tainly has a mind-altering feel to it. The
magnificent telephoto street shots of
New York City present a portrait of a
total lack of order. Many of the city
their Mercedes-Benzes over my life."
Or, as he says elsewhere, "The only
way to escape is to get rich."
Unfortunately, as good as Stama
ty's grasp of political affairs is, his
''Washingtoon is not the apex of
his cartooning ability. When I heard
about Stamaty coming out with a
new collection of cartoons, I was
hoping they'd be his older, weirder
ones. Nevertheless, Washingtoon is
a book well worth buying, especially
if you have never before seen his
work. In the words of the book, it
"tells the tale of Congressman Bob
Forehead from his creation by cha
rismaticians and perceptual engi
neers to his troubled marriage and
his gallant efforts to defend the
tycoon sector from oppression by
the underprivileged."
- Stamaty is a liberal, but his ap
proach is far more novel than that
of Garry Trudeau or Jules Feiffer.
Stamaty has the ability to reach
down and grasp the real absurdities
in the current state of affairs, not
just fire off cheap shots. Reagan is
portrayed as he really is a silly old
man, not an evil tyrant. In Stamaty's
world politics is dominated by the
media, a confused public and gen
erally odd arrangements.
If you can laugh about Reagan
getting elected and the nuclear arms
race, then Stamaty is a must. If you
cant, youll probably develop an
ulcer.
Tom Modeler
t
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ShtSdon Film Thestrt
shots are composed with an odd sym
metry that enhances the strangeness.
Director Tsukerman knows how to
evoke the humor that can be derived
from the manner in which actors and
objects are manipulated within the
frame, a la Alfred Hitchcock or Roman
Poianskt ,
When we see things from the alien's
point of view, we discover that its
vision is similar to looking through an
ultraviolet, telescopic sight on a rifle.
Tsukerman uses some sort of thermo
graphic video photography that changes
the normal photographic picture to
blazing, high-contrast color images.
When we see this effect, we know the
space creature is going in for the kill
The thermographic video effect is some
what reminiscent of a '60s acid trip.
That's where any similarity of punk
ers to hippies ends. According to
Television
- The television adaptation of Philip
Roth's best-selling novel The Ghost
Writer, opens the third season of Amer
ican Playhouse (9 p.m., Channel 12).
The story tells of a young writer who is
forced to come to terms with himself
and his creative talents. The produc
tion stars Claire Bloom, Mark Linn
Baker, Paulette Smith and Sam Wana
maker. Other productions this season
include Sam Shepard's True West and
Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson.
At the Sheldon ' ' '
The Suzuki Method of musical
instruction has gained world-wide no-.
toriety for teaching small children to
perform intricate classical pieces. A
demonstration featuring Lincoln chil
dren featuring Lincoln children ages
three through 1 5, w ill take place tonight
at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the
Sheldon Art Gallery. Presented in con
junction with the School of Music and
the dance department, the program
features not only music, but a dance
demonstration by Teresa Field and
Bob Kamp, two UNL dance students.
The two will don costumes made by
the theater department. There is no
admission charge.
While you were away, three exhib
its opened at the Art Gallery: Chinese .
Tapestries by Ruth Kao, recent paint
ings by Gary Day and Chicago: Same
Other Traditions. .
Kao is the Chairperson of the Fibre
Department (!) at the University of
Punks In Cuter tpzes
Uould tk. directed by Slava Tiukerrnan; acreen
play by Slava Taukerman; Ann Carlisle end Nina v.
Kerova; produced by Slava Taukerman tor Z-Fiime. At
the Sheldon Film Theatre, 12th and R etreeti through
Jan. 28, except tonight and Friday,
MargaretJimmy Ann Carlisle
Adrian Paula E. Sheppard
Johann Otto on Wernherr
Owen Bob Brady
Adrian, Margaret's small but imposing
roommate, they are spurning the false
romanticism of the '60s and facing up
to the hardness and coldness of real
ity. As punkers, they are taking part in
the "theater of life." Unlike the hippies,
they don't take themselves so serious
ly, as long as they know where their
next stash is coming from.
Allen ender pursuit
After awhile, a West German astro
physicist comes snooping around on
the trail of the space creature. Johann
(Otto Von Vernhert) is from Berlin,
and has been chasing the alien around
the world for some time. It just so
happens that Margaret and Adrian
want to move to Berlin. In order to get
a better look at the alien, Johann steals
a room at the apartment across the
street where Jimmy's mother lives.
All of the characters are related by
these minor circumstances. These cir
cumstantial qualities are believable ele
ments that move the plot forward
while giving the impression that all of
the characters are interrelated in
some cosmic and mystical way.
The fascinating soundtrack, featur
ing atonal synthesized music, adds an
ominous feeling to the film. None ofthe
"music" resembles any sort of melody
except maybe toward the end where I
detected a guitar riff. All ofthe music
was "realized" at the Pass Studios in
NewYork. --
Liquid Sky is an impressive and
creative vision. It is an independently
produced film which reportedly cost
between $400,000 and $500,000 to
make, but it looks much more expen
sive. It is quite pleasant to watch,
whether or not you decide to empa
thize with the characters. It is an artis
tic film that is entertaining on any level
whether you chose to take it seriously
or not.
71
Nebraska ETV Network
Cldre doom, P&stette Enitli lad
Mark Lina-Saker in The Ghost
Writer. See Television.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has long pro
duced works which reflect the tradi
tions of her native China.
- The Chicago exhibit, which focuses
in the art of the Windy City, is des
cribed by Sheldon's Assistant Director
Donald Doe as "the third in our City
series . . . which focuses on the con
temporary art produced ... in cities
around the country which have a vital
and sometimes, not very well-known
community of artists." Other cities fea
tured are Kansas City and Santa Fe.
Around Term
Local artisUohn Walker will bring
his unique brand of traditional music
to the Zoo Bar, 136 N. 14th St. There is
no cover charge.
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