Arts & Entertainment
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Hungarian filmmaker visits UNL campus
By Sarah Knight
Staff Reporter_
A man sits, quietly speaking, his
thin-framed glasses covering shy
‘ »JaAl
eyes; one can hardly believe it is Paul
Schiffer, one of the most powerful
filmmakers in Hungary.
Despite poor
plot, ‘Sisters’
was well done
By Adam T. Branting
Staff Reporter
The UNL Department of Theater
Arts and Dance closed out its 1988
89 season with Anton Chekhov’s
“Three Sisters,” and turned what
could have been three hours of thes
pian iiell into three hours of watch
able theater.
'tneptaiy_
Maybe it’s glasnosl. Maybe it’s
spring. But theater departments
around the country are jumping on
the Russian theater bandwagon.
Two years ago it was a Lincoln
group’s production of Maxim
Gorky’s "The Lower Depths." At
Doane last fall, it was a production of
some short plays by Chekhov. Even
unlay, the University of Evansville in
Indiana is also doing "Three Sis
ters."
This is all fine and grxxl, except
for a couple things. One, Russian
drama is long... real long. Two, a lot
of gorxi words arc written, hut seem
u> say nothing we don’t already
know. They seem to go nowhere.
Three, lots of emotion is shown, and
unless ihe director is careful, it could
end up kxikmg stupid.
Ihrec Sisters'* falls into this
imp. I he story of three ruh young
Mmien and their friends at turn of the
lemury Russiu who find themselves
debating love, death, work, power
•mil esia|x\ Chekhov doesn't really
,MV‘ •» plot that leads to the climax,
'•"ih is tjuile disturbing and lypi
ealb Russian.
I >tree tor Laura Miller and the cast
must he given oodles of credit lor an
engaging show. The cast is always
interesting and exciting to watch.
I here isn’t a bail performance in
me show. Excellence is standard. But
• "ne of the actors were lucky enough
• have very exciting roles, such ls
•oe Sampson as Solyony. Sampson is
lust so deliciously evil as a pcssimis
•u soldier, one could applaud and
beat him to death at the same time.
Another outstanding performer is
Kevin Paul Hofedit/ as Vershinin.
See 3 SISTERS on 10
Schiffer, who visited the Univer
sity of Nebraska-Lincoln campus this
weekend for a Sheldon showing of his
films, pioneered the field of docu
mentary filmmaking.
“Since the age of 10 (or) 12 I
always wanted to do something with
theater or film or journalism. So fi
nally, what I do is somehow a mixture
of all of this,” Schiffer said.
“Documentaries in the’30s,’40s,
’50s and even the beginning of the
’60s were simple, kind of propaganda
films; 15, 20 minutes between the
newsreel and a feature film.
“What we make is non-fiction,
strictly non-fiction, but it looks like a
feature film because it has an antago
nist and a protagonist character with a
story and a beginning and an end,”
Schiffcr said.
Schiffcr began working at the
Documentary Studio of Hungary af
ter graduation from film school, a
university equivalent in Hungary.
“1 started with short newsreels
and with short documentaries,”
Schiffcr said.
In 1965 Schiffcr went to Vietnam
and made the first documentary on
North Vietnam during the war.
The Hungarian reform wave be
gan at the end of the ’60s and this
encompassed much of his lime.
4 * Most filmmakers and journalists
and social scientists wanted to help
this change through analyzing the
real social processes,” Schiffer said.
In the mid-70’s Schiffer began
working for a feature film studio,
Hunnia, which encouraged him in the
area of the non-fiction feature.
In 1981, Schiffer received a gov
ernment grant to capture footage of
rural life in Hungary.
“We made it from ’82 to ’87, but
meanwhile we were really very lucky
to find interesting stories while we
were shooting. From time to time, we
made films out of this material,’’
Schiffer said.
Schiffer said Hungary differs from
America in its film culture because
although big name films like “Rain
Man” are popular, art films are also
in demand.
“Beside the American films,
there is an audience which has a need
to see the Bergmans, the Fellinis,”
Schiffer said.
Jazz quartet
quite skillful
and dynamic
By Micki Haller
Senior Editor
The Makoto Ozone Jazz Quartet
cooked up a savory stew of sound
Friday and Saturday night at Kimball
Recital Hall.
Although the performance had its
problems, the energy and skill of the
performers left a major impression.
Makoto Ozone, the 28-year-old
leader of the group, is obviously a
talent to keep an eye on. His flying
fingers on the piano keyboard vindi
cated all the impressive program
notes.
Ozone s fluent style encompassed
a broad range of influences, from
classical to spicy Latin-flavored jazz.
Ozone was called “the most vital
and dynamic of them all,” by Hugh
Wyatt of the (New York) Daily
News, and Friday’s performance
proved that statement was not an
exaggeration.
However, Ozone’s center in the
spotlight was threatened by trum
peter Toru “Tiger” Okoshi.
Okoshi managed to coax a menag
erie of squeaks and squeals from his
trumpet - the kind of sounds that
make jazz trumpeting so exciting.
In addition, Okoshi had excellent
breath control. From the dynamic
level to phrasing,Okoshi had a totally
masterful technique. He did, how
ever, seem to have a few problems
with the trumpet; he was constantly
fiddling with it and making adjust
ments.
Both musicians arc from Japan
originally and play very well to
gether. The pair almost totally domi
nated the evening in spite of arrange
ments to allow all members in the
quartet to shine.
Completing the international fla
vor of the quartet were Gildas Boclc,
the French bassist, and drummer
Martin Richards from Boston.
Richards’ aggressive drumming
sometimes became overpowering,
especially during some of the others’
See MAKOTO on 11
Courtesy of 20th Century Fox
John Cusack and lone Skye from “Say Anything ...”
Reviewer says ‘Say Anything’
is not typical teeny-bopper film
By Sarah Knight
Staff Reporter
People need a friend or confi
dant to whom they can say any
thing.
movip
"Say Anything ..." the beau
tiful film from Twentieth Century
Fox. captures this need and exam
ines three such relationships.
Writcr/director Cameron
Crowe, whose credits include
* * Fast Times at Ridgemont High,”
finally manages to create a film
about teens that does not seem as if
it were made by teens.
It begins ala high school gradu
ation; Lloyd Doblcr (John Cu
sack), determined to get a date
with brain/bcauty Diane Court
(lone Skye), begins scheming to
get her to go out with him.
Diane has a close relationship
with her father, James (John Ma
honey), and has just received a
prestigious fellowship to study in
England.
Lloyd docs ask her out and the
two, though resisting, slowly fall
in love. They only have 16 weeks,
however, and then Diane must
leave for Great Britain.
Mr. Court disfavors the rela
tionship because he wants every
thing for his daughter and does not
want her to get sidetracked from
her studies.
The film depicts the life deci
sions that everyone must make and
indicates that all people, even
those without conventional career
goals, have value.
Crowe’s whimsical, subtle
script surpasses the usual teeny
bopper experience as it tears at the
heart, revitalizes it with humor and
romance, then tears at it once
more. Like life, it combines com
edy and drama.
Producer James L. Brooks
brings back a few of the actors he
worked with in “Broadcast
News’’ including Cusack, Lois
Chiles and Amy Brooks.
Lili Taylor, first seen in last
year’s “Mystic Pizza,’’ has a sup
porting role as Corey Flood,
Lloyd’s devoted friend.
Mahoney gives an Oscar-wor
thy performance as the wonderful,
yet mysterious father. He lives up
to the reputation built from his
previous small roles in films like
“Moonstruck,” “Frantic” and
“Suspect” This time, he gets the
role he deserves and receives equal
billing with his co-stars.
In one scene of particular inter
est, Mr. Court has just had his
credit cancelled in a rather embar
rassing incident and sits contem
plating his loss. This incredibly
powerful scene brought many
audience members to tears, yet
Mahoney merely sits, his painful
expression making words unnec
essary.
Skye portrays Diane quite per
fectly with the cool, reserved qual
ity of Grace Kelly, yet with acces
sibility to the audience.
Cusack remains his usual lik
able self, but his limited acting
range makes for a rather dull char
acter.
“Say Anything ... “ confirms
the fact that a movie can be made
in good taste — even in the ’80s.
“Say Anything ...” is an
extremely mild PG-13 for a few
foul words and some adult situ
ations and is showing at the Plaza 4
Theaters.
Friends confront social traumas of the 60s m 1969
Shut Up and Watch the Movie is
written by Lisa Donovan, a junior
news-editorial major and William
Rudolph, a sophomore English ma
jor.
l-isa Donovan: I was about 2 years
old in 1969.
William Rudolph: I was bom in
• 969, Lisa. Imagine how weird it was
watching “1969” and thinking,
“Wow.l ’m an embryo at this point.
LD: Well, I Liked ray second year
of life and I definitely liked this
movie. “1969” is a simple effort of
showing how members of a small
town in Maine deal with the sociopo
litical problems of the ’60s.
WR: Scott (Kiefer Sutherland)
and Ralph (Robert Downey, Jr.) are
boyhood friends undergoing the trau
mas of college and the major changes
of the late ’60s together. Scott’s seri
ous and idealistic. Ralph’s a screw-up
who’s into the drug culture. Can their
friendship last through 1 1/2 hours of
social changes, college riots and the
specter of Vietnam?
LD: Yes and no. Once Scott s
brother, Aldon (Christopher Wynn)
enters the Vietnam war, Scott and
Ralph’s relationship changes. Now
that the war is close to home, it
challenges the two men to deal with
their feelings about it. The pair left
school. Scott rejects the establish
ment and buys and paints a
Volkswagen bus. Hoping to find the
meaning of freedom, Scott and Ralph
cruise around the Northeastern part
of the United States in the hippienio
bile. Grudgingly, Ralph wants to re
turn home because he is bored and in
his own ignorant way realizes that he
and Scott are running away from their
problems, not solving any.
WR: They also have to deal with
their families. Scott’s parents are
straight out of Good Housekeeping,
or so it appears. Brtice Dem is his
superintendent patriot father. Of
course, they don’t see eye to eye.
Mariette Hartley plays his very con
trolled, very perfect mother. Ralph’s
family is exactly the opposite -
looney tunes. Ev (Joanna Cassidy),
Ralph’s mom, is a riot. Running
around in drunken abandon, Ev
sports every ’60s fad to come down
the pike. The very fresh and intense
Winona Ryder turns in a great debut
as Beth, Ralph’s idealistic young sis
ter. In fact, the cast is probably
“1969 s” best point.
LD: Indeed. Hartley is simply at
her best. When Aldon goes off to war,
she decides to go running rather than
say goodbye to her son. As Aldon’s
bus is driving down the road, he secs
a jogging woman waving al the bus.
The bus pulls over and Aldon jumps
out. The two stand and wave at one
another. Hartley calls to her son,
"Don’t die.’’ Every time she docs,
traffic noise blocks it out. Ordinarily,
this type of scene is too dramatic, bin
Hartley’s warmth and sensitivity pull
at the old heartstrings.
WR: A lot of the credit has to gc to
Sutherland and Downey. Once again.
Sutherland shows us that he is one of
the most talented, feeling, versatile
actors around today. Without a ques
tion, though, Downey is someone to
See 1969 on 10