Arts & Entertainment
French film depicts abortionist realistically
Courtesy ot Sheldon Flint Theatre
Isabelle Huppert stars as Marie and Marie Trintignant plays Lucie in "Story of Women.”
By John Payne
Staff Reporter
Abortion, the volatile issue that it
is, has wisely been avoided by Holly
wood over the years. Then, from
France, comes “Story of Women,”
Director Claude Chabrol’s courageous,
mojyg^Z
intelligent handling of that subject,
set amidst the backdrop of World
War II, German-occupied France.
In 1943, Marie Latour (Isabelle
Huppert) was guillotined in Paris af
ter a Special Tribunal found her guilty
of “crimes against the State.” For
two years Latour had performed abor
tions for profit in a southern town
near Dieppe, France.
Illegal abortions were common in
France during the war, with husbands
often killed in combat and many wives
saddled with already large families to
feed.
One such woman is Marie’s neigh
bor. Marie unintentionally discovers
the other woman taking a bath in
mustard water — a crude method of
aborting her pregnancy. The woman,
whose lover has just been sent to the
front, can handle neither the financial
burden nor the stigma of unwed moth
erhood. She begs Marie to help her
out of her dilemma. Marie does, us
ing an only slightly more advanced
method.
The woman is so grateful that in
return she gives Marie her phono
graph. Although Marie did this favor
strictly out of compassion, she soon
realizes that there is money to be
made performing this service.
Soon other women come to Marie
for abortions, paying as much as 1,000
francs. As business booms, Marie is
able to finally break away from the
slums with her children and husband
Paul (Francois Cluzct), who has just
returned from the war.
Paul finds that Marie has changed
drastically since he left, and all of his
efforts at rekindling their affection
are shunned by Marie, who has now
taken a lover.
“Story of Women” follows La
tour’s rise from submissive, impover
ished housewife to independent,
shrewd businesswoman. Her libera
tion is the focal point of the film, and
Huppcrt’s acting is solid throughout.
She delivers a very believable por
trayal of Latour, often despicable in
her actions and always motivated by
profit.
Among the more harrowing
moments in “Story of Women” is
Marie’s confrontation with the sister
in-law of a peasant woman, for whom
Marie has recently performed an
abortion. The woman’s sister-in-law
See WOMEN on 10
ente^giffinenL—.—
CAP offers free ‘Roger & Me’ tickets
A limited number of tickets for a special sneak preview of “Roger
& Me,! ’ a wryly humorous documentary, will be given away to students
and faculty today through Thursday at 200 Nebraska Union.
Filmmaker Michael Moore presents an impertinent, allegorical
view of corporate America by relating what happened in his hometown
of Flint, Mich., the birthplace of General Motors Corp.
When GM decided to close several plants in Flint and move them to
Mexico, 35,000 of the 150,000 Flint residents lost their jobs. Moore
picked up his camera and embarked on a serio-comic, Quixote-like
quest to meet with GM Chairman Roger Smith and convince him to
visit Flint
The sneak preview will be shown at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Douglas
Theatre, 1300 P St
Series spotlights double bass, guitar
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Music Faculty Re
cital Series is starting the semester with a unique instrumental combi
nation.
Rusty White and Gene Bertoncini will perform duo original compo
sitions and transcriptions using double bass and guitar at the Sheldon
Memorial Art Gallery Auditorium at 8 tonight.
The concert will contain a mix of original and Iran scripted works.
The series is open to the public free of charge.
. ... tv
Faster Pussycat’s lyrics clinched,
but blues influence sets it apart
■
By Michael Deeds
Senior Editor
Faster Pussycat
“Wake Me When It’s Over’’
Elektra
Long, long ago in a decade far, far
away, a city called Los Angeles as
saulted a beautiful American society
with an infection that could not be
stopped.
No immunization was developed.
No doctors could figure out why
California bred the parasitic threat
The disease was dubbed “the L.A.
band.”
Big hair, tons of bandannas and
tacky tattoos attacked the music world
in one big army of guns, roses and
poisons.
Faster Pussycat has been lurking
around since the beginning of the
L.A. scene, louring, promoting and
recording. Vocalist Taime Downc even
owns part of the Cathousc, that world
renowned, heavy-metal, pickup bar.
But for some reason, the success
awarded other big-time L.A. rockers
has avoided Faster Pussycat so far.
Just why remains a very good
question.
‘‘Wake Me When It’s Over,” the
group’s latest effort, is full of the old
metal cliches - sex, violence, etc.
The anthcmic ‘‘Where There's A
Whip There’s A Way” opens the
album bondage-style, nauscatingly
promoting the degradation of women.
Pathetic. But that seems to be the
band’s ploy. Some lyrics aren’t even
intelligible in songs like "Pulling
Weeds’ ’ and ‘ ‘Tattoo. ’’But the song
writing by Downe and guitarists Brent
Muscat and Greg Steele is, if not
inspired, at least addictive.
The difference between Faster
Pussycat and others of the same genre,
say L.A. Guns, is that Pussycat bases
songs on riffs rather than chord pro
gressions and sticks to a blucs/rock
abilly style of metal. Downe pos
sesses typical but appealing vocals --
he sounds like a scratchy Vince Neil.
Even on “House of Pain," the
standard heavy metal ballad, Downe
manages to pull it off respectably
with the aid of a little harmonica.
‘ ‘Arizona China Doll,’ ’ a tunc about
See FASTER on 10
Watch out Cosby, the Simpsons are here
By Matt Burton
Senior Reporter
The television world was knocked
off its feel Sunday night. The Simpsons
are here to slay.
What began as a scries of shorts on
* ‘ The TraceyUllmanShow”cvolved
-—IMflPO—
into a Buttcrfingcr candy bar com
mercial (“Looks like you might die
of malnutrition, dude!”), and has
become North America’s and the Fox
network’s comedy saviors.
Move over, Cosby, for the televi
sion family everyone can relate to.
Cartoonist Matt Groening is defi
nitely going to be a rich man now.
The mad-capped high jinks, laced
with intelligentcynicism, is just what
we need. The Simpsons are to the
Bundys of “Married... with Children’
as the Flintstones were to the Kramdens
of “The Honeymooners.” But the
Simpsons outclass their prime-time
counterparts like Letterman to Sajak.
The Simpson family consists of
Homer, employed in the local nuclear
power plant. Marge, the mother with
the bitchin’ beehive hairdo, Bari, the
juvenile delinquent, Lisa, the pseudo
intellectual, and Maggie, the little
squirt with the pacifier in her mouth.
The season premiere was no dis
appointment. It was gut-busting laugh
ter from start to finish. From the
Scrabble scene with Bart spelling the
household word “kwyjibo” to the
schoolyard where Bart spray-paints a
portrait of the principal saying “lam
a weiner,” the show was a roller
coaster of eclectic humor.
Then there was the IQ test that
Bart cheated on, resulting in his get
ting enrolled in a highly gifted school.
“Discover your desks,” the teacher
tells the students.
The class then has a discussion of
the paradoxes of life. “You can’t
have freedom without law and or
der,” replied one student. Under
pressure, Bart answers, “Damned if
you do, damned if you don’t.”
In order to fuel Bart’s newly dis
covered intelligence, Marge lakes the
family to a performance of “Carmen.”
Homer makes fart noises with his
armpit. ‘Nuff said.
The Simpsons rule!
The Nielsen ratings arc certain to
be dominated by the buck-toothed,
bug-eyed cartoon family of the ’90s.
OK FAMILY ON
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