C*3RT K*<v
*^9^ Professor of Pediatric Dentistry
UNL Dental College
Shares his Christian testimony
•
Tonight at 8:00
425 University Terrace
(behind Pound Dorm)
www. ihcc. org/college. htm
Patrick Abendroth
436-7177
Even the odds.
Theirs and Yours.
Join AmeriCorps, the domestic Peace Corps. By tutoring kids,
restoring streams and parks, building playgrounds, helping
communities hit by disasters, serving in a health clinic, or
meeting other important needs, you'll help others succeed.
When you join AmeriCorps for one year, you get:
★ A living allowance and health care
★ Skills for your future
★ Deferral on qualified student loans
★ Almost $5,000 for education
★ An experience you'll never forget
Sound interesting? Call AmeriCorps for more
information: 1-800-942-2677 (TDD 1-800-833-3722).
Or visit our website at http://www.cns.gov
I . I
If you’re a math whiz, you’ll
know it’s a ^T6CLt deal.
(If you’re not, well, you can come along, too.)
_1_
Hey, we all know college students
don’t have a lot of money to throw'
around. That’s why Amtrak* is such a
great deal. With prices like these, you can
* afford to visit friends and family every
weekend. And, with the Student Advan
tage* Card, you save 15% on your ticket. _
The savings really add up. For more
information, call your travel agent or I
1-800-USA-RAIL. Trains depart from I
the Amtrak station at 201 N. 7th Street,
Lincoln, NE.
- -1
I ■ - ■ "
1-800-96-AMTRAK
■Fares shown are each way based on round-trip purchase, apply to coach travel only and are subject to availability
Reservations may be required. No multiple discounts. Fares, schedules and restrictions are subject to change without notice
By Bret Schulte
Film Critic
Hollywood’s most unrestrained sil
ver fox, Richard Gere, has been gnash
ing his teeth at the Chinese government
for years over human rights violations
and the suppression of religion in the
communist nation - specifically, his
own worship of choice, Buddhism.
Gere’s newest political crusade,
“Red Comer,” is the marriage of Gere’s
noncommittal acting career and his
devout dedication to Buddhism, which
has been suppressed by Communist
China throughout its mainland as well
as in occupied Tibet, the former home of
the exiled Dalai Lama.
But we all know how Gere’s mar
riages turn out.
Like his ex-wife, Cindy Crawford,
Gere’s politics and religionproved to be too
much for “Red Comer” to handle as.welL
Partially filmed in China and large
ly completed in Los Angeles, “Red
Comer” is an extremely confused and
potently political film about a brilliant
American corporate lawyer, (always
Geres best character) Jack Moore, who
becomes ensnared in China’s shadowy
and omnipotent justice system.
Sent to China by some monolithic
American entertainment conglomerate,
Moore is negotiating with Chinese offi
cials to open up China’s notoriously
closed society to Western programming.
The closing of the deal means billions of
dollars for both parties involved, as well
as a momentous step toward China’s re
introduction into the Western world.
Of course, Gere’s character meets a
beautiful woman, who works as amodel
at a Chinese club and, of course, they
land in bed before you have gotten a
chance to wipe your glasses clean.
The next morning, Moore is arrest
ed for tiie murder of the model, who was
found stabbed to death in the early
morning by Chinese soldiers.
Moore is promptly imprisoned and
urged to confess his guilt, or face the 99
percent likelihood that he will receive
capital punishment for his not-guilty
plea. In China, the bullet for your shot to
the head is billed to your family.
As the American’s court-appointed
defense advocate, yet another beautiful
woman (Bai Ling) enters the equation.
Initially abrasive and stand-offish, she
finally warms up to Moore (duh), and
places herself in direct opposition of the
system she so adamantly believes in to
save his life.
While director Jon Avnet (“Fried
Green Tomatoes”) deserves a nod for
not letting Gere sleep with more than
one woman in the movie, he does little
to minimize the obvious physical attrac
tion between the characters, which ulti
mately only marginalizes the serious
political nature of the film.
Moore fights for his innocence
against nearly the entire Chinese politi
cal system, which is portrayed as con
summately corrupt and intentionally
evil - an interpretation easily embraced
by Westerners, but one that is rather'
unfair, and even in its attempt, inconsis
tent at die same time. Treated with both
respect and disdain by the Chinese,
Moore finally reveals a plot against his
life involving the communications deal
and proves his innocence.
Remarkably consistent in the film
are inconsistencies. Moore is beaten,
intimidated and imprisoned by Chinese
officials,"but when he escapes through
Beijing with a loaded weapon, the Nazi
like Chinese decide not to shoot him as
they pursue him to the American
embassy.
The Chinese court systems are
equally unbalanced, with Moore strug
gling to interpret Chinese law and cus
toms to save his life and the officials
making jokes about him. Clearly influ
enced by Chinese officials, the court’s
judges seemingly arbitrarily decide to
listen to him and ignore him, only to
release him in die end.
While “Red Comer” paints a favor
able portrayal of Chinese society and its
people, its treatment of the political sys
tem is absurdly childish and one-dimen
sional, as is the character of Moore him
self as a misunderstood playboy with a
haunted past
With Moore as a successful-yet
innocent protagonist, accompanied
with a few cute moments of the blos
soming love on behalf of two spiritually
wounded souls, “Red Comer” looks
like a puppy-love John Hughes adapta
tion of a pseudo-challenging John
Grisham novel.
If you want to see a Richard Gere
film, go rent “An Officer and a
Gentleman.” If you want to see a movie
about China, rent “Empire of the Sun.”
-J
The Facts
Title: “Red Comer*
Stars: Richard Gere, Bai Ling, Bradtey
Whitford, Byron Mann
Rating: R (violence, adult situations,
language)
Grade: C
Five Words: Leave political films to Stone
Photo courtesy oE Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures
SHEN YUEUN (Bai Ling) begs Jack Moore (Richard Gere) not to run from
Chinese officials in “Red Comer.”
Homecoming 1997
OUR ‘Pillars of Strength’
Thank you to the following sponsors of Homecoming:
Alphagraphics Printshop
Campus Recreation Center P%|£j»y
Fairbury Brand Hot Dogs UmmU M
Godfather’s Pizza
Interfraternity Council
KFRX Radio -__
Misty’s Restaurant & Lounge ^
Nebraska State Fairgrounds ^
Nike
Old Home Buns
Panhellenic Association
P.O. Pears PALS
Russ’s Market - Floral Dept.
Sir Speedy Printing
Student Foundation
Tommy Hilfiger at Dillard’s
University Foundation
University Health Center
University Program Council
^ UNL Chancellor’s Office
UNIVERSITY; UNL Mail & Distribution
B^,p|fST0RE UNL Parking & Transit Services
; UNL Printing Services
Homecoming 1997 wqS coordinated by the following members of the Homecoming
- ' Steering CorhmittenvASUN 7 UNL's Student Govrnment Student - Alumni Assoc. -
, , ^^^^^^g^ASNR f lnter^^m^Comdl - Panh^linic Assoc. - Residence Hall
. • .-.••• «
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