The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 17, Ed. 1 Friday, January 29, 1988 Page: 10 of 24
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10 Friday, January 29,1988 THRESHER Fine Arts
Impressive Manon lives up to promise of prequel
Manon of the Spring
Directed by Claude Berri
Rarely can one see a film as good as
Manon des Sources (Manon of the
Spring), currently showing at the
Greenway. The second part of a
screen adaptation of Marcel Pagnol's
novel "L'Eau des Collines" ("The
Water of the Hills"), it rivals works
such as Ordinary People, Country, or
The Killing Fields in its presentation
of a tragic narrative.
The story takes place around 1935
in a small, provincial French village
and continues the tale of the people
living there from the first part of the
screen adaptation, Jean de Florette,
an equally outstanding film showing
at the River Oaks.
Marcel Pagnol's plays, novels and
films are renowned for their realism.
In fact, his 1934 film Angele was one
of the first neo-realist films ever
made. Claude Berri, the director of
Manon des Sources, continues this
tradition by creating a completely
believable farming community in the
hills of Provence. He does this by
familiarizing the audience with cer-
tain locations, and returning to them
as the story progresses. Manon
(Emmanuelle Beart) wanders
through the hills repeatedly, as Ugo-
lin (Daniel Auteuil) looks on long-
ingly. The town's inhabitants appear
either drinking in the cafe or frequent-
ing the square by the fountain.
The most informative scenes,
however, take place between Cesar
Soubeyran (Yves Montand) and
U golin as they sup at their home in the
country. In these scenes, Cesar, an
old bachelor from the wealthy
Soubeyran family, constantly urges
his nephew Ugolin to marry and con-
tinue their wealthy family line.
In addition to having an incredible
author and director, Manon des
Sources boasts a brilliant cast.
Emmanuelle Beart as Manon domi-
nates the screen. Unfortunately at
times she seems almost too beautiful,
appearing shallow, simply a pretty
face. Yves Montand, however,
flawlessly portrays Cesar Soubeyran,
or perhaps I should say he becomes
Cesar. Having been apart of the Pari-
sian artist and intellectual circle of the
{SPRING BREAK!
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1940's that included Albert Camus
and Jean-Paul Sartre, Montand's
genius in depicting the aging farmer is
hardly surprising.
Daniel Auteuil playing Cesar's
slow-witted nephew Ugolin draws
the audience to sympathize with this
simpleton who is controlled by his
uncle. Ironically, Claude Berri ini-
tially rejected Auteuil on the grounds
that he was too good-looking. After
seeing Manon des Sources one will
truly appreciate the humor in this.
Manon des Sources provides a re-
freshing change from your typical
Hollywood "violent cop paired with a
sultry bimbo and a midget" movie.
The cinematography of Brunno Nuy t-
ten is beautiful without being flashy
and pretentious. The characters are
real people, and the story is absorbing
and believable, not simply a fantasy.
If you enjoy films that are well-made,
films that capture the audience and
affect their emotions, then I heartily
recommend Manon des Sources. Ide-
ally one should see Jean de Florette
first, but if that somehow isn't
possible, Manon des Sources alone
will prove a moving and magnificent
motion picture.
—George Langworthy
Rookie metal group produces solid album
Victory: Don't Get Mad.
Get Even
Mercenary Records
Don't Get Mad.. .Get Even is emi-
nently more listenable than your
average heavy metal album. The
members of Victory, while still in
need of further refinement, have
placed themselves in whatl refer to as
the second generation of heavy metal.
This new metal plays down thejarring
"locomotive" chords and instead
aims for a more listenable back-
ground while retaining a quick beat
and loud guitar.
This new album is perhaps best as
party music or for slashing out frus-
trations after abad exam. It is no great
work of art and if you hate harder
rock, stay well away. Some clue of
what lies within is provided by the
cover, a photograph of a tall, black-
clad woman clutching a 9mm Uzi
submachine gun. Again, not great art
but very rocking and fairly original
for a group on a small label. Victory
has not fallen into the vast chasm
which has engulfed many a beginning
heavy metal band.
Herman Frank and Tommy New-
ton, playing guitar with a comple-
mentary dual attack, seem to have
some talent even though they often
substitute speed and flash when I
think they are capable of much more.
"Hit and Run" and "Running Wild"
highlight their hard driving style,
anchored by solid songwriting.
Surprisingly, Victory's lyrics are
somewhat slightly original as shown
in their song "Seven Days Without
You Makes One Weak." Excellent
production and Fritz Randow's
drums complement this surprise rec-
ord.
Unfortunately, Victory does not
steer clear of all the cliches. Some of
this album is just too much, like the
lyrics on "Arsonist of the Heart." But
if they try to aim for a slightly more
sophisticated audience rather than the
thirteen-year-old "black concert T-
shirt" crowd, I expect good things
from future albums. Of course, so-
phistication is hard to come by when
you're wearing enough leather to suit
up an entire herd of cattle. However,
Victory definitely has potential to
break some new ground in the grave-
yard of heavy metal.
—Todd Reichmann
PRIVATE
PARTY LINE
976-GALS
(4257)
24 hour
yhii could k (f0U/l
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Victory's new album is entitled Don't Get Mad...Get Even.
Perlman performs in Jones Hail
ft7hal/ Parlmnn * Connor V .'M Z7 A A tUn ttf«+lt ito l/\
$2.00 plus toll, if any
Itzhak Perlman
Jones Hall, January 21
In his performance in Jones Hall
last Thursday evening, Itzhak
Perlman distinguished himself as
more than a run-of-the-mill musical
genius, showing himself as a delight-
fully warm and courageous human
being who has triumphed over polio
to become one of the foremost violin-
ists of today. He also managed to keep
his sense of humor. There's no reason
to wonder why his Society for the Per-
forming Arts-sponsored performance
was sold out
Perlman caught the audience's at-
tention immediately, entering on
crutches with pianist Samuel Sanders
carrying in his violin. He ripped right
into the opening piece, Pergolesi's
Sonata No. 12 in E Major. He bit into
it with a powerful intensity that he
sustained throughout the evening.
Mozart's Adagio in E Major, K. 261
was his next selection, and he per-
formed it flawlessly. Richard
Strauss's Sonata in E-flat Major, Op.
18, a passionate composition, brought
the first half of the program to an
electric close. Perlman performed
with such dexterity that I didn't feel
the sort of tension one feels when lis-
tening to most performers—he made
even these pieces sound easy.
When Perlman resumed the stage
after intermission, he chuckled to
himself and then let the audience in on
his amusement In the next .piece,
Charles Ives's Second Sonata, the
second movement is also known as
"the page turner's revenge." This
means that the page turner was sup-
posed to smash the low keys to play
over the piano and violin. Perlman
just wanted to warn us: "Don't worry,
this is quite" normal." And sure
enough, die page turner got her re-
venge, but not before Perlman
charmed some beautiful melodies to
sparkle out of his bow and mingle
with Sander's (his page turner) exqui-
sitely interpreted piano part, virtually
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entrancing the audience with its love-
liness. Glazunov's Mazurka Oberek
and Smetana's From My Homeland
rounded out the evening with their
light, pretty passages.
The performance deserved no less
than a standing ovation, and Perlman
received it as well. The surprise came
when Perlman played not one but
three pieces as encore. When he re-
seated himself after the ovation,
Perlman turned into a comedian.
Sander offered him a thick stack of
sheet music from which to choose, a
gesture to which he made a funny
face. He then chose one and threw it
back at Sander saying,"Once a year I
get the right piece." The right piece
turned out to be Paganini's Sonata
No. 12 ine minor Op. 3, and a wonder-
ful piece it was. Next he played
Kreisler's Schdne Rosemarie, and
closed a brilliant performance with
the Dance of the Goblins by A. Bazz-
ini. He was tickled by the fact that he
read out Bazzini's name as "A. Bazz-
ini" because "there aren't really many
Bazzinis, but this one is 'A.' That's in
case there are any Bazzini purists out
there."
The essence of Itzhak Perlman's
virtuousity is not so much his excep-
tional talent, but his joy. Perlman en-
joyed every note he played, beaming
at the audience between numbers,
injecting an amusing comment every
so often. He loves his music and
through his playing, transfers his love
to us. In doing so he stands far above
most virtuousi.
—Karen Nickel
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Wucker, Michele. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 17, Ed. 1 Friday, January 29, 1988, newspaper, January 29, 1988; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245683/m1/10/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.