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Show Page C8 Thursday, January 25, 1990 Park Record j . i i n r-fi r- lTTfi-s;-.u.o. mm resuvai 1990 Van Peebles offers decades of film aL.i Zrtv 1X1 by RON GEORG Record staff writer Honoring the origins of film, especially the industry's more independent in-dependent elements, is a large part of every United States Film Festival; this year, black director Melvin Van Peebles is one of the featured artists at the festival. Van Peebles embodies the spirit in more than one way. Looking to get his work produced, the young Van Peebles took advantage of a French program which helped published authors produce films. With four books published in France, Van Peebles qualified, and he used this opportunity to create an extremely forward film for 1958 a story of a black American serviceman stationed in France who uses a three-day pass to spend a weekend with a white French girl. The Story of a Three-Day Pass examines the relationship between bet-ween the two people and the cultural limitations they bring to it. While both are willing to abandon aban-don their surface inhibitions, they also have a good deal of trouble dealing with their innate expectations. expecta-tions. Away from his duties as some To the following businesses for their recycling efforts: Cafe Terigo Rugged Elegance Ichiban Sushi KPCW Park City Printink Sears Brown Group Treasure Mtn. Middle School TheStewpot Pastabilities The Park Record If you're a business that recycles, let us know! 649-9014. The Recycling Center is located behind Hardee's on Park Ave. captain's underling, the soldier feels like a prince with the French woman; away from her boring clerical work, the woman revels in the exoticism of spending spen-ding the weekend with a black man. Wherever they go, they turn heads. At one point the soldier loses his temper as he feels he's being persecuted by a musician who means no harm; another time the woman is forced to confront con-front a rude clerk who is all too interested in exactly what type of sleeping arrangements the couple would like. Ultimately, the film drops any racial pretense to point out a one-night-stand is just that, black or white. It was the acceptance of Three-Day Three-Day Pass that led Hollywood to Van Peeble's door. After the success suc-cess of his first work, Van Peeble's Pee-ble's was asked to direct the film, Watermelon Man. The film is about a white man who wakes up to find he's turned black one day. Suddenly he's not part of his own world any longer; his life collapses. With its title and that simple plot synopsis, it's hard to believe this film could be at all sensitive to racial pro blemsbut Van Peebles was an excellent choice for director, and the concept works. Godfrey Chambers plays the white, suburban insurance salesman. In white-face during the film's first scenes, Chambers does a brilliant reversal of the black-faced vaudeville skits people peo-ple used to pass off as humor. Chambers' white man is insensitive, insen-sitive, charmless, self-centered, and generally boorish as perfectly perfect-ly insulting a parody as the black-faced black-faced performers. When he turns black, his insen-sitivity insen-sitivity will haunt him. He'll be forced to recall quite a few of the things he had taken for granted about blacks, and he also finds out just how many ways minorities can be exploited and -rejected. The film is far from deep, but it does offer some ideas to think on. Van Peebles is in town for the festival, and he's been adding comentary to a few of the screenings screen-ings so far. He'll also perform at the Egyptian Theatre Jan. 26 at 4 p.m. The even is sold out, but there is usually room at performances perfor-mances for people who get on the i Cutting "st ear'y- Jans Breeze Sports Scrooges Picture Framing Annex Park City Chamber Bureau City HallMarsac Bldg. Wasatch Brew Pub Jupiter Property Mgmt. 1 51 5 Archtiects Gump & Ayers " .' 11''"- ' J - - y v Above: Melvin Van Peebles is in Park City this week, and he will put on a live performance Jan. 26 to prove it. Below: a scene from Van Peeble's "The Story of a Three-Day Three-Day Pass." nunrnrrn-inr '" - ' - - - ----- -- - Too busy to Call us for your cleaning needs! Mountain Valley Maintenance Home - Office Condo Security inspection We are reliable 649-2370 clean house? |