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Show 1 A Pae B8 Thursday anu.u 30, 108b P.uk Record Smooth Talk7 is film festival jod Smooth Talk When Joyce Chopra slcprx-d to the xHlmm to aci-t-pt jn j ard as director direc-tor of the u inner in the narrate e category of the L'nited States F'lim l-'estivai. she praised her actors people said "You got a great performance per-formance from I-aura Dern.'" she U-Han Her r-ply to the comment was that she had great actors to work with in Dern. Treat Williams and Mary Kay Place. Dern plays a dreamy teenager enjoying en-joying and fearing her first taste of sensuality. Against a backdrop of the mail and beach culture of California, her first encounters w ith boys are ones she can control. Then she meets Arnold Friend. Dern travels in a kind of soft, swathed cloud of introspection, moving mov-ing slowly and deliberately away from innocence to her rendezvous with sexual discovery with Williams. "I look into your eyes and all I see are trashy daydreams." says Place as her mother. She is both sympathetic sym-pathetic and resentful of her daughter's self-absorption and aloofness. She taunts her younger daughter in league with the older one i Klizabeth Berridgei. As Dern's sexuality blossoms in the long summer, Berridge who lacks Dern's humid glow and heat angrily withdraws from her, pretending not to recall their closeness as youngsters. "You're going go-ing to have it all, aren't you. And you think you deserve it." On a day when Dern is alone in the house, Williams as Friend, who has (racked her summer of tentative exploration ex-ploration from a distance, pulls up in his convertible. He lures her out of the safety beyond the screen door and into the car with a hypnotic, disturbed intensity that you feel almost as an overture to rape. The screenplay was adapted by Tom Cole from a short story by Joyce Carol Oates, known for her somewhat harrowing, Gothic touches. It is almost too slight a story for your patience. Arnold Friend is too dangerous, Dern too crazily victimized by his eroticism. But the overblown elements in the movie don't completely bury the good, true things no one who lived through the hormone storms of adolescence can forget the excitement excite-ment you feel here. The only problem pro-blem is that it goes beyond what you perceive as normal sexualityDenis sex-ualityDenis sweet ripeness to Williams' urgent, troubling tyranny. But Chopra was right about her performers. Williams is terrifyingly seductive and dangerous, Dern is pliant and aw ed by her new feelings. But, still, you come away unsatisfied. un-satisfied. You just can't believe what you are supposed to believe happened on the sunny hill near the convertible could really have happened hap-pened to your, or anyone else's, teenage self. RM 'Growing Up with Rockets Cape Canaveral was a mosquito-ridden, mosquito-ridden, palmetto-covered stretch of Florida beach when rocket testing Quickies by Hick Iirough and Ilobin Moeneh Now Showing At the Holiday Village Cinemas: Murphy's Romance (not yet rated) Out of Africa Voungblood (not yet rated) began there in the '50s. The first awkward, crude experiments attracted at-tracted engineers and technicians from the across the country. They brought their families to settle in bungalows and ranch houses adjacent adja-cent to the burgeoning strip at Cocoa Beach This 60-minute documentary a competitor during last week's U.S. Film Festival is a reminiscence narrated by its directorproducer, .Nancy Yasecko, who grew up in the dawn of America's space age in the remote place chosen for its distance from population centers and proximity prox-imity to offshore islands necessary for tracking missies. At a class reunion, she plies her old friends for their memories of that pioneer time. They look back at it with nostalgia and humor. And so do we, as their snapshot memories unfold in scrapbook format. As the space program grew in sophistication and the fever of partisanship par-tisanship for the cause took hold, the environment began more and more to reflect the small encampment's involvement. The high school baton twirling squad was named the Mis-sle Mis-sle Twisters. A beauty pageant crowned its winner Miss A-Bomb. When three astronauts died in a fire on the launch pad. the whole town mourned. And the talk constantly was of beating the Russians to the moon. Men who had come to work on the project for a few months were surprised sur-prised to find themselves still there 20 years later. Their children raised their ow n families in I he one-time oceanside frontier town. It's a delightful reminiscence. History buffs and those who were around when sputnik was launched w ill enjoy it. RM ' ijBelizaire: The Cajun An informal poll indicates 'Belizaire" a little-known slice of American history framed by a tempestuous love story in a volatile environment was among the favorites of film festival audiences. Cajuns, like gypsies, were displaced displac-ed wanderers kicked out of every place they sought to make a home. In the 1850s, they found their way to Louisiana. But they weren't welcomed. welcom-ed. White vigilantes accused them of everything from cattle rustling to casting spells. They were systematically whipped, lynched and driven out in midnight scenes of KKK-style sentencings by torchlight. torch-light. Belizaire (Armand Assante) is the community's healer. Doling out medicines, potions and herbs from his sack, he tends the colicky and lovelorn and is treated with indulgence in-dulgence and sometimes grudging respect. His childhood sweetheart iGail Youngs i is married to the son of the town's powerful landholder. Although his sympathies are with the beleaguered Cajuns. he is one of a committee that is working to rid the county of them. Belizaire's friend is accused and pursued. The healer struggles to save him with cleverness and a diabolical bargain. The gallows humor of the next to last scene is figurative. Belizaire. with the noose hanging from his neck, teases the executioner, jokes with the rowdy gallows-side crowd and reveals a murderer with a mystical root as the entire crowd chants "touch it, touch it" as a sort of accusatory Greek chorus. Although troublesome acoustics during screenings in the Egyptian Theatre muffled the heavily-accented heavily-accented dialogue, the spirit of the picture was strong enough to overcome over-come the handicap. Assante's character comes through as heroic, persistent, flawed and funny. When his admiring friend tells him "You know everything," he denies it. "You told me you knew everything," the friend insists. "I must have meant, almost everything," Belizaire says broodingly. Y'oungs is a perfect foil, saucy and loyal, w ho answers a marriage proposal pro-posal with a promising "We'll see" and smilingly slips into an impromtu harefooted dance with Belizaire in a dusty farmyard. Other characters the vacillating sheriff; Y'oungs' good-natured husband; the evil brother-in-law and the mousy wife who stands up to him; the tough, declining patriarch; Polite, the innocent victim; and Robert Duvall in a cameo as the preacher-are preacher-are colorful, distinctive support to them. The movie was developed at The Sundance Institute's June Lab, where plans for the festival opener. "The Trip to Bountiful," also were given a start. "Belizaire" deserves the recognition "Bountiful" already has reaped. RM Huey Long For history buffs, this is a must-sec must-sec documentary that refuses to give obvious answers about Huey Long, the "Kingfish" of Depression-era Louisiana. Was he a rube or a demonically shrewd politician? Was he a populist who brought his state into the 20th century? Or did he have the potential to become America's first fascist dictator? Director Ken Burns talks to people who supported Huey and people who hated him and, even 50 years later, you can see how Long sowed the seeds of his power. The Huey-lovers were young, poor hardscrabble whites in the rural areas. As they appear ap-pear in the film, they're still poor. and it's easv to sympathize with them The Long opponents in the film are well-heeled Southern liberals. Did Long exploit this rich-poor rich-poor contrast'' We see Long's rise from paten -medicine salesman to state official. ,hen governor of Louisiana anu la er a senator who rivaled FDR for power. In many respects, he was a clow n To promote his every man a king" formula of populism, he wrote a song with the same title and. in newsreels, vou see musicians playing play-ing the song with Long conducting like a bad Sunday-in-the-park bandleader. There is evidence, however, of the other Long. We see the 35-story state capitol he built himself as a shrine. He deducted 10 percent of every state employee's wages to pour into a political slush fund. And he became deathlv afraid of assassination- The film's best moment shows him at a political dinner, where a popping champagne cork sounds like a gunshot, and Long nervously attempts to laugh it off. Huey Long." which was a competitor com-petitor in the documentary segment ol this vear's I' S. Film Festival, is a fascinating kwk at a forgotten figure in American politics. Restless Natives This is an American-produced film made in Scotland and it is an en jovable hybrid. The Yankee love for outlaw s is grafted onto the wry Sco -tish humor associated with Bill Local Hero" Forsyth. The two heroes live in Edinburgh and are stuck in dead-end jobs. Ihe luckless Will is a street sweeper he's the kind of guy who cant sweep up a mound of trash without kids running through it. Ronnie manages a novelty shop, but doesn t see a future in selling dog-doo. trick green slime and sillv string. The pair take to stopping and robbing rob-bing tour buses, both riding on one motorcycle. Ronnie dons a clown mask, Will is in a werewolf head and they're armed with a popgun loaded with sneezing powder. The cops see them as a threat to Scotland's biggest industry-a poster in police headquarters ad-m ad-m on is he s, "Be good to tourists! "-but the victims are charmed by the young robbe falls in love with a tourgujl bus. After robbing it, they'' the bus a second time, so'uS give her a wildflower bouque, Soon the two become intern heroes. In one hilarious chaJ"'! they're pursued by police with whining-and by a Japane5 crew filming their exploits; ' me dciois are charming though the Scots apron.. nt too thick to understand Tm. ., Kt ll... V. UUipt-villVll stop "Restless Natives" fronir; a vastly enjoyable comedy it, 1' t ( L independently- produced fiim, ' ing this year's U.S. Film A Classic Recommended Good double feature material Time-killer For masochisis only V A a f ( ) 'Smooth' finish Director Joyce Chopra and producer Martin Rosei accepted a trophy and prize money for their winning turn about sexual discovery. "Smooth Talk." at Ramada Hotel Saturday night. The jury's choice in the independently-produced narrative film category ot the United States Film Festival edged out other an dience favorites such as "The Great Wall is a Greal Wall," "Static" and "Belizaire: The Caiun." also screened during the 10-day competition. For a story on other lestival winners, please turn to the front patfe. ooooooooooooooooooo PftMIClTV EflTSRTfilflfilEflT ooooooooooooooooo -3wA 2. i m if I j i v y y wOQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQqqqqqqqqqqqqqQ: Movies HV Cinemas OUT OF AFRICA PG MURPHY'S ROMANCE YOUNGDLOOD PG See display ad for times. Located at Holiday Village next to Alpha Beta. Cartoons This week be Amused by the antics of Dob Zany. Alpha Deta Now features over 1 000 movies for rent in VH5 or Deta. Open from 6 a.m. to Midnight. Music Daja Cantina Thursday is locals night. Amateur musicians are invited to play from 9 p.m. till closing. Friday. Saturday and Sunday night from 8:30 to 1 2:30. Don Ruffato sings and plays guitar Grubsteak Appearing Feb. 5 Stoddard Drorhers from Salt lake Rusty Hail Saloon This Friday and Saturday Connie and The Rhythm Method. The Claimjumper Kat James entertains locals and visitors ot the Down Under with folk tunes Wednesday thru Sunday 9 p.m. til midnight. The Columbine A private club with piano music 7 nights a Located at the Resort Center. Zach's Grill Will have apre ski guitar music Monday. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday featuring Dn EHiot. Zach's Grill is located in the Shadow R'dge Hotel at the base of Park City Area. |