ENTERTAINMENT
"'SI NG
dining room, carry-out and trays
• breakfast • lunch • dinner
• after-theater • kiddie menu
open Tuesdays thru Sundays
10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
lincoln shopping center, 101/2 mile & greenfield, oak park
A
[(=i1 -
744' [L:g
A pic
COMPLETE
CARRY-OUT
AVAILABLE
968-0022
THE GOLD COIN
OPEN 7 DAYS — YOUR HOST HOWARD LEW
SZECHUAN, MANDARIN, CANTONESE
NEW A LA CARTE DINNERS UNDER $5
24480 W. 10 MILE
(West of Telegraph
(IN TEL-EX PLAZA)
353-7848
GOLDEN BOWL
Restaurant
22106 COOLIDGE AT 9 MILE In A & P Shopping Center
398-5502 or 398.5503
DINE IN & CARRY-OUT
SZECHUAN, MANDARIN, CANTONESE & AMERICAN CUISINE
OPEN 7 DAYS —
Mon.-Thurs. 11-10, Fri. & Sat. 11-11, Sat. & Holidays 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.
• Banquet Facilities
Your Chef: FRANK ENG
601tl e n Phoenix
Chinese-American Restaurant
Cantonese, Szechuan & American
Dining & Carry-Out
6257 Orchard Lake Rd. In Sugar "IYee Shopping Center
North of Maple • West Bloomfield • 855.3570
THE GPEAT WALE
SERVING YOUR FAVORITE EXOTIC
DRINKS & CHOICE COCKTAILS
PRIVATE DINING ROOM
• BANQUETS • PARTIES • BUSINESS MEETINGS
Your host . . . HENRY LUM
Businessmen's Luncheons • Carry-outs • Catering
476-9181
(Drakeshire Shopping Center) • 35135 Grand River
HOA KOW INN
Specializing in Cantonese, Szechuon & Mandarin Foods
Open Doily 11 to 10:30, Sot. 11 to 12 Mid., Sun. 12 to 10:30
— Carry-Out Service —
13715 W. 9 MILE, W. of Coolidge • Oak Park • 547-4663
wino grunnotil
Your Host: Harold Hom of King Lim Gardens
• Mandarin • Szechuan • Cantonese
• Banquet Room
• Carry-Out
• Dine In
6611500
55886 Drake Rd. at Walnut Lake Rd.
/testingway'i
Grill & B ar
roudlypresents
CRAZY PAPA'S COMEDY CLUB
featuring
NORM STULZ
Master Storyteller, As seen on CBS's 48 Hrs.
Friday, April 3rd, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, Apr. 4th, 8:00 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.
war
$ 35 95 DINNER & SHOW FOR TWO
Two For One Admission With Advanced Reservations
Reservations Requested
681 - 6195
1990 Hiller Rd., West Bloomfield, MI
70
Joseph Stalin's Inner Circle
Is Based On A True Story
FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 1992
MICHAEL ELKIN
Special
to The Jewish News
I
n its insider's view of
Joseph Stalin's cliquish
coterie, The Inner Circle
examines the very depths of
man's inhumanity to man.
Andrei Konchalovsky's
film, stars Tom Hulce as the
Soviet dictator's personal
projectionist and Lolita
Davidovich as the film fac-
totem's wife, whose attempts
to rescue an orphaned Jew-
ish child endanger the two of
them in anti-Semitic Russia.
The Russian-born Kon-
chalovsky, whose film
credits include Maria's
Lovers and Runaway
Train,offers a look at a
runaway repressive society,
where even an innocuous
criticism could lead to a
comrade being carted away
forever.
Based on the true story of
Alexander Ganshin, who
served Stalin as projectionist
from 1935 until the Soviet
leader's death in 1953, The
Inner Circle allows Mr. Kon-
chalovsky to square off
against the suspicions and
hatred rampant in a
paranoid society.
"That phrase, 'inner
circle,' is a KGB term, mean-
ing anyone able to get close
enough to Stalin," says the
film maker.
In today's Russia — or
what is left of it — "there is,
of course, no circle at all."
For that matter, says Kon-
chalovsky, "there is only en-
tropy, a sense of loss of struc-
ture."
Some things remain in-
tact, however, namely the
sense of anti-Semitism
which has been at the core of
Russian life for centuries.
"During Stalin's times,
anti-Semitism was always
there, but it never had the
openness it has in today's
society," says Mr. Kon-
chalovsky, a Christian who
laments the antagonistic at-
titude his country takes
toward its Jews.
"In today's Russia, where
you have the freedom of
everything — and people can
be themselves — then anti-
Semitism comes out in the
open.
"I prefer the openness
than living under Stalin be-
cause at least you know
what you are dealing with.
Good and evil should come
out in the open."
But Mr. Konchalovsky
Tom Hulce as an awe-struck pianist is invited by Stalin to have tea with
members of the inner circle.
also feels that his coun-
trymen should be open in
shouldering a collective
guilt about the way Jews are
treated. "The next step (in
an open society) is for the
Russian nation to realize
their own guilt."
As a youngster, Mr. Kon-
chalovsky was well aware of
the super strength of Stalin,
whose name translates into
"man of steel."
Mr. Konchalovsky's
father, Sergei, a poet,
received the Order of Lenin
from Stalin and also com-
posed the Soviet national
anthem.
Today, Mr. Konchalovsky
owes allegiance to freedom.
"America has become my se-
cond home," says the film
maker who left his
homeland in 1979.
"I feel very Russian here.
When I go back to Russia" —
which he did to shoot Circle
and wound up delayed dur-
ing the attempted coup
against Mikhail Gorbachev
— "I feel very American."
How will the Russian peo-
ple feel when they see his
new movie, critical as it is of
their past compliance in the
face of a ruthless dictator?
"People are people," says
Andrei Konchalovsky.
"They won't want to hear
about how bad they have
been."
The Inner Circle is a seduc-
tive film in its depiction of
the Soviet leader who once
seduced a nation. But An-
drei Konchalovsky cautions
that Circle is not so much a
film about Stalin or the pro-
jectionist who served him as
it is about the dangers of
blind obedience.
"The naivete of political
innocence is the most
dangerous soil for political
evil," says Mr. Konchalov-
sky.
❑
B'nai David Concert
Features Cantors
Congregation B'nai David
will host its Fifth Annual
Gala Cantorial Concert 7:30
p.m. April 30 at the
synagogue. This year's con-
cert is the kick-off event for
B'nai David's Centennial
Celebration Weekend.
The program of cantorial,
Hebrew, Yiddish and Ladino
selections will feature in ad-
dition to B'nai David's Cantor
Stuart Friedman, cantors
Louis Danto of Toronto and
Moshe Schulhof of North
Miami Beach. The cantors
will be accompanied by the
Sam Barnett Orchestra. Max
Sosin will serve as master of
ceremonies.
Cantor Danto, who serves
as chazzan of Congregation
Beth Emeth — Beth Yehuda
in Toronto, was born in
Suwalki, Poland, studied
voice and cello at the Conser-
vatory of Minsk.
Cantor Schulhof, born and
raised in New York City, gave
his first concert at the age of
six. A tenor with an amazing
three octave range, Cantor
Schulhof attended the
Brooklyn Conservatory of
Music and studied chazzanut
with the late Cantor David
Kussevitzky.
There is no admission
charge; an afterglow recep-
tion hosted by the B'nai
K