ONG H u 4 Big Screen/Small Screen FINE CHINESE DINING 9nktueisi Tow ZO, Looking For Love 'A wonderful adventure in fine dining" - Danny Raskin Featuring Gourmet Oriental Cuisine Excellent Lunch and Dinner Selections 7 Days a Week I I a.m.- Midnight Argentine director unearths poignant tale from his childhood. Complete Menu Carryout • Gift Certificates Available • We Cater To Private Parties 27925 Orchard Lake Road, north of 12 Mile • Farmington Hills 248.489.2280 793660 Casino, Baseball, Theater... Classic Menu, Classic Place LUNCH MONDAY-FRIDAY We are available for private parties DINNER MONDAY-SATURDAY 150 W. Congress ,s,e_roationev g?,econynerztied Detroit 313-965-4970 A Detroit Institution since 1952 - :1 = "I" I:-:I- —1:R3 - Thts %Luc, N ull Senetn9 the 'rent tar-te of Ethiopia - - - - - "1 Dinner for Two . ETHIOPIAN FEAST VEGETARIAN FEAST $ $ 30.00 25.00 offer expires June 30, 2004 - with coupon Zit; 6/ 4 2004 42 545 West 9 Mile • Ferndale • 248-547-6699 221 E. Washington Rd. • Ann Arbor • 734-998-4746 Open for Dinner Only • Hours -Sun 3-9, Mon-Thurs 5-9, Fri-Sat 4-11 - Argentina," he says. 'Argentina has one of the biggest Jewish communities [in the world]. And then we have the he 8-year-old hero of the charm- biggest concentration of Nazis also, after ing Argentine film Valentin has a the Second World War. "[Argentineans] can say they are not burning question that he wants anti-Semitic, but they see the Jewish answered: "Where's Momma?" people as different, and they don't have By the end of the movie, the title the complete confidence [in the] Jewish character will add another: "Is it good to people that they have in [other be Jewish?" It doesn't exactly replace the Argentineans]." first, but it reflects his awakening about In the film, Valentin has lived with his more sophisticated notions of identity. paternal grandmother (played by the The film takes a sweet, almost senti- Spanish actress Carmen Maura) since his mental, approach to a precocious child's Catholic father and Jewish mother split fervent desire for a "normal" family life. up years earlier. Dad drops by to visit Nonetheless, it was vital to writer-direc- semi-regularly, but Mom is out of the tor Alejandro Agresti, a veteran picture —except as the butt of Argentine filmmaker who has lived in Grandma's anti-Jewish jibes. Amsterdam for years, that his gentle "The character of the grandmother is autobiographical tale allude to anti- — well, it was my grandmother," the Jewish prejudice. gregarious Agresti says, describing her as Valentin, which opens today in a nice lady who was ignorant rather than Detroit, was Argentina's official submis- anti-Semitic. "If the mother was black or sion to the Foreign Language Film cate- Japanese or Muslim, it would be the gory of this year's Academy Awards. same situation." The Jewish references aren't essential Agresti was 4 years old when he was to the plot, Agresti acknowledges,.and separated from his mother in the mid- he had difficulty integrating them into 1960s, and he did not see her again the story. - "But it was very important to mention until he was 29. At some point, he learned that his father had abused and because I think that it's something that threatened her during their marriage. nobody wants to talk about in MICHAEL FOX Special to the Jewish News T Theater Kudos Tony Awards shine spotlight on Jewish nominees and a special award for lifetime achievement. ALICE BURDICK SCHWEIGER Special to the Jewish News B roadway producer and Oak Park native Jeffrey Seller has done it again. He's nabbed yet another Tony Award nomination, this time as co-producer of Avenue Q, which is up for six awards, including Best Musical. The Tonys will be pre- sented Sunday, June 6, in New York City. Avenue Q, a musical about life in the Big Apple performed by actors with Muppet-like puppets, moved from Off- Broadway to the Broadway stage. "Some people thought it wouldn't work on Broadway, but it's 11 months old and we have recouped the investment and are making [a] profit every week," says Seller, who also produces the long-run- ning hit Rent (for which he won a 1996 Tony). "We start our national tour in 2005, and we will be bringing the show to Detroit." Other Tony contenders for Best Musical include Wicket the prequel to the Wizard of Oz, • leading with 10 nom- inations; Caroline, Or Change, with six nominations; and The Boy From Oz — which stars Tony broadcast host Hugh Jackman as the late Aussie entertainer Peter Allen — with five. High-profile nominated Jewish talents include Wicked Idina Menzel for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical and composer Stephen Schwartz for Best Original Score; playwright Tony Kushner for Best Book of a Musical for Caroline, Or Change, and director