Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Friday, March 8, 1968 Pa e woT H 1C H ( f AI Y ri ayM rc"8 1 6 A look at. 'Charlie Bubbles' by Daniel Okrent Back in medieval England, small bands of actors would tour the countryside, stopping from time to time in one town or another to present neat little plays for the gathering towns- people. Generally directionless save for a knotting-up moral attached to the end, these plays were collages of short scenes pasted together, and often derived their popularity from the very fact that they were entertainment, and not from the quality of entertainment. Charlie Bubbles, which opened last night at the Cam- pus, is the same thing, updated. Starring Albert Finney in the title role as the plug-in, wind-up, watch-'im-go star of the British literary world, this film moves from the same no-direc- tion, no-goal premise that England's touring minstrels used 700 years ago. Charlie the writer, the boy from Manchester who made it to London and The Big Time, yawns through life, empty, anti- climactic, bored; he doesn't get involved, he makes no comment. Finney, whose portrayal is really quite good considering the scripted-in blemishes, also directed the film, his first effort at that art. Well, can Albert Finney, whom everyone iust agree does a consistently good job of acting, direct a production as well? The fact is, his dual function in "Charlie" doesn't give anyone a chance to evaluate his directorial talents. As Finney the actor planned to play this considerably difficult role' with the loads of ennui that oozed from his blank eyes and shrugged shoulders, he had no one around to tel him otherwise. What results from the efforts of the Janus-like Finney will be considered by many to be a quite good film; some may even find it great. There will certainly be those who will'contend that the lack of plot, excitement or climax is entirely in keeping with the purpose of the film, that this Antonioni-like blandness sup- ports the psychological mood of the no-meaning-in-life Charlie. Nevertheless, an invasion of the mind does not surface through Charlie's ho-hum world. Rather, each little part of his life - the trip to the football game with his son, the TV watch- ing with his ex-wife, the expressionless billiards playing on a 24-hour drunk with another writer - does not mesh. You keep waiting for something to happen. An equally effective attempt toward the same end might be achieved by setting up a camera in a suburban home, and focus- ing on Dad and Mom watching the tube, munching Fritos, send- ing the kids upstairs to sleep, then slipping into twin beds sep- arated by a lamp table. Then, we could all see how empty their lives are.. I think that the whole problem of the empty-life alienation movie like Charlie Bubbles is the same type of thing that hurt the effect of The Graduate. It is one thing not to like what is going on around you, to feel a certain despair. But the Charlies and the Benjamins never stop to even define what. is wrong. It is clear by their actions and their expressions, whether mani- fest in Behanesque boozing (Charlie) or in extra-conjugal bed- ding down (Benjamin), that these men realize the presence of a void. But we never see them stop and think and question their droning existence. They lie down on air rafts in swimming pools, or they speed "Rolls Royces across the English countryside. And then they close things up and tie their knots, either by marrying their own true love (believable, at least) or by walking out of their ex-wife's house and stepping into the gondola of a wait- ing balloon, as does Charlie (absolutely preposterous). All that I wish is that the despairing hero should at least ask what he can do to patch up his life, and not just sit back and grouch around. MUSICe Phdlharmoia Balances the Bombast f ... Department of Romanzce Languages EL CONCIERTO de SAN OVIDIG drama by ANTONIO BUERO VALLEJO By JIM PETERS It must have been an early var- lety of spring fever that sparked the University Philharmonia last night at Hill Aud. Conductor Theo Alcantara's program was well- planned, the orchestra performed masterfully and from the music there came an undeniable feeling of power. The compositions performed weren't all the bom-bastic, "big- sound" splashes that can manu- facture this power by pure volume; rather, sound was balanced with intricate rhythms and melodies. Yet each piece in its own way contributed to the robust, almost masculine, mood of the evening. Brahms' Academic Festival Over- ture is unknown to very few. But too often only the loud "brass band" aspect is heard; the music has strength, but there is also, Brahms' expert musical develop- ment which is often buried. From the very first notes, when I actually heard the soft cymball roll underneath all the strings, the orchestra was aware of the sub- tleties of exposition as well as the broad outlines which pile sound upon sound. Analytically, the overture consists mainly of sus- penseful wanderings and hintings leading up to the two big theme splashes which seet inevitable. Alcantara emphasized this sus- pense precisely by clarifying each relationship, strings against winds, brass and strings in contrasting rhythms. The muddy sound was gone, the cosmetic rush to reach the big sound at the end was re- placed by sustained tension which really exploded into the majesty of the finale. A fresh interpreta- tion of an old standard, and the Philharmonia lacked none of the needed craftsmanship. But the sharp contrast of the second offering did not destroy this presence. Prof. Francis Bun- dra blazed through Walter Pis- ton's Concerto for Viola, com- posed in 1957. The unfamiliar piece contains sections of 19th century lyricism - the pungent sound of the viola floating over jumpy 20th century syncopation. The difficulties for the soloist in- volve this shifting between sen- sitive flowing lyric passages and the chromatic, unpredictable rhy- thms. The orchestra is a subdued ac- companiment in the first two movements of the Piston piece, sparkling with flashes of harp, and flute. But the third move- ment calls upon timpani and per- cussion in a wild whirl of sound. The fabulous technique of Prof. Bundra proved valuable here, but he was always sensitive to the subtleties - a quiet zeal in the second movement, adagio con fantasia. The second symphony of Jean Sibelius provided no weakening, no break in the aura of power. I object to the speed of the first movement, but even this fit well with the viewpoint of the entire performance. All night it was the brass, but especially so in the Sibelius. Bit- ing, growling, blaring, horns and trumpets and trombones and bass brass instruments unified the fragmented second movement with their menacing warnings. The entire brass section of the or- chestra responded to the conduc- tor's plan. Alcantara's Sibelius may have lacked some of the lyricism usual- ly connected with the first move- ment, but as in the Brahms he used a building technique, grad- ually reaching the level of in- tensity Sibelius demands. That is why I wish he had joined the second and third movements to- gether, as is customary in this symphony. The seeds of the final move- ment are planted quite slyly in the second movement, and any break in the continuing develop- ment strains too much the fragile construction of the second move- ment and detracts from Sibelius' slow build to the grand theme of the finale. The Philharmonia had some troubles with ensemble in strings and brass, and the double-basses were thin and weak in several places. But the drive and enthusi- asm which I found. evident in their overall performance dwarfed these purely technical matters. And all this from the music school's freshman . orchestra? Compared to the tremendous un- dertaking of the University Sym- phony'A performance of Gustav Mahler's Ninth Symphony under Joseph Blatt, the more standard repertoire of the Philharmonia last night may seem quite unin- spiring. But the strings of the Philharmonia were not unsure and shaky in intonation in the Brahms as were the Symphony's strings in the poor first move- ment of the Mahler, and every- one seemed much more at ease. It may have been the pressure of such a momentous task as Mahler that tarnished their per- formance, but the University Symphony Orchestra must take second-place to the Philharmonia, looking at these two recent con- certs. The Mahler, of course, is more difficult, but then a num- ber-one orchestra is expected to work hard. Perhaps the second- place Philharmonia just tries a little bit harder. *SATYRN4 INC. BOOTS @ LEATHER CUSTOM + UNUSUAL CLOTHING March 8 and 9, 8:00 P.M. LYDIA MENDELSSOHN TICKETS ON SALE--2076 Frieze Bldg. $2.00 $1.00 4 IL i . PETITIONS for planning committee WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE 1969 available Today through Friday, March 8 1528 S.A.B. the emu players series 213 S. State, 2nd Floor I THE PLOUGH AND THE STARS A revolt of Irish Humor and Hatred I i march 13-17 all seats $1.50 quirk auditorium reservations: 482-3453 3020 Washtenaw. Ph. 434-1782 BETWEEN ANN ARBOR I I Show Time: Wednesday & Saturday & Sunday 1 :00-3:00-5:00-7:00-9:00 Monday-Tuesday; Thursday-Friday 7 & 9 AND YPSILANTI 11 umommolow You save more than money with U.S. Savings Bonds I THE ALL-NEW AND MOST EXCITING .r TR UE-LIFE ADVENTUREe BIG SCREEN-FULL COLOR tt~tE... a deprea alte il EASMAN LIVE... an incredible summer on a heart-stopping. SAI4A f/NTrlCAM540art SUBSCRIBE TO THE IC HIG4N DAILY "PROFOUND PORTRAYAL... SUPERBLY SUBTLE!" "~SUPERB FROM EVERY POINT OF, VIEW..SHOULDN'T BE MISSED!" Colin Blakely Billie Whifelaw Liza Minnelli POWER! s ..... THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC AND DEPARTMENT OF ART PRESENT SMETANA'S COMIC OPERA "THE BARTERED BRIDE" (English Translation by Josef Blatt) March 21-24, 8:00 P.M. Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre All Tickets-$3.00 Mail orders accepted now. Make checks payable to "Uni- versity of Michigan." Send self-addressed, stamped envelope to School of Music Opera,'Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104. Box Office opens Monday, March 18, 1968, 12:30 P.M. NOW ! DIAL 8-6416 4- NOW ! , ' Il il j! SIXTH ANN ARBOR FILM FESTIVAL 1Q ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS WATE NO 2-6264 BIG wd EEK! L ..; c-N SHOWS AT 1:00-3:30-6:15-9:00 FEATURE AT 1:15-3:50-6:30-915 DIAL 5-6290 STARTS TODAY BEST PICTURE . BEST ACTOR (Warren.Beatty) ' BEST ACTRESS (Faye Dunaway) BEST DIRECTOR (Penn) BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (Estelle Parsons) TWO BEST SUPPORTING ACTORS (Pollard and Hackman) BEST STORY AND SCREENPLAY * BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY BEST COSTUME DESIGN FAIRIR2IDtII[BIATTY o II ,Iomi e Milo NOMINATED FOR 4 ACADEMY AWARDs! ko C ttE2 t BEST DIRECTOR -Richard Brooks BEST SCREENPLAY -Based on material from another medium -Richard Brooks BEST INEMATOGRAPHY RPFTT RIIINAI 1A TONIGHT: Last night of screenings. 2 different shows - 7:00 & 9:05 "COMMANDER CODY"-6:00-7:00 TOMORROW: Matinee, 2:00 p.m.-last screening. Winnrsan hno- 7:0. 9:0< & 11 :00 II II