Thursday, September 27, 1973
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Five
ThursdQV, September 27, 1973 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page rive
p
U
Francois,
By BRUCE SHLAIN
Francois Truffaut has always
demonstrated a remarkable ca-
pacity for seeing the poignantly
humorous aspect of even the
most pathetic of situations, but
never has he woven the tragic
And comic elements as subtly
and consistently as in Two En-
glish Girls.
The film is an adaptation of a
novel by Henri Roche, an inten-
tional complement to Truffaut's
earlier Jules and Jim. 'There are,
however, two triangular relation-
ships this time, the central one
being Claude's (Jean Pierre-
Leaud) indecisive yearnings for
the two sisters, Anne and Muriel.
His proposA to Muriel
in the midst of the
menage a trois formed b
and the sister, is more
than a fervent desire.
reply that "I don't lovei
clouds the issue in a ha
certainty that never lift
only exaggerated by t
trary solution that th
apart for a year to "
love."
'Claude, Anne, and Mu
left everything to chant
in earlier films like Stol
the random encounters
faut's characters are tr
farcical, here he has a
graveness of tone, of
Antoilie.
, coming ceptional as natural," enhanced Bu
awkward by the dispassionate narration. ter.
y Claude In Two English Girls, he fol- wha
a whim lows Renoir's formula that the left
And her more emotional the subject mat- slee
you yet," ter, the cooler the treatment, stan
ze of un- leading to a particular kind of the1
s, and is irony that mocks the characters him
the arbi- as it sympathizes with them. twe
hey stay The coincidental aspect of their peri
test their engagement is reminiscent of whe
Jules and Jim; Catherine chose strik
riel have to marry Jules largely because Tr
ce. While Jim was late for a dinner date. tong
en Kisses But the characters in Jules make trac
of Truf- repeated, even desperate at- feel
reated as tempts to control their respec- that
dapted a tive fates, at least with regard to failu
"the ex- each other. emp
They are prototypes of Law- plat
rencian lovers, feeling the need mun
to reinvent love, to establish A
one's own code, to experiment, the
to create, until what matters is bits
the search and not the attain- Ind
ment. hav
But Claude, Anne, and Muriel eve
make no real attempts to grow. A
Claude and Anne, the artists, to 1
move easily beyond the more thou
rigid moral strictures, but have ity.
not the ideology to accompany poin
their sexual freedom. As Claude omn
and Muriel drift apart during Cla
their year of waiting, Claude and and
Anne become convenient lovers, boo
determined to "live first, define T
it later." con
A
iut they never do defi
The characters ne
t they vaguely desire
repeating to himsel
p, "I am nothing,l
nd nothing." His sta
two sister: is never
, so little is expreE
en them; eventually
ence of a strong
n he is re-united with
kes him as insincere
ruffaut's periodically
gue-in-cheek is an ar
ction from the tragi
ing, an intentional di
mirrors the charact
ures as they falll
ptier and emptieri
itudes as the need
nicate becomes more
s Anne says midway
film, "Life is mad
and pieces that d
eed, each of the ch
e an equally valid vie
nts, the camera favor
s Truffaut has said
be objective, so I p
usand different facets
" There are threer
nts of view in the f
niscient speaker (T
ude's thoughts and
Muriel's painfully k
k.
he diverse realities
flict with each other
dy ing
me it la- as fail to meet altogether.
ver find while in Jules and Jim, Tr
, Claude played with the spectator's
f before tions by ironically setting
I under- music against the action,
tus with he makes blurry the chara
clear to intentions and emotions,t
ssed be- providing for the audien
the ex- stark reality in the crucial
emotion, ments that is new in the
Muriel, career of Truffaut.
e. The lingering close-up o
bulging blood - stained sheet after C
rtful dis- and Muriel consummate
c loss of failure to love each other r
straction Cries and Whispers, as doe
ers' own vomiting scene when Anne
back on Muriel that she and Claude
romantic lovers.
to com- Whereas Two English Gi
urgent. more a study in detachme
r through the elusive-nature of feeling
le up of the irreconcilable distance
on't fit." tween people, we must lo
iaracters Jules and Jim to find the s
ew of the of the abundant vitality tha
s no one. vades the earlier work.
, "I try The unifying force is un
resent a edly the characterization ofa
s of real- erine (Jeanne Moreau)a
narrative Eternal Woman, the perp
ilm: the enigma, the androgynousi
Truffaut), nation of the life force, an i
d ,letters, of herself that she labors to
ept note- petuate. Indeed, it is when
begins to understand her
do not mere mortal that she reb
so much suicide.
dreI am
For Similarly, The 400 Blows and
Uffaut Stolen Kisses also deal with the
emo- inevitable erosion of the abso-
the lute and the ensuing reconcilia-
here tion. for the ideal is never shat-
cters' tered, only transmuted. Truffaut
while crystallizes the moment beauti-
ce a fully for Antoine in the freeze-
I mo- frame confrontation of the sea,
film and in Kisses it is Fabienne Ta-
bard who teaches the overly ro-
f the mantic Antoine that she is a
laude woman and not an apparition.
their
ecalls This fragile idealism is ruth-
es the lessly parodied in Two English
tells Girls. Muriel's religious virtue is
were nothing more than her inverted
irs is guilt, her suppression of self-
nt, in abuse twisting her into a tortur-
g and ous knot. Claude, meanwhile, is
s be- an insulated imitation of An-
ok to toine Doinel, without his imagi-
ource nation or vitality.
t per-
Claude writes a novel, Jerome
doubt- et Julien, using characters to ab-
Cath- sorb his suffering; his are is ul-
as the timately a denial of feeling, like
petual
incar- his life, like his experience pass-
mage ing him by before he has the
o per- chance to grasp hold of his bud-
a Jim ding life. "What's wrong with
as a""
els in me today," he says, I look old."
Truffaut has watchedhis cine-
- - matic persona Leaud grow old,
and they seem, in this film, to
have grown weary together of
mischievousness in the face of an
uglier and uglier oppression cor-
rosively eating away at their
s dream.
in the somber silences of Two
offers English Girls, if one listens close-
sides lv, there is the fait beating of
moves funereal drums as Antoine Doinel
w bal- is laid to rest.
DIAL 662-6264
& t
OPEN 12:45
SHOWSAT13,5,7,9pm
NOW SHOWING!
riginal Soundtrack Albumavailable featuringJoe Simon ("Theme From Cleopatra ones)
andMillieJackson("Love Doctor" and"it Hurts So Good")
Coming Thursday: "JESUS CHRIST, SUPERSTAR"
EMU Major Events Committee
PRESENTS:
SHA-NAN
October 13
Bowen Field House
TICKETS ON SALE WED., SEPT. 26
$4.00 advance, $5 at the door
general admission
TICKETS ON SALE at: Hudson's, AA Music Mart,
Grinnells, Huckleberry Party Stare, McKenny Union
Mark-Almond: Variety plus
Garfunkel pouring on patho
Daly Photo by STEVE KAGAN
Crafts on display
Liz Bunkey, a coordinator for U of M Artists and Craftsmen Guild,
opens U Cellars new small craft shop yesterday. Members of the
Guild and U of M students contribute works for sale.
When our most distinctive rock
band falls apart, each member
usually sets out to prove that he
was the true mastermind of the
group.
Now that Simon is making it
by himself, Art Garfunkel has
come to request his share of the
praise, please. He calls his new
album Angle Clare (Columbia
KC 31474).
Surprise! Garfunkel is a
shameless romantic, despite sev-
eral years as a cynical movie
star. His arrangements on Angel
Clare give us a good idea who
was pouring all the extra butter-
scotch on top of the old Simon
and Garfunkel songs.
If you swore at Mick Jagger
for ruining "As Tears Go By"
with strings, you will never get
11:30 2 Movie-Comedy
"Boys' Night Out" (1962)
4 Johnny Carson
7 Alan King at the Indiana
State Fair
9 News
50 Movie
"The Silver Chalice" (1954)
12:00 39(Movie--Musical
"The Girl Can't Help It."
(1956)
1:00 4 7 News
1:40 2 Mlovie-Drama
"The Violentones." (1967)
3:10 2 Mayberry R.F.D.
3:40 2 News
along with Angel Clare. A single
side of this album contains
enough pathos to reduce the en-
tire city of Ypsilanti to rubble.
Garfunkel has taken 10 pretty
songs from mostly popular sourc-
es (Jimmy Webb, Paul Williams,
Randy Newman) and overwhelm-
ed them with strings and harpsi-
chords and choirs of heavenly
angels. Whether he has smoth-
ered the songs or brought them
to life will depend on your own
tastes.
Garfunkel's voice carries plen-
ty of emotional clout all by it-
self, but he chooses to encase it
in arrangements that even Man-
tovani might find a little rich.
If you can tolerate a little
melodrama, though, this is a
very professional and enjoyable
easy listening music.
-Tom Olson
Mark-Almond's newest album
CAMPUS THEATRE
1214 S. UNIVERSITY
DIAL 668-6414
Sat., Sun. and Wed. at 1. 3, 5.
7, 9 p.m. Other days at 7 & 9 only
is an exquisite
movie'"
-REX REED,
Syndicated Columnist
A NOVEL BY
HERMANN
HESSE
A FILM BY
CONRAD
ROOKS
R
lad to an Afro-rock arrangement
- more dynamic than anything
they've ever done before. The
second side maintains a more
mellow mood: jazzy, semi-classi-
cal, easy to listen to.
Lead singer Jon Mark and flu-
tist Johnny Almond head the
group. Between the seven mem-
bers, Mark-Almond plays over
32 instruments, backing their ly-
rics which on this album some-
times become verbose. They're
not nearly as depressing, how-
ever, as those on their last al-
bum, Rising.
Both sides of '73 are recorded
equally well, but the live side
seems to be more dynamic than
side two. Apparently their live
performances outshine their stu-
dio works, and I'd welcome a lo-
cal Mark-Almond concert.
-Elijah Langford
4 UA(COmEnd Iatri cs
PRESENTS
THURSDAY NIGHT ONLY
ON THE WA TERKFRONT
starring MARLON BRANDO
7:00 and 9:30
Natural Science Aud.-75c
Fri &Sat. - THE GRADUATE
'73 (Columbia KC 32486)
six songs showing different
of the group. Side onei
from a fast boogie to a slo
te'
tonight
6:002 4 7Nw
9 Andy Griffith
50 Gilligan's Isad
56 Lilias, 'Yog a d'limi
6:30'2 CBS News
4 NBC News
7 AC News
9 CIDream of Jeannie
56 French Chef
50 Hogan's Heroes
7:00 2 Truth or Consequences
4 News
7 To Tell the Truth
50 Mission: Impossible
56 Course of Our Times- History
7:30 2 What's My Line?
4 You Asked for It
7 New Treasure Rust
9 Bewitched
56 Why You Smoke
8:00 2 The Waltons
4 Flip Wilson
7 Rock and Roll Years
9 shake, Rock and Roll
56 Playhouse New York: The 1940s
50 Night Gallery
1:30 9 Beachcombers
50 Merv Griffin
9:00 2 Movie
"Kelly's Heroes" 1970
4 Ironside
7 Kung Fu
9 News
9:30 To See Ourselves
10:00 4 NBC Follies
7 Streets of San Francisco
9 Sept Ilies-Documentary
50 Perry Mason
56 'Masterpiece Theatre
11:0(0 2 4 7 News
9 CBC News
50 One Step Beyond
How you express yourself
depends upon your camera.
7
12
3
6
6:30
7:30
11
wbn
The Morning Show
Rock
Progressive
Folk/Rock/Progressive
News/Sports
Latino-Americano
Jazz Blues
Progressive
CUL'(URE CALEiAR
UPCOMING CONCERT TIPS-UAC-Daystar presents Steph-
en Stills & Manassas at 8 in' Crisler Arena on Friday.
ART. EXHIBITIONS IN PROGRESS-Pyramid Gallery dis-
plays works of Women Artists through Sept. 29; College
of Architecture and Design exhibits Art Students' Work
in the Exhibition Hall through Oct. 15; Union Gallery
displays Indian Drawings by Robert John George through
Saturday.
MUSIC-Medieval and Renaissance Collegium presents a con-
cert of early music at 4 in Main Lounge Lawyer's Club.
MOVIES-Cinema II and AA Film Co-op show Truffaut's
Two English Girls in Aud. A at 7, 9; Cinema Guild pre-
sents Fellini's White Sheik at 7, 9:05 in Arch. Aud.; New
World Film Co-op shows Marilyn Monroe in The Prince
and the Showgirl at 7, 9:45 in Aud. 3 MLB and Newman's
Sometimes a Great Notion at 7:30, 9:45 in Aud. 4 MLB.
ARE YOU POLISII?
Interested in Polish language and culture? Want to meet
other students of Polish descent at the University?
COME TO THE
POLISH CLUB i
Thurs., Sept. 27, 7:30 p.m.-4202 Mich. Union
For more info call: 663-7483
so m mm.....................and
Arbor Civic Theatre's
ARMS
AND THE
MAN
Today almost everybody is getting into photography
And it's not the snapshot variety People are doing
sports stories, nature stories, portraits-you may
even have a friend who s doing photographs through
a microscope. Or a telescope.
You also know that everybody has his own idea
about which camera is best. That's why its important
for you to know about the Canon F-1. Because it's the
system camera that s fast becoming the favorite of
professionals. And the new status symbol among
photography enthusiasts.
The whole F-1 system includes over 40 lenses and
200 accessories. It s capable of doing virtually
everything in photography So whatever idea you
have for a picture, the F-1 has the equipment to make
sure you get it.
Because it was conceived from the beginning as a
system. it works as a system. All the elements are
quickly and easily interchangeable. No matter which
lens or accessory you use with the F-1 body you won't
have tjie feeling that something has been
"tacked on.
What's more the F-1 is comfortable to handle.
Years of research went into the design of the F-1 body
and placement of controls so yor fingers fall
naturally into place. You Il appreciate this comfort
when you're on assignment. It's also an important
thing to keep in mind if you're investing in a camera
you plan to keep a long time.
Canon has been in the optics industry over 37
years. We make microscope equipment, amateur and
professional movie cameras and TV lenses. It s this
experience that helps make our still cameras the best
selling cameras in Japan. In America, it s just a matter
of time.
See your dealer for more information. He ll also
show you Canon's other SLR cameras. like the FTb
ENDS TODAY-"BLUME IN LOVE"
open 12:45 feature at 1, 3, 5,7,
9 P.M.
STARTS TOMORROW
DOMINIQUE SANDA IN . . .
601, east liberty
HICAH
Theatoe Phone 665.6240
I
i romantic comedy by
G.B. SHAW
October 3.6, 1973
Mendelssohn Theatre
t + :