ARTS Thursday, January 23, 1986 Page 7 The Michigan Daily Filmmakers bust trend By John Shea Q UICK - NAME two major female directors in motion pic- tures today. Can't think of any? Weither can I. Hollywood has never been receptive to having women direct feature films and there is no in- dication that this trend is going to change in the near future. Someone is going to have to pave the way. Kimberly Conely and Michele Poulik, two Wayne State graduates, are doing just that. With the premiere of their 16 mm film, Singing Birds, at the Detroit Institute of Art last week, ,they are breaking the trend. Conely end Poulik co-wrote the script, while Lonely directed and Poulik was the production designer. Singing Birds is the story of two bootlegging Lithuanian families during Prohibition who are in competition with one another. Both of the families understand capitalism; the three brothers who own one bar realize that they have to get rid of the competition which is ruining them. Although the film is only twenty-five minutes long, it manages to be both light and breezy as well as off-beat and bizarre. What is so remarkable about what Conely and Poulik have done here is that they produced a film with a budget of only $25,000 (many movies today, with a ten million dollar budget, aren't as good as Singing Bir- ds). But in order for Conely and Poulik to completely recreate the look and feel of the 20s, they needed outside help. The cast and crew donated their services, along with U of M junior David Saltzman, who worked on the film during the summer. "It was a real interesting thing to go in there and see two women make a movie-.. When you go to the movies, they seem real distant, but when you're on the set and see the lights and all, it's just incredible." Saltzman, who held the title of "Production Coordinator", was responsible for getting many props including the Model Ts that are seen in the film. Conely's direction is crisp and sharp. She keeps the pace moving right along and while there is no time for character development, she creates the tone and the mood of the story well. Her use of soft red and yellow light for Mama's family, while using darker tones for the bar, leaves the viewer without a doubt who is wearing the black hat and white hat. Poulik so masterfully recreates the 20s feel that I forgot it was the 80s. The film itself is shot in Detroit around the Riverside area, which makes watching it that much more in- teresting. The characters are strictly stock, but they're fun to watch, anyway. Singing Birds will be entered in several 16mm film festivals around the country. Menawhile, Conely and Poulik are moving onward. They are currently working on a screenplay tentatively called Millenium Dreams. scheduled to start shooting this sum- mer. They continue to break the mold. Singing birds will be at U of M for one night only, this Thursday at 7pm at Angell Hall (Auditorium "A"). .: i Kimberly Conley and Michele Poulik are paving the way for female directors with their 16mm film, Singing Birds, which premiers tonight a 7:00 p.m. in Angell Hall Auditorium "A". Ad- mission is free and Ms. Conley and Ms. Poulik will be available for discussion immediately after the movie. There are English subtitles. Ad- the filmmakers will be present for a refreshing change of pace and well mission is free and after the showing, discussion. Singing Birds is a worth the hour spent. 'Less Than Zero afraid to merge "* and the stagnation of hopes, dreams, Less Than Zero ideals, and personalities. Bret Easton Ellis None of the characters grow. Par- by Bties, drug dealings, and sexual in- ONew York: Simon and terludes of various kinds detail the Schuster: 1985 characters' attempts to evade 208 sr $195 responsibility for intimacy and self- 2 p., awareness. One can easily guess why the protagonist's name is Clay. He reacts with the hollow echo of tapped ByMeredith McGhan glass when touched; with the cold silence of once-pliable earth frozen and fused into unnatural form. At the book' end he wverslike a b RET EASTON ELLIS, a twenty- precarious sculpture on the verge of a one-year-old junior at Ben- shattering fall. Whether he topples or ington College, writes of his own not, we do not discover. None of the generation with laconic nihilism in his rest of the characters show growth novel Less Than Zero. If the book por- either; if anything they change for the trays contemporary college students worst. The resolution of all conflict in less than accurately, it still gives an Less Than Zero is that a resolution indication of the basic mentality of does not exist. many in our age group (one hopes not It is rule-of-thumb that conflict in too many). Some of the incidents are a the novel must be resolved, but if bit farfetched: " 'Teenage Enema anyone can break this rule and get Nurses in Bondage' by a group called away with it, Bret Easton Ellis can. Killer Pussy comes on the radio.." The characters don't develop, but it for example, but for the most part works. Plot in Less Than Zero is Ellis has done an admirable job of secondary to style, setting, and defining the generic numbness of the characterizationy however, the hyped-up, fast-paced, drug-hip weaker plot works as a literary device Eighties: "People are afraid to for Ellis' purpose - demonstrating merge." the plotlessness of life itself for Clay Ellis has drawn an artful, though and his contemporaries. perhaps, overly cynical, portrait of Ellis' style has a consistent today's alienated youth, using as his brutality; a sharpedged flatness that sources arcades and LA beaches and is rarely clumsy. Yet the voice of the expensive prep schools. I say overly novel is authentically youthful. Bret cynical because, taken together, the Easton Ellis writes with a skillful ear .string of incidents that comprise the for dialogue and the ability to catch protagonist's winter break constitute and hold the reader's interest. It will exaggeration on a grand scale. Hard be interesting to see what happens drugs, casual sex, gang-rape, when he hones his style and is able to homosexual prostitution, plus the project a subtler message through a typical angst of adolescence, all in one more true-to-life portrayal of sequen Angeles, but still! If Ellis is trying to tial events. I recommend Less Than agele, bt sll! If .is is i Zero to the college audience. Bret satirize, it falls flat. If his purpose is Easton Ellis speaks from, for, and to ethical/social commentary, it comes us, and though his message may be off heavy-handed. Nonetheless, Less ireeant to .smesstil in- Than Zero is riveting. The dialogue is irrelevant to some, it is still in- aTh c, a e onge iaoge ise teresting to read a novel by someone *ealistic, and one can imagine the who's barely old enough to buy liquor characters as real human beings, un- without a fake ID. He's one of the first fortunately. The point of the book of our generation to hit big on the comes across forcefully -the rich, literary scene. I encourage incipient shallow lifestyles of LA teenagers authors and others to check him out. leads to a callous disregard for others Records Viv Akauldron - Old Bags and Party Rags (Akashic Records) Since their live appearances have been relatively few, Viv Akauldron may be an unfamiliar name to some local music enthusiasts. With the release of this, their debut LP, such anonimity should become quite extin- ct, as it offers strong evidence of the wholesome goodness generated by this ever-so-swank Detroit trio. The sounds contained within said vinyl are extremely diverse and very hard to describe. Featuring material from their live repetoire, side one shows the band at its best. Carefully crafted yet immediate and exciting, Viv Akauldron's songs go heavy on the texture -and dynamics without sounding the least bit stuffy or restrained. Their strong middle eastern influence, so integral to the band's approach, sounds perfectly natural in its fusion with spacy but hard edged semi-psychidelic rock and roll. Keir McDonald's keyboards are particularly fine, ranging from the rich and seductive swirling-type stuff of "Life Expectancy" to the vicious power blasting of what is perhaps the album's strongest cut, "As You Wish." In fact, all of the songs on side one are tightly constructured and thoroughly complete, each displaying a different face of the band's original musical vision. On the second side of Old Bags and Party Rags, however, Viv Akauldron takes a totally different approach, of- fering three longer, more experimen- tal tracks. While they do have their moments, these cuts generally lack the focus of the side one material, limiting their impact and effec- tiveness. But the strength of the first side (and it's not likeside two is at all bad) delivers Old Bags to a plane of quality as high as that of most anything else you're going to find in the new release bin, and that's hardly a mean accomplishment. But wait, there's still more. Not only can you have Viv Akauldron product for your living room listening pleasure, but you can also dig the whole thing live this Friday at Ann Arbor's own Halfway Inn. And if you can believe it, the same three dollars will give you three more fine and exciting local acts. In addition to a solo performance by East Quad homeboy Dan-nee will be the Ann Arbor debut of the fun-loving jam-peddling Tom Gemp, a big band of the truly greatest variety. Topping things off will be the second Halfway ap- pearance of some of Ann Arbor's fiercist sons (and daughter), Circle Confusion. Festivities begin at 9:30 p.m. and, at least in spirit, won't end for at least a fortnight, so c'mon down.... . -Rob Michaels The Residents - Part Four of the Mole Trilogy - The Big Bubble (Ralph Records/Black Shroud) Truly a band of which it can be said, "If you've never heard the Residents, you've never heard them." Squirrel speak from another planet? Curious darkly political chanting from cultures H.G. Wells never imagined? A bizarre music with rhythms of machines and splutteringytongues splitting syllables? It's all here and then some folks. Put on your oxygen masks and buckle up your space suits. Bring along recreational medictions at your own discretion. This is the world after the apocalypse. Two warring cultures emerge. A local band who come to be known as The Big Bubble come together for some druidic political tinkering and end up "shaking the nation." The album then shows the Residents in the guise of the Big Bub- ble. Confusing? You bet! The Big Bubble even have their own record company, Black Shroud. This one comes without any decoding devices such as inner sleev- es or lyric sheets, folks, so you're on your own. Good luck. Oh, One thing. There is a photograph of the band members. They look relatively homo sapien. I had formerly imagined them to look something like a painting by Magritte. Big fun for the adventurous listener. - Marc S. Taras I Going Baroque T IS THE end of January, and the heartwarming holiday of Valentine's Day is speedily ap- proaching. Soon the exploitative advertisers will be tactlessly manipulating the affections of all in hopes of selling their various "symbols of love." On January 25, before the season commences in full swing, the local ensemble Oriana will present an ancient view of the occasion, as it was in its pre-commercial existence. Oriana will perform three Amorous Cantatas based on love poetry of the late Baroque period (1700-1750). The cantatas will be performed in the original romance languages and translations will appear in each program. Five members of the Oriana will be performing on the authentic in- struments of the Baroque era; recorder, harpsicord, baroque violin, viola de gamba, with a soprano. Two instrumental pieces by J.S. Bach will also be perfor- med, these being the Chaconne for unaccompanied violin, and a sonata for viola de gamba and harpsichord. Tickets will be available at the door, St. Andrews Episcopal Chur- ch on N. Division, and cost $3 for students, $5 for everyone else. The concert begins at 8 p.m. - Katie Gentile Technical managers from TI's Semiconductor Group will soon be on campus to interview graduating electrical engineers and computer scientists with hardware backgrounds. Current openings are for positions within TI's Semiconductor Technical Sales and Mar- keting organization. Perfect for grads who can't stand being confined, either personally or professionally. Your challenge A v n nology into our customers' next-generation products. So bring all the technical skills you can muster. Because clients will be looking to you for systems solutions that will advance their products - and your career. Excellent "people skills" are required, as well. Since the way you deal with customers today will affect their attitudes about TI 6666666664666666666666646 6 6 6 6 6 66 6 6 6 6 6 6 S 6 66 6 6 d b be d6 b6 bd 46 d 6 d ddd ~6 b d d b6 6 6 dd66666466666 646 b6 xbbb 666666666d 6 a b d 6 bd6 bb d ar 6 6 a 6 6 a Protect your unb, rn baby with good prenatal care. Cay your local chapter for a free bookletr "Be Good To Your is to represent " ItU rud41y 1i mot ,long into the future. TI's Semiconduc- Speaking of the future, tor Group to the texa s tni n ti semiconductors have a Who's Who of High great one. The fact is, Technology, in areas to m eet these silicon chips are the like consumer electron- very nucleus for emerging ics, robotics, com- R W technologies. And will puters, and 4 L t sL14LI 0 be for years to come. telecommunica- tions. Your clients are major Fortune 500 compa- nies, and venture capitalists who plan to be. But that shouldn't make you nervous. Not 5io it you want a head ie r ,lf%4dAw"% 431% start in your high-tech career, sign up. And let's see if you've got what it takes to be a TI Semi- conductor Technical Sales Engineer. when you've got Texas Instruments behind you. Keep your interview calendar open for Semiconductors are TI's principal business, February 17 & 18. And reserve your and our reputation for innovation in this field appointment by contacting your Place- goes way back. In fact, we invented the inte- ment Office. Appointments are limited grated circuit. And to this day, we remain a and will fill up quickly. world leader in the development and applica- But if you hurry, we can probably still I