ARTS as v, The Michigan Daily Tuesday, January 28, 1986 Page 5 'Hail Mary' is not so immaculate By Henry Park and Leslie Eringaard Th ENOUNCED by the Pope, targets for boycott by Cardinal Law of Boston, and picketted by heretical Catholics, Hail Mary! (of the Ann Arobor Film Co-op's Banned Film Series) had to be a success. All four showings in Angell Hall sold out in "Hail Mary!"'s Ann Arbor premiere. As' usual for producer Jean-Luc Godard though, "Hail Mary!" is an obscure and cerebral film for the devoted fan, not the general public. -Since 1958, Godard made waves as a film artist. In the 60's, his films were *filtered with the influence of Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution. In addition to films with Maoists as main characters, Godard's films examine such illusions of the bourgeoise as commodity fetishism. Belonging to the high-brow elite of film-makers that are Marxist or Marxist-influenced, Godard draws criticism for dogmatism, but in fact, as most viewers of "Hail Mary!" will realize, Godard is too impenetrable for most people to recognize the in- fluence of Marx. As a film-maker Godard is known for his severity. Godard's style is en- compassed by another producer in the "Book of Mary," which is a twenty minute film clip shown before "Hail Mary!" The themes are amazingly complemetary. As either a parody or a strident call for a back to basics realism, one might speculate that the "Book of Mary" out-Godards Godard. "You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs," Mary con- cludes in the "Book of Mary." The precocious grade-school daughter of a frustrating male chauvinist and a restless clinging housewife, Mary turns from a creative escapism engendered by her parents' quarrels to a reconciliation of their separation and the reality of a harsh and ever- changing world. Despite sentimental subject-mat- ters, neither film is maudlin. Quite the contrary, the "Book of Mary" en- ds with Mary's lopping off the top of a hard-boiled egg. "Hail Mary!" starts with a disturbed puddle. Within the first minute of a dialogue that might better be described as grammatical grunting, a woman suggests marriage to a non-attentive young man in a slovenly diner. Mary turns out to be an attendant at her father's gas station. Joseph, Mary's suitor, is a taxi driver. Those Catholics wishing for an idealized view of the birth of Jesus may find the selection of the characters' oc- cupations offensive. Ironically, the repugnance of the "real Roman Catholics" is precisely in proportion to the extent that Godard renders the immaculate conception as real. By depicting the birth of Jesus in a mundane fashion, Godard offers the case for the existance of divine beauty and symmetry as inseparably in- twined with the harsh and ugly reality of the real world. For example, Mary's pregnancy is not an easy one - nor can she accept her situation without qualms - as she struggles and writhes on her bed during her pregnancy. Cursing God for choosing her, Mary narrates in earthly fashion her own religious doubts and her sexual repression that is depicted so poignantly. While the Son is growing within Mary, Godard cuts from stark scenes of the moon to wind-whipped oceans, to airplanes lifting off over pylons, and the shouts of a basketball game, all preceded by the loud squawk of a crow (duck?). The divine birth is not an ideal event isolated from the rest of the world. The struggle between the virginous Mary and her initially disbelieving boyfriend, Joseph, often drives home the debate between idealism and materialism. Who was Mary sleeping with, Joseph needs to know. "Why don't you believed the Spirit affects the body?...You see I am sleeping with no one." are Mary's lines. Joseph says, "I believe the .op- posite...Tell me who the baby is; I don't care, if I can stay with you; sleep with you; wake up with you..." When Joseph finally accepts Mary's truth, he realizes that he will be living his life in a shadow Mary assures him by wondering aloud if all men aren't living their lives in the shadow of God. Eventually , the lucky boyfriend wrenches a promise from his fiancee, who will not allow anyone to touch her for two years, to appear naked before him. Mary's nudity throughout the movie is apparently the most offen- sive aspect to hard-core Roman Catholics. In "Hail Mary! ," however, nudity is beautifully and sensitively portrayed. Suspicions about Godard's trend to soft-core porn with his last movie - "First Name Carmen" - should rest,: at least for awhile. It was enough for' Godard to use selective nudity in this case to raise an international storm: for the benefit of political impact at the box office. Those who expected an answer to the' debate between idealism and, materialism may have experienced frustration with the movie's ending. Not surprisingly, the movie itself received poor reviews. However Godard never resorts to sex, drugs, rock'n'roll, violence, slapstick, or sentimentality to create interest. "Hail Mary!" may someday be con- sidered a middling movie that wad ahead of its time. Godard's high-broq artistry does not start with tlhe assumption of a passive audience that needs answers and thrills pounded ir: to its head. For this reason alorge; "Hail Mary!" stands (if weakly), above 80 percent of the films at the box office today. Not quite everything you'd want, but close... i i By Peter Ephross F ACE IT. The Ann Arbor Folk Festival has high, almost im- possible expectations to fill. Unless it's the best concert in the world, it can be a disappointment. It also features folk music played under strange conditions. Unlike an average concert, with one, maybe two perfor- mners, the folk festival has nine. It lasts for over two times the normal two hour length. And the ticketed price while not prohibitive, is steep, up to $15 a seat. In spite of these unreasonable ex- pectations, strange conditions, and some minor setbacks, most notably occasional sound difficulties and the absence of Folk Festival veteran pave Bromberg, over 4,200 fans were treated to some of the best folk music at Hill Auditorium Saturday night. tAs with any large-scale concert, sbme performers left permanent jmages on the minds of the audience. Doc Watson and John-McCutcheon fulfilled this fole Saturday night. Wat- son, stating "It might ruin my image," went into a wonderful medly of sixties rock and roll. It wasn't a bad effort, particularly from a blind flat- picker in his seventies. McCutcheon displayed a com- bination of versatility and crowd ap- peal. His fiddling through the crowd earned him the hearts of the audience, and the line from one of his guitar songs, "One thin swimsuit lies bet- ween the porno star and the beauty queen," was the best of the night. Watson and McCutcheon, along with Claudia Schmidt's stunning har- monies on "Amazing Grace," provided the most lasting musical impressions of the night. After Mr. B worked both the crowd and himself up with some up-beat tunes, including a 15-minute boogie woogie number, the Chenille Sisters took the stage. The three sisters, dressed in bright- colored, bridesmaid dresses, displayed both well-arranged har- monies and an engaging innocence. The three women were thrilled to be on the bill with the greats in the folk world and their expressions let everybody know it. their final song, Uncle Bonsai's "Suzy," which featured "Cheryl on an industrial-strength oats box and Grace on popcorn," brought some of the loudest applause of the night. Greg Brown performed after the three sisters, and gave the crowd a competent and understated perfor- mance. Life doesn't seem to be kind to Brown, at least if you listen to his "I don't want to have a happy day." Sung in a voice that at its highest hits bass notes, Brown's song effectively criticized the superficialisty of con- temporary society. After Brown's performance, as with after every performance during the night, MC Art Thieme took the stage. Thieme, a Chicago club singer, lent a certain comfortability to the night. Alternating puns with ballads, Thieme's presence reminded the audience that folk music comes from, and is played for, the people. Rory Block's set was perhaps the most disappointing of the night. While Block displayed a beautiful voice, her performance was marred by sound difficulties. These difficulties were most evident during Block's perfor- mance and Doc Watson's performan- ce, but for the most part the sound crew did an excellent job But it was Block's attitude more than anything else that got in the way of her performance. Confidence is a fine thing to have, but too much of it is definitely a bad thing. And Block, judging by her performance on Satur- day night, has too much of it. Perhaps she was listening when Thieme, in an overzealous moment, introduced her as "the most popular female singer in America." After a fifteen minute intermission, the concert moved into the big names. Claudia Schmidt's mixture of song and poetry floated the audience into a dreamy, almost trance-like state. Schmidt did seem a bit small Hill Auditorium stage, however. Her concert at the Ark on April 18 will be a better opportunity for Schmidt to showcase her talents. David Bromberg's absence definitely took away from the festival. When asked about the absence, Ark owner and Festival co-ordinator Dave Signlin explained, "His manager booked him here, and his agency WARREN MILLER'S STEEP ANDDE booked him somewhere else. So we let him out." Filling in for Bromberg was "Ran- dy of the Redwoods." Randy, who in real -life is Jim Turner from the Duck's Breath Mystery Theater, humoured the crowd with the antics of a burnt-out sixties reject. He also made the crowd cringe by slamming his taped-up acousting guitar onto the stage, something that is not the norm, at folk concerts. Finally, Arlo Guthrie took the stage, With long, gray hair, Guthrie started off by singing some farm songs: his father's "Freight Train" and "Pretty Boy Floyd" and his own "Down on the American Farm." Guthrie seemed to have a bit of Bob Dylan in him Saturday night, as ex- pressed by the Dylanesque wail in his voice and his rendition of "Gates of Eden," a Dylan song from the late sixties. Guthrie showed his sense of humor when he interrupted "The Garden Song" to explain its impor- tance. He then launched into a story about being stopped by the Canadian border guards on his way back into the country, singing the song, and being asked by the guard what language the song was in. The inch is a dying measurement, and "We can't solve our problems in kilometers,', Guthrie aptly pointed out. On the whole, Guthrie's performance was competent, but he seemed to hold back a little on what he could have given-the crowd. So, the Ninth Annual Folk Festival gave us two things: an evening of some great known and unknown per- formers, and an incentive to see these performers later in the spring when most of them, except for Guthrie, wilf be at the Ark. Area pelted with live jazz By arwulf arwulf "COME to New York, they ~. say, "the music never quits!" God it's tempting. One could y shack in the Village and attend live shows round the clock, collapsing in a soft heap, satisfied wreck of a listener. What a way to go! Things are busy enough, however, right here in Southeastern Michigan. Ann Arbor is never without a gig, and Detroit isn't all that far away. Within the next few weeks, Jazz addicts will be pressed for time as the events whip by. Saturday, Feb. 1st at the Ark-"Out of the Blue", a small platoon of young lions recently signed by Blue Note records. This should be exciting. New names and faces always are. .Saturday, Feb. 8th-Sun Ra and the Arkestra will make a bright landing at Lydia Mendellsohn Theater. Ra has said that he :wouldn't want to be a human * being; it takes too long. I expect he'll tire of this highly predicatable planet and make for other worlds soon. This is your chance to catch the most amazing organiztion in the history of Jazz. So like don't good and miss out. Valentine's Day, Friday Feb. 14th-Maybe you'd like to split this town for an evening and catch The Roscoe Mitchell Sound Ensemble at the Detroit Institute of Art. Two cardinal members of the Griot Galaxy, and former Arkestra A membrs. Tani Tabbal and Jaribu have heard as a member of the Out Of the Blue organization. Roscoe, seasoned vet, mingling with youngerbloods such as these, should be worth ten trips into Detroit. As you read this, the folks at Eclipse Jazz are busily booking some of the world' most exciting musicians for live gigs in historic Treetown. Our three-year and twvo-year scholarships wont n" * makecollegeeasier. Just easier to pay for. Even if you didn't start college on a scholarship, you could finish on one. Army ROTC Scholarships pay for full tuition and allowances for educational fees and textbooks. Along with up to $1,000 a year. Get all the facts. BE ALL YOU CAN BE. CALL CAPTAIN GALLAGHER 764-2400 ARMY RESERVE (FFICERS' TRAINING CORPS .U.6** '::" 4AVAILABLE NOW MOUSTRAK MOUSEPADS I arnp QA For Those of You Not Yet Convinced That Excel Has the Finest MCAT Preparation Available: WE INVITE YOU TO ATTEND LESSON 1 - MCAT CHEMISTRY SKILLS Instructor: Norman Miller EVEN IF YOU ARE ENROLLED ELSEWHERE, YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF TO COMPARE! LESSON 1 - THURSDAY, JANUARY 30th, 6 P.M. The Seminar Was Just The Beginningl NO CHARGE: NO OBLIGATION Space Limited. Call to Reserve a Seat. U OF M STUDENT ID REQUIRED i I I Ut, Presents Sat., Feb. 1 7:00 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. Michigan Theater Tickets at: Box Office, Tic ketwor"d, Bavarian Village For Information and Class Schedules ENjrEL CALL: 996-1500 Test Preparation OR STOP BY OUR OFFICE AT 1100 S. UNIVERSITY S tr of S = ISO STUDENT PHONATHON CALLERS WANTED Part Time Employment Nights The School of Education will be interviewing students by phone to call alumni nationwide for an alumni fundraising phonathon. " Phonathon held Sunday through Thursday evenings February 16 through March 27 (excluding Spring Break) " Callers will be expected to work two calling sessions Sanh m zu ii h r,+ mm- a nnnnrt..i..n4.. fnr.. -r i:i:n.I , ern...