ARTS Wednesday, October 31, 1990 'The Michigan Daily Page 5 , , Blues for the superficial at heart Life and Nothing. __ Btdir. Bertrand Tavernier Southern boys go beyond a whisper by Mike Kuniavsky SR ecently, it seems, certain film- makers have taken to emotionally distancing themselves from their films and attempting to take a ratio- nal, cold look at the reality they're portraying. Goodfellas, Henry: Por- trait of a Serial Killer, and even- Wild at Heart all have a sense of removal from their subject manner, attempting to show reality (or, in ?avid Lynch's case, surreality) de- tached from any emotional content. Several recent big European films fit into this mold: Jean de Florette, Manon of the Spring and now, Bertrand Tavernier's Life and Noth- ing But. All of these films, especially the last three, have a certain "hyper-real" feel to them, as if the directors are working so hard to make everything look and act exactly like it's sup- posed to that they forget about the story. This, regrettably, has the ef- fect of making great-looking, su- perbly acted (i.e. "perfect") films that ale little but hollow shells (the old phrase "eye candy" doesn't quite fit here because there is a reason for ev- erything, it's just that it's a superfi- cial, self-indulgent reason). Life and 4rothing But, as the latest of these ventures, is also it's best example. Ostensibly the story of the encoun- ters of three very different people - each obsessed in some way with WWI MIAs -- in a 48-hour period; the film's screenplay is simultane- iorrissey Piccadilly Palare (7") EMI import Following the dictum of his hero Qscar Wilde to "either be a work of art or wear a work of art," the Bard of Manchester continues to be a cross between young Werther and Dorian Gray. Morrissey's writing - was always soaked with the Gay *sensibility, but since the demise of the world's greatest rock group (post-1970), the camp aspect of his work has blossomed like one of Oscar's hyacinths. Morrissey vogued and licked chocolate bars in the "November Spawned a Monster" video, and yet again, on "Piccadilly Palare," he unashamedly minces at least more than one syllable. Back in the old days, Morrissey was writing about homosexual desire "A boy in the bush is worth two in the hand/ I think I can help you drivin' n' cryin'/Soul Asylum October 29, 1990 Nectarine Ballroom by Kristin Palm "Do oyou think anyone in this bar is here to see drivin' n' cryin'?" asked a friend, one of the few people who was at the Nec- tarine Ballroom for that express purpose. Although -the answer was of a negative nature because the crowd was full of flannel-clad Soul Asylum fans, perhaps the next time drivin' n' cryin' comes around this will not be the case. As soon as Kevn Kinney, Tim Nielsen, Jeff Sullivan and Buren Fowler hit the stage and blasted through "Powerhouse" (and it was) from The Whisper Tames the Lion, it was evident that this band from the South has no prob- lem rocking the Midwest. This was their first-ever Michigan ap- pearance and, while the audience wasn't overwhelmingly receptive (i.e. they weren't engaging in the usual practice of throwing people all over the place and pretending it's fun), people were spotted mouthing lyrics, bobbing heads and actually looking a little pleased with the performance. It's more than likely these guys will be back. There were no funky covers, like Soul Asylum's rendition of "Tracks of My Tears;" just, as Kinney had promised, loud, straightforward rock. The mel- lower tunes had all but the diehard fans milling about the bar but "Scarred but Smarter" from the band's debut album of the same name, rivaled any of Soul Asy- lum's best run-throughs. Speaking of which, the boys from Minneapolis were in top form. Although the focus of the show was the band's newer stuff, everything was played with ap- propriate fervor. "Veil of Tears" rocked even harder than it does on the album, almost making up for the dearth of tunes like "Never Really Been" and "Take it to the Root." It was most definitely a night of culture, as Midwest post-punk met Southern roots rock (No, drivin' n' cryin' is nothing like Lynyrd Skynyrd.). If enlighten- ment were always this loud, this sticky and this fun, we would all be more damaged, more enriched and, ultimately, happier. Philippe Noiret and Sabine Azema star in Life and Nothing But, an enjoyable film that could have been better. ously "about" letting go of old emo- tions to continue with life and an anti-war statement. But more than this, Tavernier is seemingly obsessed with making the film look as much like WWI-torn France as possible: picture-perfect uniforms, destroyed villages, makeshift Army headquarters, elitist butlers, obsessed widows and lots of mud all seem very realistic. Yet there's something missing: the love affair that develops between the Ma- jor in charge of (and obsessed with) counting the war dead and the woman whose husband went MIA several years before and who's ob- sessed with finding him, dead or alive, should be the centerpiece of the film. But when the key point in the affair finally occurs, it seems unnatural, as if all of the actions leading up to it were just the charac- ters going through the motions. This is not to say that the film is worthless; it is far from it. Philippe Noiret as the Major is great, keeping his potentially preachy character subdued enough to be believable and Sabine Azema as Irene (the MIA's obsessed wife) is good, too, but their performances (and the film's good cinematography) don't go far enough to really save the film from its ulti- mate spiritual frigidity. LIFE AND NOTHING BUT plays at the Ann Arbor 1 & 2 through Thurs- day. rte - _ _ - Irite with u Call764-0552 I. get through your exams" ("Handsome Devil") and "You can pin and mount me like a butterfly" ("Reel Around the Fountain") - but "Piccadilly Palare" goes another step further in its explicitness. It's about male prostitutes working in Lon- don's Piccadilly Circus area. The Pogues wrote about the perils of be- ing a rent boy on the 'Dilly in "The Old Main Drag," but Morrissey's song celebrates male comradeship, as well as pointing to the less salubri- ous aspects of cruising and trolling ("It could go on forever/ In which case, I'm doomed"). Palare (pronounced palar6), as Morrissey reveals, is the "silly slang between me and the boys." "November Spawned a Monster" dealt with a disabled girl yearning for love, and "Piccadilly Palare" also dwells on those that inhabit soci- ety's fringes. Morrissey has always fancied a bit of rough, whether they be sweet and tender hooligans, Rusholme ruffians or suedeheads. This time it's the "West End Girls," the Pet Shop Boys referred to back in '85. With that fascination for street glamour has always been a fear of getting beaten up and abused, since Morrissey always casts himself as the proverbial wimp. Here, he's the novice afraid to admit that he doesn't know the whole score. "On the rack I was/ Easy meat and a reasonably good buy," he sings quite frankly, qualifying the fleshly delights he has to offer. Suggs of the late great Madness provides the muf- fled voice of a client in the back- ground. Of course, Kevin Arm- strong's music doesn't approach the sublime moments of Johnny Marr's Rickenbacker, but it does skip along in the perky manner of "Sheila Take a Bow" and "Is It Really So Strange?" The flip side "Get off the Stage" is as camp as a Nectarine boy's pout. Morrissey chides an old glam rock/metal star to an old time music hall accordian shuffle. "You silly old man/ With your mascara/ And your fender guitar," enunciates the Hul- merist. Could he be singing about old slag David Bowie? Either way, Morrissey's pronunciation of "mascara" is one of those rare pop moments that will make you swoon, dears. And as for the phrase "misguided trousers": surely another gem to join the glittering jewels in the Morrissey canon. -Nabeel Mustafa Zuberi Dal E .. .. .. .. .. ....... . . . . . . . . . " i > S . . . . 2 ; ". . . ::.:: :ssaasag I DAILY CLASSIFIEDS U : . 4.; 1984 IN ASSOCIATION WITH UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN RECREATIONAL SPORTS General Motors ... "Putting quality on the road" See the visions and concepts of General Motors: DATE: PLACE: October 30 and 31, 1990 Central Campus Recreational Building 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM TIME: , General Motors and GMAC Financial Services are pleased to be associated with your campus' "GM Auto Expo." See the latest GM cars and trucks in the convenience of your own campus community, and ask about the wide variety of financing plans available to college students through GMAC Financial Services. including the GMAC College Graduate Finance Plan.