The Michigan Daily- Friday, January 17,1992 - Page 9 The Nasty Girl (1990) dir. Michael Verhoeven No, this is not a porno movie. On the contrary, German director Michael Verhoeven's The Nasty Girl, a hilarious and provocative satire that's dead serious at heart, is one of the most well-made films ever about the Holocaust. If you missed this German import during its undeservedly brief stint in the U.S. last winter, don't make the same mistake twice. The movie, which was nomi- nated for an Oscar as Best Foreign language Film, is the seemingly charming and offbeat coming of "age story of a typical German girl named Sonja who grows up in a provincial hamlet in Bavaria, long after the demise of the Third Reich. Sonja enters an essay contest; the topic is "What my town did during the Third Reich." Sonja 'figures she'll write a lovely paean to her town's heroic efforts in the German resistance. But she can't understand why no one will help her in her research. Sonja probes a little further and discovers the reason: her town was a hotbed of virulent Nazis who enthusiastically persecuted Jews and other enemies of the state during the Nazi regime. The Nasty Girl is about irony. When Sonja tries to look through the town archives from the Nazi period, the town officials give her a barrage of excuses, claiming the files are classified, lost and "on loan." When Sonja's book detail- ing the role her town played dur- ing the Third Reich is published, the same neighbors who threat- ened her, abused her and bombed her house applaud her as a hero at a public ceremony. Verhoeven heightens the sim- ple irony of the plot with a breezy directing style. When Sonja goes to the archives to try to retrieve the town records, Verhoeven shows a black and white backdrop curtain instead of the actual interior. In one scene, Sonja and her family's living room actually grows wheels and drives around the village as neigh- bors leave vicious messages on Sonja's answering machine. Some have argued that Verhoeven's flippant tone is inap- propriate for the serious subject of the Holocaust. That's precisely the point. Verhoeven's tone is in- appropriate in the same way that the town's disgusting reactions to Sonja' s essay are inappropriate. Just as Verhoeven's stylish tricks hide the serious subject at the heart of his film, so do the town's angry denials hide their inner guilt and fear. Of all the ironies of this film, however, perhaps the greatest are the real life ironies associated with The Nasty Girl. The actual personal Sonja was based on, Anja Rosmus, has had to leave her town to try and start life over again elsewhere. Revisionist scholars are everywhere, proclaiming the Robbie Robertson Storyville Geffen Based on the cast Robertson and producer Stephen Hague have as- sembled for this collection, an al- ternative title might be The Last Gumbo. Although the album is a song-cycle based on the Storyville section of New Orleans and features many of the finest musicians from that area, the music has very little to do with the Bayou specifically. That, however, was Robbie's point. The arrangements are designed to show a wide variety of musical backgrounds. If anyone has ever imagined what a cross between the Band, Bruce Hornsby, and the Me- ters would sound like, "Go Back to Your Woods" is that dream come true. The horn part makes this one of the years hottest tracks. "Shake This Town" features everything between the Rebirth Brass Band and R.E.M.'s Mike Mills. Ballads like "What About Now," with Ivan and Aaron Neville, and "Hold Back the Dawn" also mix various styles success- fully. This is probably why Robert- son wanted to work with Hague, who is known more for producing artists like the Human League. On paper, the forces behind "Don't You Want Me," "Hey Picky Way" and "Up on Cripple Creek" don't seem to add up, but on disc, they come together to create one extremely unique recording. -Andrew J. Cahn Lush "Nothing Natural" (CD-single) 4AD Like the Cocteau Twins, Lush drowns listeners in a sea of guitars. Like the Cocteau Twins, Lush fea- tures beautifully harmonized fe- male vocals. Like the Cocteau Twins, Lush is on the ever-moody 4AD record label. Notice a pattern here? Sure they sound like their more famous label mates. With Cocteau Twins guitarist Robin Guthrie as their producer, did you expect anything else? The two versions of "Nothing Natural," which differ only in length, are the highlights of Lush's latest release. This upbeat tune fea- tures wave upon wave of shimmer- ing guitars, under the ever-dreamy vocals of Emma Anderson and MilM Berenyi. "God's Gift" is also upbeat and quite good, sounding less processed than the other songs, but not by much. While not particularly innova- tive, Lush has succeeded in creating music that embodies the word "pretty" - like the Cocteau Twins. -Richard Davis Sonja (Lena Stolze) hangs in the "library" in front of the projection screen with some librarian dude (Ottfried Fischer). Where's that "Nasty Girl" Janet Jackson for a dance sequence when you need her? egregious falsehood that the Holocaust "never happened." A recent poll in Germany, taken two years after The Nasty Girl achieved huge box office and critical success in that country, reveals that over a quarter of Germans feel that Jews have too much power in the world and are themselves largely to blame for the Holocaust. The Nasty Girl is playing to- morrow night at 7:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. in MLB 3. -Aaron Hamburger i who what where when ----------- i The Royal Crescent Mob, Columbus, Ohio's finest alternative export since Scrawl, plays Rick's tomorrow night. Rolling Stone calls the Mob an "intense mix of rock & roll abandon and funk covers." The multi-racial quartet's live shows are astounding. Call 996-2747 for more info. Life is tough for Axl Rose these days. Poor AxI ripped his hand open in Dayton, Ohio, and had to postpone the rest of the Guns N' Roses tour. But have no fear, because the vastly superior Soundgarden, who was slated to open for Guns 'N Roses, is still going to play. They'll be head- lining a special all-ages show to- morrow at their favorite venue, St. Andrew's Hall. Tickets are $10, and available at the door only. If you've never seen Chris Cornell (left) and the rest of Soundgarden live, get ready to be totally amazed. This show will definitely sell-out, so get there early - doors open at 7:30 p.m. And for those of you that actu- ally care, Guns 'N Poses have re- scheduled their shows for April 13 and 14. See you there. NOT. Basement Arts will be holding auditions for Edward Bond's play Narrow Road to the Deep North Thursday and Friday, January 23 and 24, from 6 p.m. to. 10 p.m. Call backs will be held on Saturday. Sign-up sheets are located on the call board in the theater student Green Room, in the basement of the Frieze Build- ing. C lJ C DO C R r r _ 1217 Pi #1t n 6A " MULTI COLOR SPECIALISTS " ARTIST ON STAFF - RUSH ORDERS " NEAR U OF M CAMPUS I, 'ROSPECT, ANN ARBOR 665-1771 )FF with this ad i rhn 1992 H 0 P W 00 D Cornell 0 Ann Arbor Civic Theatre -PR ESENTiS- BRIGHION EACH a MEMOIR: s "ANNAwNEWS .: , by Neil Simon A ndercassmen WARDS Reading by Pulitzer Prize-Winning Poet CHARL ESI Academy of American Poets Prize C LE SIMIC Bain-Swiggett Poetry Prize Author of: Michael R. Gutterman Poetry Award Charon's Cosmology Roy W. Cowden Memorial Fellowship Classic Ballroom Dances Tuesday, January 21 Unending Blues Selected Poems: 1963-1983 3:30 p.m. The World Doesn't End Rackham Auditorium The Book of Gods and Devils Open to the Public 'FoljFestival a fundraiser for the Ark Saturday, January 25,1992 6:00 p.m. * Hill Auditorium Lyle Lovett * Odetta e Livingston Taylor The Four Bitchin' Babes with Christine Lavin, Julie Gold, Megon McDonough and Sally Fingerett " Len Chandler " John Gorka Robert Earl Keen, Jr. " Fred Small " Jan Krist with Paul Murphy " and others Tickets available at: The Michigan Union Ticket Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Herb David Guitar Studio. 7 ' Charge tickets by phone call 763-TKTS > Directed by Wendy Wright Jan. 22-25, 1992-8 p.m. Sat. Matinee-2 p.m. LYDIA MENDELSSOHN THEATER For Ticket Information: before Jan. 20-662-7282 after Jan. 20-763-1085 A _. The University of Michigan SCHOOL OF MUSIC Thur. Jan 23 University of Michigan Jazz Combos Ed Sarath, director Tickets: $2 North Campus Commons, 8 p.m. Marvin Winans and the U-M Gospel Chorale Stephen Newby, director Tickets: $12 and $7 (students) Rackham Lecture Hall, 8 p.m. Faculty Harp Recital by Lynne Aspnes Assisted by John Wickey, harp School of Music Recital Hall, 8 p.m. Mozart Solo Piano Competition Fri. Jan. 24 Sun. Jan. 26 For undergraduate and graduate pianists at the University of Michigan Co-sponsored by Wilfried Hildebrandt and Ford Motor Co. School of Music Recital Hall, 1:00-6:00 p.m. Michigan Chamber Players Beethoven: Quintet for Piano and Winds; Kodaly: Duo; and other works With Louis Nagel, piano; Harry Sargous, 14K gold regularly $50 off, now $100 off. 10K gold regularly $25 off, now $50 off JOSTENS Stop by and see a Jostens representative, T--I.. ww * r. . d4'7 .4 o%. A A M w