Getting psyched for the Ann Arbor Film Festival? Here's your chance to view some of the entries early. Tonight at the Gypsy Cafe, the Film Festival committee will be watching the local screen gems, and you can come too. The evening of free fun begins at 7 p.m. and it's at 214 N. 4th Ave. For more information, call 995-5356. Wednesday February 19, 1997 5 Absolute' e By Prashant Tamaskar Daily Arts Writer "Absolute Power" stars Clint Eastwood as Luther Whitney, a crafty old burglar, who decides to hit the suburban Washington home of billionaire Walter Sullivan. While in the mansion, he hears voices and, unable to escape, quickly hides. Whitney proceeds to see Alan Richmond (Gene Hackman), who is president of the United States and Walter's RI trusted friend, fooling around with the young and attractive 1Abs Mrs. Sullivan. But when the pres- ident starts to play rough, the sit- uation gets out of control, and she At B ends up being fatally shot by a couple of Secret Service agents (Scott Glenn and Dennis Haysbert), just before she almost stabs Richmond with a letter opener. Distraught, the three men and Presidential Chief of Staff Gloria Russell (Judy Davis), clean up most of the mess and try to remove any incriminating evidence, in making it look like a botched robbery. However, they leave behind the letter opener, which is picked up by Whitney after the group leaves the scene. Realizing their error, the Secret Service agents go back in the house to retrieve the object, only to find it missing. But they see the burglar fleeing. Led by Detective Seth Frank (Ed Harris), the police begin investigating the case and Whitney is identified ntertaining, not powerful 1 C B as the probable culprit. Thus, the veteran thief becomes the prime target of the cops, who want to arrest him, and the Secret Service, which wants to eliminate him. Somehow, the veteran thief must figure out a way to expose the truth, without losing his free- dom or his life. Overall, the film's strength can be attributed to its tight, well-developed screenplay. While the general plot is a bit contrived and relies on E V I E W too many inexcusable errors being committed, all of the char- solute Power acters and the subplots are rele- vant. They are intertwined and '*** build on each other, making every riarwood and showcase sequence a necessary part of the movie. Also, the film is well balanced in its presentation of all the material. As director, Eastwood never focuses too strongly on one set of characters or events, which is significant because everything is interrelated and of equal importance. Eastwood permits the film to flow at a natural pace, never forcing the action. He slowly shakes up "Power"'s contents until they finally start leaking out. The payoff is not explosive, but it is restrained and ironic, if not a bit too clean. Aside from Eastwood's Whitney, who at first is bril- liantly engaging before reverting to a Dirty Harry- esque persona, and E. G. Marshall's Sullivan, who never shows any evidence of being the great man the film claims he is, the characters are well-written. Of the bad guys, President Richmond is a typically sleazy politician, who isn't that cool under pressure; the efficient, cold and calculating chief of staff is also quite charming, and the Secret Service agents are torn between their love of country and their responsibility towards the president. On the other side, Whitney's daughter, played by Laura Linney, faces the dilemma of choosing between assisting the police or helping out the father who was never there for her. And finally, Detective Frank is an intelligent, personable, sensitive man who always seems to get the job done. The acting in the film is quite effective in bringing the characters to life. Eastwood excels early in the movie in portraying a personality opposite the one expected of a big time burglar. However, as the role becomes more cutthroat, Eastwood's performance is not as entertaining, probably because we've seen it so many times before. Hackman, Davis, Haysbert and Glenn are all con- vincing as the facilitators of the cover-up. However, the screen is owned by Ed Harris, the peerless charac. ter-actor who never receives enough credit for his tal- ent. He magnificently captures the complexities of Detective Frank, and particularly excels when inter- acting with Eastwood. As far as political thrillers go, "Absolute Powet" is hardly exceptional, but it works. The screenplay is tight, the characters are clever and the acting is good. Although the film does have its shortcomings, it proves to be quite enjoyable. apt Eastwood stars as Luther Whitney in "Absolute Power." 0 Bjork is back again with 'Telegram' jork Telegram Elektra Iceland's reigning queen of pop has released a CD that showcases her odd vocal stylings mixed with an increas- ingly diverse blend of background sounds and rhythms. In "Telegram," Bjork produces 11 tracks of techno thms, relying on remix masters like Tncky and Dobie to give her album the drive that is characteristic Bjork. At times, however, the music is a little too formulaic to be exceptional. The CD crosses many dif- ferent genres of music dur- ing its play. The disc's first track, "Possibly Maybe," is a psyche- delic acid trip with a t. Branching out, Jork continues on with the Brodsky Quartet in "Hyperballad." The screechy violins and Bjork's howling tone made me think that the spirit of Tori Amos had infested her body - but the Icelander's voice is backed by strength rather than desperation. All told, the song is haunting in its beauty, fore- shadowing some of the songs to come. fTricky's contribution comes on "Enjoy." The banging of the drums is reminiscent of "Human Behavior," hinting at a Nine Inch Nails vibe but never quite getting there. The following song, "My Spine" is another percussion thrill - this time, the heavy bass drum is replaced by exhaust pipes played by co-producer Evelyn Glennie. Bjork's voice creeps up into the melody like the nd - producing a sound at once Oique and unnerving. In "Cover Me" and "Army of Me," Bjork exhausts her remixing resources in an attempt to reign over the land of techno-pop. "Headphones" brings Tricky and the bells back with a wispy wind sound forming the base from which to build. Bjork makes her appearance in this song in a quiet, background voice - sounding like feedback bouncing Bound in the back of the song's con- Bjork Is an evil little elf. science. "I Miss Me"-appearing twice -is the disc's highlight. The first play, remixed by Dobie, is interesting but pales in comparison to its counterpart in the last position on the disc. This work is excellent - full of energetic background beats while Bjork fills the foreground with her illustrious howl. Coming out with a bunch of remixes of songs is not a new idea. In many ways, it serves Bjork well to show off her voice in its many forms. Despite that, the disc's best track is the last one -- the only one that did- n't get remixed. - Jack Schillaci Various Artists Forever Wild Narada Media Henry David Thoreau once wrote that "in wilderness is the preservation of the world." If that is the case, then as far as the musical world is concerned, "Forever Wild" is a preservation of the feel of nature. "Forever Wild" is a compilation of music used in the TV series of the same name. Its two CDs, featuring music per- formances from such artists as Michael Whalen, Eric Tingstad and Kostia David Arkenstone, are chock full of more than two hours of music inspired by nature's wonderful, awe-inducing feel. The sounds are so vivid that one can envision the majesty of an eagle soaring among the mountains or being immersed in the clearest pools of coral reefs. Vocal-less from start to finish, "Forever Wild" is a celebration of the variety of non-human life which is sprinkled throughout the world. - Eugene Bowen NYCO hits Ann Arbor with 'La Boh'me' By Emily Lambert Daily Arts Writer Linda Larson isn't a starving artist - she doesn't even play one on TV But when the New York City Opera's tour- ing company rolls into town today, there are definite parallels to be drawn between the performers and the charac- ters they portray. To understand, you have to first know the story of "La Boheme." Puccini's refined opera contains some of history's most beautiful and famous arias, but this is not stuffy stuff. "La Boheme," which recently spawned the hit musical Rent, is about a group of twenty-somethings in Paris around the turn of the century. Marcello is a painter. Colline is a philosopher. Mimi is a seamstress. Musetta, Marcello's former fiancee, is a flirt. Rodolfo, a poet, burns his screen- play to heat the freezing apart- ment. Benoit, the landlord, stops by to demand rent. Dianna Heldman stars as Musette in the New York City Opera National Company production of Puccini's "La Boheme." She now sings wherever she can and teaches voice lessons in her home in upstate New York. This is Larson's maiden voyage with the NYCO. She auditioned for a part in REVIEW La Boheme Today - Sat. at 8 p m. mily Show Sun. at 2 p.m. kets $22-$44. 764-2538 November and was called a week later. Now she's on a tour that takes her all over the country, far from her home and husband. Traveling, as it, sounds somewhat starving artist, or at least the starving company. When Executive Producer Sherwin M. Goldman saw that the $2 million tour projected a deficit of $400,000, he asked the orchestral musi- cians to take pay cuts. When the musi- cians refused, Goldman decided the company would tour with two pianos instead of an orchestra. But presenters around the country complained vehe, mently. Discussions reopened, the musicians agreed to a wage .freeze, and this week's show will be performed with an orchestra. "I can't imagine it without an orches- tra!' said Larson of the show. "To me, it's unimaginable." So the show goes on. Six days a week. "Traveling's hard," Larson said, "but the best part is the people you work with." When this tour is over, Larson will go back to New York to lead her freelance life. The cast members will split up, until they happen to work together again in one situation or another. Their lives won't return to normal after this tour. Their lives are normal now. "This is what we do," Larson said. "All these people are freelance people. We patch together careers out of this gig and that gig. These are our real lives." This is a story about idealistic Far At Power Center, Tick artists who search ' for ways to make their livings, sacrific- ing for the people and arts they love. The characters could be Ann Arborites. The story could be about the cast of the NYCO's touring company. "We're all giggers," said Linda Larson in a telephone interview last Friday from a hotel in Rochester, N.Y. It was St. Valentines' day and Larson was on week five of a 16-week tour. Larson, who sings in the chorus and will play the role of Musetta in Sunday's performance, is a University alumna. The opera biz is a funny place, and Larson would rather it not be revealed how long ago she walked the hallowed halls of the School of Music. But it was- n't too long ago - some of the same professors are still here. After graduation, she spent a year working full-time at a local store. Then she left for Texas and earned her mas- ter's degree in conducting. But opera called, and Larson listened. Larson describes like an elementary school field trip. There's one bus for the singers and one bus for the orchestra. Larson travels with her blanket, pillow and slippers. There are quiet hours in the mornings. Larson can't read on buses, but lis- tening to music passes the time. "I sleep or I sit or I talk to people - although you have to be careful about that because it's hard on the voice. Ah, the life of the artist. The crew rides ahead of the tour, and the sets, scenery and costumes occupy several buses of their own. Days vary, but not by much. The musicians board the buses in the morn- ing and arrive at a hotel in the after- noon, sometimes as late as 5 or 5:30 p.m. They perform the show once, maybe for a few more nights. Then the tour is off again. Ann Arbor hosts one of the company's longer stays. 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