Martin Scorsese's chronicle of the life of the
out the film about about the 14th Dalai Lame
from 1937 until 1950, when the Tibetan lead
China. The film is nominated for four Academ
Best Original Score. "Kundun" shows tonight
Michigan.
iCaprio'
y Matthew Barrett
Daily Arts Wtriter
"I'm the king of the world!" Yes, lovable
Leonardo DiCaprio gets his "Titanic" wish ful-
filled when he gets to play the king of France in
"The Man In The Iron Mask," a disappointing
ovie that is unable to take advantage of its stel-
lar cast.
DiCaprio plays two roles in the picture: Louis
XIV, who was king during the late 1600's, and
Phillippe, Louis' twin brother.
Louis, a young and arrogant ruler who is
doted on by all who surround him, isn't much of
a stretch for DiCaprio. He prances around his
Dalai Lama. Check
a, that follows his life
der was exiled from
ny Awards including
t at 7 and 9:45 at the
Wt~Stdi~mxBug
ARTw
Check out Breaking Records for reviews of Van Halen's lat-
est release, "Van Halen Ill," and Eric Clapton's "Pilgrim."
Monday
March 16,1998
reign falters in 'Man'
palace, giving orders to all those who surround
him and lets out an occasional screech when
someone gets out of line. The people in his city
are starving, yet all he remains interested in is
who will be the next maiden to slip into his bed.
Sound like a good king?
A group of retired musketeers who have moved
onto other things don't think so and decide to take
action against the ruler. Aramis (Jeremy Irons),
Porthos (Gerard Depardieu) and Athos (John
Malkovich) know of the man in the iron mask and
decide that revealing his identity could be what is
needed to bring down the evil king:
Irons does an acceptable job as the ringleader
of the group but never has any memorable
scenes. Depardieu is by far the weakest link
among the musketeers; his over-the-top acting
style along with his character's raunchy talk give
the already boring movie an additional burst of
dullness. Malkovich stands out among the three,
turning in his usual intense and commanding
performance.
The only other notable actor in the film is
Gabriel Byrne as d'Artagnan, the Captain of the
Musketeers and advise to the king. Throughout
the film, this character is torn between his alle-
giance to the cruel king and his fellow muske-
teers.
The plot is fairly simple except for a few
curves involving the parental relationships
between several of the characters. Unfortunately,
the movie's biggest twist, which deals with the
identity of the character behind the iron mask,
has been made clear through the press and
advertising surrounding the film.
The screenplay is very weak and includes
such duds as "I wear the mask, it does not wear
me." It's also very hard to have any feelings for
or relate to any of the characters due to poor
development.
"The Man In The Iron Mask" marks the
directing debut of Randall Wallace, who also
wrote the script. Although he struggles with the
characters,
Wallace
T e Man in
At Briarwood
and Showcase
b
includes some impressive
shots and sequences in the
film. He does a good job
playing with the mask and
incorporates different
shots from the point of
view of the character who
wears it. The sword fights
are exciting and interest-
ing to watch, as is the
scene where the old mus-
keteers charge the king
and the new musketeers.
Overall, "The Man In
The Iron Mask" is way
too long and not worth seeing unless you are a
colossal fan of DiCaprio.
It is a tiresome two hours and 10 minutes that
seem to drag on forever. A good 15 minutes
could have been trimmed with little lost in terms
of the story. Several times near the conclusion,
the end appears to be in sight, only to have the
drama turn around and keep on going.
Although the main reason that "The Man In
The Iron Mask" is getting so much attention is the
recent christening of DiCaprio as the new prince
of Hollywood, the movie will hardly leave you
chanting, "Long Live King Leo!"
courtesy of United Artists
DlCaprIo and Byrne challenge the loyalty of teens
hot for Leo In "The Man In the Iron Mask."
Courtesy of United Artist;
Leonardo DICaprio Is the king of the world - or at least France - In "The Man In the Iron Mask.*
Bogen's relates
'World' to audience
By Amy D. Hayes
For the Daily
Almost 75 people gathered on
Thursday in Rackham Amphitheater
to listen to renowned poet Don Bogen
read from his most recent book, "The
Known World." Including a wide
range of subject matter, from a poem
about Ed Sullivan's shock at Elvis
Presley's first appearance on his show
to poems inspired by other poets,
Bogen delighted the audience with his
humor and musical language.
Included in his reading were some
of Bogen's newest poems, beginning
with "Look Out For My Love," a
poem whose title is taken from a song
by Neil Young. Recounting Bogen's
own college days at Berkeley during
The cast of "smalltime" rehearse for today's performance.
Ylay hits the big 'time'
By Christopher Tkaczyk
Daily Fine Arts Editor
For the first time in the history of the
University's Department of Theater and
Drama, the acting and directing studios
are working together on a production
written by a student playwright.
"smalltime,' a new student play, will
be workshopped tonight at 5 in the
rena Theater. The play follows the
'ntics in the greenroom of a variety
show that has been overbooked with
s
smalltime
Arena Theater
r Tonight at 5 p.m.
illustrious guests
for the evening.
"s m all t i m e"
will be presented
on a double bill
with another stu-
dent play,
"Neverever Never
Ever," written by
Music junior
Jason Lindner.
Lindner has
described his
piece as "a
Beckettian absur-
dist romp that
him among the Hopwood elite. In 1996,
Zilberman won the prestigious award,
an annual University tradition that
rewards creative writers in the areas of
short story, poetry, essay and drama.
Later that year, "Mercury" was per-
formed as part of the RC Players' regu-
lar season. In 1997, Zilberman was pre-
sented a Newman Dramatic Writing
Award.
Within the Department of Theater
and Drama, performance majors have
the option of electing a class that con-
centrates on the artform of theater
direction. Taught by professor John
Neville Andrews, who directed this past
fall's acclaimed futuristic production of
"Henry V" the students choose a play
that they direct in an informal setting.
Usually, well-established works are
attempted by the group.
For the first time, a student work is
being showcased. Directed by Kevin
Stahl, a Music junior, "smalltime" fea-
tures a cast of performance majors,
including Aral Gribble, Carrie Keranen,
Ryan Metzger, Julia Siple and Michael
Spatafora.
- "smalltime" and "Neverever Never
Ever" will be presented today at S
p.m. The Arena Theater is located in
the basement of the Freize Building.
Admission is free.
Don
Bogen
Rackham
Amphitheater
Thursday
the tumultuous
'60s, "Look Out
for My Love"
referred to drug
use, the Apollo
Moon Landing,
environmental-
ism, youthful
interest in com-
munism and The
Beatles.
Bogen, amused
and ironic,
included such
phrases as
"Everyone is sus-
is the Birthday
ing with memory. The first in the
series, "A Ghost," introduced the
themes of unsure memories and
ambiguous recollections.
Bogen next read "Anything that
Happens," comparing the different
memories found in "reliable" sources,
such as photographs ("reproduction
gives the residue of a lost moment")
and human perception ("Anything that
happens is too fast to see, but I
watched.")
The final poem in the series, "Give It
Back," discusses the memory's fallibil-
ity: "Two lies of remembrance: it was
always winter. Things could speak."
Bogen then paid homage to two
poets, German Rainier Maria Rilke
and English Romantic Samuel Taylor
Coleridge. His poem about Rilke,
"Rilke in Paris," was based on Bogen's
own trip to Paris, where he recalled
Rilke's time spent there.
"The poet impossible not to imag-
ine there ... waiting until the right pic-
ture enters his heart and then stops,"
he read.
In two apt phrases, Bogen sums up
Rilke's enduring appeal and incredible
talent. "A descent, then, to enter this
world," he read, and also, "There is a
stillness he saw inside everything, and it
ripens."
Bogen then described to his audi-
ence the events leading up to his poem
about Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
During a doctoral candidate's oral
examination at which he was present,
Bogen heard the student and the
examining professor speaking of
Coleridge.
He suddenly had a very strong
sense that Coleridge was there in the
room with them, a feeling he
describes in "Coleridge At Midnight."
"You, a swirl, suddenly there in the
oral exam," he read. "The exam at this
moment a celebration of the swirling
light in your skull." Bogen then cites
Coleridge's own lack of confidence
while asserting the poet's impact on
poetry, "All this beauty from your
failure," he said. "Your living voice is
ink."
Bogen's next series of poems dealt
with a home he lived in as a child. In
"This Far," Bogen imagines the
house's previous owners. "Slum
Corner" recounts the poor section of
the city, where Bogen observed, as a
child, adults selling their blood at a
plasma canter to make a living. In an
JOYD ACOBS/Dail"
Dan Bogen read from "The Known World" at Rackham Amphitheater on Thursday.
accusatory tone, Bogen asked a society
that would allow this to happen,
"Would you buy used blood from this
man?"
In his final poem, "Pedestrian
Song," Bogen described his daily walk
to work along a busy street. "Oh, yoq
are soft, tiny as a rabbit. Your only
defense a tissue of faith," Bogen said.
He recalled his own attitude from
when he used to drive to work, that
life didn't begin until you arrived
there. Bogen points out the dichotomy
between "civilization" and humanity:
"You think that person in there is a
person? Think again."
Bogen's newest book, "The Known
World," is available at local book-
stores.
ceptible/Everyone
Boy" and "nominate the appropriate
pig" as part of his recollections. At the
same time, Bogen also recalled his
own interest in poets Blake and Yeats,
hinting at the course his career was to
follow.
Bogen then read three poems deal-
s i i
might mean something after all."
Michael Zilberman, an LSA senior
and playwright of "smalltime," has
written numerous dramatic works,
*ncluding "Mercury," which established
Applications for the positions of
I Y .
k i l
U U
-1 :
a:::: :>
are now being accepted.
In case you missed it...
Pick up a copy of
The Michigan Daily's
Literary Magazine,
a collection of short stories and poems
written by UM undergrads, at one of
Students with a talent and interest in writing, editing and orga-
nizing the editorial department of a college humor magazine are
invited to apply for the position of editor. Those with business
and organizational talents are invited to apply for the position of
business manager.
V' -
The Gargoyle is a magazine of humor with commercial publish-
ing goals produced by students at the University of Michigan.
Funding is available and approved for the production of a spring
1998 edition for those who applv early. Future funding is also
I
1,