Film Festival Fun The pth annuel Ann A rbor1Fil Festival kicks off tonight at the ichian Theater. screenings begin at 7 p.m. The Festival runs until the !9th. ahe tkkvi -an kfig RTS90%l. , TUESDAY MARCH 14, 2000 amichigandaily~com f/arts Campion, By Laura Flyer Daily Arts Writer Somehow it is manageable in "The Piano." Not sure how, but it is. Maybe it is because Harvey Keitel was a bit younger that we are able to cringe for a moment and then quickly forget about his brief exposure of nakedness. At least then his character isn't so unappealing as it is in Jane Campion's most recent film, "Holy Smoke," where he not only strips but also graces our presence with his adornment of women's clothing and lip- Winslet blow 'Smoke' Holy Smokel Grade: D At the State Couresy f Reter -" stick. Keitel is known for playing the role of the sexy vet unattractive older man who manages to lure extremely attrac- tive women by merely carrying himself in a confi- dent manner. This is how he snags Ruth (Kate Winslet) who ulti- mately seems too right on schedule with Waters expecta- tions, ending by the third day. When the climax of her identity crisis does occur,it is incredibly unconvincing and seems as though a couple of videos displaying various cults driven to violence is alL it took for her to cave in. From then on, the film exploits Winslet's beauty and Keitel's sleazy looking qualities, trying to extract a sp itual relationship between them despite their obvious differences in appearance, personality, and age. When Keitel's per- sonality breaks apart, the film becomes a sham, turning one story of religious con- viction and moral courage awkwardly into another of overwhelming decadence and disgrace. If Campion is trying to mold with the times by throwing in a lit- tle shot of post-modernism, it did' work. Other ends are left undone: Implications of the importance of Ruth's teenage problems never get resolved, though glimpses of her own sexual confusion could have explained a lot more. But the movie does not attempt to justify what is prepared for us on a silver platter at the beginning, instead harping on the growing inimi- cal natures of both Waters and Ruth.- Campion does have some interest ideas, however, as in one scene whet the nonsensicality of religion itself is being mocked, which is supposed to be representative of the chief retaliator to cult obsession in "Holy Smoke." As Ruth's mother nervously recites prayers from the Christian Bible, she helplessly turns to her friend and moans, "Oh no, this isn't the prayer about the devil, is it?" These Australians are trying to save R from the nonsense of cult activism',but they can't even extract meaning fron their own religious devotion. - courtesy of Miramax Kate Winslet stars as Ruth, the psycho bitch in Jane Campion's "Holy Smoke!" Courtesy of Reuters Kevin Spacey shows off his Mr. Smileys after winning for Best Actor and Ensemble Cast. Sm pacey s es with LOS ANGELES (AP) - Annette Bening and Kevin Spacey won top acting honors Sunday from the Screen Actors Guild for their roles as a dysfunctional couple in the subur- ban satire "American Beauty," posi- tioning them as frontrunners at the Oscars later this month. "American Beauty" also won the guild's ensemble acting award, The movie leads all contenders with eight Oscar nominations. The Oscars cere- mony is March 26. Spacey, who already has a sup- porting actor Oscar for "The Usual Suspects." thanked his "American Beauty" co-stars, saying they were "the reason I was able to come to work every day" He also praised director Sam Mendes and said "if this is my best work, you are the reason.' Bening thanked her co-stars and family, including husband Warren Beatty and their three children. She is eight months pregnant with their fourth child. "One thing to all the actresses out there," the 41-year-old Bening said. "Don't wait to have a baby. Do it now," Angelina Jolie won the supporting female actor award for her take on a hospitalized sociopath in "Girl, Interrupted." Michael Caine took the supporting male actor honor for his role as an ether-toking abortionist in "The Cider House Rules." Jolie also won a Golden Globe for' "Girl, Interrupted," and the guild award was another boost for her Oscar prospects. "I'm very aware of how an Oscar can help your career," Jolie said backstage. "It sounds corny, but the nomination, it's my first time, maybe my only time, and I'm going to enjoy backstage. "It sounds corny, but the nomination, it's my first time, maybe my only time, and I'm going to enjoy that." Michael J. Fox, who announced this year he is leaving ABC's "Spin City" because of his fight with Parkinson's disease, received the award for male actor in a comedy series for the second straightmyear. "You were kind enough to give me one' of these last year," Fox said, referring to the guild statue. "Just so you know, they really scare small children." Fox said backstage he plans to continue acting but wanted out of the at SAG grind of a weekly TV series. Besides working with a Parkinson's founda- tion, Fox said he plans to have fun just "taking my kids to school, that kind of stuff. Just having five min- utes to actually figure what the hell that crayon drawing is Lisa Kudrow was honored as female actor in a comedy series for NBC's "Friends." The cast of NBC's "Frasier" won the ensemble acting award for a comedy series. Edie Falco and James Gandolfini won female and nle acting honors in a dramatic series for the acclaimed mob drama "The Sopranos." The IBO series also won for ensemble acting. "I don't think any of us thought anyone would watch the show in the beginning," Gandolfini said. We figured people would just think it was a bunch of lunatics from New Jersey." Sidney Poitier was honored with the guild's life achievement award. The tribute included clips from such Poitier films as "A Place in the Sun," "To Sir With Love" and "In the Heat of the Night.'' Like the Directors Guild of America awards held Saturday night, the 6th annual Screen Actors cere- mony offered a glimpse of how the Oscars might shake out. In the previous five awards shows, the actors guild has chosen nine of the 10 performers who went on to win Oscars in lead-acting categories. The guild has a 50-50 record on pre- dicting Oscar winners for supporting roles. The Directors Guild has a longer and more impressive track record. In its 52-year history, only four guild winners have failed to receive the Oscar. its 52-year history, only four guild winners have failed to receive the Oscar. "American Beauty" director Mendes won this year's Directors Cuild honor, beating Frank Darabont for "The Green Mile," Spike Jonze for "Being John Malkovich," Michael Mann for "The Insider" and M. Night Shyamalan for "The Sixth Sense." Darabont is the only Directors Guild nominee who is not in the run- ning for an Oscar. Lasse Hallstrom, director of "The Cider House Rules," has the fifth Oscar nomina- tion attractive to legitimize the odd conjoin- ment of an older man/younger woman relationship. Initially, though, Campion's storyline progresses positively. On a trip to India with friend Carol (Pam Grier), Ruth wit- nesses a spiritual ceremony, expecting to mock the whole affair. Instead, she becomes obsessed with an Indian guru named Baba. Her family, back in Sans Souci, Sydney, goes to great length in trying to get her back. Phase One of her rescue involves her asthmatic, easily-traumatized mother, who ventures out into the seedier areas of India to rescue her daughter. Ruth returns home only due to the misguided information she receives regarding her father's death and also because of her mother's respiratory problems while abroad. Enter Phase Two: Mr PJ Waters (Keitel), a near-"T.J. Mackey," who pos- sesses that kind of trashy masculine vul- garity in clothing and outwardly suave- like motions. He's been sent to de-brain- wash Ruth, assuming the prodigious title of "cult-exiter." We're supposed to get a sense of his superiority in calm confi- dence and agility, a quality which mani- fests itself in the beginning and crumbles by the end. His macho-ness walks right up to a commotion amongst hungry patrons at a Sydney airport, who are des- perate to jiggle free a set of horizontally- stacked luggage carts. Waters' rescue is almost dance-like as he gracefully unat- taches the carts and spins them right into the hands of astonished people. And herein begins Campion's way of satiriz- ing the overwhelming incompetence of the trailer-trash folks from Down Under. Such suggestive demoralizations are underscored by what really goes awry in "Holy Smoke." What's most unsettling is the disjointed way in which characters evolve from their highly-focused convic- tions to near-hysteria and insanity in too short of a time frame. As Ruth begins her three-day rehabilitation program with Waters in a completely secluded resi- dence (titles introducing new scenes are humorously conceived, such as this set- ting's, "The Half Way Hut"), it's obvious that due to her presence as a highly intel- ligent and strong-willed character, it will take a long time for Waters to break her. Unfortunately, her "break-point" is Peter s Papers' a Platonic prophecy By Nick Broughten Daily Arts Writer How much do you know about knowledge? Such is the question that propels the ever-so- British and ever-so-intelligent Peter Ackroyd opus on the world (or the universe ? or man?) "The Plato Papers." In his 'prophetic' examina- tion of how the future might be and how that future might view the past, Ackroyd rewards the ambitious and intelligent reader on every page. Set in the 'Age of Witspell,' about 3700 AD, the story centers on London's most famous ora- tor, Plato, as he talks about the past and com- pares it to his own present. Short and sweet. the book is loaded with conversa- tions with other intellects The Plato that might recall how the Ppe real Plato might have lived eterkr his own intellectual life. Peter Ackroyd There are also some of his Doubleday & orations on the past along . ith his imaginary journey to our time. Finally, there is a trial in which Plato is accused of corrupting the minds of London's youth that has an odd but not so surprising resolution. According to Ackroyd's prophecy. human evolution caused a great metamorphosis in the human body and also caused the sun and the stars to disappear from the heavens once we Peter Ack royd A i f;The tit01 Thomas More P-AT P E doubted them. And perhaps most provocative to somebody reading this in the year 2000, Ackrovd entertains the notion that almost all of the knowledge and information (novels, poetry, film, research studies, etc.) that we have amassed is wiped out at one point. In addition, the few remaining fragments recovered are left open to some very odd interpretations by Plato, probably much to the dismay of their authors. Throughout the book, our lifestyle in 2000 and previous years is viewed as absurd and stu- pid by the people of the future until Plato has a sympathetic vision of our lives that gets him into some trouble. Though it lacks any kind of normal narrative that reveals a plot, "The Plato Papers" still tells a moderately interesting story. It is moved along through dialogues more than anything, many of which don't even involve Plato: The real triumph of this book is the way Ackroyd bombards the reader with well thought out notions regarding many different subjects (lan- guage, psychology, history, philosophy, educa- Von, spirituality, time, physics and religion, 4o name a few). There are some very important criticisms of the late 20th century at work here that provide for another crucial aspect of the book. Plato says of our people in his past that they willfully tangled them- sclVes tip in 'nets' and 'we111d it Lade us feel trapped. This comment on technology is very much prophetic as we continue to be more and more dependent on computers and the like for everything. We will most likely destroy our whole concept of legacy through this process. Are you ready to not be remembered? This recreation of the future falters somewhat in its construction of a different time period. After all, how can somebody recreate every single aspect of a society according to an evolution that has not even taken place yet? When you have something like that working against you as Ackroyd does, what he comes up with is actually quite impressive. As a parable to ancient times, it becomes a bit confusing as well, but the way it makes the reader think more than makes up for all of its other shortcomings. i F 'DESTINATION' UNKNOWN? COME PICK UP FREE POSTERS FOR 'FIN DESTINATION,' THE LATEST TEEN HORR( ENTRY. THESE POSTERS ARE SURE TO GO, COME BY SOON. THEY SURE RESEMBLE TI 'SCREAM 3' ONES WE HAD A FEW WEEKS A kC 4 t ar: srMarfP1hiC4..k.,B:1:4-11 fl .A~g Sma.jTer ZO Ic 4i fins ~ ? ~tneicy~sfu 77