MER 8A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, October 27, 2003 ARTS Davies talks on a personal note I By K.K. Schmier For the Daily "How would I describe my writing style?" asks Michigan Fine Arts Creative Writing Chair Peter Ho Davies, who was recently listed as one of the 40 best young British novelists by Granta. "I would describe it as 'indiscribable."' While Davies prefers not to limit himself stylistically, much of his work shares a common theme. "Most of my stories have autobiographical roots," he said. "They are emotionally autobiographical." In his acclaimed short story col- . lection "The Ugliest House in the World," the narrator, a young medical student, describes a trip to visit his aging Welsh father. "Writers rehearse their fears in fiction," Davies commented. "This story represents my worst fear for what my father might become. I also have anxieties about the aging process." In addition to creating characters Davies who manifest his own fears, Davies often sets his stories in Wales, his father's homeland. Davies stories also reflect the influence of his Chinese mother. "I am torn between my Welsh and Chinese heritage," he said. "I don't know either culture as well as someone who is only a part of one of them. I have this sense of being an outsider, which is something that many writers feel. Often, I write to find out where I've come from. Fiction helps fill in the gaps." It might seem that for Davies, whose work has been select- ed repeatedly for Best American Short Stories, a writing career would be a matter of predestination. However, Davies was originally marked for a scientific path. "I have always loved litterature and writing," he explained. "But when I was growing up in England in the early '80s, you wanted a degree that would help you get a job." While studying physics at Manchester University, Davies continued to write. "I had a short story published in a British magazine, The Critical Quarterly," he said, "which gave me encouragement as a writer." Davies went on to receive a bachelor of arts in English from Cambridge University. He then decided to go on for a masters in creative writing at Boston University. "In Britain, there were very few creative writing pro- grams and less fellowships for writers," he explained. "I had always wanted to go to the United States, so I thought studying here would be exciting." Since he began teaching at the University of Michigan in 2000, Davies has developed a certain philosophy in the class- room. "I can't give talent, but I can help students maximize their talent and learn aspects of the craft. I ask students, 'What are you trying to achieve?' and then help them understand whether they are achieving those goals." In addition to teaching, Davies is in the process of writing a novel, which will come out in 2005. "It is set in Wales after World War II, when German prisoners of war come to work Courtesy or Dimension Want me to drag him outside, kick the shit out of him? ANOTHER BAD CREATION THIRD 'SCARY MOVIE' THE WORST YET on the Welsh farms," he explained. "This creates a clash of cultures." Because his two major published works, "The Ugli- est House in the World" and "Equal Love," are short story col- lections, Davies finds it "a challenge" to write a novel. "You have to be more patient," he said. "In a short story collection, you have the flexibility to move back and forth in time and to shift stylistically. In a novel, the challenge is that you are obliged to be consistent:' Of his numerous writing awards and publications, Davies considers his selection for Granta's list to be one of the most significant. "This was an honor because the list first came out when I was seventeen," he recalled. "At that time in my life, seeing that young, living people write was something that encouraged me." He added, "Also, one of my stories was included in The Paris Review Anthology, on the opposite page from Kurt Vonnegut, whom I idolized as a young writer." Although Davies has received considerable recogntion for his writing, he believes writers do not have to choose a single path. "There are two types of writers: writers who feel that they have to write because it's the only thing they can or want to do, and writers who could be successful doing many differ- ent things," he remarked. "I'm still not entirely sure which category I fit into." No relief for empty, slow 'Borders' Movie 2" that the Wayans Brothers had nothing left to satirize. After a rejection from Kevin Smith for a rewrite (a smart man indeed), an entire PG-13 diluted Scary revamp is presented with veteran Movie 3 parody director David Zucker ("Air- At Showcase, plane!") at the helm with writers Quality 16 and Craig Mazin ("Senseless") and Pat Madstone Proft ("Naked Gun") in tow. Dimension In the tradition of parody, there is an ensemble cast of all brands of celebrities, A and B list, and plots mashed together in a hodgepodge for maximum joke-a-second style humor that made films like "Naked Gun" and "Airplane!" the populist classics they are. However, that was 1980, and that style never seemed more dead and stale than on display in "Scary Movie 3." You get the feeling of Zucker sitting his grandchildren down and showing them old highlight reels. Not to say that this style of humor is completely finished, but rather it was never executed with more dif- ficulty than watching Ja Rule trying to be funny. Using "The Ring" for a ridiculous amount of its plot, the movie moves forcefully through all the recent and most popular films as a way of masking its own ineptir tude. No movie is spared as "X-Men 2," "8 Mile," "Signs," "The Matrix" and "Sixth Sense" all get lampooned (appar- ently'it is still cutting edge to spoof a movie you spoofed two movies ago). Anna Farris ("Lost in Translation"), mas- ter of the ditzy shtick and the mild saving grace of the film, returns as Cindy, who is on a mission to spread the news of impending doom, this time in the form of crop circles and ominous videotapes, to the masses. With this type of film, the acting glasses are taken off and the only things looked for are comedic timing and adept physical humor, but instead we get Charlie Sheen By Vanessa Miller Daily Arts Writer _~- ~w..: y . """ _ 4 _ n . . . MOVI E R EVI E W *1 One could say Angelinaioheias tried to go "Beyond Borders" in her new film by attempting to escape Lara Croft, and of course Billy Bob, as she tries to once again claim the position of a thought-provoking, Oscar-win- ning dramatic actress. However, Jolie gets trapped beneath the burden of the film's narcissistic attempt to give an enlightened approach to starvation, death and relief work in third world countries. Beyond "Beyond Bor- Borders ders" could possi- At the Quality 16 bly succeed in and Showcase exposing the dark Paramount side of relief work if it was done with a raw edge, but instead it completes its prophecy as being an overly commercialized film focusing on a far-fetched star- crossed love epic. Jolie plays Sarah, a well-to-do American, who after hearing about the financial woes of relief work in Africa suddenly feels the pangs of guilt for living her cushy life in Lon- don. She leaves her husband and goes to Ethiopia clad in a designer white- linen outfit, which is a staple in the scenes where the images of starvation and death are the strongest. Amid the white linen and harsh realities of Ethiopia, Sarah meets Dr. Nick Callahan (Clive Owen, "Gos- Courtesy of Dimension it's a big building with patients, but that's not important. banging his head repeatedly on a metal lampshade, Leslie Nielsen looking rather lost and tired, flat Michael Jackson jokes and people falling down holes. The hackneyed notion of one character as whipping boy is also present and it gets old quick, all depending on how funny a child flying out a window for the eighth time is to you. With such a high attack rate, the accuracy is dangerous- ly low, since about three jokes hit. Mostly you just sitand cringe. The onslaught of sight and sound gags, props, spitfire one-liners and inept lampooning just feels like your old uncle elbowing you in the ribs saying, "Funny huh?" No, it's not. Stop. But there is one truly scary thought to this all, "Scary Movie 4" is in pre-production, and nothing dis- turbs me more than the idea of another one of these being mass distributed. Be afraid. Courtesy of Paramount if talking did shit, we'd be out of here by now. ford Park"), the rough and tumble leader of the relief program. Owen is the one person that shines in the film, making up for the pitfalls with his dark charm. Unfortunately, to be expected, a classic formula is achieved: 1) Nick is rude to Sarah for being a spoiled girl trying to save the world because of her personal guilt trip, 2) She then finds his rudeness intriguing, 3) He begins to see her for who she really is, 4) Five years and three days of actual interaction later, they reveal their love for each other. But the two lovers acknowledge they could never truly be together so their desire is left to simmer as Sarah returns home to be with her husband and raise an illegitimate child. The love struggle and trips to war- torn countries continues over the span of a decade as Sarah begins working for the United Nations. "Beyond Bor- ders" finally reaches true dramatic conflict after two hours, when Sarah has a feeling Nick is in trouble and flees to Chechnya to research his sud- den disappearance. Alas, she does find him using little effort and having magical ties to Chechnyan gangs. "Beyond Borders" does succeed in showing stark images of relief work. It truly becomes a shame director Martin Campbell ("Goldeneye") was- n't able to deliver a full narrative on relief work, which could have given the film the impact the love story sim- ply does not offer up. Casa' a thematically rich adoption portrait By Justin Weiner Daily Arts Writer MOVI E REVI EW ***9 Give John Sayles credit. No one paints a scene like the director of "Eight Men Out" and "Lone Star." In his latest film, "Casa de Los Babys," DAILY ARTS. WE LOVE "SPECIAL" FLICKS. Sayles chooses a seemingly odd setting, the adop- tion market in a South American country. "Casa de Los Babys" focuses on six women who have come to Casa de Los Babys At the Michigan Theater IFC Films South America to greatest weakness and strength of his movie. On the one hand, Sayles forgoes quite a bit of character development. Daryl Hannah, Marcia Gay Harden and other cast members turn in stellar performances, but no character gets the screen time to really stick in the audience's mind. On the other hand, the film's nebulous nature allows Sayles to explore an overarching theme instead of focusing on only one character. Sayles' brush strokes are uniquely highlited through richly textured issues. By showing adoption from multiple sides and angles, Sayles explains what it is to raise a child, to be a parent and to be a son or daughter. The portrayal of the adoption process is the film's most interesting facet. "Casa de Los Babys" is not a character study or a dramatic story. Sayles' choice of setting, however, provides a perfect microcosm of parenting. adopt children. The women must remain in the country for several weeks to work through the bureaucra- cy and red tape associated with adop- tion. Sayles, however, does not make this a story about these women. He illustrates nearly every player in the couny or Ire r5s Johnny B! Where are you, Johnny B? adoption market, from the pregnant girls who give up their babies to the owner of the local hotel. Sayles' choice to display the adop- tion process in its entirety is both the ( 00 r~rI . l hh r.1l A.