8A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, November 7, 2005 ARTS FROM THE EDITOR Daily Arts is finally catching up with our counterparts. We're proud to announce the launching of a new blog, which will be called "The Filter." Check out apps.michigandai com/blogslthefilter for all the latest news and views from the Daily's Arts staff. And don forget to make your presence felt. If you disagree, then here's the perfect sounding board -Adam Rottenberg Managing Arts Editor N'Dour brings Egyptian and Senegalese music to AA Hill , By Shubra Ohri Daily Arts Writer F NEA S VI EW Youssou N'Dour and Fathy Salama's Cairo Orchestra brought the majesty of Why does Santa look like that guy from "Donnie Darko?" Mendes's apoliticalJarhea shows banality of Gulf War their music to Hill Auditorium on Saturday as part of their "Egypt" tour. N'Dour hails from Senegal, an African nation influenced by a unique form of Youssou N'Dour and Fathy Salama's Cairo Orchestra Saturday, Nov. 5 At Hill Auditorium By Jeffrey Bloomer Daily Film Editor The opening scenes of Sam Mendes's deadpan think- piece "Jarhead" play like a trip through classic cult-war films, from Jarhead the "Full Metal Jacket" boot-camp lineup and TV confessionals to an At the Showcase actual projection of the famous and Quality 16 helicopter-attack sequence from Universal "Apocalypse Now." The film, oddly uneventful for a war movie, freely adopts and casually manipulates iconic and horrific images from its prede- cessors, leading into a movie that couldn't be more dif- ferent from them. Of course, those are Vietnam movies, inspired by a war during which few who were there didn't have the opportunity to kill. But the bored-on-a-sunny-day Marines that populate "Jarhead" are left in the 112- degree abyss of the first Gulf War with little to do that doesn't involve sleeping, football and, as the film goes to almost bizarre lengths to inform us, the extensive use of their right (and sometimes left) hands. For them, the only thing that's worse than killing someone is having no one to kill; as the trademark voice-over muses, "Every war is different. Every war is the same." Fair enough, but try telling that to these guys. "Jarhead," based on the book by Anthony Swofford, is meticulously structured in the image of war-cinema archetypes, so we expect a confused, detached, one-man central focus. Here it is Swoff (often-overlooked talent Jake Gyllenhaal), disillusioned by the boredom of a war that was never really meant to be and often left to obsess over the gorgeous prize girlfriend he left at home ("I am 20 years old was and stupid enough to sign a contract," he quietly tells a TV reporter). Normally in this equation, there's a turning point involving a stunning moment of violence, but it becomes clear that this is a different kind of war movie. About the closest thing to an explosive climax is a scene in which two characters are ordered not to kill someone. In a way, then, the hackneyed framework early on seems counterintuitive; we expect the same large-scale violence the Marines do and are dumbfounded when it never comes - so that void becomes the film's narra- tive arc. It's a clever device. But that doesn't mean the movie works. Mendes clearly intended to steer it away from the war's political implications: "Fuck politics. We're here; all the rest is bullshit," says Troy (Peter Sarsgaard, "Garden State"), Swoff's Hemingway-quoting war buddy, and maybe he's right. Thing is, the movie builds and builds to a big rev- elation that never comes. A film like "Jarhead" can sup- port war or oppose it, be conflicted or undecided but it can't turn a blind eye, and, above all, it can't not care. The movie, for all its provocations, doesn't make much of a point about anything. Coming from a filmmaker as fiercely articulate as Mendes ("American Beauty"), it's hard not to wonder what he was thinking. The film is surely among the year's most technically accomplished, with images haunting no matter how botched their treatment, and there's yet another performance of astonishing grace from Jamie Foxx. The screenplay is artfully crafted, too, but what's really missing here is a credible follow through on the overarching angst of the story. Like Rid- ley Scott's "Kingdom of Heaven" earlier this year, "Jar- head" means well but forgets to tell a compelling story, and that makes all the difference. egalese tradition. "He has inherited those traditions, and (he) has to tell people of the past. Singing (about) real life events, sing- ing about people, nature and facts of life," Housseynou explained. Drawing from the unique Sufi tradi- tion of Muridism in Senegal, N'Dour's performance reflected the esoteric quali- ties preached by the religion. In traditional golden-brown robes, his stage presence was mesmerizing. As the music intensi- fied, he twirled faster and jumped higher, encouraging dancing in the front row of the audience. In a burst of energy, one of the members of the orchestra moved around the stage playing hand cymbals. Although N'Dour has gained interna- tional prestige, the concert didn't showcase only his talents; he allowed the orchestra's music to come out in dazzling solos. Fathy Salama's Cairo Orchestra utilized instru- ments that echo the sounds of Northern Africa - strings, percussion and wood- winds with an Arabic twist. Rhythm instruments included tabla, dohalla and sagat. Stringed instruments included the shaker rababa (a two-string fiddle), and woodwinds were the oud, kawala and anghuls. The sweet sound of the kawala pranced through the heavy line of strings and drums. Songs would often begin as solos; then, the rest of the Sufism, a form of Islamic mysticism. The concert was presented by the Uni- versity Musical Society, and the Senega- lese Association of Michigan also helped bring N'Dour to Hill. This group, com- posed of some of the approximately 3,000 Senegalese people in the Metro Detroit area, wanted to "help UMS get the word out about the concert ... N'Dour is a great ambassador of Senegal," group represen- tative Al Housseynou said. N'Dour is the leading exporter of "m'blax" a combination of brass, Afro- pop, jazz and African drumming. He inherited the title of griot (a West African wandering musician and poet) from Sen- orchestra would slowly be integrated. Just as their music began to saturate the air, N'Dour would interject with his full, pas- sionate voice. Most of the songs referenced Islam and Allah - N'Dour's "Egypt" albpm was initially made for N'Dour's friends and family during the Islamic holy month Ramadan. He performed songs that were exclusively dedicated to the founder of Muridism, Bamba, in "Shukran Baniba" ("Thank You, Bamba") and the sacred city Touba in "Touba-Dar Salaam." The concert combined N'Dour's Sene- galese music with the Egyptian orchestra. "It was amazing to see the fusion of such rich and distinct cultures. To see them put it together like that was incredible," said LSA senior Tina Byenkya, a member of the African Students Association. The encore of N'Dour's performance was an exuberant spectacle. With an audi- ence dancing and reaching with their arms in the air, his soulful voice chanting "Touba" with climaxing drum beats, an audience member jumped onto stage and joined the percussion section of the orches- tra. This man's presence was accepted and celebrated as the musicians joined N'Dour in dancing. Their joyful music enchanted the audience, and they too were on their feet, reveling in their own celebrations.a MPAA Continued from page 1 What is clear, though, is that stories like Beyerchen's seem to be more and more common among students. One Kinesiol- ogy senior, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear, has also stopped downloading movies illegally. "I used to download movies that I intended to buy or that I wanted to see but wasn't sure if it was worth the money. I usually got rid of (the movies) because the quality was so poor," she said. While she admitted that downloading movies was con- venient because they were free, she ended up stopping for several reasons. One was that it often took a whole day to download a single movie, and she was afraid that ResComp would shut down her connection for taking up bandwidth. Another reason is that, like Beyerchei, the news of people getting caught had an effect on her. "I wasn't scared when I first started downloading, but the more informed I became, the more scared I got," the student said. "I did care about the fact that I didn't have the money to pay any fines should I get caught and decided the returns weren't worth the risk." As far as downloading legally, the Kinesiology major doesn't seem interested: "I may one day, but not right now." Beyerchen is also apathetic. "I'd rather just go to Hollywood Video or Blockbuster and purchase pre-viewed DVDs," he said. Yet even with increased national awareness about the consequences and the "educational activities" the University has offered, Glickman believes there's a lot that all schools can do about piracy. "I think that universities are uniquely poised to become much more aggressive players in raising awareness," he said. Glickman also thinks that universities can do a better job of offering cost-effective ways for students to download movies. "If people (have) the option of getting legal material, they are less likely to download (things that are) illegal. If (the MPAA) finds there is a lot of piracy occurring at these schools, it's going to be embarrassing for them." 0I 0 6 0 I