The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Friday, January 26, 2007 - 5

Pleasure
Cruz
ALMODOVAR SCORES
WITH NEW MELODRAMA
By HYATT MICHAELS
DailyArts Writer
Bizarre secrets haunt the adulterous fathers,
lying mothers and rebellious children of Pedro
Almod6var's "Volver," a
film that captures the * Mmm ... Penelope.
melodramatic sensibilities
of Douglas Sirk ("All that Volver film's Spanish title does, after all, translates as
Heaven Allows") without At the "to return."
succumbing to his more Michigan Despite its packed plot, "Volver" is low on
overwrought tendencies. Theater action, although Almodovar sprinkles in enough
Under the expert direc- Sony Picture Classics humor to alleviate the often slow-moving dia-
tion of Almod6var, the logue. In many of his early films, Almodovar
renowned Spanish filmmaker responsible for combined his over-the-top drama with over-the-
"Talk to Her" and "All About My Mother," "Volv- top comedy, but this time the auteur leaves the
er" and its ensemble turn a story that could have absurd behind in exchange for a more realistic
been unbearably sulky into gold. dynamicbetweenhischaracters.Inonesequence,
Almod6var is no stranger to female-oriented the ghostly mother hides under a bed only to be
and slightly overcooked dramas, and he returns tracked down when her daughter notices the
to that material with the tale of Raimunda smell of her distinct flatulence. Despite its Far-
(Penelope Cruz, "Vanilla Sky"), a working-class relly Brothers-esque gross-out humor, the scene
woman who's thrust into trouble after her young is directed beautifully, rescued by both actresses'
daughter commits a somewhat accidental mur- sensitive and subtle performances.
der. The film echoes "Mildred Pierce" as Rai- After having her talent wasted in a string
munda attempts to rebuild her family's life while of forgettable Hollywood fare ("All the Pretty
overcoming a tragedy or two from her own cryp- Horses," "Captain Corelli's Mandolin," "Sahara")
tic past, although unlike that Hollywood classic, and being reduced to tabloid fodder for years,
Raimunda's past comes back to haunt her in the Penelope Cruz is finally given something more
form of a ghost - her estranged mother. The to do than look pretty. She captures fragility and

Met opera to screen
at Michigan Theater

hopelessness to astounding effect as Almod6var,
Cruz's longtime collaborator, clearly knows how
to pull great performances from her. Penelope
made similar strong showings to short roles in
his "Live Flesh" and "All about My Mother."
As Raimunda's dead mother, Irene (Carmen
Maura, "The Laws of Desire") brings spunk into
a role that could've easily been over-the-top.
Irene has plenty of secrets of her own, but she's
actually desperate to understand her struggling
daughter. For the first part of the film, she haunts
in the shadows, but when she finally does grace
the screen, the eeriness of her ghostly figure is
matchedby the character's sincere need to reach
her estranged daughter.
In a sense, "Volver" marks a return to
Almod6var's earlierwork, since his lasttwo films
focused on the lives of male characters while his
earlier films were female-driven. Regardless,
"Volver" shows the director doing what he does
best: sprawling melodramas. Let's just hope he
continues to make them.

By KIMBERLY DANCY
For theDaily
For the various fine arts - opera,
ballet and theater, to name a few -
the main issue
of today con- The First
tinuesto be one Emperor
of relevance. Sundayat
In an era of 1:30p.m.
YouTube clips At the
and iTunes, Michigan Theater
organizations g1-$te
and venues of
the fine arts struggle to bring their
media to the masses. The Metropol-
itan Opera House in New York City
is banking on America's love of the
silver screen to stimulate support.
This winter, the Met announced
its plans to rebroadcast video
recordings of many highly antici-
pated productions to theaters
across the country, and this Sunday
at 1:30 p.m., the Michigan Theater
will host Tan Dun's newest opera,
"The First Emperor."
Opera star Placido Domingo
takes the lead role in the story of
Qin Shi Huang, the Chinese con-
queror who unified the country and
became its first emperor.
These screenings aim to revital-
ize the art form and create a more
feasible means of accessing great
performances.
"It's exciting to be able to give
people an opportunity that they
don't have, to get to see Met Opera
outside of New York, to get to see
Placido Domingo perform," said
Mark Schwartz the Michigan The-
ater's executive house manager.

Such high-definition broadcasts
allow the Opera to reach a much
wider demographic, since lower
production costs make showings
affordable. Despite the many pur-
ists who insist opera is best experi-
enced live, the genre isstill well on
its way to achieving a more main-
stream audience because of DVD
releases, radio archives and satel-
lite broadcasts.
"It's just a broadcast, but it's still
MetOpera," Schwartz said. "It'snot
as costly, so people who have never
seen an opera are more likely to
come out. We're hoping to bring in
a wide group of people."
On the local level, many people
have already expressed interest
in the broadcasts. "People were e-
A little bit of
opera just around
the corner.
mailing me before I'd even heard of
it," he said.
As of now, it is unclear whether
the Michigan Theater will continue
to host these types of performanc-
es. While the theater hasn't agreed
to anything yet, there are plans in
the works for more opportunities
in the schedule nextyear to include
rebroadcasts of live events such as
this one.
Sunday's performance will help
shape a view of how other areas of
the arts adapt this new method.

The ills of
*fascism
veiled in
fantasy
By KAI QIN
Daily Arts Writer
Rarely does a film come along
that shatters the conventions
of cinematic
genres. But ****
Guillermo Del
Toro's "Pan's Pan's
Labyrinth" Labyrinth
flawlessly At the
interweaves Showcase and
an imaginative Quality 16
fairy tale with Picturehouse
brutally realis-
tic wartime drama to produce one
of the most provocative explora-
tions of fascism ever made.
Set in a Spanish countryside
during fascist rule, the film tells
the story of Ofelia (Ivana Baquero,
"Fragiles"), a young girl who loves
and practically dwells in fairy-tale
novels. When she and her pregnant
mother move to her military step-
father's outpost, reality is blurred
when Ofelia- meets a faun (Doug
Jones, "Hellboy") who informs her
that she's the long-lost princess of
a magical realm with three daunt-
ing tasks to complete. Meanwhile,
her ruthless stepfather, Captain
Vidal (Sergi Lopez, "Dirty Pretty
Things") is responsible for eradi-

He's still no David Bowie.
cating the Republican insurgency nists we've grown so accustomed
that threatens the fascist military to, Vidal's character is undeniably
base from the surrounding forests. complex. His obsession with his
As Ofelia embarks on her mysti- son and passing on an honorable
cal quest, the violence around her legacy gives him a human quality
escalates, and fantasy and reality that makes his brutality even more
often become indistinguishable. chilling.
Ivana Baquero is captivating With a budget of just $5 million,
as Ofelia, an innocent girl amid a Del Toro creates a visually stun-
horrifically violent world. Wheth- ning film. The movie's fairy tale
er or not her fantasies are real is up landscapes and numerous com-
for debate. Either way, they're her puter -generated creatures rival
only escape from a cruel reality of even the most extravagant Holly-
which she wants no part. wood projects. Composer Javier
But Sergi Lopez's Captain Vidal Navarette's ("The Devil's Back-
is a formidable -ts well as scene- bone") haunting score echoes a
familiar lullaby and offers a fitting
companion to Del Toro's fantasti-
Don't you dare cal vision.
"Pan's Labyrinth" neither pan-
think this is some ders to the younger crowd by
curbing its violent theme nor com-
'fantasy' movie. promises its child-oriented prem-
ise to please an older audience. The
fantasy aspect lends it an accessi-
stealing - foe. Vidal, with his calm bilitythat is impossible with drama
exterior and fascist convictions, is alone. Likewise, the period piece
easily one of the best movie villains provides a revealing backdrop. It's
in recent memory, totally merci- this symbiotic relationship that
less and hateful, but also painfully makes "Pan's Labyrinth" one of the
real. Unlike the one-note antago- great films of the year.

Hip-hop producer alum dead at 27

By PUNIT MATTOO
Daily TV/New Media Editor
Less than a year after the death
of legendary hip-hop producer J
Dilla, Detroit lost another one of its
prodigal sons Tues-
day. David Shayman,
Business alum and
ghetto-tech innova-
tor, committed sui-
cide at his parents'
home in Washington
D.C. He was 27.
Under the moni- SHAYMAN
ker Disco D, Shayman produced
songs on two Grammy-nominated
albums that sold nearly 17 million
copies combined. At the Univer-
sity, Shayman put a name on fre-
netic, ass-shaking party music that
he, DJ Assault and DJ Godfather
pioneered at Detroit parties and
world tours. Before he graduated
with honors in 2002, he started his
own record label and secured him-
self as one of hip hop's most prom-
ising DJs.
Ghostly International's founder,
Sam Valenti IV, first met Shay-
man during their freshman year
when he interviewed the "DJ
prodigy" for The Michigan Inde-
pendent. Valenti turned to him
for business expertise when he
founded Ghostly, and Shayman co-

produced Matthew Dear's "Hands
Up For Detroit," which catapulted
the label to electronic music's fore-
front.
"As a business counsel, as an
adviser, as a friend and with his
spark and enthusiasm, he definitely
helped," Valenti said. "Being from
Ann Arbor and having the inter-
national experience, he was likea
linchpin and is part of the story."
After releasing 2003's ghetto-
tech classic "Night at the Booty
Bar," Shayman left for New York
to delve into the hip-hop industry,
where he provided remixes for a
litany of artists. His biggest com-
mercial success was his production
of "Ski Mask Way" off of 50 Cent's
The Massacre. He recently finished
work on Trick Daddy's upcoming
single "I Pop."
Shayman also delved into Bra-
zilian influences, importing many
of the favela beats found in Rio
de Janeiro's poorest slums. Songs
he produced appeared on a vari-
ety of video games and TV shows,
including the much-derided Kevin
Federline single "Popozao." He
spun the criticism in interviews
and message-board postings as an
interesting risk and viable business
opportunity. The increased vis-
ibility opened up new markets for
Shayman, who branched out into

scoring awards shows and creating
ringtones.
The success, however, couldn't
overshadow a longstanding battle
with bipolar disorder. On the Low
Budget message board, typically
reserved for posting remixes and
upcoming DJ shows, a posting on
depression last July led Shayman
to open up about his condition.
"I suffer from very extreme
manic-depression," Shayman
wrote. "MyGrandfatherkilledhim-
self when I was 11 and I've already
tried twice. It's really no joke man.
I would never take Prozac but I've
tried 5 different perscript meds
(sic) and 5 different dots and right
now I'm not on anything. "
Valenti said the medications
hindered Shayman's creativity and
productivity.
"He felt his sole purpose was
to be an artist and that just didn't
make it possible," he said. "You
live in danger, or if you take the
medication, you live half a life.
Unfortunately, that's the nature of
disorder."
The memorial services are open
and will be held today at 11 a.m. at
Temple Beth Emeth (2309 Packard
Road). In lieu of gifts or flowers,
Shayman's parents request that
donations be made to the Neutral
Zone.

i