The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Thursday, March 20, 2008- 3B Film threatens historical context one. Bu a Drea finance convenj often g way. (C expres tors in, But are the sequen of mak not-so- interpr or nece. that yo ("Lord like "T ics ("T any and speare) have a fan fav of Jay I Big Cit protago narrati Michae known was, M himsel To s faith to ting, ch so on. B the film messag slightes more co scenest vert th ingis m Film tion of - winni -bega The no betwee C be profess cal coll student authora accepta South A with th ally fire follows David L ost people would qual- said, himself studying Coetzee. ify a good book-to-film "And most people won't even real- adaptation as a faithful ize it." at unless you're working with But there are more obvious parts mWorks budget, matters of of the film viewers with a basic e and understanding of South African ience geography will notice. While most et in the of the latter two-thirds of "Dis- reative grace" take place in the Eastern sion fac- Cape, filming took place a few too.) hours north of Cape Town. Instead what ofsimply hale green countryside, con- craggy mountains frame Lucy tes Lurie's "farm." ing a CHou "Disgrace" was directed by Steve faithful Jacobs and adapted by Anna Maria etation, whether by choice Montic'elli. Reportedly, to Capeton- 'ssity, besides the chance ians' questions of whythey hadn't u incite the ire of fanboys relocated to the Eastern Cape, of the Rings," graphic novels one of the filmmaker's said, more he Watchman") and academ- or less, "Well, isn't it all the same he Count of Monte Cristo," anyway?" d all attempts at Shake- The potential problems of this ? Even bad adaptations version of "Disgrace," then, don't chance to become cultish really lie in casting actors as sexi- orites, like the film version er, more physically attractive than McInerney's "Bright Lights, the author describes - something y," which translates the I've often noticed in other films. omist's boozysecond-person (I imagine John Malkovich is ve into an away-from-type fantastic in this role, although el J. Fox - though it's mostly the character Lurie - not exactly for what a disappointment it a silver fox but obviously once IcInerney adapted the novel handsome - is supposed to start f. out with a rather nice head of nome degree it's a matter of hair.) But placing a farm in the )the original's dialogue, set- Western Cape while still sug- aracter descriptions and gesting it to be in a completely But it's also important how different part of the country com- imaker conveys the author's promises the film's cultural con- ;e. What can seem like the text. The core act of violence in st change - shooting in a "Disgrace" is Coetzee's address- onvenient location, cutting ing of "farm attacks" during the to fit a time limit - may per- 1990s in South Africa. Although e context in which the mean- only a slight majority of victims eant to be conveyed. were white, the attacks or rob- ing for the screen adapta- beries were often perpetrated by J.M. Coetzee's "Disgrace" young, unemployed black men, er of the 1999 Booker Prize and seen as acts of vengeance n lastyear in South Africa. against white Afrikaners by black vel opens with an affair Africans in a post-apartheid state. n a graying, dissatisfied In a country like South Africa, assuming that everything and everywhere is "the same any- way" might have more implica- ompromising tions than condensing the fourth installment of Harry Potter for lierary a feature film. The history of South Africa is a complicated one, ,ntegrity, for and the Eastern Cape has borne .,tter or worse some of its heaviest blows - the original border wars between the Dutch and British colonialists and the Xhosa and Khoisan come to mind. Coetzee's placement of the attack on Lucy's farm in the or at a Cape Town techni- Eastern Cape takes on greater ege and a much younger meaning, symbolic in the sense of . He is white and she, the "deep time," when one considers alludes, is "coloured" (the the especially tumultuous his- ble term for mixed race in tory between whites and blacks kfrica). She's uncomfortable in the Eastern Cape concerning e affair, and he's eventu- land ownership. To take away this d because of it. The novel added heaviness, the added years the disgraced professor, of meaning, would be to lessen the ,urie, from Cape Town to impact of the event. Not as angry as they look. Maybe. Raveonettes lay low, recharge By DAVID WATNICK Daily Arts Writer Unfortunately, when I reached The Raveonette's Sune Rose Wag- ner for a phone interview yester- day, the circumstances were a little different than I'd expected. Wagner, singer, guitarist and in no uncertain terms, leader of the band, had just chosen to cancel the evening's scheduled show at the Magic Stick. Road weari- ness looming heavily in his voice, I couldn't help but sympathize, even if he does get to play rock 'n' roll for a living. Wagner explained that the band has played 25 shows straight, lamenting, "We haven't had one single day off since I don't know when." Reasoning that it was in the best interest of the tour as a whole, he said it was the only choice. "It was either cancel one show, or possibly just play shit shows for the rest of the tour," Wagner said. "The point is to put on a really good show, and if we feel we can't do that then there's really no point for us in playing." Frustrated with a gru- eling promotion sched- ule, Wagner was still kind enough to talk at length about the band and their new album Lust Lust Lust, as well as reveal some of his personal influences and songwriting process. The Raveonettes's latest albumresurrects the reverb- soaked guitar squall from earlier albums but the rea- sons for the shift seemed a bit foggy. Wagner's articula- tion was nearly as enigmatic ?EE ne? Ou as the record itself. He described Lust heralds comparison to the conception of the disc as the Jesus and Mary Chain, but "more chaotic ... more raw" than Wagner, though calling Psycho- previous efforts, saying the sound candy a "great album," doesn't "sort of just happened by chance" consider them a substantial influ- - which is more a reflection of his ence. Instead, he pointed to Sonic life and mood than the product of Youth, The Ramones and various a specific plan. His direction for girl groups, as well as The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly and Richie Vallens as his chief sources of M usic inspires inspiration. However, he quickly Sadmitte d that music hasn't been music. But his primary inspiration. *I B "I'm much more influenced by film and lit movies and books," Wagner said. But Wagner isn't interested in work, too. the pulpier grind despite his pen- chant for more retro, indepen- dent-looking album covers. "I don't like B-movies at all," Wagner said. "That's why they're the album collided with the writ- called B-movies: 'cause they're ing of quasi-title-track "Lust," terrible." after which he decided to just It was difficult to argue with "build from there." his rationale, especially when he listed his favorite filhsmsakers as "Hitchcock," "Tim Burton" and "David Lynch." The man clear- ly knows his stuff. Though he confessed after some prodding. B-movies were good for their graphic and shocking artwork, but not much else. He eagerly explained that he considers his songwriting to have a very cinematic quality, and that he writes with "images in his head," with music and lyrics com- ing to him simultaneously and inseparably. After some guitar talk (he has no intention of ever abandoning his Jazzmasters or Fender Twin amps - "it's always been like that," he said), I figured it was time to let him rest his fatigue- plagued voice. He had no resched- uling plans, but when I suggested the Blind Pig for the future, he seemed all for it. his daughter's farm in the Eastern Cape, where they become victims of a seemingly random act of vio- lence and must deal with the con- sequences in a new, post-apartheid South Africa. In the film, parts of the Uni- versity of Cape Town (where I am currently studying) substi- tute for Coetzee's fictional col- lege. The Beattie humanities and Arts Block buildings provide lecture theaters and classrooms, while UCT students and staff serve as human backdrop. If you look carefully, Professor Carrol Clarkson, an authority on Coetzee in the UCT English department, appears briefly as an extra. "It's funny that someone so big in the world of Coetzee stud- ies appears in a role so small in the film," one doctoral student STUCK INA2 THIS SUMMER? WRITE FOR DAILY ARTS. For an application, e-mail gaerig@michigandaily .com Chou liked "Jurassic Park" as a book more because of its historical accuracy. E-mail her at kimberch@umich.edu Need some FR time to callhot We'//giVe y 10 minutes.