ARTS Monday, January 14, 1991 The Michigan Daily Froml Russia House dir. Fred Schepisi by Gregg Flaxman n the Glasnost era, with the world ying to adjust to the thaw in su- perpower relations, the spy-game de- volves into a mockery of itself. At least, that's the way director Fred Schepisi's Russia House sees it. In John Le Carr6's best-selling novel, now adapted for the screen, ,#ritish Intelligence, the KGB and the IA are the organs that still vie for supremacy in a body that finds them Oimost atavistic. Perhaps that's why Schepisi's newest film is so decep- tively good: it's particularly aware that all the stealth and mechanic omniscience of the intelligence tagencies are now somehow worth- less in the human world. - Of course, the film's protagonist, Barley (Sean Connery), knows this all along. A publisher whose life has one to pot, Barley finds the collec- Nive intrigue to be pretty inane. From the point at which he's re- criuited by British Intelligence, Bar- ley - greying, British and just enough of a nihilist to irk the intel- ligence community to no end - couldn't give a damn about the po- tiential gains or losses of grand Mother England. Okay, the documents smuggled *ut of Russia - their release appar- ently inspired by Barley - are like divine revelations to the CIA. They seem to suggest that the Soviets weapon arsenal is the nuclear equiva- lent of Milton Bradley's Electronic Battleship. And the British and American forces are eager for Barley to find out exactly how genuine and accurate the material is. But Barley's not captivated by the documents, but ather by Katya (Michelle Pfeiffer), Russia the single mother who helped smug- gle them out. Connery's creased, aging face and slovenly appearance speak of a typi- cal Britsh cynicism; moments of sensual rapture - playing his clar- inet, half-drunken musings - reveal as much a passion as a void. But when Barley meets Katya he is re- suscitated in a way that only a man who pronounced his own death and lived to recant it can be. He may be working for British intelligence, but he's living for himself. His trans- formation culminates one night at Katya's apartment when Barley, see- ing Katya in the kitchen, confesses in giddy disbelief his love for her. She shrugs it off, but Connery is enormously appealing because we realize that the admission is as much for him as for her. Nevertheless, The Russia House isn't so much about a burgeoning af- fair as it is about human relations through the overly-confident, spec- tral eyes of the intelligence commu- nity. Schepisi's film is especially complicated at its beginning, as he cuts between a number of scenes past and present. But this isn't a simple case of overwrought, overly- complex filmmaking. Schepisi man- ages to capture the intelligence community's insistence on a me- thodical reconstruction of events past and the perverse desire to shape life in the present. The director has crafted a film that articulates the human emotion that lies outside the tunnel-vision of these dinosaurs that call themselves secret services. It might be justifiably said that the film is plodding, but what The Russia House lacks as a thriller it compensates for in subtle deliberacy. Le Carr6 refuses to rehash the anachronistic espionage formula: the cyclone of suspense and unexpected twists are not to be found. The grand with cynicism Page 5 Just Kidding... no, seriously It was a weekend of buying books, seeing friends and laughing with Just Kidding. This originally locally-based comedy troupe performed Saturday night, bringing to the Power Center their own brand of sketch comedy. They successfully blended intellectual humor together with puns and physical slapstick. For Just Kidding fans who had seen previous shows, last night's performance was a welcome change - it was almost all new material. Besides uproarious laughter, audience reactions ranged from healthy groans at the many puns to friendly hissing at the sharp social commentary. Two main themes surfaced in this production of Just Kidding, religious references and social commentary. There were many biblical allusions, such as "From Your Mic To God's Ears," an entire piece devoted to God doing talk radio. "I love your work. I've read all your books," gushed one caller. Another was "BSPN" (Biblical Sports Programming Network), with biblical figures playing sports. "He makes the conversion!" A crucifix was incorporated into several sketches, mocking the Sports Illustrated free gift phone for subscribing to the magazine. "Honey, you'll never guess what I'm calling on! It's a crucifix!" It also turned up as one of Q's inventions for James Bond in confession in "'Shaken, Not Stirred." Social issues were the second theme in this winter's show. "A Public Service Announcement" drew the audience's attention to the conflict of how to address females, as women or as girls. The political humor in "State of De-Union"' satirized Congress; a Senator wished' to amend the Constitution so that a fireman has to save red, white and blue thread from a fire, to avoid killing an "unborn flag." Just Kidding delicately took controversial ideas and brought humorous insightful comedy to the stage. Some of the sketch material that bordered on absurd did not gq over well, and was more confusin& than humorous. "Hedgehog Heaven,' a dialogue between two parts of speech, was funny, but the characters exchanging clothes and dancing were unrelated to the material to the point of distraction. Overall, this collection of twenty-two sketches was performed smoothly and with, professional ease, and although past shows have been more consistent,, Just Kidding has retained its funny. edge. -Diane Frieden Now that the Cold War is over, what' Keep on making spy movies, like The played a Russian sub captain. spy game that worked in covert fury underneath the mundane world, the duels that secretly decided the fate of civilians and the free world- The Russia House will have none of these clichds. In the midst of intrigue and en- tropy, Connery and Pfeiffer enliven the film in a way only two such ca- pable actors could. Pfeiffer's Katya - Russian accent unwavering - is adorned with a wonderful caution through which glimpses of trust and affection glow. Connery's perfor- s a guy like Sean Connery to do? Hunt for Red October, in which he mance is a subtle, marvelous turn. Panoramic Russia never really re- moves the focus from the couple. The supporting cast is equally good, with the possible exception of Roy Scheider as a top man in the CIA. His foul-mouthed, exasperated char- acter never rings as true as he should and seems entirely too blatant and witless in comparison with his Bri- tish equals. THE RUSSIA HOUSE is being shown at the Showcase. JOIN THE LIVINGI ii Save the LP! . Daily Arts Daily Arts has a new Dept., Pine Arts covering Classical Music and Art interested in writing for it? telephone 763-0379 Announcing interviews for the positions of: eSecretary *Treasurer *Fund Allocator For the LSA Student Government Wednesday, January 15, 1991 Michigan Union Room 4001 5-7 pm I. t m ,11Burnham Associates 543 Church Street (313) 761-1523 1001$ OREST 84 TAPPAN < 643 CHURC HST., 810 S. FOIREST 905 CHURCH ST 1506 GDDBS CLOSE TO CAMPUS WE PAY HEAT ! 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