ARTS
Tuesday, January 15, 1991
The Michigan Daily
Page 7
*Bergmain
by Jen Bilik
I once invited someone to see a
Bergman film with me, and after I
told her the name of the movie, she
said, "I didn't know she was in that,"
confusing Ingmar with his fellow
Swede, Ingrid. No, Ingmar Bergman
had nothing to do with Casablanca,
and seems now to be largely forgot-
ten by young viewing audiences. A
pity, because the male Bergman
(they're unrelated - "Bergman" be-
ing the Swedish equivalent to our
"Smith") stands as a veritable case
study in the potentials of film as a
medium, as an art form and as artis-
tic psychoanalysis.
Even with all of the academic at-
tention he's received, his films are
still accessible and enjoyable on a
common level. They couldn't be
called uplifting morally; rather, most
of his major works are quite depress-
ing. Even the one comedy in this
semester's series, Smiles of a Sum-
mer Night, deals with such humor-
ous themes as suffering and aging.
But to see a Bergman film is uplift-
* ing in the sense of having watched a
beautiful and meaningful work of
art, an experience that relates to ev-
erybody in its psychological and
moral explorations.
Bergman hit the American film
scene with other major European di-
rectors such as Frangois Truffaut,
Jean Luc Godard, Michelangelo An-
tonioni and Federico Fellini in the
mid-'50s, marking the beginnings of
the American art film movement
which called attention to the capaci-
ties of film as an art form outside of
the Hollywood studio system. The
European filmmakers displayed an
awareness of themselves as film
viewers, breaking the Hollywood
taboo of obtrusive filmmaking and
lapsed suspension of disbelief.
Rather than convincing the audience
that the film world was real, divorced
from technical and artistic creation,
the European auteur directors empha-
sized the technical realities of film
man,
not
moll
Flies cry 96 tears frc
that bring representations of reality
to the screen.
Where Truffaut makes references
to the films he grew up on and Go-
dard studies film as one of the media,
Bergman explores the psychoanalyti-
cal possibilities of filmmaking, em-
ploying film as his own personal
therapy. His films constantly refer to
his childhood and to the mystical
creature of woman with whom he
presumably tries to have meaningful
relationships.
Unlike Hollywood studio films
which emerged as the result of
collaborative efforts, Bergman's
works locate a single sensibility
behind their creation. Not only was
he a director, but he also wrote all
but one of his films' screenplays,
Virgin Spring. He worked with a
repertory of actors and technicians,
notably Gunnar Fischer and Sven
Nykvist (Woody Allen's Crimes and
Misdemeanors) as cinematographers,
and actors including Gunnar Bj6rn-
strand, Max Von Sydow, Bibi An-
dersson and Liv Ullmann, develop-
ing with all close artistic and per-
sonal relationships that reveal them-
selves in the films.
Bergman's early films possessed
somewhat of a theatrical sensibility,
until the trilogy, Through a Glass
Darkly, Winter Light and The Si-
lence, which marked the first of his
so called "chamber films" that fo-
cused on small groups of characters
and seemed less stagey and literary.
His films deal consistently with cer-
tain thematics and moral dilemmas,
such as the role of the artist in soci-
ety, the existence of God, the psy-
chology of family relationships and
the complex sexual dynamics be-
tween men and women.
He maintains throughout his
thematic, however, an exploration of
the technical/aesthetic nature of film,
lending his stories visual and
auditory significance. His concern
with technique reaches its height
with Persona, a non-narrative
psychological drama in which the
characters' struggles actually break
the film strip itself. Persona's
opening credit sequence alone is one
of the most innovative and shocking
sequences in film.
The Ingmar Bergman Festival,
presented by the University's Pro-
gram in Film and Video Studies,
spreads some of his best films over
the semester. Most notable are per-
haps The Seventh Seal, a medieval
allegory of man's quest for God
which stages Max Von Sydow in a
chess match against Death, Wild
Strawberries, the story of an old man
who returns to his childhood home
to re-examine his family, Persona,
in which Liv Ullmann and Bibi An-
derssen play nurse and mute patient,
and Fanny and Alexander, Bergman's
self-professed last film that serves as
a culmination of many of his filmic
explorations.
T HE INGMAR BERGMAN
FESTIVAL is being presented
throughout the semester. All films
are at the Michigan Theater,
Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7 p.m.,
except starred films, which will
show in Aud. A at 7 p.m. The films
in Aud. A are free. Programs are
available at the Michigan Theater
and at the F/V Studies offices.
Ingmar Bergman Film
Festival Schedule
1/15, 1/16 The Naked Night
(Sawdust and Tinsel)
1/22, 1/23 Smiles of a Summer
Night
1/29* The Seventh Seal
2/5, 2/6 Wild Strawberries
2/12, 2/13 The Magician
2/19* The Virgin Spring
3/5, 3/6 Through a Glass Darkly
3/12 Winter Light
3/19* The Silence
3/26, 3/27 Persona
4/2, 4/3 The Passion of Anna
4/9, 4/10 Cries and Whispers
4/16, 4/17 Fanny and Alexander
by Philip Cohen
M ost of us alienated youths
who love to hate the music indus-
try like to find and support its re-
bellious undercurrents - inde-
pendent labels for hardcore, rap or
wimmins' music and so on. But
once in a while a contradiction
emerges - or, I should say, be-
comes too obvious to ignore -
as someone takes off.
Well, that's a little premature
when talking about the Horse-
flies, who appear at the Ark
tonight, but not much. Looking
back on their days as the Tomp-
kins County Horseflies - back
to mud-splashing and foot-stomp-
ing in the relative backwoods of
Upstate New York - they have
made gigantic strides.
From one of Rounder Records
more successful releases -
1987's Human Fly, which made
"Hush Little Baby" a bonafide hit
in Britain - the group has
moved on to be picked up by
MCA, which is distributing their
latest album, as yet untitled, and
has re-released Human Fly.
So what happens now? The
die-hards among us hope they'll
spread, gain influence and im-
prove, but not really get popu-
lar...
When the Horseflies exploded
out of traditional old-time string
music and into what became
known as "neoprimitive bug mu-
sic," (adding synthesizers and per-
cussion, digital delay and urban-
impressionist lyrics) there was a
sense of dislocation - but never
disorientation. Charting unknown
territory, the Horseflies stayed on
course. The challenge was for us
to keep up with them. They en-
tered one of those in-between
zones in which the people who
lm 99 eyes
know and love them can't believe
they ever had life before neoprim-
itive bug music, and suddenly the
rest of the population (not to
mention the industry) is left in
the dust.
"I'm a human fly and I don't
know why," came the first line of
Human Fly. "I've got 96 tears
and 99 eyes." It was funny but it
was also true, in a way. The
Horseflies have always been
something other, and so far they
show no sign of failing to stay
way ahead. By the time the right
something other is too popular,
then popular music will be worth
listening to. In the meantime, get
'em while they're hot.
THE HORSEFLIES will be ap-
pearing tonight at the Ark. The
show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are
$9.75 for members and students,
$10.75 for the rest of the world
Wendy MaHarry
Wendy MaHarry
A&M
One that slipped through the
cracks in 1990, Wendy MaHarry is a
poetic pop singer/songwriter relo-
cated to California in the manner of
Joni Mitchell, whose songs survey
personal relationships and the (male)
Los Angeles lifestyle with a sane
type of bemusement.
Although her vocals sometimes
hit a sinuous sonority uncannily
reminiscent of Berlin's Terri Nunn,
as on the uncharacteristically astrin-
gent rocker "Happy Holidays," Ma-
Harry mostly sings in a playfully
pinkish voice sure to remind you of
Suzanne Vega. Similar innocence is
found in the easy-going poignance of
her lyric images - MaHarry sings
of an Easter rabbit and of a bagel and
tea, as well as of a "mother in
prison/ who left her baby to the care
of the wind."
But unlike Vega or vintage
Mitchell, MaHarry writes on piano
rather than a strummed guitar - and
in the light hands of producer
Dwight Marcus, her keys set down a
framework for sparing, diverse in-
strumentation that strikes an ideal
balance between melody and open
space. A jazzy clarinet brings some
breezy uplift to "California," somber
violins accent the lament of
"Counting Lines" and a skitter of
manic slide-guitar shakes the loose
step of "Madman's Got It Made."
Both in music and lyric, Wendy
MaHarry is a rare find indeed: a
record of many colors that never tries
to impress.
- Michael Paul Fischer
r
MaHarry
WRITE FOR ARTS!!! CALL 763-0379!!
1$ pA0>D D
HE DOESN'T WRITE FOR
ARTS.
You can. Call 763-0379.
I
1
Daily Arts 1as anew
Dept., Fine Arts covering
Classical Music and Art
interested in writing for it?
telephone 763-0379
w
I I
DAILY
CLASSI FlEDS
1
CLASSIFIED ADS
IMMEDIATE, SINGLE OPENING in
beautiful 4 bed. converted Church on Church
St. Cathedral ceilings, wooden floors,
parking, laundry. Jan. rent free. 930-1963.
LOOKING FOR 4TH ROOMMATE. Own
reasonably priced room in lge., charming
home. Walking distance to campus &
shopping. Call today MM at 668-6906.
LOOKING FOR ROOMMATE to share
large, comfortable apt. on Walnut Street. Call
MM668-6906.
LOOKING FOR ROOMMATE to share
apt. Reasonably priced. Packard near central
campus. Call MM at 668-6906.
MALE NEEDED to share a one bedroom
apt. from Jan. to May. Call Chris 662-5749.
ROOMMATE NEEDED to occupy unfur-
nished single in a 4-bdrm apt. $218/mo.+ utd.
January is on us. Parking and laundry free.
908 Greene St. apt. #1 - 668-8315.
ROOMMATE NEEDED for apt. w/
fireplace in back of CCRB. Good pnce and
parking Call now!1662-175 1.
ROOMMATE NEEDED NOW! Male to
share 1g. apt. Great location! Heat/water incl.
1364 Geddes #2. $250/mo Call 998-1546.
IBM COMPATIBLE computer, 40 MB,
hard disc, printer, software, etc., brand new,
guaranteed, just $99. This is NOT a misprint!
482-1621.
Are You Interested In:
" Working with other students In a residence hail environment?
* Developing a spirit of community within a residence hail?
" Developing and strengthening skills in group leadership and advising?
* Creating programming for a diverse resident population?
" Developing new lifetime skills and talents?
Resident Staff Selection
Information Meetings
Thursday, January 17, 7-9 pm
Sunday, January 20, 1-3 pm
Both sessions in MWB Auditorium 3
All new RD, RAIRFIMPA applicants
must attend one of these meetings.
Applications for RAIRFIRDIMPA positions
will be distributed ONLY at these sessions.
For more information contact:
The Residence Education Office
1500 SAB, 763-3161.
I
k -a
kinkos
the copy center
49i
Qualifications
Must be a registered UofM student on the
Ann Artor campus dunng period
of employment.
RA/RFIRD/MPA Trotter House Stafn Must
have compieted minimum of four terms or its
equivalent and 48 Undegraduate credit
hours by end of spring term 1991.
Undergraduate appicaits must have at least
a2.5Ocumulative GPA at the time of
application. Graduate students must be in
good academic standing at the time
of application.
Computer Trainers, Head Liaians and
Positions Available
Resident Directors
Asst Resident Directors
Minority Peer Advisors
Head Librarians
Resident Advisors
ResComp Computer Trainers
Trotter House Staff
(U-M Minority Cultural Center)
GSTA Resident Fel ows
(PkVl/Coiege Community
Pre-Information Meeting
Workshops for
Minority Students
The Housin dision's goal is to have as
diverse a resident staff as possible. These
sessions are an opportunity for minority
students to learn more about resident staff
positions from current student
and professional staff.
Wednesday, January 16, 630-8 pm
I
I ,
I I
I