movie review
delightful ‘Diva’ shimmers, shines
By Debbi Roberts
Ot the Emerald
"Diva” shimmers and shines in
iridescent waves of light and sound
Billed as a French New Wave thriller.
"Diva" transcends this fall's offering of
American cinema with delight The
camera caresses. The music is reminis
cent of windchimes. "Diva" is simply
beautiful.
Director and writer Jean-Jacque Bein
ix treats his film with love In the opening
sequences, the camera encircles Diva —
the film's namesake — with elegance
Diva is Cynthia Hawkins (Wilhemina
Wiggins Fernandez), an American opera
star performing in Paris As she sings,
the camera circles from afar and lets the
audience know she is the best Diva is
called a prima donna because she won't
allow her voice to be recorded An artist
who believes in the beauty of the
moment, Diva doesn't want herself or her
voice to be exploited
"Music comes and goes," she says
Don't try to keep it ”
In love with Diva is Jules (Federic
Andrei), a young Parisian who follows
her tour with deified obsession One
night. Jules records Diva in concert and
two record pirates catch him in the act
They ransack his home in hopes of find
ing the illegal tape But alas, Jules has
disappeared with bigger troubles Two
other men, a Spanish gangster and a
punked-out killer, are also chasing after
Jules, believing he has a tape that will
incriminate them in an international drug
and white slavery ring
Confused? The plot in Diva'' is a bit
complex, but the characters are so alive
and the blue-tinted images are so vivid
and yet dream-like it makes up for the
fast-paced plot The chase scene in the
Paris metro is one of the best chase
scenes on film
"Diva'' is a surprise from the start The
film thrills, charms and inspires a definite
love of opera, relationships and beautiful
French films
Frederic Adrei and Thuy An Luu star in Vivanow playing at the Bijou
Metheny plays Hult Center
The EMU Cultural Forum has announced that
|az2 fusion guitarist Pat Metheny will bring his
band to the Huit Center for the Performing Arts
on Oct 20. Metheny‘s sold-out show last year
In the EMU Ballroom was one of the most
successful concerts the Forum has ever had.
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HAIRCUTTING DESIGNS
1491 PEARL • 683-3635
LISA FARQUE'
Family crumbles
at Smash Palace
By Debbie Roberts
Of the Emerald
“Smash Palace" is an auto
wrecking yard in New Zealand
filled with rusty skeletons from
past fatalities It is also the
battleground for a middle-class
family that is falling apart.
Al Shaw (Bruno Lawrence), a
volatile non-communicative
man, inherited Smash Palace
from his father and refuses to
sell the dump that gives him all
the spare parts he needs for his
one obsession — his race car
Wife Jackie (Anna Jamieson)
hates her lack of social life and
the wrecks in her front and back
yards. But mostly she's tired of
Al who never listens and never
talks except to shout at her
Between the battling parents
is Georgie (Greer Robson), their
usually animated 7-year-old
who sits in a bedroom corner
flashing a flashlight on her face
during their fights.
Director, writer and producer
Roger Donaldson paints lack of
communication as the grounds
for the family break-up in this
New Zealand film
The film takes hold as the
estranged husband becomes
stranger in his isolation Unable
to tell anyone of his despera
tion, the need to see his
daughter forces him into the
role of a kidnapper Smash
Palace then becomes another
battleground for a man who is
losing his grip on reality — a
man who has gone too far to
make a stand and can't turn
back.
“Smash Palace’’ doesn't
really begin until half way
through the picture. Though the
ending is powerful, the slow
building of characters may
disappoint viewers. Still, anyone
who has ever faced family dis
cord will appreciate “Smash
Palace” as a film that shows
how non-communication can
disrupt and change people's
lives.
Pans 7