Film fails to spark interest
“Basileus Quartet” begins with credits lazily
appearing at the end of a performance given by
the famed quartet. Designed to spark interest in
the upcoming story, this opening sequence does
just the opposite.
The concert is interesting but constantly is
intruded upon by the credits, which come at too
slow a pace to generate interest in themselves.
The effect is a split in focus, which renders both
elements less interesting.
Maybe that criticism seems like nitpicking,
but this sequence is representative of the film as a
whole. “Basileus Quartet” is, simply put, a drag
ging, unfocused film.
The Basileus Quartet is a world-renowned
classical quartet which split up after the death of
its lead violinist. This breakup period is short,
however, because a contident, almost cocky
young violinist named Eduardo (Pierre Malet)
proves in an audition his claim to have the ability
to fill the violinist’s shoes.
Edo, as they call the newcomer, affects them
all. His youthful charm infects them, while his
sexual energy contrasts markedly to their slower
pace.
One member, Guglielmo, fancies himself the
boy’s surrogate father, but his love is largely
unreturned. To complicate matters, Guglielmo
begins to mistake paternal love with homosexual
love, ironically turning the strongly heterosexual
Edo away.
The film loses its way soon after this point.
This detail is not as much solved as it is dealt
with and then dropped, and soon the film is off in
another direction, sometimes more than one at a
time. Very few of these aspects are ever satisfac
torily wound up, and some just disappear.
This is the first time writer-director Fabio
Carpi demands careful attention from his au
dience. Important plot points are only hinted at,
and Carpi makes confusing jumps in time and
plot. The entire time we are expected to follow
Photo courtesy of Libra Cinema 5
Fabio Carpi's Basileus Quartet attempts to
begin where history left off, but like the famed
classical musicians, fails to come together in
the end.
along and decipher Carpi’s complex, confusing
film, but the effort doesn’t seem worth it.
Despite some interesting moments the film is
a disappointment. Much of it doesn’t make any
sense — an abrupt romance with a terrorist that is
just as quickly dropped is a key example — and
none of the segments is ever followed through.
What emerges is a mishmash of ideas that never
comes together and a narrative that is as confus
ing as it is meaningless.
Coming in at just under two hours,
“Basileus” seems much longer. The film is plod
ding, directionless, and Carpi always is in
terested more in the strange narrative breaks that
confuse the story than the story itself. He has pro
vided us with an overly self-indulgent film that
winds up saying very little at all.
Basileus Quartet is now playing at the Bijou.
By Sean Axmaker
Springsteen’s latest
far from his greatest
The initial waves of nausea
have receded, and left in their
place are a sickly sweet taste in
my mouth and a profound sense
of emptiness.
The cause of my discomfort is
Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in
the U.S.A.,” released last
month to near total acclaim. It is
a stripped-down, accessible
record that chronicles these
troubled times, done by rock’s
self-styled guardian of the
American Dream, and backed
by the impeccable E Street
Band.
There is, however, a dif
ference between “simple” and
“unimaginative” that the
critics seem to have overlooked.
Most of the songs this time
around sound a little shopworn,
except for the ones, such as
“Glory Days” and “Dancing in
the Dark,” that are completely
un-Springsteenlike to begin
with. The now familiar themes
of girls, cars and work are back
once again (as expected), but
some of the tunes themselves
are even recycled.
“Bobbie Jean” is “Be True,”
only sadder and a little older;
“My Hometown” recalls the in
evitability of “Wreck on the
Highway;” and the guitar solo
in “Cover Me” sounds like it
was lifted right out of “Adam
Raised a Cain.”
The question of whether to
judge “Born in the U.S.A.” by
contemporary-music’s stan
dards or by those of Bruce’s
previous work has received lit
tle consideration in the ac
colades that have come pouring
forth from the media since the
release of the record.
We’ve come to expect more
from Bruce Springsteen than
most other bands since his
“Born To Run” album and its
title single, blasted into our
consciousness back in 1975.
This latest effort, though,
seems more an attempt to take
on Michael Jackson and The
Police than to extend the fron
tiers of his music.
Conspicuously absent are the
stunning melodies and
demonically original hooks that
permeated Springsteen’s work
prior to “Nebraska,” and the
lyrics — simultaneously the
disc’s strongest and weakest
points — fail to take up the
slack.
The E Street Band is one of
the hottest, tightest and most
talented groups of musicians
making rock music today, but
its considerable virtuosity is
given no opportunity for ex
pression on this record. Bruce
takes all the solo work for
himself, with the exception of a
few woefully predictable sax
breaks by E Streeter Clarence
Clemons.
The addition of synthesizers
and monotonous up-front snare
drums does not indicate that
Springsteen is “imaginatively
coming to grips with the new
rhythms and textures of 80s
popular music,” as was
asserted in The New York
Times. Instead, it suggests he is
lowering himself into the
alligator pit to snap and claw for
the big bucks like everyone else
these days.
By Kevin Frank
Picnics
Continued from Page 1
open at 3 p.m. with time trials
at 5 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.
There will be a fireworks
display at dusk, and you can
dance on the track amongst the
demolition derby debris to the
music of the Rick Miller Coun
try Band.
•Want to get out of the city
and celebrate independence
with the country folk? The town
of Harrisburg is planning a real
hoopla of a day with skydivers,
live music, a circus, a parade
and an art show. The events
begin tonight with a dance at
the city park and continue
tomorrow morning at 6 a m.
with a firemen’s breakfast, also
in the park.
Long-time local residents
Bess and John Tweedt will be
grand marshals for the parade,
which starts at 11 a.m. with the
theme “The Way It Was.”
There will be a barbeque lunch
and three performances by the
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Candyland Circus in the after
noon. At 7 p.m. there will be
music down by the Willamette
River and fireworks at dusk.
• “Headlines in History” is
the theme of Springfield’s
parade, which will wind
through town to Island Park
where a whole afternoon of old
fashioned games, including a
greased-pole climb and a
haystack hunt, are planned. The
games will go from 1 to 4 p.m.
and there will be a fish barbeque
put on by Veterans of the Viet
nam War in the afternoon.
Those who wish to celebrate
the Fourth of July with illegal
fireworks are reminded that the
Eugene Police Department will
seize such items, and any per
son possessing them will be
subject to a municipal
ordinance violation. Such a
violation carries a maximum
$500 fine but no prison
sentence.
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Mmutemen band plays tonight
By Chris Hazen
Of the Emerald
An average 90-second
Minutemen song packs more
tension, more creativity and
more emotion than perhaps
some bands produce in their
whole career.
A highly advanced punk-funk
group, Southern California’s
Minutemen will play Project
Space, 39 E. 10th Ave., tonight
as part of their “Campaign
Trail” tour. Admission to the
all-ages show is $3.50 at the
door.
The Minutemen, together
since 1980, have received
critical acclaim for their seven
previous albums from Southern
California publications as
diverse as Creem and the Los
Angeles Herald Examiner.
With riffs inspired by blues,
funk, fusion, jazz and punk,
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345-1651
guitarist and vocalist D. Boon,
bassist Mike Watt and drummer
George Hurley perform songs
that can be “funny, but to the
point,” Boon says.
Their first album, a seven
song, seven-inch record called
“Paranoid Time,” was the se
cond record on Black Flag’s
label, SST records.
The Minutemen released
their first full-length 18-song
album, “The Punch Line,” in
1981, also on SST, with no song
exceeding one minute.
“We can’t hang the longness
anymore,” Watt explained in a
recent interview in Musician
magazine.
With 1982 came another
18-song album, this time called
“What Makes a Man Start
Fires.” Though the speed of
their first efforts diminished,
the Minutemen made up for it
in creativity, both musically
and lyrically.
In the past year, the
Minutemen have released two
more albums, “Buzz or Howl
Under the Influence of Heat”
and “Politics of Time.”
The band will release a dou
ble album called “Double
Nickels on the Dime” on July 5.
Containing 45 songs in all, their
new album will include
Minutemen versions of songs by
Steely Dan, Creedence Clear
water Revival and Van Halen.
Despite positive reactions
from critics, the Minutemen’s
albums haven’t sold much
beyond the break-even point.
The band attributes this to in
dependent distribution and lack
of radio airplay outside of col
lege stations.
The Project Space show will
begin at 8:30 p.m. with perfor
mances by Eugene’s E-13 and
Portland’s Final Warning.
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