i i rniKN ■
tiAumfri
$
6
For the best haircut
you can get at any price
corner o* 29 th & Willamette
no appointments 343-1182
Mon-Fri 9:30 6=00 Saturday 9:30
WHEN YOUR^VOIAAO NEEDS
SERVICE...
...bring it to a Specialist!
Afplneimport
s /Serviced
The volvo Specialist
Located at 12th & Main in Springfield
Call 726-1808 for an appointment
or just drop by.
All Work Guaranteed
* NEW MEXICO * CALIFORNIA - OXFORD
NEBRASKA & MORE TO CHOOSE FROM
HELP HIM TO LEAD
A NORMAL LIFE.
Bobby is a hemophiliac.
A bump or bruise could
become life threatening,
unless he gets help.
But it can only come from
you, from your plasma.
So please, won't you help
Bobby?
Make an important
contribution.
Give life.
Give plasma.
Giving Comes From The Heart
Beginning September 22nd we will be open Satur
day mornings.
683-3953
Hyland Plasma Center 40 E. 11th. - Eugene
Cl N E M A
‘Sugar Cane Alley’ is moving
The setting is Martinique, a
remnant of French colonialism
in the West Indies. The time is
1931. Slavery has been abolish
ed long ago, but nothing has
changed for the poor blacks
who toil in the cane fields for
the rich imperialist
businessmen. Freedom is a
dream for the inhabitants of
Black Shack Alley, and one boy
is willing to fight for that
dream.
Euzhan Palcy’s "Sugar Cane
Alley” (the French title
translates to "Black Shack
Alley”) is the study of people
caught in the economic slavery
of imperialism. Through an ex
ploration of the rural black
laboring community in Martini
que, writer-director Palcy offers
both a critique of foreign im
perialism and a celebration of
life during oppression.
Jose, played with bright-eyed
wonder by Garry Cadenat, is a
personable, keen young boy
who has the intelligence, the
imagination and the drive to
aspire beyond a life in the cane
fields. An orphan, he is raised
by Ma Tine (Darling Legitimus),
his grandmother. Ma Tine also
has aspirations for Jose and
pushes herself to her limits so
that he may receive an educa
tion and escape the economic
trap.
To go beyond elementary
school one must travel to the ci
ty and pay to attend a private
high school. Jose, an excellent
student, wins a one-quarter
scholarship that is almost as
good as nothing at all, but Ma
Tine is determined to have him
go to school. She and Jose move
to Fort-de-France and she takes
in washing while living in an
old car crate to afford the
schooling.
Simply put, Jose is a success
Photo contny of Orion CUwic*
Ma Tine (Darling Legitimus) and Jose (Garry CadenatJ discuss
education over dinner in a scene from Euhzan Palcy’s “Sugar
Cane Alley,”
story from Black Shack Alley,
the only one in the film, and
though his triumph is in
vigorating and satisfying, the
conditions he left behind con
tinue unchanged. The poor
black community is tight and
alive, but it is a bond of necessi
ty. Celebration, friendship and
community are the only way to
escape the dreary life of poverty
and field labor. Although this is
not the focus of the film, it is a
vital part of the story and an im
portant part of the theme.
Palcy’s film is more about
people than politics, however (a
simple fact of film economics:
people sells, politics doesn't),
and the cast of "Sugar Cane
Alley’’ is bright and
memorable. Medouza (Douta
Seek) is the most important
community member in the film.
An old man on the verge of
death, he acts as a spiritual
father to Jose. The film’s most
beautiful and endearing scenes
revolve around the two as Jose
is taught the history of the
blacks, the realities of economic
life in Martinique and the facts
of life and nature.
“Sugar Cane Alley” doesn’t
take too many chances and
plays down the politics to find a
wider audience, but the
characters come to life under
Palcy’s guiding hand; there are
some marvelous performances.
The relationships in the film are
explored with feeling and inten
sity. and the essence of com
munity is wonderfully
recreated. Best of all. the film is
remarkably accessible to today’s
audiences. The conditions are
not all that different from those
of America’s Deep South after
the abolition of slavery.
With the conditions in Cen
tral America and other third
world countries today, “Sugar
Cane Alley" is a relevant film
that brings up problems that
need to be recognized. With
Palcy’s moving treatment of the
material, however, the film is
put on a personal level.
The film is now playing at the
Bijou. It’s in French, with
English subtitles.
By Sean Axmaker
Recreation Center
( ,gmu_
pREM2y
BOWLAThOli
Three Full Days of FUN and BOWLING for ALL UO
Freshmen and New Students
OMLY*l50!
Bowl your brains out with an unrestricted pass this Wednesday
thru Friday at the Recreation Center! (9-26 to 9-28)
ji /'A \ t
ALL HOURS from
10:15a.m. to 11p.m.*
Located in the EMU Basement
For more information call
686-3711 or 686-4378
* except during P.E. classes
shoes not included