Robinson Theatre
1999-2000 Season
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Robinson in the
Robinson
October 1 & 2
8:00 P.M.
Julius Caesar
November 5, 6; 11, 12, 13; 19, 20
8:00 p.m.
Sunday, November 14 at 2 p.m.
A RobinsonTheatre
Production
Top Girls
January 28, 29; February 3, 4, 5; 11, 12
8:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 6 at 2 p.m.
The Life and Adventures
of Nicholas Nickleby
♦Performed in Two Parts-separate tickets needed
Part 1
May 18; 25; June 1 at 7:00 p.m.
May 20, 21; 27; June 3 at 1 p.m.
Part II
May 19, 20; 26, 27; June 2, 3 at 7 p.m.
Sunday May 28 at 1 p.m.
Erb Memorial Union 346-4363
Box Office 346-4190
University of Oregon
M,
89.7FM
National Public Radic
...
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Full Price Admission for this EVENT!
. Admn $6, Thurs-Sat/Sun-Wed $4.50
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Wso Starring v ^CO LOR
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Courtesy
Mark Wahlberg, George Clooney and Ice Cube team up in Warner Bros newest war flick “Three Kings”.
U y it i j i j
up the desert
r
Film
Matt Partney
lor The Emerald
Dismembered bovines and ex
ploding milk trucks - “Three
Kings” isn’t your typical war film.
It’s the creative balance of come
dy, action, politics and the harsh
reality of war a la Steven Spiel
berg’s last epic.
The “Three Kings” director
David O. Russell has crafted a
new kind of war film - a hybrid of
comedy, realism and surrealism.
It captures the frustration felt by
many soldiers who train for the
war-field only to find themselves
removed from it when sent to the
real battle.
Such frustration is manifested
in the actions of four servicemen
led by Capt. Archie Gates (George
Clooney). After finding a modern
day “treasure map” sandwiched
in-between the butt cheeks of a
captured soldier, Gates and his
rogue bunch of officers (including
Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube and
Spike Jonze) set out for a hit-and
run on Saddam Hussein’s stolen
Kuwaiti gold bullion. Their moti
vation: the American Dream. Oh,
and greed too. They expect it to be
a simple task: get the gold and get
out. This should be easy because
the war is over and the Iraqi forces
have their hands full suppressing
the new anti-Hussein resistance
groups (brought on mainly by
George Bush and the United
States’ propaganda).
“Three Kings” is one of the first
Hollywood films to confront the
racism and prejudice held against
people of Arab descent. It shows
the other side of the coin. The
side we don’t see here from the
comfort and security of our own
continent. We see the war being
fought in the shadows of the big
ger war, through the eyes of those
who live it everyday. These three
kings set out to make some mon
ey the easy way and learn the
lessons of humanity, freedom and
what is important the hard way.
And it is only once these lessons
are learned that they redeem
themselves and save the Iraqis.
Contrary to the previews,
“Three Kings” is actually about
the moral dilemma faced by these
servicemen who have finally been
placed in a situation of combat
only to subsequently mess it up.
Do they take the gold and run or
do they forsake the gold and stay
to protect the lives of the Iraqi re
sistance?
The film takes the high road
and our servicemen stand up
against the Iraqi Army, but always
with the goal of still attaining the
gold after meeting this challenge.
Greed still prevails.
The film finally breaks into a
parallel story line that deals with
Clooney, Jonze and Cube-in
Moses mode-leading the Iraqis
across the desert. In pursuit of
them, the Iraqi Army and one
bitchy journalist (Nora Dunn) out
to find the gold and “the story”
herself.
Dunn is hilarious, barking or
ders and standing her ground in
the middle of a battle only to
break down and weep at the most
minor of setbacks. She verbalizes
the movie’s biggest question,
“What did we accomplish by be
ing in Iraq?”
It’s the comical moments with
the goofy Conrad Vig (Jonze), and
Dunn and her counterpart, Jamie
Kennedy, that off-set the action
and carnage that is the product of
both the American’s greed and
the Iraqis’ mistreatment.
When Troy Barlow (Wahlberg)
is captured by the Iraqis,
Wahlberg gives a stellar perfor
mance, which is the best reason to
see this film. Though he does
generate many laughs, Wahlberg
is solid and believable in creating
some of the most captivating mo
ments.
During Barlow’s interrogation,
we see the Gulf War from Iragi’s
perspective. We come to under
stand that it’s a dictator and his
followers, rather than an entire
nation, that we were at war with.
The film’s aesthetics, like its
structure and story, are unique
and visually jarring. The
bleached-out photography and
the wide colorless backdrop of
the desert give ithe bloodshed a
huge impact through handheld
photography. Of the many un
conventional moments of, the
Turn toTnree Kings, Page7B