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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 8, 2004)
For the week of April 9th! Sign-up for our weekly WebPage Update! lwww.biiou-cinemas.com Omar Sharif rrtiirns (»the wtii ns Monsieur Ibrahim A gracefully subtle, sweet-spirited French parable of the brotherhood of man." - W ilium Arnold. SEATTLE POSTLSmUCENCER In French with English subtitles. 5:05 & 7:05 Nightly Sun Mat 3:00 SPIKE MIKE'S adultsonlyi! THE DREAMERS "Tgi 9:20 Nightly Sun Mai 2:30 pm , THE COMPANY 4:50 & 7:05 Nightly Final Week! BIJOU LATENITE Fr-Sat $4 Su S3 Ktrnrb nulirtn^ SPIKE & MIKE'S SHX&TWK1JD ANIMATION Fri, Sat, & Sun 11:00 pm Sat Mat 3:15 pm 'Lord of the Flies' meets 'Survivor' with guns..." Fri, Sat, & Sun 11:35 pm THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT Please RECYCLE tkis paper. r GIVE ME 5! Run your "for sale” ad (items under $1,000) for 5 days in the ODE Classified Section. If the item(s) doesn't sell, call us at 3464343 and we’ll run it again for another 5 days free! 1 Snap and print. Get a $50 mail-in rebate when you purchase a qualifying EPSON inkjet printer and a digital camera. Printer and digital camera must be on same receipt. Offer ends April 30, 2004. Ask a sales associate for further details. UOBookstore.com • (541) 346-4331 'Divorce' does cynicism right ‘Divorzioall’italiana/ a 1961 Italian film, tells the tale of a man plotting to kill his wife By Ryan Nyburg Senior Pulse Reporter FORGOTTEN FILIVIS Pietro Germi's 1961 film "Divorzio all'italiana" ("Divorce — Italian Style") wears its cynicism boldly for everyone to see. Note this is not the cheap cyni cism that infects many of today's Holly wood comedies, which seem to be made by people who think the audi ence is too stupid to know the difference between mockery and satire. No, this is a much darker cyni cism, one that states that a man — if he is rich, charming, aristocratic and has the proper legal defense — can get away with murder. The man in this case is Baron Ferdi nando Cefalu, played by the excellent Marcello Mastroianni. From the mo ment he comes on screen, he looks as _ if he is get ting away with some thing. Well groomed, hidden be hind dark sunglasses and a cigarette holder, he is full of personal style and intelligence. It is through his eyes that we see the film, and his often bemused nan ation guides us through the various intrigues of the plot Before long, Baron plans to drop his wife and marry his teenage cousin. Un fortunately, divorce was illegal at the time in Italy, meaning he has to come up with some other form of disposal. Knowing that he can't get away with sim ply killing her he decides to set up a situ ation in which his wife will commit adultery, so he can catch her in the art and then kill her in defense of his family honor. Knowing that a given court will go easy on a man enraged to find him self a cuckold, Baron figures his sentence will be no more than a few years, and he can serve his time with his reputation untarnished since the community will see him as having done the right thing. This is all rather heartless to be sure, and it probably wouldn't work if not for Mastroianni. His performance makes the Baron seem like a flawed hu man rather than a bastard, and it's this quality that allows the audience to, in some way at least, identify with his problems. His wife Rosalia (played by the pitch-perfect Daniela Rocca) is an noying in all the ways that can drive a husband crazy. She's needy, loud and starved for attention. None of these things are worthy of execution, but they make the film all the more effective. If Rosalia were outright despicable it would be too easy to just wish death upon her and get it over with. But by humanizing her, making her a charac ter with more depth than necessary to further the plot the filmmakers add a whole new level to the story. A film like this could easily be seen as misogynistic. However, it never glo rifies the actions of its characters. In stead, it portrays Baron as someone Eric Layton Illustrator who hides his lack of morality under the guise of personal style. Mastroian ni's performance is truly masterful. His minor facial twitches and expressions are the only indicators of his true feel ings — they are never shown through his words. He's like a shark, working to ward his goal with a single-minded and tenacious attitude. Having decided what he wants, he works methodically on how to get it. His only honest emo tion seems to be his love of his young cousin Angela. Above all, the film is funny. It ob serves people and institutions with a wry amusement, showing the folly and hypocrisy in everything — for, after all, those are the two things that seem to unite everyone The film's final ironies end it on a perfect note, showing it to be cynical about pretty much everyone. But even cynics can laugh. "Divorzio all'italiana" is available on video and DVD. Contact the senior Pulse reporter at ryannyburg@dailyemerald.com. VON BONDIES continued from page 6 New York Dolls meets Sleater-Kin ney, minus the social commentary and authenticity. Besides Stollsteimer, the band also is comprised of Marcie Bolen on gui tar, Don Blum on drums and Carrie Smith on bass. All members con tribute vocals. The lyrics are often dull and deriv ative. The song "Broken Man" is remi niscent of the poetry a ninth-grader would write. Stollsteimer sings "I'm a broken man/This here's my broken band/From a broken land/We take the good with the bad/Yeah." The most annoying song is "Right of Way." The track begins with Stoll steimer whining (over a bassline) that, "These feelings I have can't be wrong/The signs say I've got the right of way." At this point, a sort of surf guitar noodling is added while Stoll steimer continues, "Self-destruction is my destination/This is how it pains my days," and then finishes with the same blandness. Which isn't to say the album doesn't have its moments. Tracks like "No Re grets," "Not That Social" and especial ly "C'mon C'mon" are full of energy and swagger. Considering most of the members have been playing music for less than five years, they're a tight band with decent musicianship. However, the talent the band does dis play is thinly spread across tlfe al bum's 12 tracks. Like the countless other bands be ing hailed as the return of rock 'n' roll, The Von Bondies best serve as a persuasive argument for dusting off those albums from the 1970s by groups like Television and Suicide. Those contemplating purchasing "Pawn Shoppe Heart" should skip it and pick up a copy of "Electric War rior" instead. Contact the Pulse columnist at helenschumacher@dailyemerald.com. Suahi-Go-Round Quick & Affordable High Quality Food Family Atmosphere Extra large selection of sushi. Grill, tempura, noodles & more! Have delicious, quality sushi in seconds. Pull from a variety of fresh dishes off our authentic revolving sushi bar, or order from our extensive menu. Visit us soon for lunch or dinner1 film fwm Mon.-Fri. Lunch 11:30-2:30 Dinner 5-10 pm • Saturday Dinner 5-10 pm 199 E. 5th Ave. #7, Eugene • 484-1334 11/ Xr~
