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About The print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1977-1989 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 1984)
‘‘Drummer Girl ’ ’ loses its beat By D. Dietrich Of The Print Working with a story full of mystery, in trigue, action, violence, and socio-political revelance, the producers of “The Little Drum mer Girl” had all the ingredients for a truly epic production. Although all the components can be seen on screen, the movie based upon John le Carres critically acclaimed best-seller, is a prime example of how the whole isn’t necessari ly equal to the sum of the parts and in this case it is less. Starring Diane Keaton as Charlie, le Carres actress-terrorist-double agent, she is the vehicle through which both sides of the terrorist war between Palestinian and Israeli forces are shown. Keaton is an aspiring American actress in West Germany when she is recruited by Israeli counter-intelligence agents. She is asked to face the consummate acting job by posing as a Palestinian rebel. She is a prime candidate for the job because she has been outspoken about her sympathies to the Palestinian movement already and would be readily accepted. The problem the Israeli’s have is convincing her that they are the ones working for peace. It is with the Israeli recruitment scene of Keaton where the film first must overcome a major motivational barrier. After Keaton finds out that she has been tricked by the very move ment she is against, they ask her to risk her life for their cause. This is definitely not u minor change of heart to accomplish. Unfortunately the scene does not work and Keaton’s character suffers from that point on. Keaton’s primary draw to the Israeli side is her attraction to one of the key agents played by the dark and mysterious Yorgo Voyagis as Joseph. One can understand why she is attracted to Joseph but their relationship has not reached an accredited level by the time she gives up her morals for him. The lead organizer of the Israeli counter intelligence force is the complex character Kurtz, played by Klaus Kinski (Doctor Zhivago, Nosferatu, the Vampire). Kinski’s ec centricity is intense enough to feel authentic but his conversion of Keaton’s sympathy is confus ing and lacks any justification of her sense of duty to help their cause. Nevertheless, Keaton becomes a key operative in an effort to stop the Palestinian espionage leader Kahlil, a figure of mystery even to the Palestinians. In her mission, Keaton must pose as Kahlil’s younger brother’s lover. Kahlil’s brother is con- ventiently executed and Keaton is left to follow a script of their supposed romance, hopefully leading her to Kahlil by convincing others of her devotion to her deceased lover’s cause. Her search for Kahlil leads her through London to Greece, to Lebanon and finally back to Ger many. The phases her character goes through reflect the complexity of her feelings as she sees —events— IN THE LITTLE DRUMMER GIRL, Diane Keaton stars as Charlie, an actress turned dou ble agent. While in a Palestinian training camp she learns to assemble a machine gun without looking. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. the good and evil of both sides and the morality of either destroyed by the carnage of battle. The depth of the role appeared to be too much for Keaton without a clear sense of motivation which is still lacking from the conversion scene. The complexity of the role seemed over whelming for even a veteran actress such as Keaton who has accomplishments including an academy award for her lead in “Annie Hall” and a nomination for her performance in ‘ ‘ Reds. ’ ’ Without control of motivation her character floundered in an attempt to find con sistency. She’s got a presence on screen which naturally draws the viewer’s attention but when the story calls for her to visit a Palestinian training camp the script begins to read like a Sidney Sheldon novel. It reminded me of a per fume commercial. Keaton passes her tests with flying colors through most of the film and while the atempt to develop her character is appreciated there are other roles which play more like caricatures. The most blatant example was that of a matronly yet sadistic German woman named of course, Helga. In contrast to the shallowness of Helga is the ambiguity felt toward Palestinian leader Kahlil (Sami Frey) when he is finally discovered. One of the saving graces of the film is Keaton’s relationship with Kahlil giving us a brilliant manifestation of irony in which Keaton becomes devoid of any cause and realiz es the horror of what she has been involved in. The film has a variety of poignant statements to make and despite the Hollywood feel to the direction, the points are not entirely lost. They are however muddled and hit the viewer with much less impact than hoped for from a direc tor of such caliber as George Roy Hill who has shown his skill with film in “The World Accor ding to Garp,” “The Sting,” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” The book held the number one position on The New York Times Best-Seller list for sixteen straight weeks. Obviously something went awry in the adapta tion. For entertainment I would recommend the film only on discount nights. People interested in learning how to make a variety of A slide presentation will be wreaths, arrangements and shown Nov. 8 by friends and decorations using natural and members of the Environmen found materials should sign up tal Learning Center. The slides for a two week program run in will be of trips taken coordination with the ELC throughout the world. The Benefit Christmas Tree Sale. program runs 7-10 p.m. and is Classes are held on Saturdays open to the public free of beginning Nov. 8 and require a $5 fee. charge. Wednesday, October 31, 1984 Sometimes a Great Notion, a film based on the novel by Oregon author Ken Kessey, will be the topic of discussion at the next Oregon Sampler program. The film will be in troduced by Oregonian film critic Ted Mahar. The seventh part of the Fall term series will be held Nov. 7. For more in formation call ext. 454. Moderator/Discussion Leader Training workshop will be held Nov. 11 from 12:30-3:30. The program is geared to help students learn how to lead discussions without dominating them and to “intervene, interpret and summarize as necessary.” For more information call ext. 230. Holiday gifts can be made in two week Knitting Ski Socks class beginning Nov. 5. The class costs $14 and will be held on Monday nights 7-10 p.m. Call ext. 230 for details and a supply list. Contact Dave Buckley in Student Activities if you wish to sell your crafts at the Col lege Crafts Fair Dec. 4 and 5. Page 5