THE MT VOID
Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
03/28/03 -- Vol. 21, No. 39
Big Cheese: Mark Leeper, mleeper@optonline.net
Little Cheese: Evelyn Leeper, eleeper@optonline.net
Back issues at http://www.geocities.com/evelynleeper
All material copyright by author unless otherwise noted.
To subscribe, send mail to mtvoid-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To unsubscribe, send mail to mtvoid-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Topics:
Hindi Music in Central New Jersey (comments by
Mark R. Leeper)
Bollywood 101B (more comments by Mark R. Leeper)
MIYAZAKI'S SPIRITED AWAY (film review by Mark R. Leeper)
RIVERWORLD (made-for-TV movie review by Mark R. Leeper)
THE SPEED OF DARK (book review by Evelyn C. Leeper)
NIRGENDWO IN AFRIKA (American title: NOWHERE IN AFRICA)
(film review by Mark R. Leeper)
This Week's Reading (GREETINGS, CARBON-BASED BIPEDS!,
ROAD TO PERDITION, CARTER BEATS THE DEVIL,
THE TIME MACHINE) (book comments by
Evelyn C. Leeper)
===================================================================
TOPIC: Hindi Music in Central New Jersey (comments by Mark
R. Leeper)
On a subject related to this week's article: if you get interested
in Hindi music, a radio station that plays it 24x7 is WCNJ, 89.3
FM, from Hazlet, New Jersey. That is very near the population
center of this club. [-mrl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: Bollywood 101B (comments by Mark R. Leeper)
Last week I was talking about Bollywood films.
Readers of this notice will have some interest in fantasy films.
Bollywood filmmakers tend to shun science fiction and horror for
melodramas. While Indians love science fiction, they have to
import most of the science fiction films they get. In large
part this is because Indian filmmakers cannot really match
Western counterparts for providing special effects.
Occasionally an enterprising filmmaker will go into those
fields, but not a lot do. I have on tape THE JUNGLE, a 1952
Hindi science fiction film that required little in the way of
effects. The idea is that animal disturbances are being caused
by something strange in the Indian jungle. In the final reel we
discover that it is prehistoric mammoths living deep in the
Indian jungle. More recently I am told that there is an Indian
film patterned on THE MATRIX. While horror has been rare in
India, an article I have just read indicates that it is going
through a vogue right now and many Hindi supernatural horror
films are being made.
That brings us to one of the negative aspects of Bollywood
films. Several borrow rather shamelessly from already-popular
Western films. KHAL-NAAIKAA, the film we saw at the Raj Mandhir
is almost a scene-for-scene remake of THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE
CRADLE (with music and comedy added). As I understand it, there
was no permission given to reuse the story. Other films
certainly show a strong influence of Western plots. CHINA GATE
has a strong influence of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. Several other
films are also strongly influenced by Westerns, notably SHOLAY.
Another negative aspect, by the way, is that India's organized
crime syndicates do a great deal of the funding of some Hindi
films.
Budgets in India are very much smaller than those in the United
States, but a little money goes a very long way in that country.
DEVDAS cost about $15,000,000. But that makes it the most
expensive Bollywood film of all time. And you see that money on
the screen. Lavish does not begin to cover the sets. Much of
the film takes place in extravagant mansions that are virtual
palaces and more than look it. Budget money goes a very long
way in India. The story, on the other hand, may be a little
melodramatic for newcomers to the genre. The title character
returns to India from a decade of studying in Britain. He falls
in love with his neighbor, a childhood sweetheart but a woman of
lesser caste played by Aishwarya Rai, a former Miss World. Of
course there are pressures on the couple not to be a couple and
this leads to problems and eventually to tragedy.
Another thing about Bollywood films is their wholesomeness.
Indian censors are extremely strict. Nudity is non-existent and
even kissing is rare for fear of the censors' ire. Lovers
rarely get beyond the handholding stage on-screen. On the other
hand, water scenes are quite popular. The female lead will
remain fully clothed, but with her clothing all wet a certain
amount of human anatomy is discernable.
Just at the moment there is a large market for Bollywood films
outside of India, particularly in places like Britain.
Curiously it was cricket that brought India and Britain together
in 2002. They faced off in an important tournament. It
happened there was a Bollywood film at the same time, LAGAAN, on
the subject of British facing Indians in a cricket match.
With these two influences many Britons got interested in Indian
culture and especially these strange films the Indians make. And
wherever there are non-resident Indians (called NRIs) there will
be a market for films from home. Whether this current
international interest is a trend or just a bubble that will
burst nobody knows, of course. But Bollywood films are a good
deal of fun and well worth the film buff's attention. [-mrl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: MIYAZAKI'S SPIRITED AWAY (film review by Mark R. Leeper)
[This review originally ran in the 09/27/02 MT VOID, but since the
film is being re-released this week because of its Oscar as Best
Animated Film, we're running it again.]
CAPSULE: Hayao Miyazaki gives us a masterpiece of fantasy in the
anime that is as timeless as Carroll's Alice stories and enjoyable
for just as wide an audience. This film may even trump THE LORD
OF THE RINGS for imagination. Rating: 8 (0 to 10), low +3 (-4 to
+4)
Hayao Miyazaki, Japan's premier anime director, created magical
worlds (mostly) of his own in children's fantasies like MY
NEIGHBOR TOTORO, KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE, and PRINCESS MONONOKE.
SPIRITED AWAY is an uninspired title for a long but terrifically
imaginative fantasy. SPIRITED incorporates elements of Lewis
Carroll, L. Frank Baum, Japanese folklore, and Miyazaki's own
strange imagination, all whipped together in an enchanting
souffle.
Chihiro is moving to a new house and school with her parents. She
has some natural worries about what it and her school will be
like. But on the way her parents get lost on a drive through
nearby woods and find some odd buildings of strange architecture.
Exploring them they find a gateway to a strange empty set of
strange buildings, perhaps a theme park. Soon Chihiro's parents
have gotten themselves into trouble that even they do not realize
and Chihiro is on her own to explore this strange and wondrous new
world that they have inadvertently passed into. From this point
the story gets stranger and more complex. It involves Japanese
spirits, strange food, a guide frog, a real spider-man, and a
castle full of wonders in a sort of Disneyland of the spirits.
This world is as mystifying and with its own strange logic as
Alice's Wonderland. Miyazaki seems to have an inexhaustible
supply of ideas to fill the screen and to fill screen time. To
get everything in he has made this a longish film for children,
but one where they will not be bored. There is always something
new and strange being introduced.
SPIRITED AWAY is a complex fantasy that should appeal to adults in
much the same way Carroll's Alice stories do. For its creativity
I rate it an 8 on the 0 to 10 scale and a low +3 on the -4 to +4
scale. [-mrl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: RIVERWORLD (made-for-TV movie review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: Philip Jose Farmer's interesting premise of adventures
set on a strange life-after-death-world is squandered on a fairly
commonplace barbarian-world story that appears to be the pilot for
a most uninteresting and humdrum TV series. Rating: 4 (0 to 10), 0
(-4 to +4)
I never read the Riverworld series from Philip Jose Farmer. I
have heard people liked it very much and I admit that I have had
some curiosity about it. This is in part because I knew that one
of the major characters was Richard Francis Burton, one of the
most fascinating people in all of history. This is a figure that
very interesting fiction and non-fiction could be written about.
So it was with mixed anticipation that I looked forward to
RIVERWORLD, a film adaptation that was being made for the Sci-Fi
Channel, based on the Farmer books. The material was certainly
promising, but I do not associate the aptly named Sci-Fi Channel
with really high-quality science fiction. Nevertheless I wanted
to give RIVERWORLD a try.
The premise of the novels is that all our ideas of life after
death are wrong. They have come from people speculating who have
never bothered actually to die. Once people do die they seem
disinclined to share their post mortem experiences. So the whole
semi-Biblical structure of life and death may be entirely wrong.
Philip Jose Farmer threw out the conventional afterlife cosmology
and created his own. His premise is that the afterlife is sort of
like an undiscovered country. A river runs through it. In and
around the river dead souls gather and have adventures very
similar to ones that living people might have. The chief
difference is that the souls are really those of people who have
lived at many points of history and several--too many really for
credibility--are famous people of history.
In Farmer's books among the dead souls having an after life are
Mark Twain, Alice Liddell (of Wonderland fame), Richard Francis
Burton, Herman Goering, etc. Sadly, there is no Burton in the
film version. Alice Liddell is present, but not identified. The
main characters are a dead shuttle astronaut from our near future
and Mark Twain. The villain is the reincarnated Roman Emperor
Nero. Jonathan Cake, who plays the part is tall, fair-skinned,
thin, and is just about the complete physical opposite of how one
would picture Nero. Contemporary coins and statues show him as
looking rather bloated and chubby. This also does not seem to be
the Nero that fancied himself a great artist. Just like in our
world so many or the people who think they are reincarnated think
they were famous people in past lives, a disproportionate number
of people reincarnated in Farmer's series are also the famous.
The most intriguing scenes are just after the credits as the dead
awake in womb-like bubbles or spheres under the water from which
they are reborn actually in the river. Each is given clothing
including a tee-shirt. Nero seems to adapt to tee-shirts very
quickly. They are given food which all immediately accept. After
that they could be in China or someplace else non-supernatural.
The good guys are captured by barbarians, but Nero has other
plans, though no less nefarious.
Two things are most remarkable about RIVERWORLD. The first is the
unusual premise of a life-after-death-world. This is even more
interesting in that Farmer created his own after-death cosmology
and one not taken from the Bible or Dante or Milton. The second
remarkable thing is how little that premise matters after the
first ten minutes. But for the presence of celebrity characters
from history, Mark Twain, etc., the film quickly devolves into a
fairly prosaic post-holocaust world adventure, albeit one with
good guys on a riverboat. Twain builds the boat with an unlikely
amount of decorative woodwork, by the way. The real Twain might
have wanted to but would have been more practical.
The story is left open-ended in the hopes that it will sell as a
TV series. If this is going to become a TV series it can do it
without me. I rate RIVERWORLD a 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on
the -4 to +4 scale. [-mrl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: THE SPEED OF DARK by Elizabeth Moon (Ballantine, 2003, ISBN
0-345-44755-7, 340pp) (book review by Evelyn C. Leeper)
Everyone is comparing this to FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON, and in a way
that seems to miss the whole point. In FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON, the
memorable parts are those in which Charley is less intelligent,
and in reading how he interprets what is going on around him while
we realize that he is wrong. But the whole point of THE SPEED OF
DARK is that our autistic main character is *not* mentally slow
but "differently abled." That phrase usually means "less abled,"
but Lou Arrendale is indeed differently abled, in that while he
has difficulty with new situations and changes to his routine, he
can also see patterns where others cannot and (we eventually
discover) can learn as much neurology in a week as most medical
students take a semester or more to do.
Of course, one similarity to FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON is that its
science is entirely medical and psychological, which will lead
some people to ask, "But what makes it science fiction?" It is,
of course, science fiction in that the medical techniques which
have allowed the curing of autism in all those who were born after
Arrendale--and even the early training which has allowed him to
function in society--do not exist at the present time.
Now, a book that just followed Arrendale around and saw the world
from his point of view would be interesting enough. But because
such an internal, interior sort of novel is not what science
fiction publishers want (or perhaps what Moon wanted to write, of
course). So there is a complication: Arrendale and his fellow
autistic co-workers are given a choice by their new boss of
"choosing" to take part in a medical experiment that will
(probably) cure their autism. Of course, it has only been tested
on chimpanzees and even that not observed very long.
This plot does raise some more interesting questions about
identity, and so I would agree that this enhances and develops the
character.
But then Moon adds yet another subplot involving a series of
attacks which so far as I could tell does not add to the story.
Yes, it provides another situations for Arrendale to assimilate
and understand, but it seems like just a bit much.
Still, the book survives this addition because Moon does such a
good job of putting us inside Arrendale's head. Part of this may
be because Moon has an autistic son, and so is familiar with the
manifestations in a way that most authors are not. She also has a
degree in biology and considered going to medical school, so her
background here is quite substantial.
But background is not enough, and Moon does the main job--writing
an engaging and involving story--with real skill. I was
unimpressed with her Hugo-nominated REMNANT POPULATION, but THE
SPEED OF DARK is definitely Hugo-worthy material. [-ecl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: NIRGENDWO IN AFRIKA (American title: NOWHERE IN AFRICA)
(film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: German Caroline Link writes and directs NOWHERE IN
AFRICA, this year's Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language
Film. It is a likable film, an account of German Jews who fled
their country in 1938 and went to live on a farm in Kenya, a
country that became like a second home to them. The film does run
a predictable course, but it is pleasant enough view of the "fish
out of water" learning to love a strange and foreign place.
Rating: 7 (0 to 10), +2 (-4 to +4)
The Jewish Redlich Family is in Germany in 1938 when they see the
writing on the wall. With their friends and neighbors
bewilderingly turning against them is it becoming very clear that
Germany is no longer a safe place for Jews. Walter (played by
Merab Ninidze) was once a promising lawyer, but now he goes to
Kenya to find a place for his family perhaps in farming. He
arranges for his wife Jettel (Juliane Kohler) and his daughter
Regina (played first by Lea Kurka and later by Karoline Eckertz)
to join him on a farm they will manage. The major focus of the
film is on Jettel, who at first cannot face the reality of her
situation. She wants to form her life in Africa into the
Frankfort lifestyle she is accustomed to. She hurts those around
her in her frustration of moving to a land where she will be many
miles from her nearest neighbor and she must lead a pioneer
existence. She foolishly brings fine china and buys an expensive
dress along the way, not fully realizing how really worthless
these things will be in the rough and gritty new life she is
beginning. She fights the tide. Walter will do what is needed to
be done to keep his family alive and adapts without complaint.
Young Regina, only five years old when she comes to Africa, has
few memories of Germany. To her the new land is home and she
embraces it making her best friend Owuor (Sidede Onyulo), a Masai
hired to cook for the family. Jettel sees Owuor as nothing more
than the hired help, insisting he speak German and causing initial
problems.
When Britain declares war on Germany the Jews in Kenya are rounded
up and put into internment camps as possible German agents in one
of the bitterest ironies of the war. (German Jews in England were
transported to camps in Australia as seen in the film DUNERA
BOYS.) This leads to a second irony in that the women and
children are interned in the only facilities available, a posh
hunting club where the internees are pampered in comfort that only
irritates the military who ordered the internment. The arc of the
plot is predictable but warm and likable. The film covers almost
a decade and Redlichs get to know the local tribal people and to
consider them as friends.
Gernot Roll's photography is good enough to make a case that Kenya
is beautiful, but is not quite enough to make the film beautiful.
Caroline Link wrote and directed the screen adaptation of the
fictional novel written by Stephanie Zweig, based on her own
family's experiences. The film is in German, English, and
Swahili, in current release with white subtitles almost always
readable but for some instances of white backgrounds. I rate
NOWHERE IN AFRICA a 7 on the 0 to 10 scale and a +2 on the -4 to
+4 scale. [-mrl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: ASSASSINATION TANGO (film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: An aging Mafia hit man is sent to Argentina for a job.
There he becomes attracted to a beautiful tango dancer. He must
choose between a dishonorable responsibility and the woman who
attracts him. The movie is a pleasure to watch but does not
really amount to a satisfying story. Rating: 6 (0 to 10), high +1
(-4 to +4)
An elderly American hit man sent to Buenos Aires to kill a retired
general. While there he meets and is fascinated by the local
style of tango and especially by an exquisite tango dancer.
Robert Duvall wrote, directed, and starred in the American
Zoetrope production. While it represents another fine
characterization, the story lacks punch in its third act. A
personal note: Robert Duvall is for me the first name that comes
to mind when I list great American actors. For me he is the
American equivalent of Lawrence Olivier, but a better character
actor. More than most films this was one I wanted to like. While
I like the style and texture of the film, I wanted more from the
understated plot.
Robert Duvall plays John J. Anderson, a Latin hired killer. John
J. used to be the best, but he is getting older and a little hard
to deal with. He now has a mean temper and expects that all must
be done his way. He is, nevertheless, still very good at what he
does, particularly when he works by himself. His two passions in
life seem to be Latin dance and a platonic relation with a woman
friend and her young daughter. He takes the daughter places and
has a grandfatherly interest in her. John J. is assigned to
Argentina to kill a retired General who had committed unnamed
atrocities in the past. John J. gets to Argentina, and checks out
his room like a real life James Bond, preparing for the hit.
However there is a snag. The General is hospitalized and it will
be months before John J. can complete the job. Instead to pass
time the killer looks into the local dance scene. There he sees a
beautiful woman who dances a version tango he has never seen
before. Manuela (Luciana Pedraza) flirts with John J. and strikes
up a friendship. Under Manuela's influence he controls his temper
and slowly and professionally works toward the planned
assassination. We never really know what her interest in the
American is.
The feel of ASSASSINATION TANGO is of two very different films
being loosely tied together. One is a love story set in the
sensuous Buenos Aires world of the Tango. One is an action story.
The first story is slow, textured, and seductive. Duvall compares
the languorous editing of his dance scenes with the rapid-fire
staccato editing of CHICAGO dance numbers, which he describes as
"Chop. Chop. Chop." For the action parts of the film he
compares his reserve to that of GANGS OF NEW YORK. "[Scorsese]
used 147 gallons of stage blood. I used six thimblefuls." The
problem is that neither of the stories has a particularly engaging
resolution. The viewer feels like asking, "Is that all?"
Duvall plays a character who plays a character who must be a
convincing Argentine and blend into Argentine society. In that
way John J. is not so different from Duvall himself. I rate
ASSASSINATION TANGO a 6 on the 0 to 10 scale and a high +1 on the
-4 to +4 scale. [-mrl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: This Week's Reading (book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
I'm in the process of reading GREETINGS, CARBON-BASED BIPEDS!, Sir
Arthur C. Clarke's collected essays from 1934 through 1998. It is
a bit confusing to read: at the start of each essay is an
introductory paragraph, printed in centered italics and presumably
written by editor Ian T. Macauley. This followed not by the essay
itself, but *another* introductory few paragraphs by Clarke,
written in the same typeface as the article. There is then a two-
line break, followed by the article itself. Unfortunately, one
finds similar breaks within the introductory paragraphs (which
sometimes go on for a couple of pages), so one isn't always sure
when one has actually started the essay. And to make it worse,
sometimes there is no introductory paragraph at all! Better
editing or different typeface choice or even different font size
would have made it easier going.
Anyway, I was struck by one thing he said in his review of Chesley
Bonestell and Willy Ley's "The Conquest of Space". In reference
to Bonestell's color plates, he says, "We have known cases of
people who mistook them for actual color photos taken on the spot
and were mildly surprised that they had read nothing about the
matter in the papers!"
We picked up Max Allan Collins and Richard Rayner's ROAD TO
PERDITION since I was curious to see what graphic novels were like
these days. What I discovered, at least in this case, was that
the graphics were not very informative or useful to me in
understanding the story. I found this strange, because in the
film the visuals are very important. Maybe an appreciation of
graphic novels is something that requires a lot more background,
or practice, or something.
Since I had mentioned recently really liking Christopher Priest's
THE PRESTIGE, a friend recommended Glen David Gold's CARTER BEATS
THE DEVIL. For some reason, I found this more confusing and less
interesting--the whole subplot of Philo T. Farnsworth and
television seemed one plot too many, and rather drove the
President Harding plot into the background at times. I would
recommend the Priest over this, but if you are interested in
novels about magicians (which seems to be a specific genre), this
isn't bad.
And there was H. G. Wells's THE TIME MACHINE, read for my
library's science fiction reading group. I can't recall if I had
noted before that it appears that Wells originated the idea that
the elite would live on the surface and the workers underground,
and then Fritz Lang may this visual in METROPOLIS. [-ecl]
===================================================================
Mark Leeper
mleeper@optonline.net
What do you expect of a country whose greatest
military hero in the 20th century was Asterix?
--Mark Leeper
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Make Money Online Auctions! Make $500.00 or We Will Give You Thirty Dollars for Trying!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/yMx78A/fNtFAA/46VHAA/J.MolB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
mtvoid-unsubscribe@egroups.com
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/