by Kevin Sallows Directed by Zhang Yimou In Mandarin with English subtitles Currently playing at the Park To Live follows the Xu family’s struggles through four decades of Chinese history, including the late 40’s civil war and the subsequent rise of Communism. The family’s problems begin when Fugui Xu, the father, loses his fortune gambling, forcing the family out on the | Street. iby Jason Kurylo If you’re a Christian Slater fan, go see Murder In The First. There’s plenty of close-up shots, profile shots, ‘angle shots, and lengthy monologue shots to drool over. Slater plays a lawyer rhere (and doesn’t do too bad a job, either...), and so gets to dress in nice clothes ‘n stuff. If you’ve been impressed with Kevin Bacon’s recent string of challenging roles, go see Murder In The -First. He shines as an Alcatraz prisoner wrongly kept in solitary confinement for three years. by Angus Adair By now almost everybody has seen the film Forrest Gump. It has made record breaking amounts of cash at the box office. It has Htouched a poignant chord in virtually Peveryone who has gone to see it. Turn /on Oprah, on any given day, no matter | what the topic and you will likely see her plugging her favorite film hero of all time: Forrest Gump. But although she can go on ad nauseum about how ereat Forrest is, she can’t tell you why. Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert are two film critics with so much influence | over the industry that marketers for the Oscar winning film Philadelphia bit their nails waiting for their, famous L thumbs up and breathed a sigh of relief when they got it. When Siskel and Ebert reviewed Forrest Gump they knew by the time the curtain had dropped that it had touched a special place in the hearts of the audience. Yet they couldn’t say why. : Even when it was given a rare pan, that intrepid individual, and lone | individual couldn’t seem to divine why- | the film has touched others as it has. Forrest Gump’s success continues } and yet no one can seem to put their finger on why. I, like many, have seen the film and in that regard I am no different than the rest of the world that has been reached by the medium of film. 1 It touched me and as trite as it may sound, it moved me in a way few films Fever have. In that regard I am also no ‘different. However, I think I know why | and in that regard I am different. The reason Forrest Gump is so successful is because it is simple. In BN Newly evicted, Fugui is given a box of Chinese puppets with which he makes a living and hangs on to throughout his trials (watch the box closely, kids, and maybe you can SPOT THE HIDDEN SYMBOLISM...). His loss of money turns out to be good fortune when Communism comes to town.Working class revolutions generally aren’t all that forgiving of the rich. Fugui starts out on the road with his traveling puppet troupe but soon With this film, Bacon definitely puts any remnants of Footloose identification to rest, and proves he can act. (Ollie Stone didn’t put him in JFK for nothing...) If you like nasty prison wardens, or worship the chameleon that is Gary Oldman, go see Murder In The First. Oldman is always superb, and proves once again that a talented thespian can make a stereotype work. If you like interesting cinematography, go see Murder In The First. There is, especially during the Slater/Bacon interrogation scenes, some fact, the reason is that Forrest is so simple. He is the mythic archetype of The Fool. His life is mythic. This is important to current generations, especially mine. I grew up in a world where two new faiths had emerged. The atheist and the agnostic. People who no longer had metaphors that spoke to them in terms that brought the divine closer, instead they had stories that seemed foreign and implausible. Star Wars changed that. Star Wars was so far ahead of current times yet still space age enough to be real to present generations it jumped that hurdle. Then with mythic archetypes it gave a generation that been robbed of myths by rapidly developing technology, some myths back. That is why Star Wars has endured as long as it has. Because people need it in their lives. Forrest Gump doesn’t jump as far ahead as Star Wars but takes a different tack and instead of discussing events that may or may not have happened in a space age world “long long ago and far away” it is set against the back drop of recent history which everyone our age is familiar with. When discussing the assassination of people like the Kennedys and Martin Luther King Jr., Forrest can’t explain why someone would kill “such a nice man”. And indeed that is true. The question that really plagued us was not whether or not Oswald acted alone but why would The Other Press 'S To Live t finds himself part of the Nationalist Army and then part of the Red Army. He later returns to his family and a life of conscientious patriotism. Mao, Mao, Mao! It’s interesting and sometimes unsettling to see how the characters react to the brave new world of Communism. Repeatedly throughout the film, we see Fugui carefully toeing the Party line, doing whatever he must to keep his family and himself safe from persecution. urder definitely not a first Gritty Hollywood fare more interesting than most exceptional camera work in this film. And who can argue with the occasional San Fran scenic shot? All of these things work for Murder In The First. Unfortunately, if you despise films that obviously lost tons of coherency, balance, and honesty on the cutting room floor (can you say trigger happy editors?), stay home. If you hate obvious, I-have-to- shoot-this-scene-because-it’s-a- Hollywood-film-not-because-it’ s-all- that-good, splice-o-rama nonsense, stay home. If you loathe predictable, feel- hocolate, anyone? Exploring the myth behind the man that is Forrest Gump anyone want to kill JFK. Then the question was asked again when Bobby took a bullet and uttered his last words, “Is everyone okay?,” and then again when King was killed. And Again when Malcolm X was assassinated. It was the unanswered question of why such men were taken from us that reduced nations to tears and had that effect on me in the theatre. Forrest Gump helps us makes sense of insane times that make people want to scream the question “WHY?” at the heavens. Forrest is simple and simply is. It is worth remembering that in the Myth of the Grail Quest it was the archetypal fool, Sir Percival who finally won the Grail. He failed to be true to his foolish nature. Knights, according to their code, were not supposed to speak unless spoken to so when Sir Percival encountered the badly injured Fisher King for the first time, he could not ask what was wrong, or how to help. He could not practice compassion only duty. When he saw the King again he redeemed himself by more honest and compassionate action. And achieved the Grail. eee Equally frightening is director Yimou’s depiction of how fickle the Party can be, one day rewarding loyal Party followers, the next having them arrested as enemies of the state. Like most other ‘epic’ films, the plot of To Live carries Fugui and family through often surprising twists and turns through the years. At times, the plot coincidences are almost too mucf to take, but as in a good Dickens nov. we are able to forgive these unus confluences; they weave the fabric good-but-not-too- good endings, stay home. In. the vend; Murder In The First looks like some studio jock’s attempt to make A Few Good Men with Slater as Tom Cruise and Oldman as Jack Nicholson. Luckily, Bacon’s young, and he’1l only get better. If you want to learn about the demise of Alcatraz, I recommend staying home and reading a book. the plot together so nicely. In an industry where Arnie and Jim Carrey reign supreme, an award- winning movie like To Live is a sweet change. Good characters, great story and, hey, a brief history lesson that doesn’t send you running for the door! Check it out. Name: Here's the story... They're Back To Save America OPES PIRRGREY YY AY PREATEES Win tickets toa special advanced screening 7:00, Thursday, February 16 At the Capitol 6 Cinemas on Granville If you want to be one of the few, the proud, the lucky to win a double pass for The Brady Bunch movie, Drop off this contest entry form at the Other Press by noon, February 14 (Room 1020). From The ‘90s. Phone: Favorite Brady: (Anyone who says Danny is instantly disqualified...)