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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 1984)
Movies Was Wolfie Mozart really just a geek? By SHAWN BEHLEN Staff Reviewer "Amadeus" is a beautiful film with one major flaw. For those of you who don't know yet, this is the film ver sion of the hit Broadway play of the same name and probably the most eagerly anticipated film this season. It shows us the life and times of Wolfgang Am adeus Mozart with all the pomp and intrigue possible. The film starts with the at tempted suicide of Antonio Sa lieri and his call, "Forgive me, Mozart! Forgive your assassin!" Throughout the next night, Sa lieri tells a priest his life story. It turns out to be Mozart's story as well. Back in 1781, Salieri is the most famous musician in Vienna. He is Court Composer to Emperor Joseph II and has only one desire: to serve God through his music. As a young boy, he had offered his chastity, industry and deepest humility to God in return for musical ex cellence as a composer and im mortal fame. He has worked his way up from a small Italian town to reach his present posi tion and thinks his deal with God has been accepted. Then Mozart enters the musi cal arena and Salieri's life changes dramatically. Salieri watches with bulging eyes as he realizes that Mozart is the truly gifted one, the one "blessed by God," and that Mozart is also "a sniggering, unattractive little show-off." As Mozart displays endless talent, which surpasses any gift of Salieri's, Salieri takes on a fight with God. Since God has chosen Mozart to favor, Salieri turns his back on such a vicious God and vows to destroy Mo zart, His divine musical cre ation. The fight is a brutal one in which Salieri gives up all else to ensure his victory and Mo zart's end. That fight is the integral part of this film and Salieri is the ma jor character. Both are dramatic, intriguing and worth more than two hours of your time. That leaves the third major part of this film to be the flaw: Mozart himself. As portrayed in this film, the man is, in simplest terms, a jerk. I might believe all the dirty talk, the innuendos, the names (his wife calls him "Wolfie"), the endless games, even the laugh (although that giggle is pushing it after about an hour and a half), but I cannot believe that his music had no personal effect on him whatsoever. Whenever Mozart's music is revered or recognized for its greatness in this film, it is done by Salieri. In "Amadeus," Mo zart cares about his music only because it brings in the money. I like to believe that someone truly blessed with talent would at least approach that portion of his life with maturity and real ization. I have read all the reports and interviews in which the makers of this film say this is not meant to be factual but "a fantasia based on fact." Between the play and the film, however, this one became more fantasy than fact (for all of you who loved the play, a warning: there are some major changes here, in cluding the ending) and Mo zart's character caught the brunt of the changes. Even though I liked the film, I found myself agreeing with Sa lieri — I wanted Mozart out of my life too. Musical genius Tom Hulce ("Animal House") stars in "Amadeus" as the brilliant com- E oser and musician Mozart, who was known for writing his music in a rst draft with no corrections. 'Country' is a contemporary masterpiece With its passionate, elo- is a 63m with at a things - and sad el's family for more than a hundred years. And it is a loving family. Gil and Jewel work the farm as a team with full part- parent's attention, they ap proach the confrontation with hidden smiles, sup pressed;' laughs:.,,and under standing looks. These are real people here, not movie caii- therGH mother Jewel, a son, two daughters and a grandpa. If is a farming fam- sion between the two. oldest daughter goes out of her way to get on her broth er's nerves, hut she obviously loves him to the point of worship. Grandpa can be cranky, but as Jewel's anchor to the past, he is a vital part of the family. Everyone takes care of the baby. Their lives, though full of hard times, are happy. Their days are simple, but full of common, everyday experi ences that bond them to gether. When the daughter The past couple of years have not been the easiest for the Ivys as fat as their' corn crop is concerned. Several years ago, they took out a forty-year loan from FmHA for farm improvements and now they are falling behind on payments, due to horrible crop prices, it is costing four cents more to produce each bushel than that same bushel will bring al market When Gil takes in his latest crop, he discovers that his paycheck must now be co signed by FmHA because of what that governmental body terms "mismanagement." Gil and Jewel, with bookkeeping records in hand, visit the of fice and learn the worst. FmHA wants the money and, -as the Ivys learn later in the mail, they want it now. The Ivys have 30 days, not 37 /ears, to come up with 1,000. After coming up with no solutions, Gil resorts to drinking and hires an auc tioneer to begin the process of selling the farm and the equipment. He has become a failure. "You know, I wish you had never set foot on my farm," Jewel's father tells him. The bottle becomes Gil's haven and eventually he pushes Jewel too far. He comes home after drinking one day and con fronts his son, who tells Gil that he is nothing but a drunk. They argue and break into a fist fight, until Jewel breaks them up. She does so by bashing Gil with a two-by- four and telling him to get off the farm, "We don't need you anymore," she says and the family is split. With fierce conviction. Jewel then takes on the fight herself. She approaches other farmers in the same situation and comes up with an alli ance of sorts. There is noth ing so forceful as a woman with a mission. When the FmHA comes to sell the equipment, the farmers take the situation into their own hands and finally make a stand. This film is set in 1983 and shows us basically one fami ly's view of the effects of gov ernmental grain embargoes and FmHA policies. The Ivys assets were valued at $450,000 in 1980 when grain S rices were high and their mHA loan was given out on that valuation. After the em bargo, however, prices dropped and farmers had no other market to turn to. There was no way farmers could pay off their loans. FmHA then started foreclosing on ail deficient loans in order to cut their losses as quickly as pos sible. This put hundreds of small farmers out of business until last year when federal courts proclaimed that small formers must be allowed due process and the federal gov ernment, under intense pres sure, stopped FmHA foreclo sure activities. Although this film is based on a very political subject (many have written that Rea- ganites will not be pleased), "Country" doesn't come off heavy-handed or preachy. In stead, this is truly the Ivy's story we just learn a lot through their eyes. The greatest asset this film has is Jessica Lange. She is ; not only the star, but also the co-producer and she report edly fought for years to get this story filmed. Her perfor mance is brilliant. She has topped the job she did in "F- rances" two years ago and 1, for one, didn't think that was possible. This is a characterization with true compassion. Lange is Jewel Ivy m this film — gone is the glamour. On screen, Lange is a driven, am bitious and practical farming wife who simply loves her fomilv and her land more than anything else in her life. Excellent performances also are given by Sam Shep ard ("The Right Stuff") as Gil and Levi Knebei as the son. Both bring a strong sense of realism to their roles and should, along with Lange, be recognized at Oscar time. If any of these three are not at least nominated, I will be sur prised and disappointed. Together, they make "Country" an important and moving film. It touches on as pects of politics, family, farm ing and love. It should not be missed.