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.