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' Carny' By David Baker vjomecoc* M<m untie I suspect that there are few, if any, among us who have not, at one time or another, entertained thoughts of what it would be like to run away with the circus. The taunts of clowns, the glare of lights 1 ~ - r ? aiiu uie roar 01 crowas comDine 10 form an almost irresistible milieu for a child to fantasize about living in, and in his new film, Carny, director Robert Kaylor explores this fantasy down to the most minute detail. A traveling carnival, complete with rides, crooked game booths , and freak shows, has been substituted for the big top in Kaylor's meticulously crafted opus, but since the life of a carnival wnrkpr ("carny " for short) doesn't appear to be drastically different from that of a circus performer, the childhood fantasy does not collapse as the film winds its way toward its rather inconclusive conclusion. Kaylor and * screenwriter Thomas Baum have constructed Carny so it works on several different levels. Foremost among them is an almost documentarystyle look at how a carnival is operated ? how games are rigged, how police departments are paid off to look the other way when illegal games are being played, and how carnies must deal with "marks" who become irate Decause tney ve been cheated out of their money. Carny also works as a story about a love triangle, a story about loss of innocence, and a story about male comradery. The structure of the film is loose and airy, and none of the story lines are accentuated to the detriment of others. It's a free-flowing, laid back movie that's willing to take its time in unfolding to make sure that none of its messages eludes the viewer's grasp. Taken scene by scene, Carny is f the most consistently interesting movie of the past year, thanks both to the unfamiliarity of its setting and to the vibrant work of its cifted cast. As the film opens, we're on the road with the Great American Carnival. Two of the carnies, Frankie Chipman (Gary Busey) and Patch Beaudry (Robbie Robertson), are preparing to go to work. Frankie is the star of the "bozo" Gary Busey, Jodie Foster am carnival in 'Carny' CI LUtl UU game, the object of which is fo Frankie to make the carnivs patrons so mad at him that they' spend a dollar for three chances a dunking him into a pool of frigi water. He sits alone in a cage, hi face oainted into fl hnrrihl 1? "v" combination of clown face an death mask, perched on a platforr that falls apart each time baseball hits the appropriat target on either side of the booth. Patch is the operator of the boot ' ? -V 1 llT \'9] IB ^Kib Busey and grease paint and also the carnival' peacemaker ? the man wh oMtUr. ?t? ? 11? ? 1 ocmcd uid[juic5 uii uit miuwaj Frankie and Patch have been bes friends for a number of yean They've shared both liquor an women, and they know one anothe better than anyone else. They als know how to read the marks wh pass by the booth. They know whe a mark can be fleeced out of hi rent money, and they know whe not to push a mark too far. A- * * vjii mis parucuiar nignt, tn carnival is stopped in Reading Pennsylvania, where Donna (Jodi Foster) and her boyfriend Micke (Craig Wasson) are out for somewhat-less-than-enchanted < vening of fun. Frankie correctl figures Mickey to be a hothead an goads him into spending a sma fortune at the "bozo" booth. A Mickey gets madder and maddei Donna becomes more intrigue with the excitement and dange inherent to life in the ramivnl Later, while Mickey is watchin the strip show, Frankie aj proaches Donna, who's passin time sitting at a hot dog stand. Th v. L ^Sam^a^m^^m>s', ,'MWmMMMm SSSSiv.: w?Mpp^i : :? . yxJ^H^H ggaHH* <?*> . ~ / Robbie Robertson join the lent film r next night, Donna leaves her il waitress job behind and joins II Frankie as the carnival is pulling it out of town. d s At each of the stops between e Reading and Savannah, Georgia d (where the picture was filmed last n summer), Donna tries to overcome a Patch's intense hatred of her (he e forces her to perform in the strip show at one point), but it isn't until h near the end of the movie that she succeeds. And then she almost I loses Frankie in the bargain, when he catches her and Patch in bed together. Interspersed throughout this bizarre romantic triangle are some of the most memorable images ever recorded on celluloid. The opening shot, of Busey applying his makeup, is uncannily beautiful, yet frightening at the same time. An illusion of a decapitated man, perpetrated by Frankie and Patch to keep a small time racketeer from taking a cut of the carnival's profits, is the most unsettling thing I've seen since Sylvia Miles munched on Chris Sarandon's brain tissue in The Sentine, but instead of making the viewer sick, the shot only serves to heighten his interest in the events s that are to follow. o r. j&acn 01 me pertormers in Carny it turns in an admirable per>. formance, with Busey taking the d film's top acting honors. As porr trayed by Busey, Frankie is as o dangerously unbalanced as he is o gentle and lovable. It's easy to see n why he chose a career in the is carnival because his insults would n probably have gotten him killed elsewhere. ie Robertson, who makes his acting 5, debut here, is most effective, e though he could learn to speak a y little bit louder. He's not as bad a about mumbling as James Caan in j- Chapter Two, but at least half-ay dozen of his lines are completely a inaudible. 11 s As Donna, Foster reinforces her % standing as America's finest unci der-30 leading lady, even though r the character is not as strong as those essayed by her in Taxi g Driver and the recent Foxes. >- Among the supporting players, g Meg Foster (no relation to Jodie) e stands out as the sexv string camp w O O operator. Baum's script and Kaylor's direction both are strong, providing an almost regal mix of visual and verbal excitement that x at all times avoids the extremes of vulgarity and patronage that easily could have crept into such a project. The sideshow freaks are not exploited because of their deformities, nor are they painted as martyrs. The film's production credits are all tops. Virtually the only problem with Carny is that it lacks a narrative payoff. After leading the viewer to expect an explosive climax, the /" film fails to deliver it. Still, the , ending does leave one thinking, I anH that'c uihoJ 1v..v. vnuv o miui guwu umia are supposed to do. If you look at the modern school of ambiguity fostered by Bergman, Truffaut and Bertolucci, you'll notice that while each member is a highly personal filmmaker, all agree that the most rewarding aspect of their art is any discovery made by the audience. On that level, by taking its viewers back to the dreams of their childhoods, Carny succeeds immensely. It's ;i slranOP nrul hirKnlnnt m -VV...QV. ualu lu" uulc"1 llllll, m but I'm betting that most people will enjoy it, precisely because of its eccentricities. ? '"' ~? ^ Spotlights J If T C/^ 4-*"%. V W1 i/urict; ^ufn/^uny f/cijui m Dancers from the USC Dance Company will perform the ballet, Pas de Quantre, at noon Saturday, June 7 at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston. | USC students Susan Shelley and Mimi Worrell of Columbia and Ann Weibel of North Augusta will be assisted by Columbia City | Ballet dancer Karen Gibbons Brown to present the ballet. The ! dancers are under the artistic direction of Susan Earle, USC theatre professor and Dance Company director. Pas de Quantre was originally written to be performed for Queen L Victoria as a competition among the four best ballerinas in England in the late 1800s. The free performance at the College of Charleston auditorium is part of Piccolo Spoleto activities which present talent 1 from the state and the Southeast during the annual two-week I | festival. outdoor concerts begin Thursday The USC Cultural Series will present three outdoor concerts on the Horseshoe during June and July in a summer series entitled Musical Flavors. The program opens June 12 with bluegrass music by the } Carolina Rebels band, followed by the first outdoor concert by the ! South Carolina Chamber Orchestra June 22. A jazz concert by USC jazz musicians will be presented July 24. Each program will begin at 6:30. Admission is free. In keeping with the theme of the series, icc ; cream will be sold at each event. Art classes offered at Museum The Richland Art School of the Columbia Museums of Art and Science is pleased to apnounce Painting Set 1980, a series of summer art classes for youth and adults. RAS Supervisor Jean McWhorter states, "The art school provides an oportunity to study art in a workshop setting with professional artist/teachers." The classes are designed for beginners and advanced students of any age. The youth sessions consist of two-week (ten day) courses in drawing and painting for ages 6-14. The classes will be held Monday j through Friday, 9:30 to 11:30. The cost for a two-week session is $40 with all materials furnished. The dates for Youth Sessions are June 2-13, June 16-28* July 7-18 and July 21-August 1, 1980. Instructors Kellah Edens, Leslie Alexander and Peggy Petroff, who hold Master Degrees in art teaching, will guide the youth to be creative while pvnlnrinu variAiic mtwlin ?11?L ' j ...n . u> iuu^ invuin anu cnju^iii^ ctri iccnni(]U6S. j The adult sessions will consist of special interest classes. A life drawing class will be offered June 23-27 from 7 to 10, the cost being $50 and taught by the Museum's Director Walter Hathaway. Hathaway holds both a B.F.A. degree and M.S. degree in Art Education from Virginia Commonwealth University and Florida State respectively. The RAS is located in the 1500 block of Gervais St. just beyond Workshop Theatre, and parking is available. For further information call 799-2810. I Lecture on American music Guild Violinist John Bauer and pianist Charles Fugo of the USC i; Department of Music will present two lecture/recitals, Mostly j Modern American Music, Thursday and Friday June 5 and 6 at 8 in j FraserHall. The June 5 recital will feature the first public presentation of t Dialogues on violin and piano by John Boda, which was completed in March for Bauer. Nigun by Ernest Block, Four Nocturnes by George Crumb and the Sonata in G Major Op. 30 by Beethoven will also be presented. ; T.~ n ? :A-1 --.111 - rr ? * - auc uunc o icciiai win oner music Dy a variety of American composers. Five Portraits by the accomplished black composer ! Ulysses Kay, a repeat performance of Four Nocturnes, Ballade by ; ; Frederick Jacobi and the Sonata by Ned Rorem will be given by the two musicians at the second recital. The recitals, accompanied by lectures by the two professors, are | free to the public. For more information, call 4280. Presidents' collected in show The Columbia Museums of Art and Science announce the opening of two new exhibitions for the month of May. "Twenty-eight Presidents of the Artists Guild of Columbia" and "Times to Remember," photographs and objects from Kodak. The Guild Presidents Show is designed to recognize the leadership j of the present and past presidents of the Artists Guild of Columbia during the 30th Anniversary which the Museum shares with the ; Guild. One work of art by each of the following guild presidents will be displayed through mid-June: Edmund Yaghjian; Mrs. W.A. Thompson; Lewis West; Robert Mills; Gil Petroff; Lola Broughton; .Inn Ffirmn1 H<?lon A w-?o 1:~ 1 ?L!- " " , iivivH 4luuii 10, V/Ui diif ljciciiicont, Neil L,ataye; Marjorie Smith; Liz Smith; Maynard Pearlstine; Courtenay Carson; : Howard Woody; Betty Gilbert; Jo Holmes; Bill Anderson; Marcus R. Durlach, Jr.; Bev Williams; Truman Teed; Larry LeFebvre; | Meg McLean; Judy Pitts Stevens; Ed Crosby and C. L. Cromer. Carolina Eastman is co-sponsoring "Times to Remember," an exhibition featuring one of the founders of Kodak, George Eastman. Included in the show are over 35 artifacts from the Patent Museum of Eastman Kodak and 20 photographs by Stephen Livick from the | George Eastman House International Museum of Photography. Carolina Eastman will be represented at the May 11th opening by 1 Earl Olson, President, and James Kummer, Manager of Industrial Relations. Both the Guild Presidents and Kodak exhibits will remain on display through June 15, li)H(). Tynrnniiir nun iry ... . .. ., ; ytja*r