SHORT TAKES '91

Istvan Szabo's most well-known film, MEPHISTO, deals with an actor caught in political turmoil during the rise of Nazism. His first English-language feature, MEETING VENUS, also deals with show biz and politics, though this time, it's opera, and the politics are all backstage. Niels Arestrup stars as Zoltan Szanto, a Hungarian conductor who comes to Paris to conduct the Opera Europa's production of Wagner's "Tannhauser." He professes to be glad about conducting in a free society with a melting pot of performers and musicians - "where you can be misunderstood in six different languages," he says at one point - but also gets frustrated with the bureaucracy and backstage politics he also has to deal with. Then there's the tempermental star, Karin Anderson (Glenn Close, whose singing voice was dubbed by Kiri Ti Kanawa), who hates him at first, and then of course falls in love with him. Szabo and co-writer Michael Hirst want this production to stand in for how messy a suddenly united Europe became, and when it concentrates on the messiness of everything, it's on firm ground. But as good as the leads are, their love story bogs down into cliche, and the end of the movie doesn't work.

You rarely see anthology films anymore - films made up of two or more different stories, rather than one narrative - which is probably why the always contrarian - and interesting - Jim Jarmusch decided to mount NIGHT ON EARTH. It's about five different cab rides at night in five different cities. In L.A., a casting director (Gena Rowlands) is intrigued enough by her driver (Winona Ryder) that she thinks the cabbie would fit the bill of a tough actress needed for a part. In Manhattan, the only cab driver Yo-Yo (Giancarlo Esposito) can get is Helmut (Armin Mueller-Stahl), who not only speaks little English, but knows zip about driving in Manhattan. In Paris, an immigrant from the Ivory Coast (Isaach de Bankole) who's smart-mouthed meets his match in a blind woman (Beatrice Dalle) who rudely parries any attempt at curiousity or pity. In Rome, Roberto Benigni - who appeared in Jarmusch's DOWN BY LAW - plays a cabbie who gives a monologue/confession to a priest (Paolo Bonicelli) about his wild sexual escepades. Finally, in Helsinki, three drunk passengers (Kari Vanaanan, Sukari Kusomanen, and Tomi Salmela) talk about their hard lives, only to be topped by the driver (Matti Pellonpaa) and his tale. Even if you don't see the overall point - other than the obvious one that people are different at night and with total strangers - this is still entertaining. The third segment is one-note and the weakest, the first one is slender, but lifted by the actresses, the second and fourth are very funny, and the last one is heartbreaking, making it an overall good NIGHT ON EARTH indeed.

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