Issue #114 – February 7 to February 13
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daphie pooyak Local storyteller on the power of words new sounds, new directions Q+A with Belle Plaine the monuments men + the invisible woman Films reviewed Photo: courtesy of the artist
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a tribe called red
Past + present. 12 / feature
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Q + A with belle plaine On new sounds and directions. 10 / Q + A
storytellers festival Daphie Pooyak on the meaning of stories. 4 / Local
Live Music listings Local music listings for February 7 through February 15. 16 / listings
big clay
Nightlife Photos
Exploring size + scale in ceramic works. 11 / Arts
We visit 4 Seasons + Press Box
the oscars
the monuments men + the invisible woman We review the latest
RSO to perform classics from the silver screen. 11 / Arts
18 / Nightlife
movies. 20 / Film
An auditory experience Exploring the mighty audiobook. 6 / Local
dying with dignity
DINE-IN DELIGHT
on the bus
Our thoughts on legalizing assisted suicide. 8 / Editorial
We visit Angkor Southeast Asian Delight. 14 / Food + Drink
Weekly original comic illustrations by Elaine M. Will. 22 / comics
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Game + Horoscopes
Your say on mandatory flu vaccines for healthcare workers. 9 / comments
Halfway to Hollywood, Bryan Adams + Islands. 15 / music
Canadian criss-cross puzzle, weekly horoscopes and Sudoku. 23 / timeout
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Storytelling: Bringing the past, present, and future into focus Daphie Pooyak to talk at the 2014 Storytellers Festival by ADAM HAWBOLDT
T
his is how the world was divided,” says Daphie Pooyak. Her words are articulate, slow, measured. They have to be. Pooyak is a First Nations storyteller. It’s her responsibility to keep her culture alive by telling their stories in a way where anyone can understand the message.
Pooyak pauses, takes a breath, then continues. “In a dream, I was taken around the world four times,” she says, “We were moving really fast when we finally stopped and I looked up and saw a huge hill of sand. I looked to the right, to the left. Everywhere I looked there was sand. We were in a desert on the other side of
the world. My grandfather said: ‘Grandchild, we came here to show you how the world was divided. The evil one, the negative one, he wanted the world for himself. So he went to this group of people here and said ‘God sent me to teach you about God. Did you know that God loves human beings more than he loves anything else in creation?
You are his children. He made human beings in his image. He made all those beautiful birds up in the sky just for human beings. Did you know that he made the fruit, vegetables, plants, he made all that for the human beings to survive? Did you know that God made all the four-legged, the fish, the trees, the rocks — this whole world, he
made it just for the human beings because you are his children and he loves you more than anything.’” And Pooyak says, “Pretty soon human beings started to believe him. They started to destroy everything around him without care … This was the first lie ever told.’” There’s a silence after she says this, as though she’s letting the idea Continued on next page »
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sink in for me, then Pooyak says, “After that we started traveling again. We went to visit all the different people of the world. Grandfather said, ‘Next, the evil one went to all the different colours of people and said hey you black people, you’re different. Hey you white people, you’re different. Hey you red people, hey you yellow people, you’re different.’ And pretty soon they started to believe him and this is where all the wars in the world started … That was the second lie he told.” It wouldn’t be the last.
Storytelling holds a sacred place in aboriginal cultures around the world. It is a chronicle of the past, a window to the present, and a key to the future. Through these tales, storytellers teach about right and wrong. About healing, history, humour and understanding — an understanding of where the aboriginal people came from and where they are going. And from February 16 until the 21, some of the finest aboriginal storytellers on the continent will converge in Regina for the 2014 Annual Storytellers Festival. Daphie Pooyak is one of them. “I remember one time when I was small, my grandmother was leaving” recalls Pooyak, who is a Nakota-Cree woman from the Sweetgrass First Nation.
“She had her bags packed and I asked her where she was going. She told me Regina. I asked if I could go, but she said no. So I asked her why she was going there. She said, ‘I’m going to a storytelling festival’ … ever since then I wanted to go there and tell stories too.” But being a storyteller involves more than a longing and a head full of stories. “You can be given this beautiful story — a pure, clean message — but if you’re not cleaning yourself, if you’re not healing yourself, working on yourself, you can ruin a beautiful story by the way it comes out of your mouth,” explains Pooyak, whose grandparents were both sto-
process to become centred and pure in order to allow the Creator to come and help her deliver the message the way it was given to her — in a pure, loving, altruistic way. Once this state-of-being is achieved, Pooyak is ready to tell the stories she carries. No two storytelling sessions are the same, however. The only aspect of the sessions that remain constant is the prayer Pooyak says before beginning. “Creator,” she prays, “help me, guide me, lead me. Allow me to deliver a message that the people need to hear.” Then the stories begin to fall, slow and measured, from her mouth. Captivating stories that help her people heal and understand the
If you’re sitting in anger while you’re telling the story, [then] what you’re giving to the people is anger. daphie pooyak
rytellers. “If you’re sitting in anger while you’re telling the story, [then] what you’re giving to the people is anger. If you’re sitting there telling the story because you want recognition, you’re ruining the story. The energy of your words hits people before the actual words hit them.” So for Pooyak, it’s a constant process of self-healing. A constant
world around them. Stories like the one she is telling me right now, about how the world became divided.
“We started to travel again,” says Pooyak, picking up her story where she left off. “In my dream, we returned to North America. We
started walking. Grandfather said: ‘The evil one, the negative one, he wanted people to start listening to him instead of the Creator. So he went to all the tribes and told them their tribe was the best. Told them that everything they did was the best. Every other tribe should be like theirs, do it like them.’” “Pretty soon they started to believe him,” she continues. “Pretty soon, the tribes started separating. Becoming more distant. Long ago, when there was a crisis in the world all the tribes would come together and pray in their own individual way. Now they’re too busy arguing — our way is right, your way is wrong — because they believed the evil one.” Pooyak’s voice is true and strong. She uses clear, concise words so that even a child can understand her story. With a cadence that is both subtle and powerful, she continues.
“From there we traveled to villages and communities. Grandfather said to me: ‘Grandchild, next the evil one went house to house, telling them I know everybody in this community, your family is the best. Everything they do is the best. Everyone else in your community should be like you.’ Pretty soon, they believed him and they started fighting and arguing. They haven’t stopped.” Here Pooyak pauses one last time, then says, “One of the greatest lies ever told is that the Creator loves this one more than that one. We are all equal, we are equal to the fourlegged, the winged ones, the insects, the water creatures, the plants, the trees, the rocks, all creation.” Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
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Photo: courtesy of wes funk
An auditory experience Local actor and author team up to release Aurora Audiobooks’ first title by ADAM HAWBOLDT
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efore Matt Josdal created his company, Aurora Audiobooks, he has some decisions to make. The first and foremost being, naturally, what kind of books should he publish? After a bit of consideration, Josdal decided he wanted all books under the Aurora aegis to be Canadian. Having worked as a narrator and a voice-over artist for some time, Josdal was familiar with the audiobook industry and knew there was a gap that he could fill.
See, the vast majority of Canadian audiobooks were being produced by American audiobook companies, with the content being read by American narrators. So the decision to keep things closer to home —to put out Canadian audiobooks read by Canadian authors — was a natural, easy one to make. Almost as easy as deciding to enter the audiobook market in the first place. “It’s a growth industry right now,” explains Josdal. “Audiobooks
are exploding, have been for the last five years or so, and show no sign of slowing down.” Taking one quick look at the numbers, and you see Josdal is right. Once a static niche filled with cassettes and CDs, the audiobook industry is now in full bloom. Shifts in digital technology (shifts that have allowed audiobooks to be downloaded to any smartphone or tablet) have lead to the creation of a $1.2-billion industry on the move. From 2010 to 2011, unit sales in downloaded audiobooks grew Continued on next page »
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by nearly 30%. Between 2011 and 2012, the number of titles in the audiobook industry increased from 7,237 to 13,255. So yeah, for Josdal, entering a booming industry like this made perfect sense. The tricky part was figuring out which book would be the first release in the Aurora Audiobooks library.
Wes Funk calls it “the little book that could.” One cold winter, much like the winter we’re having now, Funk sat down to write a novel about a quirky record store owner named Jackson Hill. In the novel, Funk envisioned Hill living and working in Saskatoon. He envisioned Hills’s father suddenly dying, and the protagonist making the journey back to his hometown in southern Saskatchewan for the funeral. During the course of the narrative, Funk envisioned Hill meeting a handsome stranger, paying his last respects to his father, and having a blow-out with his brother over some deep, dark, lingering issue from the past. That was the vision Funk had for the book. And in the winter of 2003-2004, he began writing it. “That was one of the most creative outbursts I’ve ever had,” Funk says about the writing process. “It was almost like the book was using me as a tool to surface.” And surface it did. A few short months after typing the opening sentence, Funk was finished of the first draft of his novel — Dead Rock Stars. Second and third drafts ensued. By 2007, Dead Rock Stars was ready be put out to the world. He tried the traditional publishing route before decided to self-publish. The first run of the book was 500 copies. It sold out in a couple of months. Then he ordered another run. And another. The book kept selling. Dead Rock Stars is currently in its fifth run. Somewhere along the way, during one of those runs, Matt Josdal was given a copy of the book. He didn’t read it right away. But when it came time to figure out which novel he wanted to publish first
on the Aurora Audiobooks label, Josdal decided he wanted to keep things close to home and work with a local Saskatchewan author. So he started voraciously reading Sask-Lit.
yourself. Does it have a good story? Does it have a good voice? Is it one of those books that are so overly concerned with their own literary prowess that it will end up boring a listener to tears, or is it one of those
It was clear to me right away who this character was and how to tell this story. matt josdal
“I read everything I could get my hands on,” remembers Josdal. “Someone had given me Dead Rock Stars as a gift — I don’t remember who. It was just sitting there on my bookshelf. So one day I started reading it and instantly knew it was the one. It was what I was looking for.”
When you’re looking for a novel to record as an audiobook, there are certain questions you have to ask
novels that moves and shakes — engaging listeners at every turn? After reading Dead Rock Stars, all these questions and more were answered for Josdal. “Wes’ book just had a great story,” says Josdal. “It’s broken into nice digestible chapters, which is a good way for an audiobook to present itself because people often don’t listen to a full audiobook in one sitting … it’s usually a half hour here and there. It’s got a really clear voice. It’s written in first person.
It was clear to me right away who this character was and how to tell this story.” So after discussing the project with Funk, ironing out the details and going over the fine print, Josdal leapt head-first into narrating and recording Dead Rock Stars. The result was everything Funk and Josdal hope for — and then some. “He absolutely nailed it,” said Funk, of Josdal’s voice work. “He nailed the character, he nailed the voice. He even nailed all the humour that was supposed to come across in the book.” “Wes is too kind sometimes,” chuckles, Josdal. “My job is to stay out of the way of the story. It was all just a matter of letting the story tell itself and not interfere too
much. The humour is on the page. Wes is the funny one, not me.” And now that Dead Rock Stars is out on audiobook (available digitally at www.auroraaudiobooks.ca and soon to be released as a CD), it’s time for Josdal to move on and make another one. It shouldn’t take too long. He already has a couple of titles in the works. The only decision he has to make now is, which one to go with?
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dying with dignity Canada should allow terminally ill patients the option of euthanasia
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n 1992, a woman named Sue Rodriguez was living in Victoria, B.C., suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease. She went to court to fight for her right to assisted suicide. It didn’t work. In a 5-to-4 ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld section 241(b) of Criminal Code of Canada, which states that helping a person commit suicide is illegal. Now, twenty-two years later, the Supreme Court will hear an appeal by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association that could provide terminally ill patients with end-of-life rights. The plaintiffs in the case include Gloria Taylor, who suffered from Lou Gehrig’s disease before she died in 2012, and Kathleen Carter, who had a degenerative spinal condition and traveled to Switzerland in 2010 to end her life with the help of a doctor. We applaud this move as a step in the right direction. And we hope that, this time around, the Supreme Court strikes down section 241(b) of our Criminal Code, and legalizes assisted suicide coast to coast in our country. Of course, any conversation about assisted suicide has to be conducted
in a sensitive manner, but lucky for us we’re able to look to other models to see what works and what doesn’t. For example, the Netherlands regulates euthanasia through the Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide Act, which came into effect in 2002. Through this act, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are legal — in very specific cases, and under specific conditions. For example, for a patient to be granted the right to end their own life their suffering must be unbearable with no prospect of improvement. What’s more, the patient’s request for euthanasia must be voluntary and persist over time (the request cannot be granted when under the influence of others, psychological illness, or drugs). Oh, and the patient must be fully aware of his/her condition, prospects and options. A few more circumstances and conditions of the Netherlands model include: consultation with at least one other independent doctor who needs to confirm the conditions mentioned above; the death must be carried out in a medically appropriate fashion by the doctor or patient, in which case the doctor must be present; the patient
is at least 12 years old, and patients between 12 and 16 years of age require the consent of their parents. Okay, so perhaps 12 years old might be a tad young, but that just means we will have to sit down and discuss age restrictions. And because, as Justice Minister Peter MacKay recently said, “Assisted suicide is an emotional and divisive issue for many Canadians.” We will also have to take into consideration all objections and find a way to limit abuse of the system, such as doctors euthanizing patients without explicit consent, patients being pressured into choosing death, or people getting their legally mandated second opinion from a proeuthanasia doctor. These are problems, very real problems, with the Netherlands’ system. So here in Canada we need to do better. How? Simple. In addition to addressing the kinks in the Netherlands’ system, we could make it illegal for doctors to propose euthanasia or assisted suicide. And how about providing a panel of screened doctors, with no euthanasia affiliation, to give each potential candidate a second opinion.
That’s only the tip of the iceberg. When it comes to assisted suicide, we have to be as thorough as possible. But first thing’s first. Before we can begin to implement new rules and regulations governing assisted suicide — rules and regulations that will minimize risk via stringent limits and ardent monitoring — the Supreme Court of Canada must do its part. For terminally ill people who are in a world of pain with no end in sight, we must do whatever we can to let them proceed with dignity. We are keeping our fingers crossed. After all, to paraphrase Sue Rodriguez, if we cannot give consent to our own death, whose body is this? Who owns our lives? These editorials are left unsigned because they represent the opinions of Verb magazine, not those of the individual writers.
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then spends the rest of the program telling you why it’s not.
On Topic: Last week we asked what you thought about mandatory flu vaccines for healthcare workers. Here's what you had to say: – I think any1 who werks 4 healthcare should get there vaccinces cause they see some many people in a day and its very easily past 2 person 2 person and this will stop people from.getting colds and flus plus its also good for them and there family and friends ***d.m.r.c***
– I would strongly encourage mandatory vaccinations for all health care workers for everyone’s protection. Truth Is PowerTry It
– I find it extremely surprising that vaccines are mandatory for healthcare workers already, though I suppose they don’t want to start down the slippery slope of mandating what certain portions of the population has to put in their bodies. Seems like a dangerous precedence to set, but in this case the flu vaccine is fairly benign, has been around for ages, and protects patients from a potentially life threatening illness/disease.
text yo thoughtsur to 881 ve r b 8372
– Really, unless you are allergic everyone should get there flu shot. Healthcare workers, sure, but everyone else. We could eradicate the flu together! And it’s free so why not?!
– Yes to flu vaccines if you work in a hospital and have direct contact with patients. Those people are sick and don’t need to get worse by getting something that could be prevented by a vaccine.
– Sorry to burst your bubble but the flu vaccine only works some of the time, if the one that is created meshes with whatever strain of the virus is out. You can coerce people into getting their flu shot but it might not even do anything? So why should we make people just do it?
– THANKS DOWNTOWN GUY!
– Why is it there are some drivers that will have a Baby On Board sign in their back window of their vehicle and yet they are driving like maniacs running red lights and speeding? It doesn’t make sense to me!
– Ed Sullivan walks into a pet store and says Ladies and gentleman The Gerbals!
– What makes a cold winter worse is listening to people complain about it all the time like no one else has ventured outside. We get it! IT SUCKS!
– Tar sands, 0il, Uranium, Screw The Lives of the SLAVE!!! and the Environment!! THE Company Cares less!!! Considering The $$$ They make at Human Cost...And Pad the POCKET Thanks permits F0H...
– I’m getting really sick of people talking S--- about stuff they don’t know anything about maybe think before you speak your a grownup afterall
– Wow people are maniac drivers out there. There should be a test before you’re allowed to drive not just the one when your 16 but every 10 or something years later because there are some adults are are f-ing stupid behind the wheel.Morons.
– Lol everyone is getting so worked up over the Olympics. The
fact that they’re such a screw up is hilarious and the only reason I’m paying attention!
– Soshi suck who cares even?
Next week: What do you think about legalizing assisted suicide in Canada? Text in your thoughts to Verb to get in on the conversation: We print your texts verbatim each week. Text in your thoughts and reactions to our stories and content, or anything else on your mind.
OFF TOPIC – Sexworkers should b the authority on creating legal regulations fo theircareers becausethey are affected most. SW’s deserve workers rights! In response to “Sex work in Saskatchewan,” Local, #113 (January 31, 2014)
– I work in healthcare, and am completely against your proposal which is wrongheaded. While I understand the benefits of the vaccine more than the general population (and do get it personally, and encourage others to do so), making it mandatory is dangerous. Just imagine if YOUR place of business made you did it? It’s still beneficial whether you work in a mine, in a school or in a hospital to have your vaccine. The same argument still applies: getting the vaccine protects those around you. BUT no one else would stand for this. So why should I?
– Powerful story on the woman who works as an escort. I think it is interesting to hear the perspective of someone who chose to be in the industry. I agree with her sentiment, though, that the laws need to change and the government needs to dialogue with those who work directly in the industry. In response to “Sex work in Saskatchewan,” Local, #113 (January 31, 2014)
SOUND OFF – I find it amusing how the news anchor says Good Evening and
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New sounds & new directions Photos: courtesy of chris graham + Michael Bell photography
Belle Plaine to debut roots and blues music, cut live album by Alex J MacPherson
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elle Plaine’s latest record, Notes From A Waitress, charmed audiences across western Canada with its nostalgic blend of seductive jazz and lively swing. But Belle Plaine, whose real name is Melanie Hankewich, has never been content to stay in one place for too long. Notes From A Waitress was inspired by the time she spent living abroad, where she supported herself by working in cafés. Not surprisingly, the restlessness that drove her to travel also seeps into her music. The latest songs to emerge from Hankewich’s Regina bunker, where she spent the last several months thinking and writing, explore fertile new musical territory — blues and roots music. Although a new album is still some months away, Hankewich is planning to debut her new material — as well as revive some old favourites — with one of the largest bands she’s ever fronted. To make it permanent, the show will be recorded and released as a live record, which Hankewich hopes will capture the fluid genrebending and smooth performances that have endeared her to crowds. Earlier this month, I caught up with her to talk about new directions, new sounds, and new challenges facing one of Saskatchewan’s brightest songwriters. Alex J MacPherson: Later this month, you’re playing with a very large band,
the Unrequited Love. How does the live arrangement affect the stripped-down aesthetic of Notes From A Waitress?
song in a new way when they come to a concert, and not just get what they’re getting on the album.
Belle Plaine: We’ve made a choice of what repertoire could grow in that way. There are some tunes that lend themselves to having a full section. Some of those are new songs, and that makes it easier for sure, when you don’t have to rethink things. But the album was something I was trying to keep manageable; it was very early in my experience of recording. Now I feel like I’m more aware of the songs and what I’m capable of, and having players who can really integrate themselves into the arrangement makes it feel like everything has laid itself out very easily.
AJM: You’ve spoken before about the struggles that accompany writing, and I’m wondering: what can audiences expect from your new material? BP: Stylistically, the arrow is pointing towards a more roots feel. But then there’s songs that I don’t even know where to place. There’s a song called “Good Heart” that I don’t even know what genre it’s in. I guess for lack of anything better, it’s pop. But it doesn’t feel like the kind of pop that’s on the radio right now. Other than that? A lot
maybe it is riskier at this point because we have started down a path. I think you can see it from either angle: you should stick with it for years and establish yourself as one kind of artist and then explore your creativity later. But I don’t really have an interest in that. These are the songs that I’m writing, these are the songs that feel authentic to where I’m at and to what my players are interested in doing, and that’s what I want to explore. We found an audience for a jazz album and we’ll find an audience for this album, too. AJM: You’re recording this show so it can be released as a live record. What prompted that decision?
I think this is a way to capture … the way that we cross genres.
AJM: How do the older songs change depending on the musicians and the arrangement?
Belle Plaine
BP: Well it can just be an added piece, you know? With the band we’re putting together for this, a lot of the arrangements are true to what they were [on the record], but you can add a trumpet and that changes the dynamic of it — having a trumpet is like having another voice. Cheney [Lambert] and I can play off each other. When we’ve played them for as long as we have, being able to give them something new is really meaningful for me, and I think it’s important for audiences to hear a
of roots stuff, a little bit of straight-up country. I think it’s [going to be] a poppier record. It’s certainly not going to be another swing record; it doesn’t have that same nostalgic feel to it. AJM: Your voice lends itself to a lot of different styles of music, but are dramatic changes of direction a big risk? BP: I think I’m so early in a career that to take a turn isn’t a huge risk. I mean,
BP: The whole thing started with Shann Gowan in Swift Current, who wanted to have the same band we had for JunoFest. It’s rare that I get an invitation to bring a very large group on the road, and so of course we took it. And being that we had to work up two hours of music, I figured we should add another date. And then it just evolved from there: if you’re going to all this work and you’re going to get everybody onstage, why not
try recording it and see if it amounts to something? AJM: Personally I love live albums that take familiar songs in unexpected directions, which is pretty much what you’re after. What do you hope people get from it that they can’t get from a studio record? BP: Oh my god, you’re really speaking to my anxieties right now. [Laughs] I think this is a way to capture what we do onstage and the way that we cross genres. It’s something you talked about with us doing a jazz record and then veering into more roots stuff. I think it’s something we do really well in a live setting, and maybe something that’s more difficult to get across on an album. Or by telling someone about your band: you say you play classic country, some jazz, pop stuff, and then you veer into blues, and I think it gets a bit muddy. Perhaps this live album will help people understand that we’re able to cover those genres in, hopefully, a way that’s cohesive and accessible for the audience. That’s my biggest concern onstage, that people get it. Belle Plain February 14 @ Artesian on 13th $15/20 @ Mysteria Gallery Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
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Big Clay
Donation sparks exploration of size, scale in ceramic works
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ig Clay is, as the title suggests, an exhibition of large ceramic works of art. Timothy Long, head curator at the MacKenzie Art Gallery, came up with the idea after Jack Sures, a seminal figure in the Regina clay movement, donated a number of works to the gallery. After examining the bequest, Long was struck by the sheer size of some of the works. Big Clay sprang from his desire to challenge the notion that ceramic art must be small and delicate; he wanted to show that clay could be muscular, powerful, and above all, moving. “I told my colleagues here at the MacKenzie, I’m going to do a show on big clay,” Long says with a laugh. “They all laughed and I said, ‘Yeah, I am.’” Instead of curating the show himself, Long enlisted Jessica Bastiaanse, a curatorial student who worked at the gallery last summer. “I gave her the task of identifying all of the works in our collection over a certain size,” he says. “She went to work on that and
by alex J MacPherson
then we went through the collection and decided which pieces we thought should go in the exhibition, what sort of groupings we might put together, what themes there might be within the works selected.” The resulting exhibition includes work by a number of Saskatchewan artists, as well as pieces by artists working outside the province. Laying out the show created an interesting problem for Long and Bastiaanse. An art exhibition is much more than a group of works joined by a common theme or idea. The space in which a show is presented shapes not only the relations between the works, but also the experience of viewing them. Because the MacKenzie Art Gallery’s sculpture court has two entrances, one at each end, the curators couldn’t arrange Big Clay in chronological order; they needed the show to make sense regardless of which entrance a potential viewer selected. “As I was explaining to Jessica, I like to have a high-profile, high-impact
work at either end of the show,” Long says. At one end of the gallery reposes a massive clay globe by Ruth Chambers, a former student of Sures who created 130 such globes for her 1994 MFA show. The massive dappled clay ball is both maximalist and minimalist; it demonstrates that ceramic works can be both simple and profound. “I like it because it’s just a big piece of clay,” Long says with a laugh. “Nothing says “big clay” like a big gob of clay.” The other end of the gallery features three works by Maria Gakovic, elaborately detailed vases that capture her experience of the Second World War — claustrophobia, confinement, and fear. After establishing which works would greet viewers, Long and Bastiaanse arranged the remaining pieces into small groups, each exploring a different idea or theme. One such group includes selections by Zane Wilcox, Martin Tagseth, and Donovan Chester, all of which pit formal perfection against the imperfect nature of the clay itself. A second group
includes work by Marilyn Levine and Victor Cicansky, both of whom were instrumental in establishing Regina as a hotbed of ceramic art. Levine’s “Jacket #2” and Cicansky’s “Satchel,” both of which were fired in the late 1960s, address the subject of leather clothing in a similar manner, conjuring the impression of pliability from rock hard clay. “I think it speaks to the continuity of ceramic instruction here at the University of Regina, that we have facilities where people can work on a larger scale and that we produce students like Zane [Wilcox] who go on to work in that vein,” Long says. Perhaps more importantly, Big Clay
highlights the breadth and depth of the ceramic movement in Saskatchewan — and how artists like Sures and Levine have passed the proverbial torch to a new generation of innovative young artists. “I think there’s a belief in ceramics as a medium here,” Long says. “That’s really unusual, to have so many artists who are inspired by working in that medium and trying to push themselves and push the limits of the medium — and size, scale is just one of the ways they do that.” Big Clay Through February 23 @ MacKenzie Art Gallery
The Oscars
Regina Symphony Orchestra to perform classics from the silver screen
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eethoven, Brahms, and Mahler all wrote melodies that have withstood the passage of time. But some of the most important compositions of the last century have found a home not on the concert hall stage, but on the silver screen. Because so many of our cultural reference points are creations of the movie industry, the music chosen to accompany films becomes the soundtrack for our own memories and experiences. The best compositions transcend the screen, emerging in the public consciousness not as accompaniment to a spectacle, but as important works in their own right. Victor Sawa understands the appeal of movies and movie music. The Regina Symphony Orchestra’s maestro is a notorious film buff and more likely to quote Spielberg than Stravinsky. He has spent almost two decades trying to
integrate movie music into the broader mandate of the orchestra. Each year, he hosts a special concert dedicated to selections from some of the most important movies ever produced. Over the course of his career with the RSO he has conducted music from Star Wars, Indiana Jones, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Lord Of The Rings, The Godfather, and dozens more. The Oscars concert has become a tradition for symphony-goers in Regina. But it also encapsulates Sawa’s deeply populist view of music — one summed up by his suggestion that good music is good music, regardless of genre or style. But introducing movie music to a classical audience has not been easy. According to Sawa, simply finding scores can be difficult. “They have grade nine band editions which we sometimes get, and it’s like, this is worse than useless,” he says with a wry laugh. “Other times, it’s the manu-
by alex J MacPherson
script. I mean, my original Godfather was the manuscript in [composer Nino Rota’s] handwriting. I mean, you’re lending this out?” For the 2014 edition of his movie music concert, Sawa will be using a hybrid, a score consisting of excerpts structured to follow the course of the film itself. “This one is actually lined up with the movie and it’s really intelligently done, very good.” The 2014 concert also features selections from a pair of inconic Steven Spielberg films, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Both films were scored by the legendary composer John Williams, and both scores highlight the iconic composer’s gentler side. (According to Sawa, Williams is one of the few composers whose film scores are in wide circulation.) The program also features a collection of compositions drawn from the various Star Trek television and film releases, from the original television
show to the latest J.J. Abrams film. It is a diverse program rooted in epic themes, soaring passages, and ambient washes. Despite his dedication to movie music, Sawa is surprised how few orchestras dedicate performances to films. “When you think about it,” he says, “doing movie music is still in its primitive form. I figured it would be well advanced. Not many people do this; I think I know of two or three other conductors who actually did movie music, who actually know movie music. I mean, when I first did Star Wars here it was like, ‘this is cutting-edge.’” Which is strange, considering how the best film scores have seeped out of Hollywood and into popular culture. “Some of the stuff that is done in movies is advanced,” Sawa says. “In other words, if we put it on as a straight concert, I don’t know if it would work. But then if you say, ‘this is the scene where Gregory Peck discovers that his
son is the anti-Christ,’ it’s like, oh wow, this is great. It’s funny how in most classical music, if you paint an actual picture, it becomes obvious. But nobody knew it until Walt Disney came out with Fantasia. That was my first experience with Beethoven’s Sixth.” Put another way, Sawa’s commitment to movie music and his uncanny ability to describe music to an audience combine to create an experience that references, but does not mimic, the act of watching a film. It shows just how important movie music has become to the way we think about the world. The Oscars February 15 @ Conexus Arts Centre Ticket info @ reginasymphony.com Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@VerbRegina amacpherson@verbnews.com
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Feature
Past & Present Photo: courtesy of Sebastien Roy
A Tribe Called Red fuse tradition to create politically charged and emotionally powerful dance music by Alex J MacPherson
T
he key to understanding A Tribe Called Red is rooted not in politics or cultural identity, but in one of the most basic expressions of what it means to be human. The perfect fulcrum of emotional articulation and kinetic beauty, dancing transcends cultural differences, political borders, and personal boundaries. And it is what A Tribe Called Red does best. Blending traditional pow wow music with a range of contemporary club sounds, from glitchy dubstep to mesmeric trance, A Tribe Called Red’s sound fuses dance music from the past to dance music from the present. Since the group emerged in 2010, its unique remix of cultural ideas has become a political force, its members outspoken advocates of indigenous rights. The three DJs were catapulted onto the national stage following the rise of the Idle No More movement in December 2012, their music held up as the ideal example of tradition and innovation. And there is no question that A Tribe Called Red’s music is inextricably linked to politics. But according to Bear Witness, who formed the group with Ian “DJ NDN” Campeau and Dan “DJ Shub” General, A Tribe Called Red will always make music meant for dancing.
“I like to talk about it as a cultural continuance,” he says of the group’s music, exemplified by their hyperenergetic sophomore album, 2013’s Nation II Nation. “Kind of looking at how pow wow culture has been used as a social gathering and a cultural gathering, and adapting that to our urban lives here in 2014. So where do we gather like that in cities? Well, clubs. So we try to move those same ideas into our club environment, as DJs.” In
wildly successful — last week the group was nominated for two Junos, for breakthrough artist of the year and electronic album of the year. A Tribe Called Red was formed as an offshoot of Electric Pow Wow, a riotous dance party directed at the Ottawa indigenous community and designed to show off the talents of Aboriginal DJs and producers. “The music grew out of that party, the success of that party, and [us] wanting to create some-
…the political part of A Tribe Called Red is part of the package, really. It’s part of the responsibility of what we’re doing. bear witness
other words, A Tribe Called Red seized on the elements shared by all dance music — driving rhythms, grinding beats, and ear-catching hooks. By folding them together, the group created a new kind of dance music (they call it “pow wow-step”) that transposes the vital functions of the pow wow into the modern nightclub. The group’s music is much more than just a cultural remix; it is the contemporary manifestation of an ancient tradition. And it has been
thing … that represented them,” Bear Witness says. “We didn’t really think of it outside of that. And we continue to be surprised by the way that nonindigenous people are reacting to the pow wow music we’re using.” Last year, the three members of A Tribe Called Red recorded and released their second album, Nation II Nation. Unlike the group’s eponymous debut, which was a collection of tracks produced over almost three years, Nation Continued on next page »
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II Nation was conceived and executed as a record, a coherent whole. The record also benefited from the group’s relationship with Tribal Spirit Music, a Quebec-based record label that specializes in pow wow music. “They opened up their catalogue to us,” Bear Witness explains. “Before, it was always about looking and hunting for the right pow wow songs to sample, the ones that had the right bits and pieces that we could use. But when Tribal Spirit stepped in — and they represent, I think, ten or twelve pow wow [groups] — that changed it for us. All of a sudden we had this body of material to work from. And on top of that, they said to us, ‘what do you guys need? What can we give you that will make this better or easier for your process of remixing it?’ We said we’d really like to get isolated tracks.” The quality of the source material is evident on Nation II Nation, which is more cohesive, more refined, and more compelling than its predecessor. Casting the familiar glitches, buzzes, and thumps of popular club music against the timeless sound of pow wow singing, the tracks that make up Nation II Nation are relentlessly propulsive. This is music meant for movement, but it is also political. “That’s all we set out to do originally,” Bear Witness says. “We just wanted to make really good dance music and have a really great dance party. The thing is, when you take that idea and point it toward the indig-
Photo: courtesy of Brudder Falling Tree
enous community, it becomes political very quickly. So the political part of A Tribe Called Red is part of the package, really. It’s part of the responsibility of what we’re doing.” A Tribe Called Red’s politics manifest in two basic ways, directly and indirectly. Because the group’s music became the soundtrack to the Idle No More movement, it is impossible to separate the emotional impact of their dance tracks from the emotional im-
pact of the movement itself. But Bear Witness, Campeau, and General have also emerged as outspoken advocates for Aboriginal people in Canada. Last year, Campeau became the face of the campaign to persuade the Nepean Redskins, an Ottawa youth football team, to change its name. (“The players call each other ‘redskins’ on the field,” Campeau said in a press release. “How are they going to differentiate the playing field from the school yard?” In September, the team agreed to rechristen itself the Nepean Eagles.) The three DJs have also been critical of trends in fashion based on stereotypes and cultural appropriation. According to Bear Witness, the sight of young white people brazenly wearing headdresses to the group’s shows was shocking. “I was definitely taken aback by it — that whole feeling of, really? Is this happening again?” But instead of lashing out, the group decided to do something proactive. “Right away, I was able to recognize it as an opportunity,” he says. “Here we are with this fake stuff everywhere, and now that we have people’s ear we have an opportunity to show them what’s real. At one festival in particular there was a lot of headdresses in the audience and we had a traditional dancer come out onstage. Right away it was there, it was in their faces: this is obviously not what you’re dressed up as.” This theme is also found in the elaborate visual displays Bear Witness creates to accompany the group’s performances. For the song “NDNs From All Directions,” which sampled and remixed the dancehall artist Super Cat, Bear Witness extracted footage from the video for “I’m An Indian Too,” a song by the British pop singer Cliff Richard. “It’s all British people dancing and dressed up in feathers and loincloths,” he says. “And then on top of that sampled in some stuff from the Walking Dead, where they’re all saying, ‘let’s have a pow wow.’ So all these elements we’re bringing in — Jamaican dudes, British pop stars, American actors — none of that is indigenous. What makes it indigenous is when we remix it all, when we take it all together and spit it back out.” Perhaps the broadest expression of the group’s politics is bound up in the title of Nation II Nation. It is a statement that can be read on many different lev-
els — “like a lot of things we do,” Bear Witness says with a laugh. Because Bear Witness and General are Iroquois while Campeau is Ojibway, the title refers to the flow of creative energy between two First Nations communities that were once bitter rivals. On a broader level, Nation II Nation speaks to the evolving relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous people in Canada. “We’ve seen this explosion of indigenous people using their traditional music and mixing it with electronic music,” Bear Witness says. “So being part of this global indigenous community is another nation to nation conversation. It’s a good jumping-off point to talk about the whole indigenous experience.” That experience is bound up in A Tribe Called Red’s music. But the group’s music also captures some of the difficulties ignorant to building bridges between communities — communities with a historically adversarial relationship. “Especially in a country like Canada, a settler nation, the construct that is Canada is really fragile,” he says, “especially when you start talking about indigenous issues and indigenous rights. So it becomes a very difficult conversation to have, because it very quickly turns to anger and name-calling, on both sides.” And more than anything else, this is why A Tribe Called Red has been embraced by people across the country, regardless of cultural background. “When you start moving that conversation into a club environment, you’re hitting people when they’re not expecting it. Again, it might be something that snaps to you days or weeks later, and that works too. It’s not something that has to be immediate or understood in the moment.” In the end, he adds, “if people are just coming out and having a good time, that’s still what we went out to accomplish.” A Tribe Called Red February 18 @ The Exchange $15/20 @ Globe Theatre Box Office, tickets.globetheatrelive.com
Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@VerbRegina amacpherson@verbnews.com
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Photos: courtesy of Maxton Priebe
DELIGHT IN DINE-IN
Angkor Southeast Asian Delight swears that braving the cold for a hot meal is worth it by mj deschamps
T
here’s an old episode of Seinfeld where Elaine Benes finds out she lives just outside the boundary of a Chinese restaurant’s delivery area. In typical Seinfeld fashion, Elaine ends up scheming to get her Chinese food by moving into a janitor’s closet in the building across the street; chaos ensues and she never gets to taste the ‘Supreme Flounder’ dish she’s been vying for. The whole time, you can’t help but wonder — why doesn’t Elaine just visit the restaurant to eat? Although the gravity of the situation may be a bit exaggerated by neurotic Elaine, it does
eating lukewarm pad thai from a foam takeout container. The restaurant has meat and produce shipped in every week from Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, and preps everything fresh each morning. The menu is large, but Chen says that the chefs (most of whom have been with the restaurant since it first opened 12 years ago) have all the dishes down pat, and are proud of being able to offer such a diverse number of dining options.“There are many Asian restaurants in Regina, but none that have as many different [styles of cuisine] in one place,” said Chen. The menu is a mix of mainstream, traditional and more creative southeast Asian dishes, ranging from rice vermicelli, pad thai and fried rice to fresh salads with papaya and noodles; main dishes like cinnamon duck, almond prawns and vegetarian curry; and hot pots featuring Coca-Cola chicken and rum basil chicken. I’m a creature of habit, and generally tend to stick to the classics when it comes to Asian foods (spring rolls, fried rice and curries), so it was a welcome change to have Chen serve us some dishes that I probably wouldn’t have picked from the menu myself. The first plate to arrive carried a heaping Cambodian chicken
reflect the culture around Asian cuisine in North America, in the sense that most people usually opt for delivery rather than dine-in. Regina’s Angkor Southeast Asian Delight, however, is going against the grain — instead of offering delivery as an option, they are focusing on their in-house service and their dining room, making it a warm and welcoming place to be. The quality and presentation of the Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and Cambodian dishes served up by the kitchen is the restaurant’s focus, according to owner Lynn Chen. She says that the food experience Angkor aims for can’t exactly get across if you’re
let’s go drinkin’ Verb’s mixology guide spiced mango margarita
Ingredients
Sweet and spicy flavours are a staple in many Asian dishes – and can make for a tasty combination when it comes to cocktail time, as well.
1 ½ oz. mango vodka 1 oz. mango juice ½ oz. agave syrup 2 slices jalapeño lime orange bitters
directions
Muddle together jalapeño, mango juice and agave syrup. Add in vodka, a dash of bitters and about three-quarters of a freshly squeezed lime. Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
salad, full of pops of colour from the bright red peppers, fresh green parsley and lemongrass chicken. A crispy-on-the-outside, soft-on-theinside rice noodle is the base of the dish which, overall, is made up of an array of complex flavours and textures. The shrimp paste in the dish helps blend some spicy notes into the sweet sauce, and the salad as a whole leaves you with a light, crisp experience. Next came a plate of giant prawns coated in crunchy, slivered almonds, arranged neatly on a bed of shredded carrots and lettuce. Again, presentation really stood out from similar dishes I’ve seen in other restaurants. The prawns themselves were soft and juicy, while the sweet sauce accompanying them was nice and balanced, with orange juice blended in to contribute some acidity. The Peking pork chop comes arranged in a stack of bite-sized cubes, marinated in spices and served with homemade Peking sauce. This sauce is much sweeter than the one served with the prawns, but the smoky flavour of the tender pork helps tone down the sugary taste a bit. Those who love all things sweet and sour will be fans of this one for sure.
I had almost forgotten about the more briney taste I was used to from many Asian dishes until the black bean sauce hot plate with beef arrived in a huge, fiery display. The sauce that coats the thinly sliced beef and sautéed onions and peppers is a traditional one, using Chinese black beans — so it is rather salty — but the rich beef and garlic flavours help mix in some more savoury notes. Those who love saltiness will enjoy eating it straight from the plate, but for those like myself, Angkor will gladly bring you as much rice as you like, to blend in. It’s tough sometimes to find the motivation to leave the house when the weather is -30C, but resisting the temptation to order delivery and going out, instead, really does pay off. Maybe it’s just me, but I’d rather face the cold than eat my food that way. Angkor Southeast Asian Delight 2567 Quance St. | 306 522 2388
Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@VerbRegina mdeschamps@verbnews.com
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Next Week
coming up
Halfway to Hollywood
Bryan Adams
Islands
@ The club (at the exchange) Monday, February 17 – $10
@ Conexus Arts Centre Wednesday, February 19 – $57+
@ The Exchange Saturday, March 22 – $15
Pop power trios are hard to beat, and Halfway to Hollywood promises to be one of the most exciting in recent memory. Based in Vancouver, Grant Walker, Brenden White, and Roman Zugarazo are starting to take off — their latest EP, Party Like It’s Prom Night, dropped last year — demonstrating the group’s ability to generate some solid pop and rock. The trio employ bucketloads of talent, crunchy guitars, and screaming synthesizers to create upbeat, accessible, radio-friendly songs. Influenced by bands like Hedley and Blink-182, Halfway to Hollywood are already on the road to success. These guys are killing it in a way that’s nothing if not infectious, so check them out when they swing through Regina next week.
What can you say about Bryan Adams that hasn’t been said already? With his distinct vocal stylings and blue-collar rock sensibilities, this Ontario-born musician has become nothing short of a Canadian music icon. Thanks to legendary albums like Cuts Like a Knife, Reckless and Waking Up the Neighbours, along with his ability to write terrific music scores, Adams has received 56 Juno nominations, 15 Grammy nominations, three Oscar nominations and a handful of Golden Globe nods. Oh, and did I mention that he has also received the Order of Canada? That he has stars on both the Canadian and Hollywood Walk of Fame? Come join him on The Bare Bones Tour when he plays Conexus. Tickets are available through www.conexusticket.com.
Indie rock band Islands’ new album, Ski Mask, is an angry album. Infectious? Sure. Catchy? You bet. But at the heart of it is a certain type of anger. “This record is really about being angry,” says singer Nicholas Thorburn. “For better or worse, this record kind of sums up my experience thus far with being in a band. I feel like we’re kind of at a crossroads and this record is kind of me just declaring forfeiture in some ways. Like the third act of a movie — just after it seems like all hope is lost, that’s when the big breakthrough moment happens. For Islands, this is us waiting for the breakthrough moment.” If the trio from Montreal keep putting out albums like Ski Mask, they may not have to wait too long. Tickets at www.ticketedge.ca. – By Adam Hawboldt
Photos courtesy of: the artist / the artist / the artist
Sask music Preview The Saskatchewan Country Music Association and North East Country Music Association are thrilled to announce that Charlie Major will be the headliner and guest host of the 2014 SCMA Awards Weekend and Country Music Festival — tickets are available through picatic.ca. Saskatchewan artists are encouraged to apply to showcase their talents! The deadline to apply is March 10; more information at www.scma.sk.ca Keep up with Saskatchewan music. saskmusic.org
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february 7 » february 15 The most complete live music listings for Regina. S
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RSO Shumiatcher Pops Presents: The Oscars / Conexus Arts Centre — Music from the greatest motion pictures. 8pm / $82.95 (mytickets.reginasymphony.com) Dan Silljer Band / McNally’s Tavern — Funk/soul/rock guitar styling. 10pm / $5
Valentine’s Day Tea. 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, and 3:30pm / $8
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10 11 12 13 14 15
Friday 7
Les Hay Babies / Artful Dodger — With the Dead South. 8pm / $15/$20 Lost Sherpas, / German Club — With Treebeard, Radville, The Jump Off. 9pm / $5 DJ Pat & DJ Kim / Habano’s Club — Local DJs spin top 40 hits every. 9pm / $5 cover Big Chill Fridays / Lancaster Taphouse — With DJ Fatbot. 10pm / Cover TBD Slow Motion Walter / McNally’s — Rock and roll party band. 10pm / $5 Trick Ryder / Pump — A country quartet worth checking out. 10pm / Cover TBD Albert / Pure — Appearing every Friday night. 10pm / $5 cover Billy Grind / Sip Nightclub — A new roots/ rock/alt. country band. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ Longhorn / Whiskey Saloon — Come check out one of Regina’s most interactive DJs. 8pm / Cover TBD Cory Brown / Whiskey Saloon — Good ol’ country music from Manitoba. 9pm / $10
Saturday 8
Art opening / Artful Dodger — Featuring many local bands. 8pm / Cover TBD Room 333 / The Club — A Regina rock band with a dark edge. 7:30pm / Cover TBD Dreaming of the Masters / Conexus — Featuring Jens Lindemann. 8pm / Majetik / The Exchange — With Port Noise and more. 6pm / $10 Carter Powley Jazz Quartet / Lancaster Taphouse — Jazz tunes for the weekend. 9pm / No cover Slow Motion Walter / McNally’s — Rock and roll party band. 10pm / $5 Trick Ryder / Pump Roadhouse — Rockin’ country tunes. 10pm / Cover TBD Wafflehouse / Pure — Doing what he does best, every Saturday night. 10pm / $5 Billy Grind / Sip Nightclub — A new roots/ rock/alt. country band. 9pm / Cover TBD Cory Brown / Whiskey Saloon — Good ol’ country music from Manitoba. 9pm / $10
Sunday 9
Nancy and Friends / Regina Floral Conservatory — String instruments at a
Monday 10
Open Mic Night / The Artful Dodger — Come down and jam! 8pm / No cover Monday Night Jazz / Bushwakker — Featuring Uptown Jazz. 8pm / No cover
Wafflehouse / Pure — Doing what he does best, every Saturday night. 10pm / $5 Soul Shakers / Sip Nightclub — Gritty energetic R&B music. 9pm / Cover TBD Milkman’s Sons / Western Pizza (Broadway Ave.) — Dance and have fun with one of Regina’s hottest classic/modern rock bands. 8:30pm / No cover
Steve Gibson Band / Whiskey Saloon — A British country artist. 9pm / $10
Get listed Have a live show you'd like to promote? Let us know! layout@verbnews.com
Wednesday 12
Wednesday Night Folk / Bushwakker — Featuring Kory Istace Songwriter’s Circle. 9pm / No cover Wilderness of Manitoba / Creative City Centre — Folk/alt music. 7:30pm / $10+ WayBack Wednesdays / McNally’s — With Leather Cobra. 9:30pm / No cover
Thursday 13
JP Cormier / The Exchange — With Binder Twine and the Balers. 8pm / $20+ Decibel Frequency / Gabbo’s Nightclub — A night of electronic fun. 10pm / Cover $5 PS Fresh / The Hookah Lounge — With DJ Ageless and DJ Drewski. 7pm / No cover Open Mic Night / King’s Head — Show Regina what you got. 8pm / No cover League of One / McNally’s Tavern — With Daytrip. 8:30pm / $5 DJ Longhorn / Whiskey Saloon — A kickass DJ. 8pm / Cover TBD
Friday 14
Belle Plaine and the Unrequited Love / Artesian on 13th — Songs for the broken hearted. 8pm / $15(advance)/$20(door) Spellbound Concert / Artful Dodger — Tunes to celebrate love! 8pm / Cover TBD DJ Pat & DJ Kim / Habano’s Club — Local DJs spin top 40 hits. 9pm / $5 cover Big Chill Fridays / Lancaster Taphouse — With DJ Fatbot. 8pm / Cover TBD Matt Taylor Trio / Lancaster — Smooth jazz for Valentine’s Day. 9pm / Cover TBD Breakdown Party Band / McNally’s — Playing classic rock and roll. 10pm / $5 Albert / Pure Ultra Lounge — Appearing every Friday night. 10pm / $5 cover Soul Shakers / Sip Nightclub — Gritty energetic R&B music. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ Longhorn / Whiskey Saloon — One of Regina’s most interactive DJs. 8pm / $10 Steve Gibson Band / Whiskey Saloon — A British country artist. 9pm / $10
Saturday 15
Diamond Rio / Casino Regina — A chart-topping country group from the U.S. Also appearing: Raquel Cole. 8pm / $40+ (ticketbreak.com)
16 Feb 7 – Feb 13 entertainment
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sunday, february 2 @
4 seasons 4 Seasons 909 Arcola Avenue East (306) 525 8338
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Photography by Marc Messett
facebook.com/verbregina
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sunday, february 2 @
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Press Box Sports Bar 909 Albert Street (306) 924-0111
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Not monumental, but pretty good Photo: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
The Monuments Men: an enjoyable, sincere, family friendly war flick by adam hawboldt
G
eorge Clooney is a man of many talents. On screen he can play serious, funny, debonaire, intelligent, broken — the list goes on. He’s the kind of guy, that CaryGrant-of-our-times archetype, who was born to be a movie star. Off-screen, Clooney is one of the best, most notorious pranksters in Hollywood. Don’t believe me? YouTube the story about the gravelin-the-suitcase gag he pulled on Bill Murray. Or better yet, search for the story about the prank he pulled on his old roommate. The one involving the constipated cat and a seriously soiled litter box. Then there’s George Clooney, the director. Behind the camera, the 52-yearold leading man has proved himself a competent, at times wildly talented, director. His Confessions of a Dangerous Mind was experimental and criminally underrated. Good Night, and Good Luck was a masterpiece. The Ides of March was a taut political thriller. And Leatherheads, well, everyone is allowed to miss the mark from time to time. Even George Clooney.
And depending on who you talk to, some people will tell you that he missed the mark again with his latest film, The Monuments Men. That may be a little unfair. Sure, it’s not as good as Good Night, and Good Luck. And it’s not quite in the same league as Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. But The Monuments Men is still a pretty good movie. The year is 1944. Springtime. The Second World War is reducing
The monuments men George Clooney Starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray John Goodman Directed by
112 minutes | PG
For Frank Stokes (Clooney), this is simply unacceptable. As the movie opens we see Stokes making his case to FDR. “Who will make sure that the statue of David is still standing and
…considering the cast, [The Monuments Men] probably could’ve been better. adam hawboldt
the Mona Lisa still smiling?” he asks the president. “If you destroy an entire generation of people’s culture, it’s as if they never existed.” Eventually, Stokes gets approval to put together a crack team to go into war zones and retrieve the stolen art. And by “crack team” we’re not talking trained snipers or de-
Europe to rubble. Bombs are being dropped on Germany, Italy, and France. Hitler and his Nazi hoards have stolen innumerable pieces of priceless art work (Vermeers, Picassos, van Eycks … the list goes on). Rumour has it that if the Germans surrender, they might destroy all they’ve stolen.
molition experts. No, we’re talking about an expert art restorer (Matt Damon), an architect (Bill Murray), a sculptor (John Goodman), a theatre impresario (Bob Balaban), a disgraced museum head (Hugh Bonneville), and a former painting instructor (Jean Dujardin). Together they go through basic training (hilarity ensues), then head off to Europe to take on the Nazis and recover the art — using brains, not brawn, of course. What follows isn’t exactly monumental, but it is enjoyable and sincere. Think Ocean’s Eleven (with helmets and uniforms) meets Saving Private Ryan (without the bloodshed), with a bit of Mona Lisa
Smile and Stripes tossed in there for good measure. Now, at times The Monuments Men can be a bit uneven and, considering the cast, it probably could’ve been better. But for the most part it is a well-crafted movie about culture, art, aspirations and a bunch of goodhearted misfits trying to fight for things worth fighting for.
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The other Dickens
The Invisible Woman tells the story of Charles Dickens, Nelly Ternan, and the illicit love affair that changed their lives by adam hawboldt
Photo: Courtesy of BBC Films
W
ho, exactly, was Charles Dickens? Yes, yes. We know he is one of the most famous authors in history. The guy who wrote classics like Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, and The Tale of Two Cities. But who was he as a man, as a person? If we are to believe The Invisible Woman, he was a complex individual who lived two distinctly different lives. On the surface, he was a rock star of Victorian England, the most famous person in the nation (outside of the monarchy). In public, he was sentimental and charming and had a certain allure about him. In private, though, Ralph Fiennes’ second movie as a director shows the author in a different light. It shows Dickens as a control freak. As a vain, dark, child-like man with a wandering eye and not much aversion to cruelty — especially when it comes to his poor wife, Catherine (played by Joanna Scanlan). Based on a biography by Claire Tomalin, The Invisible Woman explores the clandestine and lasting love affair between a middle-aged Dickens (Ralph
Fiennes) and an 18-year-old actress named Nelly Ternan (Felicity Jones). The story begins in the 1870s. Dickens is dead and Nelly is remarried to a schoolmaster in Margate. Her days with Dickens are behind her. But when students at the school (where both she and her husband work) begin rehearsing for a play written by Dickens and his friend Wilkie Collins, we’re transported back to the 1850s, when the love affair between Dickens and Nelly begins.
the invisible woman Ralph Fiennes Starring Ralph Fiennes, Felicity Jones, Joanna Scanlan + Kristen Scott Thomas Directed by
111 minutes | NR
and forth it goes, and along the way we get a glimpse into the inner world of Dickens. A world that consists of a wife, 10 kids, great wealth and fame, and a burning love for Nelly that lasts until the day he dies.
This is [Nelly’s] story, and Felicity Jones does a terrific job… Adam Hawboldt
Nelly is reciting lines from a play Dickens has written and the great author falls for her, immediately. A romance begins to blossom. Then the movie jumps back to the 1870s, then back to the 1850s. Back
But don’t be mistaken. Dickens isn’t the star of this movie. The main character is Nelly. This is her story, and Felicity Jones does a terrific job of bringing it to life. Ralph Fiennes is pretty good as Dickens, too. Heck,
nearly everything about The Invisible Woman is good. The costumes are terrific, the cinematography is lush and sweeping, and the music (when it’s used) is fitting and atmospheric. Yet for all that, there’s something about The Invisible Woman that comes up short. That something is the script … or lack thereof. See, not too much is said in this film. It seems as though it’s a story told through heart-breaking looks, stolen kisses, regretful images of letters being burned, and a wife suffering in stoic silence. The Invisible Woman is a subtle film that, at times,
feels a bit too subtle. Still, though, it’s well worth a watch. Especially if you’re a fan of well-produced, beautiful period dramas. The Invisible Woman will be screened at the Regina Public Library starting February 13.
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Š Elaine M. Will | blog.E2W-Illustration.com | Check onthebus.webcomic.ws/ for previous editions!
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crossword canadian criss-cross DOWN
27. Brandy glass 29. Come out in drops 32. Wooded areas 36. Cozy room 37. Corrupt morally 39. Slippery fish 40. Somewhat 42. Do something 43. Subject of study 44. Profession 46. Division of a baseball game 48. Literary work made up of parts from other works 49. Canonical hour 50. Head of a school department 51. Farm females
1. Religion native to Japan 2. Kind of top 3. Unrefined rock 4. Deductive reasoning 5. Metal made of copper and zinc 6. Utter an untruth 7. Fairy tale monster 8. Instrument with a long fretted neck 9. “Be quiet!” 11. Trousers 12. Builder’s detail, briefly 14. Forced to limp 17. People driving in cars 20. Church doctrine
1. Not hidden 2 sudoku answer key 24. Drug also called acid A 26. Before 28. Annuity scheme 29. Dutch cheese 30. Mediterranean ship 31. Acting as one 33. Best of seven, in sports 34. Young adults 35. Smelting waste matter B 38. Moses’ brother 41. Branch of a deer’s antlers 43. ìGreen Gables’ girl 45. Seventh Greek letter 47. At this moment
1 3 5 2 4 9 6 7 8 9 8 6 7 3 5 2 4 1 4 7 2 8 6 1 3 5 9 8 9 3 6 5 7 1 2 4 5 6 1 4 8 2 7 9 3 2 4 7 9 1 3 5 8 6 6 1 8 5 7 4 9 3 2 7 2 4 3 9 6 8 1 5 3 5 9 1 2 8 4 6 7
1. Ancient Greek covered walk 5. Online journal 9. Suitable for cutting 10. Make hastily 12. Black eye 13. Picture taken from a helicopter 15. Kind of rock 16. Part of TGIF 18. Active volcano in Sicily 19. French direction 20. Body part that doesn’t in clude the head, arms or legs 22. Money machine 23. Intestinal infection 25. Single line of poetry
7 6 5 3 9 2 1 4 8 2 8 3 4 7 1 9 5 6 4 9 1 6 8 5 2 7 3 1 4 8 5 2 7 6 3 9 3 7 6 9 4 8 5 1 2 9 5 2 1 6 3 7 8 4 6 2 7 8 5 4 3 9 1 5 3 4 2 1 9 8 6 7 8 1 9 7 3 6 4 2 5
ACROSS
© walter D. Feener 2014
Horoscopes february 7 - february 13 Aries March 21–April 19
Leo July 23–August 22
Sagittarius November 23–December 21
If someone, anyone, brings up the idea of going on a trip sometime soon, jump at the opportunity. Adventure awaits you where you least expect it.
Communicating isn’t usually a problem for you most weeks, Leo. This week things will be different, though, so take a beat before you speak.
Try to focus on an intellectual endeavour at some point this week, Sagittarius. It will pay off — big time.
Taurus April 20–May 20
Virgo August 23–September 22
Capricorn December 22–January 19
Try not to overindulge in anything this week, Taurus — it’s important to remember to take it easy. Too much of a good thing could come back to haunt you.
Opt for light-hearted banter over intense personal discussion this week, Virgo. There’s no need to get too serious.
Your insight and vision will be running high this week, Capricorn. Perhaps it’s time to take on a creative project.
Gemini May 21–June 20
Libra September 23–October 23
Aquarius January 20–February 19
A social event could give rise to some very interesting possibilities, Gemini, so get out there and be seen.
It might be one of those weeks, Libra. One of those weeks where you just want to be left alone. Be sure to put in some quality me-time.
You will be surrounded by genuine love and affection this week, Aquarius. You deserve this, so enjoy it while it lasts.
Cancer June 21–July 22
Scorpio October 24–November 22
Pisces February 20–March 20
Do you have a secret that’s been bothering you for a while now? If so, let the cat out of the bag. You’ll certainly feel better.
If you find yourself having excess energy this week, Scorpio, put it to good use. Maybe do something on the home front.
If you find yourself lost in that first rush of infatuation this week, Pisces, take a step back and evaluate the situation.
sudoku 7 3 8 8 4 7 5 9 1 5 2 7 4 8 6 3 9 7 9 2 5 1 6 3 6 4 3 4 2 1 9 6 8 1 2 5
crossword answer key
A
3 5 2 6 7 8 9 3 5 4 7 6 9 3 7 1 1 4 8 2 9 4 8 6 1 4 3 7 2 9 8 5 5 1 2 6
B
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