Austin American-Statesman from Austin, Texas • 68

Wednesday: The arts Wednesday May 3, 1995 Black Panther film ends with a whimper fi ft ff rji vfi It i I 7 FUm review 3 i While Van Peebles, working from a script that he wrote with his father Melvin, based on Melvin's novel of the same name, has done a terrific job in setting the table, he can't seem to get beneath the surface. We don't know the main characters any better 90 minutes into the film than we did at the 15-minute mark. The complex relationship between men and women in the Panthers isn't even hinted at, and the only internal struggles are chalked up to a misunderstanding over whether Judge is working as a police informant. Even lacking the sort of insight into the main characters that we might have hoped for, this film still could have been a watchable, involving effort. But then Van Peebles, unwilling to face the internal strife that coursed through the organization in the late '60s, lays the group's entire demise to a government conspiracy to pump drugs into the ghetto.

Never mind the Karl Marx-Oliver Stone School of Capitalist Theory at work here; what's really disgusting about this plot turn is the way it undercuts the very ideals of the Panthers. Newton and Seale, following in the martyred footsteps of Malcolm preached self-reliance; Van Peebles turns them into helpless stick figures, slain not by their internal follies, but by the long arm of The Man. The voiceover narration at the end also provides an imaginative- Van Peebles turns fiery true story into mewing victim By Michael MacCambridge American-Statesman Staff For a while in the 1960s, the Black Panthers provided a glimpse of the future a vocal minority using rhetoric and a kind of ritualized street theater to have an impact far beyond its numbers. In the confounding and, finally, dumbfounding new movie Panther, director Mario Van Peebles aims to take us back to the formative days of the Black Panther movement and explain to a new generation exactly what went down. The results are initially galvanizing before deteriorating into a conclusive melange of crackpot conspiracy theories and the sort of soft-pedaling treatment of historical figures that has become all too common in movies these days.

But Van Peebles starts by constructing a credible universe, one in which we understand why a group such as the Panthers was formed. It's Oakland, in '66: Blacks have grown weary of the constant police harassment, the incomplete victories of the civil rights struggle and the lack of upward mobility. One young man, Judge (Kadeem Hardison), finds that many of his friends are talking about a new or- Panther Stars: Kadeem Hardison, Marcus Chong, Courtney B. Vance Director: Mario Van Peebles MPAA rating: Theaters: Arbor 7, Great Hills 8, Highland 10, Riverside 8 Critic's rating: ganization. And after another instance of police brutality, he decides to get involved.

The charismatic leaders are the sort that you want on your side: the short-fused, whip-smart revolutionary Huey Newton (Marcus Chong, nephew of Cheech Chong's Tommy Chong) and the more self-assured organizer Bobby Seale (Courtney B. Vance, in the film's most nu-anced turn). "Armed with an understanding of the spirit and the letter of the law, the Panthers take up arms, fully within their legal rights, and shock the Bay Area police forces into a stunned stupor, in the process eliciting from the U.S. government some of the most unseemly acts of civil espionage in its history. An undercover cop (Joe Don Baker) is assigned to the case, only to find that the Oakland force is being superceded by the FBI and its snarling leader, J.

Edgar Hoover (Richard Dysart), intent on blunting the Panthers' progress. left) and Huey Newton (Marcus Chong) Derivative melodrama is all in the lead the throng in Panther. just when it seemed to be on the4 verge of great things. The group's-leaders, after years of wearying battles in and out of courts duplicitous government, eventually turned on one another. By 1972, Newton and Seale ha foresworn their violent rhetoric while Eldridge Cleaver, taking over the group's more radical wing, had escalated his oratory It's a fascinating story.

And it's a shame that Mario Van 1 Peebles chose to tell only half 'Family' dictable people we've actually' known. And the film, though visually impeccable, often has the eerie sterility of a museum diorama in which streets are free of trash, and every sock on a clothesline ap' pears artfully arranged. The net effect is a flaccid, by-the-numbers epic that radiates nobility but fails to uplift because jt lacks the subtlety, the nuances and, the contradictions of real life. 'Z Entertainment The entertainment editors are respon-! sible for the locally generated news, reviews and features that appear in this section, tf you wish to talk with w-j someone regarding entertainment IX news, XL ent or events listings, please refer to the telephone num- 'tTi bers listed here. Normal business hours are 9 a.m.

to 5 p.m. week- days. Executive feature editor EdCrowell 445-3623 Assistant entertainment editor IZ Sarah Barnes 445-3658 XL ent music listings III ArtsEntertainment calendar HarleyJebens 445-3502 1" Fax number 445-3968 E-mail 'J Mailing address K). Box 670, Austin 78767 17th Annual Community 'A i cited with specific dates and places, then the same level of accuracy should be expected throughout the film. And if the director chooses to address an issue about which there is no clear consensus, the filmgoer should expect to witness at least a minimally plausible (if not the most plausi-' ble) explanation.

Panther fails even these modest expectations, leaving the impression that Van Peebles can't or won't face up to the inner turmoil that tore the organization apart Film review My Family (Mi Familia) Stars: James Edward Olmos, Jimmy Smits, Esai Morales Director: Gregory Nava Theaters: Arbor 7, Highland 10, Riverside 8 MPAA Rating: Critic's Rating: comes a nun, then a radical '60s political activist. No lack of dramatic potential there. The framing device son Paco Sanchez (James Edward Olmos) is a present-day writer who's recounting the tale is sound and flexible, with Olmos spoken interludes adding welcome touches of ironic humor. The acting is competent across the board. Olmos, the renowned smolderer, underplays nicely.

Jimmy Smits as the will the wisp youngest son seems to continue to enjoy the rejuvenation he's experienced since joining NYPD Blue. Esai Morales as born-under-a-bad-sign pachuco son Chu-cho plays his usual soulful tough-guy role as skillfully as ever. But for all these virtues, little that's unexpected, enlightening or real ever happens. Most of the characters seem more like archetypes than the complex, unpre ft Bobby Seale (Courtney B. Vance, ly constructed history of the organization, citing the schools that the Panthers started (as though this, in and of itself, was a good thing; the Ku Klux Klan had schools as well, from which very few graduates matriculated to Ivy League colleges).

Should all films based on historical figures be expected to adhere to the letter of history? Of course not, but what should be expected is that a director be consistent. If a story is told with enough historical accuracy that events are writer (for 1983's Norte, which he also directed) traces a family's three-generation, six-decade history in America, which begins when patriarch Jose Sanchez (Jacob Vargas) walks all the way from central Mexico to a new home in Los Angeles. Later, a baby boy escapes drowning and, by "cheating death," carries a curse into manhood. Jose's sexy, tempestuous daughter be- Aiistius Federation of Mnsicians TheGtyofAuiiia -COHCERTS Wed. 53 7 p.m.

Auditorium Shores John Ar" 7 3p.m. Hillside JmanDeavilb Eric Blakely" TtwM -A by Hi Aur f- vtanssfidam CHyef AusUn, mouttnea Music 1 rust and Budwstosr. Toni (Constance Marie, left) surprises her parents Maria (Jenny Gago) and Jose Eduardo Lopez Rojas) in Gregory Nava's epic drama, My Family. Selena edition prompts second run of 'People' American-Statesman Staff Ah additional 35,000 copies of the People magazine commemorative edition on Te-jano singer Selena will be available on-Austin newsstands today. The second-press run of 357,000 copies is needed to meet demand for the special issue, which has sold out since becoming available April 24.

"We are actually shocked," said Mark Sheeran, San Antonio-based territory manager for Time which owns People "This has the chance to become Time Inc's all-time leading selling issue." Austin originally received 24,000 issues of the 76-page special issue, which tracks the short-lived career of the 23-year-old star from Corpus Christi. The magazine features personal photos and interviews with friends and family of Selena, who was shot and killed in Corpus Christi in March. People initially printed 600,000 copies, of which 52,000 sold in San Antonio and 50,000 in Corpus Christi. Those cities will receive an additional 150,000 copies and 35,000 copies, respectively, today. uKiSSnl 7t- I t.V- fr Kk KB'indecK By Jhe Overdirection drives character portrait into self-conciousness By Russell W.

Smith Special to the American-Statesman Gregory Nava's stated goal in making My Family was to infuse the saga of 20th-century Latino cultural and family life with the color and vitality of a novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. However, I suspect DNA testing would clear the dazzingly original Colombian magical-realist of any paternal responsibility for this derivative, calculated film. Instead, Italianate influences such as fellow directors Sergio Leone (Once Upon a Time in America), Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather trilogy) and Bernardo Bertolucci (1900) are easier to spot in My Family's self-consciously "epic" visual and narrative style. In common with those films, My Family has a shot-through-a-cake-of-beeswax Golden Glow look and lavishly emotional musical score. The plot line is likewise true to type with its groaning payload of mythical and symbolic elements.

But My Family's failing isn't really its influences (the above movies are all classics or near-classics). 2915 Guadalupe 474-5314 WELCOME HOME TO ANTON E'S STAGE! WEDNESDAY, MAY 3 VAUGHAN AND HIS TILT-A-WHIRL BAND DOORS OPEN 8 PM BUY ONE, GET ONE Buy any dinner entree and get second of equal or lesser value FREE. Limit one per table. after 5pm. Dine In only.

Expires May 31, 1995. I la Fnr Cinr CINCO CE PARTY Entortitnmwl Prize Fun Enchilada Bar i csrjco tm mavo A look at the Latino lifestyle portrayed in My Family. F8 Instead, it's the way the director imposes a once innovative but now cliched cinematic style upon his new material. That's too bad because Nava's story is actually rife with striking events and premises. The Oscar-nominated screen Toni Price May 6 Pre-Ea(ln PrtT May 7 Come Enjoy The Fun Still Mtiunt Hutocy 1607 San Jacinto 477-4171 BRAVO TICKETS 222 W.

MARTIN LUTHER KING BLVD. ON SALE NOW MAY. 7 MEMORIAL STADIUM GREAT SEATS JUST ElELEASEO ROWS 1-20 ON THE FLOOR CALL FOR TICKETS lji ivy w1 May 5 6, 1995 Pan American Recreation Center Hillside 2100 East Third Street 8:00 pm Free Free Free featuring the chorecigraphies of Peena Chavoya and Toni Bravo Ballet tast Dance Theater Company Maruca Las Munecas Mctz Kecreahon Center Raises dc Bnn youi blankets and lawn chairs Children's Folklotico Dancers Attes Espanolc contact Rodollo Mendez 385-2838 or 478-8716 sponsored event of Ballet East Dance Theater Texas Commission on the Arts Austin Parks and Recreation Department National Endowment for the Arts Austin Arts Commission 1 For runner int'omuiiim. pica: A Planning a vacation? -See the Travel section every Sunday in the Ausiij Ampritan-iaipsman recfor 1702 Lavaca 477-7689 -4.