Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 39

Chicago Tribune. Monday. November 13, 1978 Section 3 2 Movies ft 3 Hopkins' stellar 'Magic' ad weaves a spell Sy S'Skel TRIBUNE MINI-REVIEW: of falling HERE IS A critical moment in "Magic" when Corky Withers, a nerv- "MAGIC" ous, young magician-ventriloquist is RjehlnI AMnl)orou9h. lcUy wn ck, alone in his dressing room With hlS baal on hia book; ptwto9P'i by VOW J. Kampaf; Mad by John Bloom; muaK by Jarry GokHnvdi; produced by Josaph E.

Uwn and Wise-guy dummy, JatS. Rlchtrd C.ury.FoJl iMih al rwghtwtiood Corky's high-powered agent has just left the tum. Rawi r. dressing room after telling Corky that his act AnmonyHopwn. is sensational, that it is simply a matter of Pam aw snow time before he'll be booked on the Johnny Carson show.

After the agent leaves, Fats, the dummy, speaks up. Houw Fats: "Hey, you know what I think?" Corky: "What do you think?" offer a comparison. But it is hard to imagine Fats (in a sing-song voice): "We're going anyone being more convincing as the ventrilo- to be a star-arr." Quist than the fine Welsh actor Anthony Hop Meredith, Ann-Margaret, and, of course, Fats. I've given "Magic" a four-star rating because it scared me, because I admire Hopkins' performance as much as any this year, and because it would have been so easy for a film such as this to fail. All that has to happen is that we look at the screen and realize that we are seeing merely a dummy resting on a guy's arm.

That doesn't happen, but by no means is "Magic" a perfect film. Meredith's heavily accented performance, like so many of his performances (see "Rocky" and "Day of the calls too much attention to itself. The Ann-Margret role goes nowhere; she is a dull sex object, nothing more. And, worst of all, the film's last shot leaves you with an "up in the air" feeling about the entire picture. AND YET EVERY time Hopkins returns to the screen with or without Fats, "Magic" becomes convincing.

That has been true with a number of strange films in which Hopkins has starred. In "Audrey Rose," an otherwise undistinguished project, Hopkins plays a man convinced that his daughter has been reincarnated. During the movie, I believed him. In "International Velvet," Hopkins plays a stern equestrian coach who must decide if Tatum O'Neal is good enough to make the I Anthony Hopkins as Corky and his dummy Fats in Believably frightening. kins.

His pertormance is one ot tne year's finest. He is totally believable as the magician, as the ventriloquist, and ultimately as a haunted man. Afraid of success and embarrassed that Fats is his stronger half. Corky runs away from show business to try to reclaim a high school sweetheart (Ann-Margret) who, with her husband, operates a string of resort cabins in upstate New York. Corky's agent (Burgess Meredith) traces his hot property to the resort and then the battle is joined, a battle for Corky's mind among It's a creepy moment underscored by an eerie musical cue, and from then on we're hooked on "Magic." We believe that dummy is alive and that Corky can't control it (control himself, actually).

And when "Magic" eventually takes a murderous turn, it becomes one of the best thrillers in recent years. THE CHARACTER OF a schizophrenic ventriloquist has been played before on film, by Michael Redgrave in "Dead of Night" (1945). I haven't seen that film and therefore cannot watching Hopkins, we don't notice the larger picture, which may or may not be farfetched. That certainly is the case with "Magic." Critics of the film have found it predictable or preposterous. But for my money, when Hopkins is on screen, I believe him and his movie totally.

British Olympic team. Now, she had to make the team for the film to continue, but Hopkins' character was such a tough b. that I wasn't certain what he was going to do. Hopkins' secret? He invariably plays highly strung characters on Holy Wars. His characters are imploding nervous wrecks who we watch with curiosity to see if they will destroy themselves.

And while we are busy 'Woman Opposite' tops Monday list RT i HE 14TH ANNUAL Chicago International Film Festival continues Mon day with the following program: mm If you think all health spas are alike you're in for a big surprise! Spa HealthFitness Clubs are coming with the finest health facilities In Greater Chicago. If you're looking to improve your appearance and fitness, check these Important benefits in our health spas before you consider enrolling in any other spa. Village Theater, 7 p.m. 'On the 7 A The Chicago Film Festival You will soon have one of the most beautiful and complete health clubs right in your area. Your membership will be honored at over 340 locations in the country.

In Greater Chicago alone, there will be 18 spas (3 soon to be completed). You will have over $1,000,000 in facilities at each spa featuring Paramount's Uni-Flex the most scientifically proven advanced conditioning concept available. (France, Chantal Akerman): If there were an award for most ennui-inspiring film of the festival, this one would be hard to beat. Anna is a young woman and filmmaker, though we never see or know anything about the films she makes. She also is apparently a woman who has pursued her own course despite the objections of her parents and a boyfriend back home, though we never see him.

Instead, we follow Anna as she travels around promoting a film. We see Anna in transit, checking in and out of hotels, walking through a lot of doors, and occasionally becoming involved in a superficial affair. Surely, it seems, something will happen eventually to break the plodding pace, but nothing ever does. The film ends in character, with Anna back in her own apartment lying motionless on the bed while she listens to messages friends have left on her telephone answering machine. Not recommended.

L.V.M. Blograph, 9:15 p.m. "Test Shots" (Poland, Agnieska Holland, Pawel Kedzierskl, and Jerry Domaradski): A teen-age girl receives her sexual initiation on the way to a screen test for a motion picture. The film is cloying in its treatment of its teen-agers and is not recommended. G.S.

Festival tickets are $3.50. Yard" (United States, directed by Raphael D. Silver): A drama about prison life in which two inmates become involved in a fight over a carton of cigarets. Made by the same group of filmmakers who produced "Hester Street" and "Between the Lines," two well-received, intelligent, low-budget, independent productions. Not screened.

Gene Stskel Blograph Theater, 7 p.m. "Remember My Name" (United States, Alan Rudolph): The director, a protege of Robert Altaian, describes this love triangle story as a "contemporary blues ballad." Anthony Perkins plays a construction worker married to Berry Berenson (his real-life wife). Gerald-ine Chaplin, playing an ex-convict recently sprung from jail where she was serving a 12-year sentence for murder, wanders into the lives of Perkins and Berenson, as well as into the lives of many others. Not seen. G.S.

Blograph, 9:15 p.m. "Animation Selected short films from around the i world. G.S. Varsity. JO p.m.

"The Woman Opposite" (West Germany, Hans Noever): A middle- You will have a sparkling, refreshing swimming pool to enjoy. aged man on the edge of jealous madness becomes convinced that his young wife is philandering in this slow-paced but strangely intriguing story set against bleak black and white backgrounds. Though his wife is actually almost naively innocent, the man hits upon a scheme to trap her: He tells his wife he's taking a trip, then rents an apartment directly across the street from his own and sets it up as a surveillance station. From this vantage point, he watches the poor woman's every move, even writing down minute descriptions Beatle cut; posture stooped; gait of men who attempt to speak to her on the street. While its violent conclusion is predictable, the film is absorbing provided one finds monomania of interest.

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Because of our Incomparable modern spas and our specially-trained and tested Instructors we will produce for you outstanding results. We have achieved desired health and fitness results for over a million members with our individually planned and supervised programs of exercise and nutritional guidance. special selling Singer zig-zag Fashion Mate' sewing machine Spa HealthFitness Clubs Your results are assured with our proven methods. 248, Lesley Ann Warren and RipTorn star! Spanish film tops at festival By Gene Siskel Movie Critic FILMS FROM Spain, Italy, and Hungary have won top prizes at the 14th annual Chicago International Film Festival, as voted Sunday by the festival jury of six film critics. The Best of Festival prize was won by "To an Unknown God," a Spanish drama about an aging homosexual magician in conflict about his sexual preferences since his childhood.

"To an Unknown God" was one of at least six films dealing with homosexuality in this year's festival. It will be screened at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Village Theater, 1548 N. Clark St. Admission is $6.

Two othe rfilms earned top prizes: "Kingdom of Naples," a study of the town after World War II, and "A Quite Ordinary Life," a wonderful documentary about an old Hungarian woman farmer given the opportunity to fly to London to visit her son. "Idlers of the Fertile Valley," a Greek cautionary tale about the boredom of being upper class, was voted Best First Feature by a new director. The jury also cited with lesser prizes: "Meetings with Anna" (France), "My Way Home" (Canada), "Unfinished Score for Player Piano" (Russia), "Why Not? (France), and "The Woman Opposite" (West Germany). Prizes will be awarded at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Chicago Public Library Cultural Center.

Admission is free if you reserve a space by calling the festival at 644-3400. I jX The true story of a JT i. I vulnerable woman fSfe iWV who turns to a i psychiatrist for help. Vir Instead, he lures her I sJ r. into a sexual 'J VjT' i relationship! i a Based on the KV XS VV book "Betrayal" by i Lucy Freeman and 1 M'm i I Julie Roy.

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