THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 8, 1996 TAG: 9605090609
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Long : 105 lines
THERE WAS A time when every young college student wanted to write the Great American Novel. Today, those who once aspired to be Ernest Hemingway want to be Steven Spielberg.
Annually, we get a look at just how they're coming along. The 11th annual presentation of student films from Regent University is a forthright reminder that one of the outstanding student film-production centers in the country is right here in Virginia Beach.
The Regent University Student Film Festival unreels tonight and Thursday at the Naro Expanded Cinema in Norfolk An abbreviated version screens Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Naro.
This year, there is a larger program than usual, making for a rather unwieldly three-hours-plus viewing. But it is something of an adventure. Among the pleasures of this annual festival is spotting local actors and sites on screen. Among the more noticeable locations in the current batch of films is Waterside and the Regent campus, which doubles for everything from court settings to social hang-outs.
For the most part, filmmakers have gone toward narrative works, with mixed results. Another trend is that the films are more religion-oriented than they were in previous festivals, which could put off mainstream audiences.
The amazing thing about these films is just how professional they are. Despite obviously limited budgets, the students churn out works proving they have mastered the rudiments of filmmaking. These works should not be missed by anyone interested in filmmaking.
After viewing six of the seven new films, here are some random thoughts:
``Prison to Praise'' - This one-hour work is the most ambitious of the festival and should rightfully stand as the flagship accomplishment. Directed by Ken Rife, it tackles the best-selling autobiography of military chaplain Merlin Carothers.
Wally Doyle, a veteran of local stage, turns in a thoughtful and sincere performance as the chaplain, who once faced a prison sentence himself - just as does the young private he's trying to help. T. Sean Foley stars as the young Carothers, who is seen in flashbacks.
Local actors Marty Terry and Tom Story appear as the chaplain's grandparents.
The streamlined script deals with a private (Stewart Reed) who goes AWOL when he learns that he has a heart problem that will curtail his military career. Through flashbacks, the struggling chaplain uses his own life to illustrate the way things can turn around.
And has any film with this low a budget managed to get on film such a detailed battle scene as the one filmed at Virginia Beach during a D-Day re-enactment?
``The Locket'' - This 30-minute film about racial prejudice has one major quality going for it - simplicity. In an upscale residential community, Amber, a white girl, and Lindsey, a black girl, become good friends in spite of disapproval of Amber's parents. The impressive thing is that the white parents are not depicted as villains. Clinton Jay High Jr. has coaxed thoughtful performances from his actors, particularly the two youngsters.
``Wynona's Wrecker'' - This five-minute film is the wittiest of the group. Filmed partly in stop motion under the direction of Darin Wales, it comments, laughably, on feminist capitalism at its toughest and most seductive. Joe B. Cool dashes off to his white-collar job. He's confronted by Wynona and her wrecker service. She's a pro business woman, but she also smiles at him. It's the one film we wished had lasted longer.
``Something Borrowed, Something Blue'' - One of two festival films about art vs. reality concerns a young female artist who is obsessed with being accepted by her avant-garde associates. A Maria Osmond look-alike, the character is pictured as super-naive (perhaps too much so). Her wedding is canceled after she gets involved with a long-haired big-time artist. There is a bedroom scene. She wears a black slip and a troubled expression. She eventually realizes that art is not forever, but other things are.
``Flanagan's Exile'' - Theological debates take a back seat to outright sexual leering in what is the festival's worst misfire. What should be a verbal film, perhaps a debate on Catholicism, is no more than a male-female snit-fit. He's a famed Irish artist. She thinks his work is anti-Catholic. They bicker. But mostly they leer at each other to the point that you think this might be ``Duel in the Sun.'' Technically, it is an achievement (a reported budget of a mere $25,000 and some two years in production), but theologically it's lacking in both moral complexity and ambiguity. It cries for a debate but offers only shallow solutions.
``Australian No-Rules Football'' - This 10-second bit is the one example of animation in the festival. Kangaroos and koalas use their feet, fists and nuclear weapons with no regard for sanity. Like the classic ``Bambi Meets Godzilla,'' it flashes by quickly, leaving you wondering.
The lone film that was not yet available for review was ``I Hear the Children Weeping,'' a 15-minute documentary about poverty in our own backyards. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Sean Foley stars in ``Prison to Praise,'' based on a best-selling
autobiography.
Graphic
MOVIE REVIEW
What: Regent University Student Film Festival '96, featuring
seven new films.
When: Tonight and Thursday at 7 p.m., Sunday at 1 p.m.
Where: Naro Expanded Cinema in Norfolk
Retrospective screenings from past seasons, Friday at 7 p.m. in
Robertson Hall on the campus. Video presentations Saturday at 7
p.m. also at Robertson Hall. Call 579-4235 for information.
by CNB