Culture

  • The Sleeping Generation

    Those who came before us Forgot their mission — Dropped the torch, And while they were asleep Darkness clothed itself as light And again stole through the doors. As the children of those times Is it not we — Who, opening our eyes, Must surely

  • Putting the black into film noir

    Devil in a Blue DressTristar PicturesWritten and directed by Carl FranklinBased on the novel by Walter MosleyStarring Denzel Washington, Jennifer Beal and Don CheadleReleased nationally on February 8Reviewed by Norm Dixon Devil in a Blue Dress is a

  • A thriller with a difference

    ResistanceDirected by Paul Elliot and Hugh Keays-ByrneAt Chauvel Cinema, Paddington Town Hall, from February 15Reviewed by Trish Corcoran The Australian government has declared a state of emergency. Troops are being deployed to take action against

  • East Timor in Indonesian stories

    Eyewitness: protest stories from IndonesiaBy Seno Gumira AjidarmaTranslated by Jan Lingard with Bibi Langkar and Suzan PiperSydney: Inprint Books, 1995. 138 pp., $14.95Reviewed by Michael Tardif The occupation of the Russian and Dutch embassies in

  • Delightful and charming

    BabeA Kennedy/Miller productionReviewed by Mary Westwood If you go to see this film seeking only story and scenery, you will come away delighted and charmed. But on going further into the production, behind the scenes, you feel you have witnessed a

  • Ordinary people and extraordinary events

    The Redundancy of CourageBy Timothy MoVintage, 1991. 408pp., $14.95Reviewed by Sean Lennon The Redundancy of Courage is a novel about ordinary people forced to do abnormal things by abnormal circumstances. It is about East Timor, in the guise of the

  • Bleak view of human relations

    EclipseWritten and directed by Jeremy PodeswaOpens February 15, George Cinemas, St Kilda, Melbourne and Verona Cinema, Paddington, SydneyReviewed by Margaret Allan Canadian film makers have produced some good films in recent years with successes like

  • Emotive and heartfelt

    All You Can Eatkd langWarner MusicReviewed by Jen Crothers I approached the latest offering from kd lang with a great deal of scepticism. The hype about the kd phenomenon was just a bit too much. By the time I heard the album twice, I was getting

  • In the stars

    By Lucifer Skycrawler What do the stars hold for you this year? If 1995 is any guide, you don't really want to know, do you? And yet, you can't resist looking up your star sign and reading what awaits you in 1996 (it's in the stars). WALLOPER

  • Why Elvis had to be destroyed

    Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis PresleyBy Peter GuralnickAbacus, London, 1995. 578pp., $17.95 (pb)Reviewed by Norm Dixon Elvis Aaron Presley has had a rather rough time at the hands of some left-wing cultural critics understandably piqued by

  • Healing music from Morocco

    The Splendid Master Gnawa Musicians of MoroccoVerve through PolygramReviewed by Jenny Long This album, recorded in the La Mamounia Hotel in Marrakesh, explores the musical aspect of the Gnawa brotherhood of Islam, and the Gnawa's links with their

  • Who poisoned the culture?

    KidsDirected by Larry ClarkScreening at Hoyts CinemasReviewed by Bernard Wunsch and Nick Everett "Vicious, anti-woman, child-sex film", was how Phillip Young, coordinator of the Project Family Group, branded this debut by film maker Larry Clark in