Courier-Journal Thursday, October 20, 1988 11 of one woman's life By Judith Trojan with their own two children and her daughter New York (NC) — 'Gorillas in the Mist: The from an early liaison. Adventure of Dian Fbssey" (Warner Bros? Eastwood does not skirt over the heroin and Universal) is a fact-based chronicle of the tri­ alcohol addictions that finally killed Parker, umphs and tragedies of Dian Fbssey (Sigour- contrasting him with clean-living Dizzy ney Weaver), a woman whose dedication Gillespie (Sam Wright), the jazz trumpet player ensured the life of her beloved gorillas but ul­ who with Parker helped establish the be-bop timately cost her own. style. Both heroin and booze are shown to be For almost 20 years, Fbssey, an American Parker's constant companions. educated as a physical therapist and briefly Whitaker rightfully won the Cannes Film trained in pre-veterinary medicine, took on Festival's Best Actor award forhi s brilliant in­ the nearly hopeless task of saving endangered terpretation of Parker; a role that taps an in­ mountain gorillas in central Africa. credible range of emotions. Parker lived on the 's film, adapted from Fbssey's edge for most of his short life. Disgusted with memoirs by screenwriter Anna Hamilton Phe- his life-threatening addictions, he was incon­ lan ('MastO, opens in 1966 with her commis­ solable when he discovered that his white mu­ sion from British anthropologist Dr. Louis sician pal Red Rodney (Michael Zelnicker) had Leakey to take a six-month census of the en­ startedjlus own deadly love affair with heroin. dangered mountain gorillas in remote Rwan­ For Parker fans and those captivated by this da. Leaving her fiance and her comfortable life strictly American art form in all its variations, in Kentucky, she journeyed into the rugged ter­ "Bird" is an aural and visual feast that rain with one native tracker, Sembargare (John stretches almost three hours long. Others will Omirah Miluwi), book knowledge of gorillas be fascinated by Eastwood's re-creation of the and no understanding of the natives who de­ 1930s jazz .milieu on both coasts as well as in pended on profits from gorilla poaching to the very segregated Deep South. Without aim­ feed their families. ing to be, "Bird" is also an important anti-drug Defenseless, gentle creatures, mountain film and one that shows a subculture in which gorillas were slaughtered to market their hands blacks and whites co-habited quite com­ for ashtrays and their heads for wall decora­ fortably. tions. Baby gorillas were sold alive to zoo brok­ Due to its realistic view of drug and alco­ ers, but their parents often were slain in the hol addiction, incidents of sexual promiscui­ process. ty, a graphic suicide attempt and Chan's Fbssey's task was tough. The gorillas initially offhanded acceptance of pregnancy outside of were hard to find and impossible to approach. marriage, the USCC classification is A-IV — But find them she did, and what began as a adults, with reservations. The MPAA rating is test of endurance turned into an 18-year love R — restricted. affair with creatures whose right to life became her own personal crusade. The film records Fossey's amazing ability to Unexplained problems mingle freely with the animals and her grow­ "Sweet Hearts Dance" (Tri-Star) is a fairly ing mania about their safety. Ferociously pro­ innocuous slice of Americana written by Er­ tective of the few remaining gorillas, she nest Thompson, author of "On Golden Pond!' methodically set out to destroy all traps and strike fear in the hearts of native poachers, zoo Set in rural Vermont, where people live in brokers and government officials who would cozy old houses that line the town's main street, dare diminish the animals for sport or profit. the film follows its protagonists — Wiley Boon (Don Johnson) and wife Sandra (Susan Saran- --'••" NCNaWs "Gorillas in the Mist" is an inspiring, beau­ don) — through a marital crisis that begins portrays the controversial anthropologist in "Gorillas in tifully filmed but ultimately sad account of the over Thanksgiving turkey and ends happily the Mist." The U.S. Catholic Conference says the tim is "ah important dramatized emotional and physical toll that this life's work just before the town's annual Valentine's Day document of human courage... and proof that one voice can make a difference." had on Fossey. With little initial funding, she dance. was minimally staffed and overworked. Her High school sweethearts, Wiley and Sandra obsessive routine and single-minded concern have raised three children but gradually lost for the animals alienated many who might have much of that loving feeling after IS years of helped, including potential husband Bob marriage. Instead of facing and working out Campbell (Bryan Brown), a National Geo­ their ill-defined troubles, Wiley leaves Sandra graphic photographer who filmed her work and camps out in a trailer at the high school with the gorillas. Brutally murdered in 198S by where he is supervising the construction of a a still-unknown assailant, Fossey saved her pre­ new gym. cious gorillas but was unable to save herself. Through much guilt-instilling interference Weaver is a shoo-in for Academy Award con­ from their teenaged son Kyle (Justin Henry, sideration as the determined, tough-minded former pint-sized star of "Kramer vs. Kramer'); Dian Fossey. Since this was filmed on location, Wiley's best friend, Sam Manners (Jeff her gorilla mingling is real for the. most part Daniels); Sam's mother, Pearne (Kate Reid); and very touching, which makes her frenzy at and his girlfriend, Adie Nims (Elizabeth Per­ their slaughter all the more heartrending. kins); die Boons have little chance of living out While not maudlin or emotionally their separation in peace. manipulative, "Gorillas in the Mist" will leave Much of this picturesque film, divided into few dry-eyed at film's end. Although British holiday segments much like chapters in a book director Apted is best known for his work on on country living, focuses on the playful another fine biographical film, "Coal Miner's friendship between lifelong chums Wiley and Daughter^' he has a noteworthy background as Sam. Although they attempt to hold on to a documentary filmmaker with special interest their women, they also keep too firm a grip in the study of human ethnography. on their past as juvenile jocks and pranksters. "Gorillas in the Mist" takes Apted's special­ As adults, their attempts to blow off steam ty into new terrain, but is an important drama­ from their frictiohed love lives merely highlight At Central Trust, we understand the needs of the mid- tized document of human courage, unwavering the physical limitations of age that have crept range investor. Satisfying those needs is a specialty of dedication to the preservation of wildlife and on them like ill-fitting underwear. our Trust and Investment Division. proof that one voice can make a difference. As scripted by Thompson and directed by Due to the inclusion of Campbell's adulter­ Robert Greenwald, "Sweet Hearts Dance" You can maintain a personal or pension benefit ous love affair with Fossey, much rough lan­ flows gently through its characters' lives, giv­ account here for as little as $100,000, and get guage, the explicit murder of several gorillas ing a strong sense of small-town America and and the wrenching loss of a baby gorilla to a individualized portfolio management for investments. zoo broker, the U.S. Catholic Conference clas­ of male bonding, but a rather weak under­ sification is A-III — adults. The Motion Pic­ standing of the Boon's marital problems. Our Trust Division is well known for its expertise ture Association of America rating is PG-13 The actors are all extremely attractive and and our service is second-to-none. So, if you believe — parents strongly cautioned that some ma­ entertaining, especially Daniels as Sam, an you're worth more, give Theresa Mazzullo a call at terial may be inappropriate for children under easy-going 35-year-old bachelor who has a 13. hard time shaking his scolding nigh-school- 546-4500, ext. 3287, today.v principal persona. Sarandon carries her angst as an unhappy wife in an appealing fashion, We'll make you feel like a millionaire. and "Miami Vice's" Johnson is actually believ­ Artistic subculture able as a flabby construction engineer who is Director Clint Eastwood's lifelong fascina­ as confused by his mid-life crisis as the au­ tion with jazz has resulted in a remarkably dience will be. Irving Bank well-crafted film called "Bird" (Warner Bros.), Watching "Sweet Hearts Dance" is like Central the nickname for legendary jazz saxophonist drinking a cup of hot chocolate after a rous­ Corporation Charlie Parker, who died in 1955 at the age ing skate on a frozen lake. It will warm you Trust Of 34. with its final affirmation of marriage and fa­ Wonderfully atmospheric and incorporating mily, but its lack of substance may ultimate­ some of Parker's original solos, "Bird" con­ ly leave you cold. The centrates for the most part on the period Par­ Due to some locker-room language, implied ker (Forest Whitaker) spent with common-law sexual involvement by the unmarried couple, wife Chan Richardson (Diane Venora). Screen­ an illicit one-night sexual encounter by the (=3 writer Joel Oliansky based his screenplay on married protagonist and brief flashes of par­ Equal Housing Lender Member FDIC Chan's unpublished book manuscript "Life in tially nude sunbathers, the USCC classifica­ E-FIat" and covers the couple's meeting, un­ tion is A-III — adults. The MPAA rating is ion and the fleeting life they spent together R — restricted.