Eric Till's Stuart Gillard's If You Could See Paradise What I Hear

Judging by Eric Till's recent feature Paradise, a strange mix of The Blue films, the director is in hot pursuit of a Lagoon and The Wind and the Lion, boffo theatrical hit; a bona fide Holly­ offers the not particularly edifying spec wood popcorn popper. As if to shed his tacle of two clean-cut American teen­ parochial media image of being a TV agers frolicking unclad in sy Ivan glades man (Till reached prominence with the while the creatures of the forest coo and :, CBC series The National Dream), his snorkel at their feet. This picture is films are taking on more and more of an afflicted with the terminal cutes - of American look and feel. Last year it was cour.se, any film with not one but two Improper Channels with Alan Arkin (countem) funny, loveable chimpanzees and Mariette Hartley. Before that there (which are African forest animals, not was Wild Horse Hank and Hot Millions. Iraqi desert beastsi is enough to strain All suffered from varying degrees of the patience of any adult "cutesy and predictability but were It is Baghdad, 1823 (it is never made excusable when Hned up against Tills clear why the film is so precisely dated! fine television achievements, most and Sarah, a young English girl (Phoebe notably Bethune with Donald Suther­ Gates) with a flat .American accent, is on land. But his current entry into the box her way to Damascus with her faithful office sweepstakes, // Vou Could See manservant, Geoffrey I the usually reli­ What I Hear, cannot be so easily excused. able Richard Curnockl Joining the Amassed here is an insulting and totally caravan is David (Willie Aamesi, an absurd amalgam of cliches and for­ American boy travelling with his mis­ mula : the kinti of film that makes cinema sionary parents I Neil Vipond and A\iva lovers eye Hollywood with contempt. Marks.i However, the beautiful young Tom Sullivan (played by Marc Singer) girl, who actually has a rather pudgy, is a campus Casanova. He's "into" writing unformed face, ha.s caught the lustful music, playing golf(?), horseback riding attention of the Jiiikal, an evil Arab sky diving, drinking beer and perpe­ shiek (Tuvia Tavi), who is willing to kill trating college hijinks. One wild and • The up-beat triumvirate of Shari Belafonte Harper, Marc Singer and R.H. Thompson to get the girl. Soon after, he attacks, crazy Ail-American boy. The clincher is wiping out everyone but David, Sarah that Tom Sullivan is blind. But he's too Animal House and The Miracle Worker. friend about the proper way of wearing and Geoffrey, who escape into the de­ dumb to know it How many variations This kind of creative impotency im­ socks. And when Will comments on the sert. They quickly lose Geoffrey, who is of this have shown up on the TV Movie- bues almost every aspect of the film. musical abilities of the blind to a bar murdered by the Jackal, and are forced of-the Week is anybodys guess, as are Marc Singer, who is being touted as a owner, the man retorts "Yeah, but they to press on alone, discovering perfect the reasons why Till and his co-conspi­ major new talent by the studio, works make lousy astronomers " This sort of little oases every few miles ; which is a rator, vvriter Stuart Gillard, felt this very hard at making his Tom a likeable stuff may not come entirely unexpected good thing, since the Jackal is in hot mish-mash of a premise was worthy of a guy. To be kind. Singer's performance is from the writer of such TV gems such as pursuit and David is in the habit of feature film. Whatever their reasoning, energetic. To be not so kind, he just tries The Donny and Marie Show and Captain saying things like " If we miss Damascus, the two are hopelessly mistaken. The too damn hard. It is one thing to be high and Tennille. we can hit Alexandria," w hich, according "overcoming the personal handicap" on life (as Tom is supposed to be), and Howard Makin's photography is pretty, to my atlas, is several hundred miles genre has been so overmined on both quite another to run around Hke an too pretty. His fog and star-filtered ap­ beyond, with an awful lot of sand in the tube and the big screen that it would "asshole" (to borrow a recurring term proach is totally inappropriate to the between. take considerably more than a simple from the film). Singer gives us precious low-level humour being presented here. They build homes (rather elaborate thematic twist- a blind man who refuses little insight into Tom. He repeatedly What is particularly objectionable sets that are straight out of a Gilligan's to accept he's blind - to open the flood­ resorts to pratfalls designed strictly to about If You Could See What I Hear is Island view of life) and discover each gates on our tears. And it would take get a laugh. Who should take the blame the claim that it is a true story (a claim other's sexuality. Mind you, with Gates' filmmakers with considerably more for this. Till or Singer, is up for specula­ that is made not once, but twice, during full-body tan, it looks as if she's been talent than Till and Gillard to warrant tion. But in a film where the main the credits). By stressing this fact Till hanging out in the sun for y ears, some­ another look at the subject. Instead of a character is solely present to win our and Gillard seem to be seeking absolu­ thing rather unlikely for an English girl slightly interesting story of a man coming hearts, and the actor portraying him tion. They should consider themsehes in 1823. to terms with his personal tragedy, we manages to do the exact opposite, the lucky that the real Tom Sullivan will They run around in clean, designer never get to see this picture. are treated to a long string of cobwebbed actor's performance must be put into loincloths, never experience hunger, sequences. question. S. Paul Zola • and manage things without difficulty While at school Tom falls in love with Sarah Torgov who plays Patty, the until the Jackal shows up, I What I want to know is how does the Jackal, a deadly a beautiful black coed (played by Shari pretty little creature who eventually IF YOU COULD SEE WHAT I HEAR Belafpnte Harper in what must surely calms Tom and marries him, fairs a little p.c. : Cypress Grove Films Ltd, Production exec. Arab chieftain, a scourge of the desert, be oiie of the most leaden debut perfor­ better. But Torgov is given pathetically p. Gene Gorman. Dale Falconer p./d. Eric Till manage to keep missing these two in­ mances in recent memory), only to be little to do. Till circumnavigates their co-p. sc. Stuart Gillard prod, consultant Tom competent teens, who look as if theyd Sullivan d.o.p. Harry Making CSC art d. Ga\in be more comfortable boogieing on the heartbroken by her inability to deal relationship and is content on spotlight­ Mitchell sd. Rod Haykin prod. mgr. Joyce Knzv with his condition. Tom is upset by this. ing Tom's female hunts at a bar where King 1st assL d. David Shepherd 2nd. assL d. disco floor than dragging their camel If he can accept her blackness, why he plays piano during summer recess. Richard Flower loc. man. Otia Hanus continuity through the desert. I rather like the can't she accept his blindess ? It seems R.H. Thomson as Will Sly, Tom's dry- sup. Lili Fournier prod. acct. ,Ann Fitzgerald camels - theyr« wondertul beasts, prod. sec. Debbie Zwicker prop. maaL John pregnant with comic potential, as w hen like a fair trade-of but, alas, the relation­ witted pal, proves that he's one of Ca­ Fisher set dec. Farle Fiset sp. efx. MartinMalivoire ship is not to be. It doesn't take Tom long nada's most versatile actors, comfortable wardrobe Patti Unger makeup Ken Brooke hair. Arnold Schwarzenegger punches one to rebound. By the next eve he's off with "comedy as well as straight David Beecroft gaffer Ray Boyle key grip Steve out in the current Conan the Barbarian womanizing with his best friend Will drama His pei-formance in If You Could Sheridan ed. Eric W rate sd. ed. Jim Hopkins 2nd. They are shamefully underexploited unit d. Rod Malenfant 2nd. unit cam. Bert Dunk here, replaced by those unfortunate (played by R.H. Thomson). Will is sort of See What I Hear is welcomingly tethered. stills Bill Langstrolh Marni Grossman unit pub. a seeing-eye dog to Tom... a fact inanely But as with Torgov's role. Till never G R (J,-Glenda Roy pub. Gultman Ai. Pam lUSAI chimps who were last seen as accom­ pointed out on more than one occasion. bothers to elaborate on Tom and W ill's music performed by Helen ReddyA. Tom Sullivan plices to the felonious assault committed 1 You're the One") l.p. Marc Singer, R H, Thomson, on Tarzan by Bo and John Derek.) Grafted onto this anemic story line is a friendship, restricting it to fights in bars and picking up giris. Sarah Torgov. Shari Belafonte Harper, Douglas Director Stuart Gillard is suing the healthy (that should read unhealthy) Campbell, Helen Burns Harvey Atkin. Barbara dose of slapstick and schtick from a A great deal of the messiness in this Gordon. Sharon Lewis Lynda Mason Greene, Tony producers. RSL Films, over questions of film stems from Gillard's painfully dis­ Van Bridge, JackCreley, Neil Dainard. Michael Tate salarv': he is also concerned about the more recent film phenomenon: the r)a\id Gardner, Noni Giifrin, Adhenne Pocock, whacky campus romp. All this, of course, jointed script. The premise, the plot, the addition of !>nme nude/sex footage. Hugh Webster Eaatern Cdn. disL Citadel VS'hile the added material stands out, must have been shrewdly decided upon dialogue, all have an out-of date ring to French Cdn. dlat Cine-360 Uestern Cdn. dlat to win a wider audience. What instead them. For instance, a five-minute se­ Hoke Film Disliibutors colour 35mm running bearing no visual or stylistic resemblance results is an unholy cross between quence has Will putting on his blind time 103 min. to the rest ol the film, the producers may

June 1982 - Cinema Canada/28