REVIEW

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University of B.C.’s hockey school.

national team star’s new book, Tretiak the Legend. Tretiak is in to

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Legendary Soviet hockey goaltender Vladislav Tretiak receives best wishes from admirer during book signing ceremony in West Vancouver book store Aug. 27. Hundreds lined up to purchase and have autographed copies of the former USSR

wn to promote his book and to teach goaltending at the

TRIBUNE PHOTO — DAN KEETON

La Bamba

The spirit of Ritchie Valens

LA BAMBA. Written and directed by Luis Valdez: original music by Carlos Santana and Miles Goodman; with Lou Diamond Phillips, Esai Morales, Rosana deSoto and Elizabeth Pena. At local theatres.

The dream of fame and success, dreamed so fervently by minority youth in the dead end of poverty, came true for Ritchie Valens — born Richard Valenzuela. He was a hot rock’n’roll star in the 1950s — right along with Buddy Holly and J.P. (The Big Bopper) Richardson, with whom he died ina plane crash Feb. 3 1959, He was just 17.

Now, multi-talented Luis Valdez, creator of El Teatro Campesino (dramatic vehicle for the 1960s farmworkers struggles) and

Lou Diamond Phillips as Ritchie Valens in Luis Valdez’ film La Bamba.

the musical, then film, Zoot Suit, has made a moving, exciting film about Richie Valens’ short life. Valdez has said he identifies strongly with Valens and his family because their lives frequently ran parallel. He learned that as teenagers, they’d picked apricots together in orchards near San Jose, California.

Valens (Lou Diamond Phillips), a Chi- cano farm labourer burning to bring out the music inside of him, had a half-brother, Bob (Esai Morales), with whom he had a classic love-hate relationship — rivals for the love and attention of their very strong, hard- working mother (sensitively played by Rosana deSoto). In the film, Bob takes out his frustrations and feelings of no-talent inferiority on his mistreated farmworker wife (Elizabeth Pena).

When his brother takes him to Tijuana to learn about “life, ” Valens is totally

enthralled by the Mexican musicians’ classic La Bamba, which he adapts to rock’n’roll with stirring effect.

What had the (mostly young) audience rocking, cheering and clapping the night La Bamba premiered in the Mission District barrio to benefit the Mission Cultural Cen- ter and the Mission Economic & Cultural Asssn. (MECA) in Calfornia, was the music of Los Lobos. Los Lobos, sons of East Los Angeles and direct heirs to Mexican music and rock’n’roll, have done a magnificent job of reproducing Valens’ music — the originals were in too poor condition to use directly. The popular group used to be thought “crazy,” says “Lobo” guitarist David Hidalgo, “but we becamne known as a cultural unit, helping to make other Mexican-Americans aware of their musical heritage.”

Possibly deliberately (because it would entail a digression from the story?), little is

10 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, SEPTEMBER 2, 1987

shown in La Bamba of the plight of farm workers in relation to the growers. In fact, the brief scenes of field work and labour camp look downright pleasant.

Pasternak slated for publication

Starting with the publication of Doctor Zhivago, the complete works of poet- novelist Boris Pasternak are to be published in the Soviet Union.

The issuing of Pasternak’s works flows from the Feb. 22 decision by the Soviet Writers Union to rescind the expulsion of the world famous author from its ranks.

The June edition of the literary magazin¢ Novy Mir carried reminiscences of Pastel” nak by his friend, novelist and critic Nikolat Vilmont, who died last year. He started the memoirs, which give a picture of the lat author and his times, in 1960, and worked on them for 15 years.

Much of Pasternak’s work has already been published. Two books that came out last year brought the total volumes to and the number of book oopies is neatly one million. ;

Work on the writer’s collected works being overseen by a commission that includes many prominent people in Soviet culture, including writers Leonid Leonov and Veniamin, poets Andrei Voznesensky and Yevgeni Yevtushenko, and actor Mik- hail Lyanov.

At the February commission meeting, Voznesenky called the return of Pasternak to the Writers Union rolls “a victory of the new thinking.” Voznesensky referred to the

time when Pasternak’s writings wer

banned as a period when “openness was 12 oblivion.”

“Our people, most of whom were born after the revolution and who went throu the war, have a right to read everything 49 judge everything for themselves,” he said.

While many Soviet critics agree that works like Doctor Zhivago lack a working- class perspective, they do give a realisti¢ portrayal of the thinking of the ruling groups during the period in which they are set. They also draw attention to the author : personalization of revolutionary leader Vi.

Lenin. And they acknowledge his role a5 4

founder of the Writers Union and the hi appraisal of his work by Maxim Gorky-

— Pele deLappe — Prairie Miller People’s Daily World People’s Daily World

MOSCOW — Vancouver film dir- ector Sandy Wilson missed seeing her award-winning My American Cousin play to a record-setting crowd at the Moscow Film Festival which wound up here at the end of July.

While 15,000 people filled one of the smaller arenas to view her work, Wil- son was touring the famous Hermitage Gallery and visiting Leningrad’s film studios. She confessed disappointment at missing the gala but added that her first trip to the Soviet Union was impressive.

“It is such a thrill to come with my film to the USSR,” she told the Soviet press. “There is a great deal of curiosity, especially with glasnost, and optimism that perhaps with Gorbachev, all nuclear issues can be dealt with in a more rational manner.”

Wilson, who is now working on her second film, Broken Dates, was the only Canadian personality in Moscow for the two-week festival and hers was the only Canadian entry to make it into the international film lineup.

Gordon Pinsent’s John and the Mis-

‘Cousin’ in Moscow fest

sus didn’t pass the stringent entrance requirements but was shown at a spe- cial site along with none other interna- tional runners-up.

Although Soviet critics are becoming more demanding of their own film- makers, they are still guilty of Russian manners when it comes to dealing with foreign features.

For example, as one writer put it: John and the Missus was made in the “good Canadian tradition, but lacks artistic originality” — a view shared by critics at home about many Canadian films.

The best Canadian films have much in common with the best Soviet cinema said another commentator and are “warm and humane. This is largely explained by the fact that most Cana- dian filmmakers started their careers by making documentaries and prefer por- traying everyday life, rather than science fiction and adventures.”

And the kindest cut of all:” .. . these specific features are connected with the Canadian national character which is. generous and hearty.”

It’s enough to make you proud, eh?