REVIEWS Potlatch promotes | self-gov't | Members of the Alkali Lake Nation perform ceremonial dance at B.C. Place on March 20 during potlatch hosted by the provincial branch. of the Assembly of First Nations. The potlatch, which featured former Supreme Court jus- tice Thomas Berger, First Nations Chief George Eras- mus and Canada’s United Nations ambassador, Stephen Lewis, as guest speakers, drew tribal groups from across British Columbia and some prairie provinces. According to First Nations regional sub- chief Joe Mathias, the day- long event was a prelude to a March 26-27 meeting among four major indigenous peo- ple’s groups, provincial pre- miers and the prime minister at the First Ministers confer- ence on the Constitution. ic ad a OO op ok" 1 FO 2D no -F -— =| == wD lo wal no mm The Assault Out of grief, a new humanity THE ASSAULT. Directed by Fons Rade- makers. Based on the novel by Harry Mulisch. Starring Derek de Lint, Marc van Uchelen. In Dutch with English subtitles . At the Varsity Theatre, Vancouver. One of the most challenging and impor- tant, and at the same time most difficult, feats for filmmakers is the portrayal of one human being’s intimate connection to his- tory, to enter crossroads where the personal joins the political, making that bond vivid and palatable to audiences so that one’s understanding of the onslaught of historical events is deepened and clarified. Usually, movie characters are as bewil- dered and overcome by social realities as the filmmakers themselves, and are merely acted upon and victimized, or left dangling in an unresolved historical dilemma. The Assault, a Dutch film which has received the Golden Globe Award this year and isan Academy Award nominee for best foreign film, tackles this awesome subject with magnificent skill and sensitivity, and without diluting or simplifying the complex issues of global events today. The film opens during the Hunger Win- ter of World War II in the Netherlands when the Dutch Resistance was in-the final days of struggle against the Nazi occupa- tion. A detested Dutch collaborator is shot dead in the street. Anton, a young boy who witnesses the commotion, watches as his supposedly fond neighbors move the disco- vered body from in front of their house to his own. When Nazi investigators arrive, they retaliate by slaughtering Anton’s family and incinerating his house in front of the terro- rized boy. He is led away to a darkened cell where the spends the night with a myste- rious woman, a resistance fighter, who com- forts the youth. The remainder of the film follows Anton through his adult years, during which he engages in persistent self-denial of the memory, interest or concern about these past events or any Current ones, including the Korean or Vietnam conflicts, and the escalating arms race. But, in fact, Anton is haunted by the lingering trauma of the past. He imagines repeatedly that he sees the 10 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, MARCH 285, 1987 mysterious woman in public, and he even marries a woman who resembles*her. His eventual return to the vacant lot that was once his childhood home, and chance encounters with people critically connected to that fateful night — the assassin, the col- laborator’s son, and finally, the neighbor, thrust Anton into a confrontation with his social connection to both the past and pres- ent. His discovery of the truth of what hap- pened that night and why — a side of the plot that is in itself an engrossing, slowly unraveling mystery — leads the main char- acter to an understanding of history as not just senseless carnage from which it is best to protectively withdraw and isolate oneself, but potentially an experience one can seize upon in an individual act of will that encompasses both courage and love. In the final scene, Anton is pressured into attending a massive anti-nuclear demon- pote Visit the L USSE For all your travel needs, stration by his old friend, a former vehe- ment anti-Communist war hawk who fights now for reconciliation and peace. Anton simultaneously resolves his confusion about his own personal victimization and his antagonism towards history, as he is embraced into this glorious sea of human- ity. In The Assault, the main character, after much despair, emerges as a symbol for audiences of the possibilities that lie within all of us for optimism and the nurturing of a salvaged future from the chaos and grief of the 20th century. It is a film that quietly and carefully dissects our history, not as a wea- pon to confuse and demoralize, but as a lesson from which to build hope and resolve out of the ashes of a bloody, but not irre- versible past. — Prairie Farkas People’s Daily World big or small. Let Globe Tours find the best way for you. GLOBE TOURS 2720E. 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