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PAGE 8 - WATERLOO WWICLE, “ENEMY, 065ml 31, By VICTOR STANTON A mystery " supposed to be con- fusing - up to a point, j But The Form-In. a meme de- scribed as “a mystery thriller that blends fiction with documented fact." seems to make a point of substituting confusion for mystery The picture's opening sequence, set in Germany during the final days of the Second World War, es- tablishes that a Nazi formula for synthetic fuel falls into the hands of an opportunistic US army major When, 35 years later, that same man, who in the interim has been a Los Angeles policeman, is found murdered. there is - for the movie's audience at least -- little mystery as to the why of his death. And, as any mystery fan knows, it's the why that's the intriguing key to a “who done it." Although several other murders follow, even the importance of who the murderer is gets shelved in re- lative obscurity amidst a melodra- matic hodgepodge about the ma- chinations of big business to profit from the world energy shortage Steve Shagan. the picture's pro- ducer and reportedly its final edi- tor, created the screenplay from' his own best-selling novel of the same name. so. presumably. the movie says what he wanted it to say. But, for someone who hasn't read the book. the movie's plot seems unnecessarily convoluted and its characters predictably su- perficial. The Formula was directed by John Avildsen, the Oscar-winning director of Rocky, and the fact that he has expressed a desire to have his narhe removed from the pic- ture's credits is an indication that all did not go well during the mak- ing of the film. The movie's stars are those two notable oscar-refusers, George C Scott and Marlon Brando, the lat- ter reputedly paid $3 million for his appearance in th ree separate scenes. Scott gives a fairly straight-for- ward portrayal of a Los Angeles detective assigned to investigate the death of his former colleague, but the character. like the movie. lacks any quality that is truly ex- citing or even fascinating, Brando's performance is fas- cinating, but simply because of its quirkiness. Like his title-character portrayal in The Godfather. his characterization of a Machiavel- lian business tycoon in The Formu- la is largely one of physical trans- formation and frequent unin- telligible mumblings, Marthe Keller, who gave strong dramatic account of herself in the movies Marathon Man, Black Sun- day and Bobby Deerfield, here plays a fairly traditional femme- fatale role as a member of some terrorist organization who assists the detective and, naturally. be- comes romatically involved with him. This romance is one of the least convincing and involving sub- plots within the movie. Sir John GieLgpd also makes a The Formula' a ludicrous effort brief appearance in the film, as an aged German scientist. offering some kind of explanation as to what the (brmula actually is. But his entire scene could be deleted from the movie with no dramatic The facts on which Shagan's story is based. that a German lor- mula for making synthetic fuel did exist and was made accessible to American oil companies who ap- parently have kept it under wraps, certainly merit exposure. But his elaborate fictionizing of them gives the movie an aura of overb- lown contrivance. Shagan, as in his Save The Tiger (which Avildsen also directed), shows appropriate cynicism about where the power in America really lies. But as a chastisement of the Governing Jeffersonian principle that "Money, not morality, is the principal commerce of civilized nations," The Formula is ludi- crously ineffectual. And: as a self-proclaimed mys- tery thriller, it is seriously short on both mystery and thrills. During the last few years. while the majority of films being made in this country studiously have avoid- ed the inclusion of anything that wuld identify them as Canadian. films being made m Australia have been bullish 1n exposing that country's heritage -- both the good and the bad - and its culture to the world at large. An example of this kind of movie is The Getting of Wisdom, made in 1977 but currently having its first showing in our area. Dealing with a young girl's ex- periences in a Victorian-era board- mg school, the picture is necessari- ly episodic in plot and it oc- casionally leans slightly towards caricatures in some of its charac- terizations. But appreciation of either the pictures humorous or dramatic content is by no means limited to those who are intimately familiar with Australia during the late 1890s and early 1900s. Reminiscent of, although not as dramatically involving as, My Bril- liant Career. The Getting of Wis- dom also is adapted from an early 20th-century autobiographical novel which shocked its original readers with an artistic and out- spoken woman's view of the male- dominated society in which she was raised, TurrtVthe-century Australia's colonial-style education system. geared to producing young ladies whose dress and manners would make them prize possessions for men of the upper classes, is sharp- ly satirized in The Getting Of Wis- dom, sometimes at the expense of story development and character appeal. But, overall, The Getting of Wis- dom is a finely crafted and per- formed film that should be appre- ciated by movie-goers looking for an alternative to the purely es- capist fare of most of this season's screen offerings. Police detective Barney Caine (George C. 5&3) confronts Adam Steiffel (Marlon Brando) head of international oil cartel in MGM's "The Formula" 3 mystery directed by John G. Avildson from a screenplay by producer Steve Shagan. Epp to be consultant forh/lennonite film Waterloo professor and author Frank Epp will act as historical consultant and script developer on a major motion picture tentatively titled "Night Train From Moscow" which is to begin production next June in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The film is based on the Mennonite experience in Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 and the Mennonites" subsequent migration to Canada “I'll be working to ensure that the historical sites and sets used during the filming are as authentic as possible," Epp said in an interview, “I'm also going to be doing some of the work on the screenplay as well" Epp says the story deals with Frank Bergen. a Mennonite with pacifist leanings. who must struggle with the questions of violence. land reform, religion and economics prior to and during the turbulent re- volution in Russia. Epp, who ts a professor at Conrad Grebe] College on the campus of the University of Waterloo and author of Mennonite Exodus. agreed to act as his- torical consultant to the project to ensure the his- torical integrity of the story with respect to the Men- nonite experience. culture and faith, "Vii; éafiértiié him will deal with the personal as well as political lives of the Mennonites in Russia during the peasant uprising, Producer Dean Peterson and John Clarke ol Forestgreen Productions Inc,. the Canadian film company producing the movie. recently toured the Winnipeg area to select potential filming sites and to meet with representatives of the Manitoba govern- By the Chmniclo Sta" . Harry Enns. Manitoba':; minister of government services. has assured them of his department's co- operation. - A Meetings were also held with officials of the Win- nipeg Mennonite Theatre and the Manitoba Men- nonite Historical Society who will be involved in pro- duction of the film. Filming is expected to begin in June after the screenplay is re-written by Mark Gilhuis. president of Forestgreen and Philip Yorden. an academy award winning writer and producer whose credits include The Fall of the Roman Empire. 55 Days at Peking. Battle of the Bulge. El Cid and Brigham. the story of the founder of the Mormon Church, Gilhuis recognized the potential of the story which he says carries a message of faith that speaks to others beyond the Mennonite community, He felt it was a story that had to be told and one of such a na- ture that it could be released successfully through commercial theatres and television, The story concludes with the dramatic events leading up to the escape from Moscow to ultimate freedom in Canada. The projected budget for the film is $9 million with Mennonite investors from across Canada contribut- ing $150,000 seed money _ . The project had its beginning several years ago when Peter Bargen, a resident of Edmonton, Alta.. in his address to the 1977 Ontario Provincial Prayer Breakfast told the story of his family's dramatic es- cape from Russia in the 1920's, . Filming should be completed by next December with release set for early in 1982, Epp said.