Nov 29, 2007 ... “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” is based on the true story of Jean-. Dominique
Bauby, aka Jean-Do, a successful editor for the French.
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Entertainment
November 29 – December 5, 2007
Queen of the Erhu Artist Profile: Qi Xiaochun Epoch Times Ottawa Staff
One of the most popular traditional Chinese instruments, the erhu, is capable of conveying great tragedy. Whether the musical tempo is fast or slow, the erhu produces a melancholy sound that is hauntingly beautiful. Ms. Qi Xiaochun, a highly acclaimed erhu musician, learned to play the instrument from her father while growing up in southern China. “When I was 6 years old, my father, began teaching me how to play the erhu, and he practiced with me every day. Living space was extremely limited, so to avoid bothering our neighbors, he took me to a nearby park to practice,” she said. The early days of Qi Xiaochun’s training were rigorous. Her father instructed her outside throughout the year, during all kinds of weather. She says she used to think he was “the cruelest father in the world” until she began to understand his deep love for music and the “subdued passion” behind it. “While practicing, we were often surrounded by crowds of people, watching, listening attentively to us for hours, nodding their heads, and tapping their feet to the beat. I now understand why my father took such great pains to train me as an erhu artist—he wanted me to inherit the heart and soul of Chinese arts and to use music to create hope, joy, and inner strength for those aspiring to light and beauty despite adverse conditions. He was a great father.” Although the erhu is sometimes called the two-string violin, it is held vertically, not horizontally, on the lap of a seated player. It is made of dense wood, such as rosewood or ebony, and consists of a small sound box covered with snakeskin—traditionally python—and a long slim neck slightly curved at the end. Two steel strings have replaced the traditional silk strings. The bamboo and white horsehair bow is permanently placed between the two strings. This little box has many unique qualities that make it a difficult instrument to master. There is no fingerboard for finding the right key, and the strings are pressed but shouldn’t touch the neck. The sound is produced when the bow,
ERHU MASTER: Qi Xiaochun conveys great depth of feeling and meanings through her mastery of the traditional two-string Chinese instrument, the erhu. NEW TANG DYNASTY TELEVISION
rosined to increase friction, is passed between the strings, causing the snakeskin to vibrate; both sides of the bow are used to produce the sound. The strings are so close that they are played as if one. Many westerners were introduced to its charm with the first global tour of New Tang Dynasty Television’s (NTDTV) “Chinese New Year Spectacular” in 2004. In lavish performances, the “Spectacular” and its arts troupe, Divine Performing Arts, showcase authentic traditional Chinese culture through music and dance. The show was performed in 32 major cities around the world last year, and in 2008 will be performed in 50 cities, expecting to reach a total live audience of half a million. Qi Xiaochun says ancient Chi-
nese culture promoted harmony between heaven and earth and respect for life and nature—values that are reflected in Divine Performing Arts’ shows. She says her work is a tribute to people in China who share similar passions as her father, and playing the erhu for Divine Performing Arts helps fulfill her father’s dream. “I am on the stage today because of my father’s dedication to what he considered his mission in life: preserving the essence and beauty of traditional Chinese culture for the generations to come.”
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JOHN FOGERTY ROCKS LOS ANGELES
KIRK DOUGLAS AND HARRISON FORD GIVE BACK
THE EDGE AND BONO GIVE SURPRISE LONDON SET
(Epoch Times)—Kirk Douglas (L) and Harrison Ford (R) were among many to serve Thanksgiving lunch for the homeless in downtown Los Angeles on Nov. 21. Also attending were Penny Marshall, Lori Petty, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and Ford’s girlfriend Calista Flockhart.
LONDON (Reuters)—About 200 music fans were treated to an impromptu set by U2 stars Bono (R) and The Edge (L) at a small London venue last Friday. Watched by fellow band member Adam Clayton, the two Irish rockers delivered a 20-minute acoustic set at the Union Chapel in north London, in a gig for Mencap as part of the charity’s Little Noise Sessions.
(Epoch Times)—Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist John Fogerty performed at Los Angeles’s Nokia Theatre on Nov. 23, as part of his current tour following the release of his last album “Revival.” Fogerty is best known for his prominent role and numerous hit songs from the classic rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival.
‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’ By MASHA SAVITZ
Epoch Times Los Angeles Staff
“Besides my eye,” Bauby says, “two things are not paralyzed, my imagination and my memory.” And so we are brought into Jean-Do’s world, cracking open the barriers of his isolation and confinement. “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” is based on the true story of JeanDominique Bauby, aka Jean-Do, a successful editor for the French magazine Elle, who was struck by a rare condition known as lockedin-syndrome: a full bodily paralysis but with complete cognition and intellectual capacity intact. Through the initiative and ingenuity of his physical therapist Marie (Olatz Lopez Garmendia), a communication system for Bauby is devised by blinking his one working eye. He is then able to dictate his memoir, recounting with heartbreaking eloquence and humor, his inner journey. The memoir went on to become an internationally acclaimed bestseller, and later the basis for this film. Sometimes, something emerges from the vast field of experience and expression that shatters us with its sheer beauty, artistry, and originality, establishing new standards for art, and new parameters for perceiving ourselves and the human spirit. “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” is such a movie. We literally view Bauby’s inner and outer world, as perhaps only multi-talented director Julian Schnabel (“Basquiat,” “Before
By PAM McLENNAN
The Epoch Times is proud to sponsor the Divine Performing Arts, which begins its world tour in December. For ticket and performance information, visit the Web site http:// bestchineseshows.com.
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DIVING BELL:In Julian Schnabel’s “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” Max Von Sydow is Papinou (L) to Mathieu Amalric as Jean-Dominique Bauby (R). ETIENNE GEORGE/MIRAMAX FILMS
Night Falls”) could so successfully convey. Collaboration with awardwinning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (“Schindler’s List,” “Saving Private Ryan”) helped create a unique feel and texture to the film. Among his techniques is a first-person point of view (POV) camera position that is especially powerful in the first scene. “My diving bell becomes oppressive, and my mind takes flight like a butterfly. There is so much to do. You can wander off into space or time, set off for Tierra del Fuego, or for King Midas’s Court,” laments Bauby, illustrating how his memory and imagination allows him to enjoy a quality of life despite his disability. Schnabel’s own sensibilities al-
low him to translate Bauby’s sensual perspective, sensitivity to beauty and vivid imagery onto the screen, as Bauby had foreseen and envisioned—the breeze blowing the curtain of his hospital room, close-ups of the face of the woman in his life, or his life before the trauma juxtaposed quite effectively with exhilarating music, or long hair blowing in the wind in a convertible become a visual and emotional treat. From the very first frame, opening credits transposed on antique skeletal x-rays, to the last striking image, this movie is breathtaking, moving, and profound. There is no excessive sentimentality, only the evidence of life’s pathos grinding against and towards creative genius and the brilliance of the soul revealed.
