'FEAST' OVERINDULGES IN MELODRAMA.Byline: - Rob Lowman The cast of ``Anne Rice's The Feast of All Saints'' makes this story about African-Americans, or ``free people of color In the history of slavery in the Americas, a free person of color was a person of full or partial African descent who was not enslaved. In the United States, such persons were referred to as "free negroes," though many were, in fact, mulattos. ,'' living in the slave city Slave City is the title of a Masters of the Universe minicomic. It was packaged with Orko, Prince Adam and Zodak's action figures. The artwork was drawn by Alfredo Alcala. Characters
adj. 1. Capable of being watched; viewable: watchable wildlife. 2. Good enough to watch: "The fastest modem ... . But a story that delves into complex and emotional issues of race in America - especially one that has a historical basis that still resonates today - deserves more than this baroque potboiler pot·boil·er n. A literary or artistic work of poor quality, produced quickly for profit. [From the phrase boil the pot, to provide one's livelihood. . Produced by vampire queen Rice, ``Saints'' suffers from that Hollywood tendency of filtering history through contemporary sensibilities. ``Saints'' is narrated by an elderly Marcel Ste. Marie (James Earl Jones), who describes his life as a young man (played by Robert Ri'chard). Marcel is the son of wealthy white planter Philippe Ferronnaire (Peter Gallagher) and Cecile St. Marie (Gloria Reuben), a freed slave, who also is a product of a liaison between a French plantation owner in Haiti and one of his slaves. Marcel, his sister Marie (Nicole Lyn) and Cecile are amply provided for by Philippe, who lives in an arranged and loveless marriage. His wife, Aglae (Jenny Levine), actually has inherited the family plantation and resents her husband's control, but being an unmarried woman at that time was unacceptable. An early scene shows Philippe attending a quadroon QUADROON. A person who is descended from a white person, and another person who has an equal mixture of the European and African blood. 2 Bailey, 558. Vide Mulatto. ball, where young women of color are shown off to potential rich white suitors. Arrangements - certain promises involving living expenses and provisions for the future - would then be struck with elderly black women for the full-time services of a young woman. It was not much different than an arranged marriage for the wealthy landowner, except that there were no marriage vows. Marcel and Marie live in an uneasy world - doted dote intr.v. dot·ed, dot·ing, dotes To show excessive fondness or love: parents who dote on their only child. [Middle English doten. on by Philippe, but surrounded by reminders of slavery. Marcel, unlike his sister, has an unreal sense of his status, not realizing that one drop of African-American blood made him ``colored.'' Among the promises Philippe has made to Cecile as part of their arrangement is that Marcel will be given a Paris education when he turns 18, but as the young man approaches that age the reality of his situation becomes jarringly and brutally apparent. ``Feast'' is lavishly mounted and, for the most part, finely acted, giving us a look at a part of the American past that is rarely examined. The bottom line, though, is that such an incendiary INCENDIARY, crim. law. One who maliciously and willfully sets another person's house on fire; one guilty of the crime of arson. 2. This offence is punished by the statute laws of the different states according to their several provisions. subject deserves more fire in it and less soap. ``ANNE RICE'S THE FEAST OF ALL SAINTS'' What: Story of free African-Americans living in the slave state of Louisiana CODE, OF LOUISIANA. In 1822, Peter Derbigny, Edward Livingston, and Moreau Lislet, were selected by the legislature to revise and amend the civil code, and to add to it such laws still in force as were not included therein. in the 1840. Based on the novel by Rice. The stars: Gloria Reuben, Peter Gallagher, Jennifer Beals, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Pam Grier, Jasmine Guy, James Earl Jones, Eartha Kitt, Ben Vereen, Forest Whitaker, Victoria Rowell, Bianca Lawson, Nicole Lyn and Robert Ri'chard. Where: Showtime. When: Part 1: 8 tonight; Part 2: 8 p.m. Monday. Our rating: Two and one half stars CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Robert Ri'chard and Bianca Lawson share a scene in ``Anne Rice's The Feast of All Saints,'' tonight and Monday on Showtime. |
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