The last time Rip Torn played a long-haired, bearded irascible rural character in a film at the Sundance Film Festival was when "Heartland" won the independent competition grand prize in 1981.
This year it's "Where the Rivers Flow North," which is not in competition but is instead part of the "New Dimensions in Native Cinema" collection, a sidebar of Native American films.But here's Torn once again, marvelous as another, very different crusty old coot . . . with darker shadings. "Well, I guess I get these roles because they know that I can handle horses and physical activity," Torn said in a telephone interview from his New York apartment.
Long a familiar character actor, he is now seen weekly by cable TV viewers on "The Larry Sanders Show," which he refers to as "The Garry Shandling Show." And Torn has been getting his share of rave reviews as Shandling's unctuous producer on the HBO satirical series, which lampoons late-night talk shows. "I'm lucky to be in one of the best programs that's ever been on television. But a lot of people don't see it, they don't get HBO. People will come up to me and say, `Gee, times are tough for you, aren't they? So, you're doing a sitcom?' "
In "Where the Rivers Flow North" Torn plays Noel Lord, an aging logger with a full white beard and flowing white hair. Living in Vermont's logging country, with his companion and housekeeper, an American Indian woman named Bangor (Tantoo Cardinal, delightful as she speaks pidgin English and refers to herself in the third person), Lord is at odds with progress. As the region's first hydroelectric dam encroaches on his land in the early part of the century, he refuses to sell out. But his motives are far from altruistic.
"He's a yankee individualist," Torn explains, "a backwoodsman - and he's very different than I am, except that he's an outdoorsman." He adds that sometimes that obsessive love of the outdoors is difficult to understand. "It's hard to explain to a lot of people. My uncles used to say, `The boy is always in the woods. Must have been that motorcycle accident did something to him.' "
Torn said he was an admirer of the writings of Howard Frank Mosher, author of the book on which the film is based. "I've known a lot of things he's written and was very taken with this." One element he tried to bring from the book was the character's craftiness, his ability to take advantage of those who underestimate him. "He's probably more educated than I was, though I had five years of college. And he's a lot smarter than he is considered to be by the people he is dealing with."
Co-screenwriter/director Jay Craven is largely faithful to the book, according to Torn, who has seen and approves of the film adaptation. "When you translate a book into a film, there are certain things you can quibble about. But I think Howard Mosher is pleased with it, and considering the small amount of money they spent, it's quite a marvelous film."
Torn also said he enjoyed working with Tantoo Cardinal. "I think she's a delightful actor, and I hope this does well for her."
Cardinal, best known for her work in "Dances With Wolves," was featured in the title role of last year's festival premiere film "Silent Tongue," written and directed by Sam Shepard. This year, in addition to promoting "Where the Rivers Flow North," she is a member of the dramatic competition jury.
"Where the Rivers Flow North" has one more screening, Saturday, Jan. 29, 6:30 p.m., in the Library Center.
FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
For festival information, phone 328-FILM (3456); for ticket information, phone 322-1700. All theaters and auditoriums are in Park City, except the Tower Theater, which is in Salt Lake City, and the Sundance Screening Room, which is at the Sundance Resort in Provo Canyon.
FRIDAY (JAN. 28)
Egyptian Theatre: "Mi Vida Loca" 1 p.m.; "Clerks" 4 p.m.; "Reality Bites" 7 p.m.; "Shorts Program V" 10 p.m.; "The Velvet Underground and Nico" midnight.
Holiday Village Cinema I: "Boatman" 1 p.m.; "Dialogues with Madwomen" 4 p.m.; "Cuba Va"' 7 p.m.; "Fast Trip, Long Drop" 10 p.m.
Holiday Village Cinema II: "Boxer Rebellion" 1:20 p.m.; "Closing Numbers" 4:20 p.m.; "Johnny One Hundred Pesos" 7:20 p.m.; "Fun" 10:20 p.m.
Holiday Village Cinema III: "Fire Eyes" 1:40 p.m.; "Clean, Shaven" 4:40 p.m.; "Martha & Ethel" 7:40 p.m.; "Heart of the Matter" 10:40 p.m.
Prospector Square: "European Cinema" 3 p.m.; "Darkness in Tallinn" 6 p.m.; "Threesome" 9 p.m.
Library Center: "The Pornographer" 3:30 p.m.; "blessing" 6:30 p.m.; "River of Grass" 9:30 p.m.
Tower Theater: "Naked in New York" 6 p.m.; "Killing Zoe" 8:30 p.m.
Sundance Screening Room: "Lives in Hazard" 4:30 p.m.; "Shopping" 8 p.m.
SATURDAY (JAN. 29)
Egyptian Theatre: "Mama Awethu!" 10 a.m.; "Threesome" 1 p.m.; "The Young Americans" 4 p.m.; "Thirty-two Short Films about Glenn Gould" 7 p.m.; "Dollar Mambo" 10 p.m.
Holiday Village Cinema I: "Theremin" 10 a.m.; "Kanehsatake" 1 p.m.; "Hoop Dreams" 4 p.m.; "Shorts Program V" 7:30 p.m.; "Are They Still Shooting?" 10 p.m.
Holiday Village Cinema II: "Risk" 10:20 a.m.; "Colorado Cowboy" 1:20 p.m.; "Fresh" 4:20 p.m.; "The Scent of Green Papaya" 7:20 p.m.; "Temptation of a Monk" 10:20 p.m.
Holiday Village Cinema III: "Floundering" 10:40 a.m.; "Ivan and Abraham" 1:40 p.m.; "The Fire This Time" 4:40 p.m.; "Shorts Program IV" 7:40 p.m.; "Bonnie and Clyde" 10:40 p.m.
Prospector Square: "Spanking the Monkey" 9:30 a.m.; "Political Filmmaking in the U.S." noon; "Nina Takes a Lover" 3 p.m.; "Consuming Sun" 6 p.m.; "Shorts Program III" 9 p.m.
Library Center: "Reality Bites" 9:30 a.m.; "The Secret Life of Houses" 12:30 p.m.; "Suture" 3:30 p.m.; "Where the Rivers Flow North" 6:30 p.m. "I Love a Man in Uniform" 9:30 p.m.
Tower Theater: "Not Just for Kids" 2 p.m.; " Cronos" 6 p.m.; "Roosters" 8:30 p.m.; "Minotaur" midnight.
Sundance Screening Room: "blessing" 2 p.m.; "Mi Vida Loca" 4:30 p.m.; "Four Weddings and a Funeral" 8 p.m.
SUNDAY (JAN. 30)
Egyptian Theatre: "Dramatic Grand Prize Winner" 11 a.m.; "Documentary Grand Prize Winner" 2 p.m.; "Dramatic Audience Award Winner" 5 p.m.; TBA 8 p.m.
Holiday Village Cinema I: "Totally F***ed Up" 11 a.m.; "Shorts Program I" 2 p.m.; "Shorts Program II" 5 p.m.; TBA 8 p.m.
Holiday Village Cinema II: "Abyssinia" 11:20 a.m.; "Ivan and Abraham" 2:20 p.m.; TBA 5:20 p.m.; TBA 8:20 p.m.
Holiday Village Cinema III: "Mickey One" 11:40 a.m.; "Four Friends" 2:40 p.m.; "Not Just for Kids" 5:40 p.m.; TBA 8:40 p.m.
Prospector Square: "Two Small Bodies" 10:30 a.m.; "The Young Americans" 1 p.m.; "Makin' Up" 4 p.m.; TBA 7 p.m.
Library Center: "Documentary Filmmakers Trophy Winner" 10:30 a.m.; "Dramatic Filmmakers Trophy Winner" 1 p.m.; "The Bed You Sleep In" 4 p.m.; "Night Moves" 7 p.m.