My London Film Festival overdue round up

I saw three films in three consecutive days. 

First up was 'Ladder To Damascus', the film tells the story about a young Syrian actress who feels she has been inhabited by the soul of a woman who dies on the day she was born. I was hungover and had to get to the Cine Lumiere in Kensington so it wasn't a great start. I found it hard to concentrate initially but soon was enveloped by the busy house that most of the characters live in. Naturally a Syrian film getting made at this time will overlap with the conflict happening there. Some of the scenes I thought were a little odd directorially, and I thought overall the film was good, not  great. 

Next was 'Ilo Ilo' - which won the Camera d'Or Award at Cannes - and what transpired to be the UK premiere of the film hosted at Rich Mix (technical issues scuppered the original premiere). I thought this Singaporean film was superb, the actor's behaviours were so subtle and we were treated to a Q&A with the direcotr Anthony Chen afterwards. It's coming back next year, so look out for it. 

My third and final preview was for the much debated 'Blue is the Warmest Colour'. I didn't realise it's running time till settling down in the Chelsea Curzon. So much has been talked about the lesbian sex scenes, I thought shit could get awkward surrounded by men in the back row. Anyways, I thought it was a beautiful love story between two people who happen to be of the same sex. Yes, that seven minute sex scene is intense, but the film is 3 hours so proportionally not as a big a part many people would assume. And there have been a lot of commentators about the film, from a lot of people who haven't seen it. That sex scene is exactly what I said, intense. It's not sexy, it's two people almost devouring each other into personal exhaustion. Steven Spielberg - president of Cannes Jury, 'BITWC' received the Palme d'Or - said he wanted his kids to see the film. I'm not sure if I'd want my (hypothetical) kids seeing the sex scenes too young, but perhaps it doesn't deserve the 18 rating. 

There was also a Q&A afterwards with Adele - the main actress - and the director Abdellatif Kechiche, a lot of people left before this, which surprised me but I guess it was late. It was dominated by Kechiche and his translator so was a little staggered but enjoyable nonetheless. 

In other news, I watched 'Spring Breakers' for the first time recently. I was actually quite disappointed, apart from some choice Alien quotes and that Britney Spears piano moment, it was pretty dull. To me it seemed Korine had just discovered what a metaphor was and was crudely pointing out all the metaphors to us. Also, to any kids who watch it, they'll just lap up the behaviour of the protagonists. Bikinis and balaclavas do make for iconic outfits though.