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. 

London Film Festival returns

Next month sees the return of the London Film Festival, BFI's 57th one! 

I've been attending for the past few years since I became a BFI member. Due to money constraints, I normally can only attend a few screenings (the prices are higher than normal), and after choosing to see 'Once Upon A Time In Anatolia' on a whim a few years ago and subsequently been quietly blown away, I try and book for films I wouldn't probably see on general release. 

So this year, after some booking issues, I've decided on:

Ladder to Damascus

Ilo Ilo

and the much talked about Blue Is The Warmest Colour

Polymath weekend

So last weekend was slightly James Franco themed, whilst in town for an eye test (my first in about 12 years and yes, I need glasses now), I popped into his Pace Gallery exhibition 'Psycho Nacirema'. 

It was inspired by Psycho - he recreates the Bates motel - and the 20s scandal surrounding Fatty Arbuckle - which I wasn't familiar with previously. 

I found the whole exhibition a little pointless however and the excessive red paint was a little GCSE Art. 

The next day, I had tickets to see him introduce Hitchcock's Psycho at the BFI - as part of their Screen Epiphanies series. He spoke for longer than anyone else I've seen there and it was mostly him talking as opposed to a Q&A. Listening him to talk did make me think better of the exhibition slightly, he seems to be a  fan of art as a concept than as content. 

Franco explained that when Gus Van Sant remade Psycho, he wanted to re-create it frame for frame - focus on the shots opposed to the dialogue - and the film would have worked a lot better if Hollywood hadn't spent so much money on it and it remained more of an art house project than an entertainment project. Psycho was made after the critical and commercial success of Good Will Hunting, so Van Sant was allowed to do anything. I haven't seen the film myself, but I do feel that re-making a movie by frames would lend itself a lot better to a piece of art than a film (not that films aren't art, but you know what I mean!) as you're potentially not bringing enough to the table to justify a remake. 

Anyways, Hitchcock's Psycho was great! 

Interval

So I've decided to try harder to keep at this...

After a delightful Christmas (Die Hard should be on every year)
New Years was spent in Diss, Norfolk - good food, lovely walks and lots of games courtesy of Toby Price - alpaca alert!

Then there was Fela at The National Theatre (don't ever want to see a theatre audiece shaking their hips again), Tom Wrigglesworth at the BBC Studios, Jonny Sweet at The Soho Theatre, The Wild One at The Phoenix, The Big Sleep at the BFI, BUG at the BFI (the videos weren't as good this time), a ski lesson in Hemel Hempstead (I didn't fall over!), Bob Le Flambeur at the BFI (Hello Jonathan Ross), Alex Winston at Bush Hall, The Dogs at Wimbledon's Stadium and a delicious roast at Mason & Taylor.