I was thinking film for Sunday. Had the same thought a few nights before, actually - but being sick to the teeth of nature documentaries, I thought I'd finally avail of my Mubi membership. Three months' free trial, and I hadn't availed of it yet! Highest rated on it at the time was Kurosawa's last epic (as advertised) - Ran. The Japanese version of King Lear, really. So, I tried to watch it. Twice. The first time, I gave up after about 10 minutes - there was so much buffering, I'd got through under 3 minutes' worth of material. The second time, I did a bit better - managed 26 mins worth of material in just over an hour. Both times, I got tired and gave up. Third time lucky..?
What I can say about the first 26 minutes is - it's quite shouty, the (16th Century) costumes are really weird, and the scenery is spectacular. Well gee, by the time I got around to watching something, there was a higher rated film on Mubi - and not particularly fancying listening to bearded Japanese men shouting at each other, I went for Hoop Dreams instead. It's a (very long) documentary about two black teenage boys from Chicago, both talented basketball players, who are scouted for a school just out of town called St. Joseph's, which has a strong focus on basketball, with a number of players headed towards college basketball, and professional careers.
I kind of sorted my Mubi problem - they must show films in very high res, because in the settings page, you can choose among three (high, medium, low). I tried each, and settled on low (described as standard res) - I still had some buffering, but manageable - less than half an hour added to a three-hour film.
So - I have zero interest in basketball. But the film does delve deeply into these kids' home lives, and their careers through high school - they briefly mention what happened to them next, but I had to do my own search to find out more. And by the end, I was interested - it's something of a marathon, but you do find yourself getting hooked, and wanting to know more. What a journey it is - although they mention a successful alumnus, neither of these kids reaches those dizzy heights (spoiler).. and with the litany of problems they face, you can see why.
You expect the standard problems - one has terrible trouble with recurring injury, both struggle to keep their grades up, which is a requirement. Then the other's family discovers that what they thought was a full scholarship is nothing of the kind, and they can't afford the balance - so the school unceremoniously kicks him out, and requires a further payment before they'll even release his transcript to the school he returns to! I don't know that St. Joseph's comes out of this too well - on top of this, the coach is a slavedriver, criticising the injured kid for not having the killer instinct he did before his injury, then making him come back too soon, just making it worse.
Well, there is life outside basketball, and they'll be ok. But hell, the background they come from.. random attacks (not to mention deliberate fights) shorten lives, and the father of one was shot dead by robbers shortly after the film was released. The brother of the other was shot dead some years later. There's jail, teenage pregnancy, redundancy leading to inadequate welfare, which in turn means the power is cut off.. it's no wonder that they dream of a glittering future away from this. The shots of them strolling around college campuses, at the end of the film, are a sight to behold - a new world awaits. I remember the feeling, although all I was trying to escape was boredom! You don't know when you have it lucky..
So, I enjoyed it - although there is no way it needed to be that long.. As for Ran, it's no longer showing on Mubi. Which doesn't distress me too much.
I've been quite busy since, with a decent tv schedule as well. So I had no chance to blog. Yesterday being a bank holiday, I planned to watch Venus in Fur, showing on YouTube, as suggested by Up in the Cheap Seats - in the end, it was tonight before I got to it! Definitely not the best recording - probably not intended for public consumption, with the camera jerking around, and most particularly, dreadful sound quality. They don't get the mic right until about 15 minutes in - the beginning is really faint. All the worse because the audience inexplicably finds the start hilarious, and keeps bursting out in raucous laughter! When you have the volume turned up so you can hear the actors, then you get a burst of deafening laughter (the mic must have been at the back) - you begin to wonder whether it's worth continuing.
Do give it a shot - it's really very good. And audiences laughing at inappropriate moments is, sadly, something I'm used to. And, as usual, the laughter stops after a while, when they realise it's not a comedy (why does everyone seem to expect everything to be a comedy?!). The play is a two-hander, with a theatre director about to leave for the night after a day spent looking for the female lead for his new play. Suddenly, in bursts a young woman, who's been delayed, and is desperate to read for the part, and persuades him to read with her.. and wouldn't you know it, it's as though the play was written for her! But has he bitten off more than he can chew with this mysterious woman..?
It it funny - the more so when you can hear it, with the volume at a suitable level, and the audience not drowning it out. And it's sexy. The play that he's casting for is based on a 19th Century novel, and is all about domination.. it's fascinating to watch Lauren Kampman completely manipulate the director as he tries, bemusedly, to figure her out. By the end, I don't think we're any more sure than we were about who she really is, but it doesn't matter - she's given him a masterclass in how to be dominant. And struck a blow for feminism! Recommended, with a caveat about the laughter and poor audio at the start.
This weekend is all about the same group. On Saturday, I'm seeing a remake of Beauty and the Beast with them, broadcast by Chichester Festival Theatre.
On Sunday, we're on YouTube, watching a production of Hairspray, with Jennifer Hudson and Ariana Grande. Part of Andrew Lloyd Webber's channel, The Shows Must Go On.
And on Monday (or thereabouts), London Literary Walks gives the results to the final (sigh) round of their quiz..
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