Film: La Vie Me Va Bien (Life Suits Me Well)

Tonight, I booked for The Southbury Child, at the Bridge Theatre. But then I noticed that Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) is going, later in the week - so switched my ticket to that night. The theatre is most obliging, that way, and gave me the seat next to the one I'd originally booked. Which left me free to go to a film tonight. Well, I checked the film list - and highest (that I don't think I'd hate) was La Vie Me Va Bien (Life Suits Me Well), a Moroccan film about a fellow diagnosed with a progressive neurological disease, and how his family cope with it. The trailer actually looked really good. Showing in the Ciné Lumiere. Too early to get food beforehand. Hmph.

Well, last time I was here, I had an office to go from, and did - so took the bus, and spent forever in Knightsbridge, with roadworks. This time, I was that bit further away - so took the Piccadilly Line, and got there much faster! It didn't have the aircon of the Circle Line, but I did manage to get a seat straight away when two obliging teenagers ceded theirs.

And lo, when I emerged, there was a Pret on my way! Perfect - I was a five-minute walk from the cinema, and had 25 minutes before the start time. So I ate there, taking advantage of their welcome aircon, and their slightly less dependable WiFi. First Pret I've eaten at where they served me a spoon at the counter, rather than me having to find my own. And then I trotted off to the cinema - was stuck for a while behind two elderly ladies buying a ticket for the same film I wanted, bought mine from the same courteous, bilingual bloke, and then found myself queueing behind them again in the cafe!

Oh my, service is so slow.. I know there's only one person, and to be fair, she didn't seem to be dawdling - but it's just everything seemed to take so long! One of the ladies wanted tea (I thought you couldn't take that into the cinema, seems it isn't a problem), and the water had to heat. And meantime, the server was heating a slice of quiche for someone at a table. And once the tea was finally poured into a takeaway cup, she decided she wanted a slice of cake. Which had to be carefully placed in a bag. Fully 10 minutes it was before I could ask for a glass of wine! (In plastic, to take into the cinema.) She begged me to return the plastic cup after - and fair play, gave me the little extra at the end of the bottle.

So, I missed the speech beforehand, which is a shame - this is part of the Safar Festival of Arab cinema, which runs till Sunday - till Saturday at this cinema. The film itself is in Arabic, but of course the title is French, which is also an official language of Morocco, and I guess they thought would travel better internationally. And it's one of those films you can just relax into, confident that you're in for a treat. I love it when that happens. Gorgeous sea views, lovely soundtrack..

The father of the story, who gets ill, is a real character, responsible for most of the film's comedy. And the comedy is nicely balanced with heartbreak, some really touching scenes. Throw in a couple of twists, and you have a realistic story - sure enough, the story was inspired by the illness of the director's father. But while it never shys away from the difficulty, it never dwells on it either - life must go on, and this is a most watchable film. With a somewhat open ending, not all loose ends tied up - just like life. I loved it - highly recommended.

Got the bus(es) back, there being less traffic - so got to experience the ongoing hell of Knightsbridge. And with the sweltering conditions on board, and the Arabic being spoken all around me - why, it was like being back in Morocco!

Tomorrow, back with Civilised London for dinner - this time at The Crown itself, where we usually meet for drinks before heading somewhere else for dinner. Excellent choice - it's supposed to be slightly cooler, and I can tell them how my screening interview went - I have one tomorrow, with another company. This marks the beginning of a whole spate of Meetups in a row! When's the last time that happened..?

On Thursday, I had booked with The Garden Talks - this online talk is How Do Languages Evolve? But as I say, have now backed out of that, and am headed instead to see The Southbury Child with UITCS.

On Friday, back with the London Classical Music and Theatre Group for the opera Otello, at the Royal Opera House.

On Saturday, I had booked with Discover London (DL) for a trip to see a cart making ceremony. Just last week, I saw a new ad from UITCS - sounded good, 9 Circles - a psychological thriller that examines the ethics of war - at the Park Theatre, with lunch beforehand in Palmyra's Kitchen, next door.  And of course Eleanor, organiser of TunedIn London, advertised a concert through the World Music Meetup, for that evening, at City Hope Church. So now I'm going to all three! Should be able to squeeze them in, although I won't be able to join DL for drinks after if I'm heading for lunch..

On Sunday, back with Bucket List London (BLL) - this time, it's a trip to Sandown Antiques Market. Well, I've never been to Sandown, so this could be interesting. Crikey though, with the temperatures forecast for this weekend, I'll have to be careful in the great outdoors..

On Monday, back with North London Friends! for the first time since before lockdown. This is for an Edinburgh Comedy Festival preview, at the King's Head in Crouch End, featuring Lucy Porter and Rachel Fairburn.

Next Tuesday.. I'm taking a punt that I won't actually be employed that day, and have signed up again - at last - for a walk with Laurence and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners. This is The Magic of Midtown - and as I said to him, it finishes very near my new home! I also promised to let him know if I can't actually make it - although, even if I have started work by then (which would be surprising), perhaps I could take a day off.

On the 20th, I finish my Meetup run with a trip with UITCS to Leicester Square Theatre to see Frankie Boyle, who has a work in progress show.

On the 21st, I'm thinking of heading - at last - to Summer by the River at More London. This is for a free evening of music, curated by Soho Radio. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. Unlikely to get to a film that weekend, as I need to get my car serviced for its NCT - sooner the better, and I couldn't last weekend.

On the 25th, I'm headed to see The Throne, a comedy about to open at Charing Cross Theatre, in which the Queen gets locked in a portaloo with a staunch republican. Time Out has an offer of £10 tickets for the cheapest seats for this - a saving of more than 50%!

On the 26th - tan-ta-ra! I finally managed to get a decently priced ticket to Jerusalem, at the Apollo. I have heard so much about this, and it's always at the top of the Time Out listings - nearly as hard as Hamilton to get a reasonably priced ticket for, so I'm delighted to get one, if only not to have to look any more.

On the 27th, back to Summer by the River again.. for Bumper Blyton: Improvised Adventures for Grown-Ups! Improvised comedy in the style of Enid Blyton books.. sounds jolly good!

On the 28th - another UITCS event that Meetup finally decided to flag to me. So I've booked to go with them to see Briefs Factory's show, Bite Club! at Queen Elizabeth Hall. Drag, burlesque.. should be fun!

On the 29th, thinking about the National Theatre's River Stage 2022. This will be the first night of the Hackney Empire's Young Producers Weekend, and there'll be some dance and some music.

On the 30th, back in Greenwich with BLL - we're starting with the Old Royal Naval College and National Maritime Museum. Was originally supposed to be the Queen's House to finish, but turns out they're booked out all day for a wedding, despite not having clarified that on the website! Then in the afternoon, we're headed to Eltham Palace and Gardens. Quite the packed day - the organiser's English Heritage card expires, it seems, so he's cramming everything in while he can..

On the 31st, back with TAC for the opening night of I'm Not Myself Today: A Villainous Cabaret at the Bread and Roses in Clapham. An hour in which someone discusses with us why we all love the villain!

And on the 1st, I'm going to the Kiln Theatre for The Darkest Part of the Night. Another troublesome website - I tried for days to get it to work..!

Film: Emuthi Puthi (A Very Fishy Trip)

Last night, I booked again with Free Stuff and Free Events, for their Free Tuesday Sing-a-Long for Health and Pleasure. Online, and one where you're muted, so you don't even have anyone hear you sing! Great for the shy. But of course, I wasn't too pushed - hence I redid the film list. Now top was Emuthi Puthi, an Indian (of course!) comedy about a teenage girl who decides to run away from home, and is accompanied by her grandmother, who has this obsession with finding a magical fish. Anyway, looked ok - showing at the Ciné Lumiere. Years since I was last there, of course..

So I headed out there by bus, a bit early - thankfully, given the awful traffic in Knightsbridge! Mind you, the worst single part was trying to navigate past Grosvenor Crescent, where - for some ineffable reason - there are no traffic lights, and a stream of Audis and taxis was trying to push its way in front of us. Happily, our driver was a match for them..

Wow, this was a nostalgic trip - it's so long since I was in South Kensington! Alighted with 10 minutes to spare - which meant the bus journey took half as long again as it was supposed to - and moseyed off down to the cinema, vaguely remembering the route. I didn't remember the sign they now have pointing to the cinema - not sure whether it was there before, but it's useful! I figured out where I was going, went and bought a ticket - I hadn't needed to reserve, there was just a small audience. Checked out the café - I fancied a glass of wine, it had been a busy day. My, but service is relaxed.. at least I knew where the single screen was, and had been told the previous film wasn't finished yet - but still! Someone was in front of me, and when the lady finally finished with her, I checked that I was ok to bring wine into the screen. Yes, as long as it's not red - seems they don't allow tea or coffee either. Fine, and I bought a glass - she instructed me to leave the glass at the café door as I was leaving.

Managed to get upstairs to the screen without spilling too much of it - and was just depositing my stuff outside the screen when lo! my name was called. And wouldn't you know it, it turned out to be an old friend from Meetup, whom I hadn't seen in years! Well, it was lovely to see her again - and also handy that she had a spare seat beside her. It was a while before we got to go in, so we had a nice chat.. and she and her companion were in the row behind me in the screen. Well, that was unexpected - how nice that my plans changed!

With the lovely, pale blue upholstery, I can see why they don't allow dark drinks! Well, this film is part of the Blue Orchid Hotels London Indian Film Festival, which runs until Sunday. And so we got a brief introduction by the cinematographer for the film (pictured), who explained to us how this was very much a female-run production, mostly women behind the camera as well as on-screen. And revealed to us that the whole thing was shot on iPhones! which were provided to them by Apple. Which, of course, helped massively with their constrained budget.

Ah, this is a good one - always delighted when a punt pays off. The comic timing of this film is excellent, and they don't waste time on exposition, just straight into the Great Escape of this unlikely couple, with some flashbacks later on for context. What the granny actually wants to find is a fish to "lead her to heaven".

Not that she's picky about fish in general - she is fish-mad! As are they all, it seems, in Assam, where this is set. The film carries a strong environmental, anti-pollution message. And so I know at least one word of Assamese - "fish" translates as something that sounds like "maas". Anyway, she seems to be working from a children's story about an angel on a lake in a national park, who feeds you this fish so that you can ascend the ladder to heaven. So, this is where they're off to - the granddaughter, mind, is just tagging along; granny has promised to leave her all her money afterwards, so the granddaughter can leg it to New York, and start a new life. And the whole way, they're being tracked by the beleaguered daughter/mother, who is a police officer..

As I say, the comic timing is excellent, the characters are engaging, and some really unanticipated plot twists are dropped in. Very highly recommended - it's a truly sweet film, funny as hell, not at all twee, but with a few laudable messages as well. I'm also liking the soundtrack. Delighted I caught this! Now, my friend apparently goes there a lot, and has asked me to message her if I'm there again - well, you never know, but it isn't really close to me any more. Still, watch this space..

Catching the bus home, the next one to arrive was the #14. Which I took, considering the destination was Russell Square! Very close to home for me - despite Google Maps saying the whole trip would take me over an hour. Now, Google Maps is generally excellent, but not foolproof - when I examined its analysis closer, I discovered it would only take half an hour or so to get to Russell Square, then I'd have to wait for several minutes before taking a very roundabout bus trip to get very slightly closer to home! Rubbish - much faster to walk from Russell Square, and I made it in about 45 minutes altogether - faster than any of Google Maps' options! Still a bit late to blog, though.

Tonight, I'm finally succumbing to Anything Goes, at the Barbican. Now, I got my ticket for this from Time Out, which is the first place I saw the offer - but it turns out that any number of outlets have £25 tickets! If they're all for the same seats as Time Out, then I'd have to feel sorry for people that bought tickets for £38, which is cheaper than the original price of £45 for the seats on offer! Assuming anyone did. Anyway, with no bad seats here, you'd have to be crazy to pay more. And they helpfully emailed me the ticket link again today! 

Tomorrow, back with Bucket List London (BLL) - who obligingly is doing something midweek! I'll have to skip off work early - this is for vespers in Westminster Cathedral, and starts at 4.30. He is actually in Westminster all day, attending Ministerial Question Time earlier - but not only do I have a job to go to, but jeez, I do believe this would just infuriate me! So that, I'm not attending..

On Friday, back with Civilised London (CL) for dinner at Caravel. Terrific reviews..

At the weekend, I'm back with the man with the famous name - Dr. Stephen King (not the writer) is guiding a couple of walks for London Guided Walks (courtesy of Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts). Both topics / areas I've covered many times before, but gee, he's such a great guide! So I hope I make these - early. On Saturday, it's his Southwark Walk. Sadly, although it's now advertised on TAC, I booked it through the official site (discount of £3 with the code MEETUP3, as usual).

On Sunday, it's his Royal Coronation Walk - not advertised on TAC yet. I just bet he comes up with something I didn't already know..

On Monday, I'm headed to A Doll's House Part 2, at Donmar Warehouse - sequel to the famous original, where the wife leaves an unhappy marriage; this sequel examines what happens when she returns.

On Tuesday - well, I finally saw Up In The Cheap Seats (UITCS)' ad for Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch, at the Underbelly Festival! A parody musical, right up my street - I hate how Meetup so often doesn't show me the events I really would enjoy! Just as well I saw this in time, before I booked anything else. So it'll be a hectic evening, with an interview scheduled for 5.30! I'd better quit work early I think, and head home for that - I can't guarantee quiet in the office.

Next Wednesday, back with CT for a concert by the Royal College of Music Brass Ensemble, at the college on Shelton Street.

On the 7th, back with Guided Walking Tours in Brighton and Sussex, for The London Necropolis Virtual Tour. I pointed out to him that the registration link had the wrong date, and he said it was outdated, and he'd replace it and send me the new link - well, he's removed it, but no new link yet. And then - you guessed it, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again!

On the 11th, I'm going to Favour, at the Bush Theatre - after much effort, as their website wasn't working for days! In fact, it seems to go down sporadically. I chose an unreserved seat, will be allocated one on the day. Anyway, I see TAC has now started selling tickets for this - gee, might be not only the cheapest, but the easiest way to book! Wow, was only there once before, 3.5 years ago..

On the 12th, I'm going to The Southbury Child, at the Bridge Theatre. I noticed that UITCS is going, later in the week - ah well.

On the 13th, back with CL for dinner - this time at The Crown itself, where we usually meet for drinks before heading somewhere else for dinner. Excellent choice. Which marks the beginning of a whole spate of Meetups in a row! When's the last time that happened..?

On the 14th, back with The Garden Talks - this online talk is How Do Languages Evolve?

On the 15th, back with the London Classical Music and Theatre Group for the opera Otello, at the Royal Opera House.

On the 16th, which is a Saturday, I had booked with Discover London for a trip to see a cart making ceremony - and then Eleanor, organiser of TunedIn London, advertised a concert through the World Music Meetup, for that evening, at City Hope Church. So now I'm going to both.

On Sunday the 17th, back with BLL - this time, it's a trip to Sandown Antiques Market. Well, I've never been to Sandown, so this could be interesting.

On the 18th, back with North London Friends! for the first time since before lockdown. This is for an Edinburgh Comedy Festival preview, at the King's Head in Crouch End, featuring Lucy Porter and Rachel Fairburn.

On the 19th.. I'm taking a punt that I won't actually be employed that day, and have signed up again - at last - for a walk with Laurence and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners. This is The Magic of Midtown - and as I said to him, it finishes very near my new home! I also promised to let him know if I can't actually make it - although, even if I have started work by then (which would be surprising), perhaps I could take a day off.

On the 20th, I finish my Meetup run with a trip with UITCS to Leicester Square Theatre to see Frankie Boyle, who has a work in progress show.

On the 21st, I'm thinking of heading - at last - to Summer by the River at More London. This is for a free evening of music, curated by Soho Radio. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.

On the 25th, I'm headed to see The Throne, a comedy about to open at Charing Cross Theatre, in which the Queen gets locked in a portaloo with a staunch republican. Time Out has an offer of £10 tickets for the cheapest seats for this - a saving of more than 50%!

On the 26th - tan-ta-ra! I finally managed to get a decently priced ticket to Jerusalem, at the Apollo. I have heard so much about this, and it's always at the top of the Time Out listings - nearly as hard as Hamilton to get a reasonably priced ticket for, so I'm delighted to get one, if only not to have to look any more.

On the 27th, back to Summer by the River again.. for Bumper Blyton: Improvised Adventures for Grown-Ups! Improvised comedy in the style of Enid Blyton books.. sounds jolly good!

And on the 28th - another UITCS event that Meetup finally decided to flag to me. So I've booked to go with them to see Briefs Factory's show, Bite Club! at Queen Elizabeth Hall. Drag, burlesque.. should be fun!

Film: Mommy

Oh joy, my internet is back!! I called Virgin Media this evening - their website said the helpline was open till midnight, so I called just after 9. Turned out to be an automated voice, which led me through list after list of options, before telling me that the service team went off at 9. Grr! But they also advised me to start by unplugging the router and leaving it off for 5 minutes. And guess what.. it worked.

So here I am, to tell you that yes, I did go to Mommy today. It's showing in quite a few places around town, but the closest to me is the Cine Lumiere, in the Institut Francais. I do not believe I've been there since I started the blog.. and that's nearly two years ago! Goes to show how much is on - because it's a really nice place, and delightfully close to home for me. Anyway, I decided on the early showing, and left straight from the office.

A wonderfully short Tube journey - three stops - saw me in South Kensington. Mind you, I'd had to look up the route from there, it's been so long! When you exit the station, look for the white NatWest building. Head up that street, leading straight away from the station. Take the second right, by which time you should see signs for the Institut, and the entrance is in a small cul de sac on the right hand side - you should see the film posters. As you enter, a marvellous, white marbled lobby presents itself. The box office is on your left - there's generally a small queue. When you have your ticket (£10 standard), proceed up the grand staircase - there's just one screen, to your left. This showing was practically empty - they often are. Sit where you please - the seats are a plush pale blue, with plenty of legroom. And as I settled in, I remarked to myself that this is the easiest evening's entertainment I've had in a while.

This is a remarkable film. It's set in Quebec, which - appropriately for the venue - means it's in French. Not French as spoken by the French, mind you! Québecois French is notorious, particularly for its pronunciation - as I overheard someone remark to her companion on the street outside as I walked back to the station, that French was weird. If you speak French but are unfamiliar with this pronunciation, you'll struggle. Don't worry, though, even in the Institut, this was subtitled in English!

It's about the single mother of a teenage boy with ADHD and a dangerously violent streak. Forget all the preconceptions that might lead you to, though - this is a beautiful film. Not a schmaltzy film, not a depressing film. It's inventive, it's a joy to watch - the cinematography is beautiful, the acting superb. The story twists and turns in directions you really don't expect. The characters are real, and engaging. The boy with ADHD reminded me so, so much of a boy with the same condition that I gave private tuition to, some years back. He had exactly the same mannerisms. He committed suicide a couple of years after leaving school.

It's a terrible condition, and the film is at times scary, and often offensive. An elderly couple at the front left after a while, probably disgusted at the character's antics. The Evening Standard review said that the only thing not superb about the film was the script - and it is indeed a masterclass in swearing. But oh, oh, the soundtrack.. you know all the songs you've come across in your life and absolutely loved, and have forgotten all about? Odds are they're in here. I only wish I could get a copy of the soundtrack.. Go see, this is a superior film. That's the advantage of restricting myself to high-rated films - they are a cut above.

Afterwards, I was hungry - and although there are a couple of good restaurants on the way back to the station, I fancied my local Chinese. A Tube came without delay - when we stopped at Earl's Court, there was another delay "to regulate the service". An announcement then said the next train to arrive would also be headed in our direction. We all looked poised to jump off and go for that one. Some did so. However, ours left first - only to be stopped at a red signal immediately after, to let the other train through. Tip: take the more modern-looking train, it'll probably be given priority.

Tragedy at the Chinese - they no longer have spring rolls on the menu! and those were the single best dish. Darn - I mustn't have ordered enough of them. Frankly, that removes much of my preference for this place..

Tomorrow is the comedy walk through Soho. Hopefully, I'll be ok for it. I see the only other Meetup member that seems to be going is the organiser of the Unique Events group. And on Thursday, I get to meet the organiser of the Fill My Weekend group, which could be interesting, as I've done my best to publicise the fact that the event for that evening, Wonderfully Wicked Witches and Old Women, still has tickets available on its own website. Despite them being sold out on the Meetup website - where they're also more expensive. Now, he's taken down the post I put on that event page to that effect - but I've contacted as many members as possible on the waiting list, and hopefully I can help some..

And after all that, it's back to Ireland for the weekend! Phew..