Film: Tár

Tonight, I planned on seeing a film - but had to wait for those ever-delayed listings. Delighted to report that today's film turned out (finally!) to be Tár,  in which Cate Blanchett is Oscar-nominated for her part as a driven, genius classical conductor. Also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay - and, appropriately, best sound. Looked nice and tense - no longer showing in Ireland, and is mostly showing in the daytime in London! Finsbury Park Picturehouse is the closest venue to me that's showing it in the evening. It'd be a relief to tick it off at last.

It was a late showing, so I had time to do overtime again. As my route would take me past The Lucas Arms, I thought that'd be just the place to eat! It's been so long since I was last there.. Got a seat on the more public side for once, rather than stuck in the corner. And wow - were the pies always this big? Ah, it tasted lovely.. a middle-aged German-speaking couple sat at the table beside me, and certainly she, at least, was excited to be in London, raising a toast with her companion. They ordered food too - more huge portions, chicken for him, mac n cheese for her. It's a nice pub - it was an effort to leave.

The bus that would have taken me directly there vanished somewhere en route, so I ended up taking the other option - which was fine. A diversion didn't cause me too much trouble, as I was in plenty of time, and they still stopped where I needed them to. Found the cinema - and was again glad of being early, what with the really slow queues! I had to buy my ticket - hadn't needed to book, so I said I'd save the booking fee. Inside, the seats are comfy, with plush upholstery - if you push back, the backs do recline. Mind you, with all the people arriving after me in the row behind, I kept having to straighten..

Well, this is quite a film. The first half, certainly, should come as a joy to music lovers - as I say, she's a famous classical conductor - one of only 15 EGOTs, winners of all four major awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. And her life, indeed, plays like a classical piece - she glides elegantly from one scene to the next, effortlessly accepting adoration wherever she goes. Sleek cars, understated hotel rooms, sharp suits: she has a PA, she conducts the Berlin Philharmonic, which was always her dream - in Berlin also live her partner and their little girl, in a well-appointed apartment. Interviews with internationally renowned magazines allow her to display her erudition, and she's writing her memoir.

Not every life is perfect, however, and even in this gilded beginning, we begin to ask questions. Why does her PA always look so miserable? and where is this partner we hear about? Spending all her time in upper-class restaurants and concert halls, and giving talks - we don't even see her make a phone call home. Hmm.

Soon enough, the perfect facade begins to crack. It's one thing after another - but we realise that, perhaps, she's been keeping some things hidden. Perhaps she's brought this on herself. Now, she attempts to hold on to her life as best she can - but as things escalate, and the wolves gather (as they always will, around those more successful), just how long can she hold on before she cracks? Believe me, when she cracks, she does so spectacularly. I won't give away the ending - but let me just say what a dramatic contrast it presents to the beginning of the film. A beautiful piece of work - and although it's a little long, you'll want to hang on to see what happens next.. Have to say, karma's a killer..

My bus home was empty but for me, I think! My personal, very large, taxi..

The weekend is all about London Herstory Guided Walks, the walks from a female perspective, as guided by Mandy Morrow. Tomorrow, it's Women of Mayfair from Monarchs to Mistresses & More. Mercifully, not too early.

On Sunday, a new walk for her - Bloody Brilliant Bermondsey Women. Oh, and if you sign up to her newsletter, you get the next walk half price! I saw that offer in time for this walk.

On Monday, thinking film again - and what's coming up looks really interesting. Continuing on a women's theme, Women Talking is, apparently, based on real-life events in a Mennonite community, where women were being drugged, and sexually assaulted as they slept. Some ended up injured, some pregnant, some with STDs. The film is based on a book, imagining the women's response - in a community that doesn't even teach its women to read and write, the women mobilise to form a response to a group of uncaring elders, whose dictat is that they must forgive their attackers, or forfeit their place in heaven. Stars Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Ben Whishaw, and Frances McDormand - against type, as has been mentioned - as an older woman who does not support the younger women's rebellion against staying quiet. Also nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture. Closest showing to me is in the Everyman King's Cross.

On Tuesday, back with London Classical Music and Theatre Group, for an English Concert of Bach, at Wigmore Hall. Lovely, it's ages since I heard Bach..

On Wednesday, it's film again - this one is a BFI presentation of Joyland, an Indian film about a young man who joins a burlesque show, and becomes infatuated with the trans lady who runs it. I'm normally suspicious about Indian film, having had some bad experiences - but this trailer looks excellent, so I'll risk it. Showing in the Vue Islington - which I've booked, for once, as they now have theatre-style seat pricing, different seats in different locations at different prices!

On Thursday, back with TAC for Feel More X Lately, showing at the Lion and Unicorn. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.

There follows a mostly Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) week. On the 27th, back with them for Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, at the Harold Pinter Theatre. This is a rom-com about a couple living in a dystopian state, which limits the number of characters they can speak. Lots of body language then, I guess! Frankly, I was delighted to see that, by the time I booked, the Balcony was sold out - the legroom there is woeful, and good luck to those who've booked up there. The cheapest price bracket left when I booked included some in the Dress Circle - and thanks to Seatplan, I seem to have identified a decent seat among them. Watch this space.. cheapest tickets from the official site, but I booked with From the Box Office, which had tickets at the same price, but without the booking fee.

On the 28th, my one non-UITCS day that week - back with Over 40 Living the Life, for a dinner at Greenwich Yacht Club. Ooh la la..

On the 1st, back with UITCS at the Arcola for Afghanistan is Not Funny, the true story of a British comedian and photographer in war-torn Afghanistan.

On the 2nd, with them again at the Peacock (think I can walk to that!) for Bat Out of Hell, a musical based on the music of Meat Loaf. Awesome - just a pity it isn't one of the singalong nights..

On the 3rd, ending a run of UITCS with Lucrezia Borgia, by the English Touring Opera Company, at the Hackney Empire.

On the 4th, back cat-herding - Ivan suggested that whole day for, well, a lot of drinking. And food - he wanted to go back to O' Neill's. Well, he must have been reading the blog - because today, he got in touch. To say that, unfortunately, he can't now make it. My other coworker from that company still can, though - as they've both said, it's been so long since they actually met each other! They can never seem to coordinate..

On the 5th, back with Discover London at last - she does excellent walks, but sometimes they clash, and sometimes they sell out before I get to them! This one is Discover Historic Chelsea: From Quaint to Quant - 1660s to 1960s.

On the 6th, back with - you guessed it - UITCS, for Romeo and Julie, at the Dorfman.

On the 7th - not so much appeals on Meetup. Free Stuff and Free Events does have Free Community Singing with Ros Hone and the Global Fusion Sound Singers, which you can attend on Zoom, or in person at Fossdene School Community Hall. Which sounds just fine - except that this is the sort of thing I keep cancelling! So I'm not confirming until nearer the time.

On the 8th - back with the Crick Crack Club, woohoo! for Goddesses in the Garden, at the Chelsea Physic Garden. Features my favourite, Clare Murphy, along with Sarah Liisa Wilkinson, Laura Sampson, and Xanthe Gresham.

On the 9th, my final booking - for now - with UITCS, for Brilliant Jerks at Southwark Playhouse. And wouldn't you know it, I still had credit on my Pay as you Go subscription, so got it for free! And then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.

Film: Dear Future Children

Decided to go to a film tonight - and wouldn't you know it, the film list didn't update until Friday! which is far too late. Anyway, when it finally got done, what came out top was Dear Future Children, a documentary about three young, female activists from different parts of the world. Only showing tonight, and only in the Picturehouse Finsbury Park. Now, with few tickets left, I thought I'd better book - but as I was about to pay, I noticed they take Tesco vouchers! And I recalled getting a Tesco email recently about vouchers - I never get around to using them. Well and good, I converted some Tesco vouchers - including one expiring soon - into three times' their worth in Picturehouse vouchers, and ended up only having to pay 10p for my ticket! Nice..

Work was as crazy as almost any Monday, and I stayed a little longer than intended doing it. Now, there was a single bus (the #153) that would get me there in under an hour, so that's what I decided to take - but being delayed slightly made all the difference, and as I turned into the street were I was to catch it, there it was, already started off and scooting toward me. Ok, Plan B involved changing buses, but would get me there just ever so slightly late, which I figured was fine. So I headed over to the stop where I was to catch the first of those - only to discover that the LCD display said it wouldn't be there for another 10 minutes! Happily, as I was trying to figure out whether that would be way too late - it appeared on the horizon, the display changed its mind, and all was well. I had a short wait for the second bus, but that came in due course, and the only excitement for the rest of the journey was a very loud man who got on, persuaded the driver to let him travel without paying, and started to hail everyone at the top of his voice. Liked to be friendly, he explained. He also advised us not to smoke weed. Very helpful.

Well, I got off at Finsbury Park Station, which is as confusing as it ever was. But for once I took the right direction - and discovered a lovely, pedestrianised area I'd never known was there! Well, I'd only ever been to the theatre nearby here before. And just at the end of it was the cinema. I'd have liked to peruse the bar area - and I'd forgotten, but Picturehouses have the best in cinema snacks (including alcohol) - but I was already slightly late. So I headed over to the ushers at the entrance to the screens, perched on stools and brandishing clipboards. As instructed on my confirmation email, I showed the usher my barcode. Oh no, he had no reader - he wanted to see the details. But this was a screenshot. So I needs must find the email and scroll down it so he could see I was telling the truth. Uhh.

Well, the cinema is gorgeous - my screen was in the very bottom level. Now, I knew I was in the back row, and at the end - I'd thought I might have to squeeze past the entire row to get to my seat, so I was delighted to discover that the stairs were at that side, and I was right at the top of those! I could hardly have chosen a better seat. Plush upholstery too, and they recline. I figured the guy who sat beside me was something to do with the film - sure enough, he was one of the distributors, and as he was chatting to his companion on the other side, I learned that the performance was a sellout (unsurprisingly), and that someone of his acquaintance didn't have a seat, although he could see the whole front row free. He went and asked, in fact - but was told that they never sold the front row. Which, as he remarked to his companion, was curious - not that he'd particularly like to sit there, but it was a sellout..!

Happily for me, the film started about 15 minutes late. This, we were told, was the UK premiere - hence the limited screening for now. As I say, three activists, from different places - the story switches from one to the other throughout. To summarise:

Uganda

The Ugandan activist, a student at Kampala University, comes from a family who used to have a farm, until climate change led to drought, the crops died, and they had to sell everything and move to the city. She founded an organisation to battle climate change - and they have boots on the ground. There's lots of footage of them clearing plastic bottles from rivers - and wow, you should see the quantities! Truly depressing. The climax of her story comes when she addresses a climate conference in Copenhagen, and is seated at the table onstage beside the Mayor of Paris, among others, as she gives a truly emotional speech about what climate change has meant to her. She's also shown giving a radio interview, where she's asked why she pursued the issue of climate change, rather than something gender-related.. to which she replies that there are two genders, and climate change affects everyone. So why wouldn't she choose that?

Santiago de Chile

What's nice about the Chilean activist is that she shows us some nice things about her hometown first - before getting into the corruption and violence. And it's extreme - she's on the front line, she wears a gas mask. And with good reason, as we see the police chucking tear gas into the crowds. She also explains to us how police fire rubber bullets directly into people's faces - all the protests seem to take place on the "Plaza Dignidad" (Dignity Square), and the saying goes that the price of dignity is an eye. There's footage from right in the middle of riots, showing first-aiders trying to navigate tear gas and water cannons, coming under police attack themselves. One rather iconic shot has our activist taking aim at the police with a slingshot. And what has the police so riled? What are they protesting? A constitution that was formed under Pinochet, and which seems to be doing nothing but widening the gap between rich and poor. Our activist isn't the only one in her family - her own father is awaiting treatment for a bullet wound to his thigh..

Hong Kong

But it was really Hong Kong that got me interested. Our subject here can't even give her real name, and we never see her face - although, at the end, she's described as "a refugee, living somewhere in the world", she's worried about reprisals against her family back there. As the end credits roll, it's notable that under the heading of "Hong Kong Crew", there is no information except an explanatory statement that if their names were to be listed, they would be imprisoned. And in fact, at the Q+A at the end, the director explained that the head of the ground crew in Hong Kong was arrested and sentenced to 10 years for working on this film.

This footage - again, shot in the heart of the pro-democracy protests - is notable for a couple of things. Firstly, the sheer size of the crowds protesting - they're massive, as shown in overhead footage. Secondly, although the Chilean police were also brutal, the Hong Kong police in this film really take the biscuit for not actually caring whether they're filmed, openly beating youngsters on the subway. As our protestor explains, what she's really afraid of is being arrested - they can hold you for 48 hours, and do whatever they like to you in that time. It was after the passing of the National Security Law that things got really bad - protesting, or even just complaining about the government, in any way, is now illegal, and a number of activists have fled. One of her friends was arrested, another committed suicide.

The Q+A afterwards featured not only people involved in the making of the film, but also a refugee from Hong Kong, who begged us to welcome her fellow citizens, as they flee around the world. Despite acknowledging that the British government has made it easier for Hong Kong citizens to live here, she was scathing about the British government in general, pointing out that while they governed Hong Kong, they never sought the locals' opinion, and when they handed it over, no Hong Kong citizens were included in the negotiations. She became emotional when describing the plight of her countrymen and women.. and got the largest round of applause of the night.

And the filmmakers begged us to spread the word - apparently, they have done a deal to release it in Odeon cinemas, so off you go! Seriously, this film should be required viewing - for the politics, for the causes mentioned - but also for its showcasing of young women, afraid but unbowed, standing up for what they believe in. Certainly, it's reminded me of how much I used to care about the world.

As I left it was raining - that's not fair, it wasn't predicted! My way home started with catching the #153 again - this time, from Finsbury Park Station, a maze at the best of times. Well, after some to-ing and fro-ing, I found it - but it was at the stand, not where I was supposed to pick it up! Completely unable to find that stop, and distracted by being drizzled on, I checked the schedule to see where else I could pick it up, and set out in search of another stop. Unfortunately, I'd picked up a hanger-on.. a young bloke, can in hand, had seen me peering at the schedule and decided to approach with an "excuse me!". Anyway, I tried to move on - and wouldn't you know it, as I was searching around for my stop, there he was trying to engage me in flipping conversation, and asking me was my attitude because he was black and I was white?! No, Sunshine - my attitude was because I didn't know you, you approached me, and then proceeded to stalk me around the station. Jeez, were you raised by wolves? Anyway, he finally caught up with me as I was waiting to cross the road, whereupon I turned on him and snapped "What do you WANT?!" "To help," he said meekly. I said, "Well, I hardly need help crossing the road." And that seemed to get rid of him.

Unfortunately, as I approached that stop - my bus sailed past. Again. I was not having the best night for travel. And I was determined not to head back to the station, where I'd probably run into him again - nope, I'd wait as long as it took for another to come. And I got on the first one whose number I recognised. Which turned out to be on diversion - and as I followed our progress on the map, I suddenly realised I'd gotten the right bus in the wrong direction, making the quite understandable error that just because some buses at a stop go your way, not even those that travel the right route and stop there are always going in your direction! So, after we'd meandered through several residential streets, heading further and further away from where I wanted to be, I got off when we hit civilization again, and got the bus in the other direction. Which, gee, was the only bus that typically stopped there. And so I eventually made it home, and had to ring my mother, who was full of dire warnings about not blogging about dictatorial regimes. Well.. so much for that.

Tomorrow, going to Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical. Showing at the Lyric. Looking forward to it. And it should be easier to get to. They actually asked me to fill out a questionnaire today, which consisted of one question - have you had Covid symptoms recently? And after I answered in the negative, they consented to email me my ticket.

On Wednesday, back with London Classical Music & Theatre Group, for a concert by the London Philharmonic in the Royal Festival Hall. Really must make an effort to meet the group this time - but it can be tricky, if they don't bring a sign or indicate how they can be recognised!

And on Thursday, the Crick Crack Club is back - online - with Trickster, live-streamed from Oxford again. Well, assuming it works, this time..