Film: Maryan

..or Mariyan.. or Mariyaan..

Well, when I was looking for a film to go to yesterday, this was top of my list, and showing in three different Cineworlds around London. However, one of them wasn't showing it yesterday, one was only showing it quite late, and would take an age to get there, and another age to get back from, and it was a school night. So that left Cineworld Ilford, which would also take an age to get to, but where it was showing at 7.15, which was doable.

I left straight from work, and with some advice from those in the know (thanks Helen!) had a trouble-free journey, despite having to change twice. Yep, the Stratford Interchange is quite easy to negotiate, even though I did manage to get slightly lost in it.. well, there isn't a clear sign when you get to Platform 8! But they upgraded it for the Olympics, and it shows. Caught the fast train, next stop Ilford, which I shared with many people and a large-ish dog, and arrived in Ilford something less than 55 minutes after the train left West Ken.

Left the station to be assailed by a large gentleman bellowing about Christ and hellfire, and handing out leaflets - which makes this the most colourful stop I've been to. So far. Thanks to Google Maps Streetview, which I wouldn't be without, I found the cinema no problem. Got my ticket, and queued for food. I settled for chocolate this time, after my last experience with a Cineworld hot dog. Found my screen. Which was quite full - well, I guess this isn't showing in many locations. And I was the only white person there, which was a first for me. :-) Actually, an elderly Indian lady in the row behind me decided to check, before the film started, that I was in the right place.. I assured her that yes, I had come to see the Tamil film.

I was interested in this film. Different from the usual Indian film, this is based on the true story of workers from Tamil Nadu who were kidnapped in Darfur, in the Sudan. So, in the film, we have a poor fisherman who takes up a construction contract in Sudan, and is just about to come home when he and two others are kidnapped. He has a girlfriend waiting at home.. will he make it back, under impossible circumstances? Most striking about the film is the cinematography, and the amazing constrast between the seaside village he comes from, and the arid desert he is now stuck in. I could almost smell the sea.. I could almost feel the desert heat. And Sudan is portrayed, as you might expect, as a Not Very Nice Place to visit. It's an interesting film.. suffice to say, I didn't leave at the intermission.

There didn't seem to be a fast train going back to Stratford, so I just took the slow one - which takes all of five minutes longer. And so, eventually, home and bed. Tonight, I'm heading to a Québecois lumberjack show (!) - "Timber" at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in the Southbank Centre. At least I should know where to go.. that's where I saw Alexei Sayle. And these lumberjacks sing, apparently, as well as juggling axes and such. Well now, that should take me right back to my days in Canada.. and I have a cheap seat, so not too close to the axes. Mind you, the seat selection process was annoying.. two price levels, but no indication which seats were at which price, unless you hover over individual seats! Very vexing.