Films: Sikkim, The Inner Eye, Bala, Two

It's been a long time since I saw so many films in one day! The British Film Institute is running a Satyajit Ray season, and I had booked for a trilogy of his documentaries - Sikkim, The Inner Eye, and Bala. I then discovered that another of his shorts - Two - which was supposed to be screening on another night, would be shown tonight instead, after the others. There's value..

The first film, Sikkim, was the longest, and is a documentary about the state of Sikkim, which, we were informed, lies between Nepal and Bhutan. At the time of filming, it was independent, and had its own monarchy. This was abolished in 1975, and the country merged with India. It lies in the foothills of the Himalayas, so expect gorgeous mountain scenery. Interesting, but maybe a tad over-long.

The other films were more to my taste. The second, The Inner Eye, was a fascinating documentary about Binode Bihari Mukherjee, a talented Indian painter who went blind but continued to work. Like Sikkim, it's available on YouTube. The third, Bala, was a documentary about a famous traditional Indian dancer, Balasaraswati. Very enjoyable.

The last film, Two, was fictional, for a change - about two little boys. One, a spoiled rich kid, is alone in his house with all his toys when he hears music coming from outside. Investigating, he sees a little poor boy playing the flute. From then on, the film is an amusing fable about each boy trying to outdo the other. Highly recommended, if you come across it. It's only 11 minutes long.

I'm back there tomorrow, for Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth - a documentary about the writer of The Color Purple. Must remember to take something I can take photos with - tonight was the first night I've noticed the view of the National Theatre with the Shard behind, lit up after dark. See, it hasn't been that dark when I've been coming south across the bridge, and I haven't noticed when I've been going the other way. And the last time I came there in the dark, it was winter and I decided to take the option that avoided the bridge, and the searing breeze on top. So, here I was, seeing this for the first time. And I had nothing with me that could take a picture. Of all the luck..