Film: Life Feels Good

I didn't think I'd get this blog done at all - when I tried to open the dashboard, it just displayed a blank page. Turns out to be yet another Internet Explorer issue! Honestly, where is it going to end? That's now the third page I can't safely open in IE, after Google Maps and Time Out. Although this is the first that's been a problem in Windows 8. I dunno, that browser just gets worse.

Right then, let's get going. So, with getting theatre tickets proving to be an ongoing problem, I was headed to a film again today. And after checking the IMDB ratings, it was down to two - Dinosaur 13 and Life Feels Good. IMDB didn't have a trailer for either of them, I had to look them up on YouTube.. after which, I decided that Life Feels Good looked the more interesting of the two.

It was showing as part of the Polish Film Festival at Riverside Studios. So that meant a bus trip. Good job I headed out early - firstly, the bus was late. (Distractions while I was waiting included a couple of guys wanting to know whether they were in the right place for EasyBus - they were, according to the address on their confirmation. Interesting - I hadn't known they stopped just there. The other main distraction was the chap heading down the road dressed in a grass skirt and a floral garland. Oh, and running shoes. Brr..) Secondly, the traffic on Fulham Palace Road was atrocious! Thirdly, the cinema was packed - not completely full, but nearly. So I was happy to get there in time to get a seat near the back - you enter from the back and there are steps down, and without a rail. With my fear of steps, I find it an absolute nightmare. The fewer steps, the better, then.

It turns out that this is the UK premiere, and we had two of the main actors for the Q+A. Anyway, I knew from the trailer that this was a film about a young man with cerebral palsy, who is unable to speak, and thought to be mentally retarded, although he isn't. It looked like it was handled in a fun way.

Well, what I saw was astounding. The film is never mawkish, but deals with this guy's problems with a great sense of humour. There are some laugh-out loud moments. Then, as the film progresses, and he moves from the supportive environment of his family to the officiousness of a state-run institution, some of what happens is horrifying. But then we're back to his indomitable sense of humour again. And scenes near the end, when, through a new system, he learns to communicate, are profoundly moving. Both I and the lady beside me were in tears.

As the film progressed, it occurred to me to wonder whether this guy was actually disabled. Because, if he wasn't, this was an astounding piece of acting. I read the name on the credits. And then - it turned out that he was one of the actors in the Q+A! Dawid Ogrodnik - remember the name. Completely able-bodied. I leapt to my feet to join some others in a standing ovation. I remember Daniel Day-Lewis, who got an Oscar for performing a similar role in My Left Foot. Will this actor be similarly praised? I hope so - it was a remarkable performance at the centre of a lovely film.

In the Q+A, everyone who asked a question was Polish. I suspect the non-Polish were few at that screening. There was an interpreter on-hand, though. There was some hilarity when Dawid, who speaks some English, forgot to go through the interpreter, who promptly repeated everything he just said! (phrased slightly differently.) The guy beside me asked whether there was a political subtext to the film - "No", was the short answer. Someone asked how much time Dawid spent with the man on whom the film is based. Turns out he only met him three or four times. He was also helped by a mime artist. Unbelievable.

Had a chilly wait for the bus back, which was, of course, late. Tomorrow's film is looking set to be These Birds Walk, showing at the Gate cinema in Notting Hill. It's a documentary about street children in Karachi. And for Monday, I managed to score a ticket to the opening night of 1984, a new production that kicks off where the book left off. I missed its run in the Almeida, but now it's moved to the Playhouse, which is closer. I see they have a number of tickets for £19.84, but they all have restricted view, so I went with the next price up. I got a better deal with lastminute than with the venue website - same price, but lastminute doesn't charge booking fees. Which saves me a few quid! With a Tube strike planned for the beginning of next week, I may have to take a bus, and would do well to check the routes. But they're going to try to run trains on my line, although less frequently - so we'll see.