Film: Woman in Gold

A weekend full of film.. I fancied going to a film again today, and having rejected a couple of Bollywood films on the grounds that I probably wouldn't enjoy them, I found several films tying for the lead of the remaining list. They included Woman in Gold, which had the advantages of being one I'd heard of, starring someone I'd heard of, and being close enough to walk to, in Cineworld Fulham.

I booked before I left, simply because I'm registered on the Cineworld website. It's free to register, you don't even have to accept an email subscription, and it makes tickets booked online cheaper. They'd be completely free, of course, if I had an Unlimited card - but there's a monthly fee for that, and while it's terrific value if you go at all regularly, I can't guarantee that, so there isn't any point.

I had to look up the exact turning - it's been a while. But it wasn't hard, and I set off in good time for a pleasant stroll, in brilliant sunshine, down the refined Old Brompton Road, and right into Drayton Gardens. When I got to the cinema, I got a pleasant surprise - someone must have taken customer service in hand, because there was a person in the lobby with nothing to do but ask customers whether she could help. And when I said I was picking up a ticket, and then there was a queue at both machines, she directed me to a desk, where a smiley chap asked me to insert my payment card, and voila!

Conveniently, it was in Screen 4, on the ground floor. I'd booked a aisle seat, which I was to be glad of - did they always have such cramped legroom? Anyhoo, the trailers duly started, and I saw ads for films that seemed good, and films that seemed bad. And, in consequence, I am removing Pitch Perfect 2 from my film list. Really, I should have known better, but I was being optimistic.

And so to a good film. Woman in Gold stars Helen Mirren as the real-life Austrian Jewish refugee, Maria Altmann, who sought to reclaim a portrait owned by her family, and stolen by the Nazis. Painted by Gustav Klimt, it was originally named after her aunt, but renamed Woman in Gold around wartime so as not to have any Jewish connotations. Anyhoo, when her sister died, she discovered some enigmatic letters, asked the lawyer son of a friend of hers to interpret them, and discovered that this portrait was in the possession of the Austrian government. Who didn't want to return it, because it had achieved the status of national icon. Katie Holmes has a bit-part as the lawyer's wife.

Helen Mirren, of course, is always a joy to watch. It's an utterly charming film, and something of a love-poem to Vienna, her hometown, which we see when she has to go back to fight her case, and also in flashback. For me, it brought back memories when they sat in the Prater amusement park. I predict a surge of bookings for the Austrian tourist board! And although she engages on her legal battle with great spirit, the reconstruction of her flight from Vienna is very touching. Excellent film, very sweet, and endowed with grandeur in its glimpse into Viennese high society.

Tomorrow, Meetup has provided me with something more interesting than a film! I'm going to a concert of Siberian throat singing, courtesy of the World Music Meetup. At the Brunei Gallery again. All together now.. La-la-laaaa...