Film: Burning

Tonight, I thought of catching up with Burning. You know, the film I missed last week because we were sampling the office wine? Anyway, not showing in the Vue Islington anymore - I had to head down to the BFI for it. Not overbooked at first, but I said I'd keep an eye on it.

Sure enough, during the afternoon it showed as mostly sold, so I booked. Glad to see they have e-tickets at last - it's been such a nightmare, arriving in the nick of time at the BFI and having to queue at an always-busy box office. Heading out, I again made the bus by virtue of running for it - a bit less cardiac-threatening than last time. And for a driver that seemed in a dreadful hurry when I got on - I thought I'd fall, he took off at such a pace - as soon as he got closer to the centre of town, he slowed practically to a crawl. Must've been ahead of schedule. Safely seated by this stage, I was tutting and checking the time constantly - but we still made great time, and I arrived with about five minutes to spare, entering by the river entrance, which is closer to NFT2, where I was headed.

I see they have a red neon sign now, that reads "Box Office & Cinemas". Informative, but not very decorative. Made my way straight to the screen and took my seat - I was on the inside of the row, and delighted to see that nobody had arrived before me, so I didn't have to push my way in. And then I realised that I'd forgotten to pick up a factsheet - the BFI provides them for all the films it shows, and this was no exception. By the time I got back, there was someone on the end of the row - but you know, for a row that showed online as fully booked outside of me, the seats remained mostly empty! Perhaps they arrived late - the BFI won't let you in if you arrive more than 15 minutes after the advertised start time.

This is a Korean film - mostly takes place in a city called Paju, very close to the border. In fact, the story's main character lives in a place where he can sit outside and listen to the North Korean daily political broadcasts, made on loudspeakers! He's just graduated with a qualification in creative writing, and is working on his first novel and taking casual jobs, when he runs into someone who claims to have grown up with him - she's apparently had plastic surgery, so he doesn't recognise her. But what the hey - she's a winsome lass, and indeed a pleasure to watch onscreen - a bit ditsy, but very attractive and very sweet. They hook up briefly - which is enough to persuade him to look after her cat while she's away.

When she comes back, however, she has company - a slick operator, with a Porsche and a swish apartment in Gangnam. (Damn, that's a place!) Turns out to be a very upmarket area of Seoul. Cooks, listens to classical music, and affects an air of superiority. And now she seems to be into him, instead. Ooh, jealous.. Things take a twist, however, when she vanishes, and her landlady says she doesn't allow pets, so there couldn't have been one there in the first place. What will this aspiring novelist make of all this..?

It's a long film, which would put some people off - but it's a damn good one, and I never once felt it was too long. The frequent silent scenes are used to great effect. And with great emphasis on the three principal characters, as our rather clueless protagonist is wrong-footed by the city slicker and the girl flits between them, we really start to care. There's a sense of unreality about the whole thing, as we're never quite sure what the facts are - about her background, for instance, as much as her disappearance! Terrific atmosphere, quite compelling. Highly recommended.

The bus home was full of loud people talking on their phones. Tomorrow, I might have gone with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) to Sadler's Wells, for Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch - they were excellent before. Unfortunately, they were completely sold out by the time I got around to thinking of it. And the London European Club (LEC) is off to an interesting-sounding talk called Refugia: Solving the Problem of Mass Displacement at the LSE - but you know, it's on early, first come first served, and I have so much to do.. I couldn't be bothered rushing. Instead, I'm thinking film again - and the candidate is an interesting-sounding documentary called Three Identical Strangers, about triplets, separated at birth, who met by chance in later life. Only showing at the Curzon Bloomsbury.

I was thinking of film for the rest of the week, too - but the offerings at the top of the list weren't that attractive. Instead, the World Music Meetup is coming to my rescue with three gigs in a row at The London Jukebox, not so far away. Having been to a gig with this organiser before, I'm not expecting to meet anyone - but the music sounds good to me. Friday is Rum Buffalo.

Saturday is Mario Bakuna and Edmundo Carneiro - and is seated, happily.

Sunday is Roda de Choro with Alvorada.

Monday and Tuesday, I'm back with UITCS. Monday is Tartuffe, by Molière, at the National.

Tuesday is a show called Bare: A Pop Opera, at The Sainsbury Theatre.

Next Wednesday, I'm back with Let's Do This for another meal at Tas, meeting at The George again beforehand.

On the 21st, I'd have loved to go with UITCS for Season 7, the last of Pinter at the Pinter. Unfortunately, when I checked, although they still had tickets - they were either standing or a minimum price of £93 for that night. Nah, don't really want to go that badly! Never mind, the LEC is off to a concert of French Chansons: The Sparrows of Paris, at Old Mary's. That's a most acceptable choice! And then I'm back to Ireland at the weekend again.