And then we kind of got drinking in the office.. and stayed drinking.. and that was that. :-) Didn't really want to schlep all the way out to Richmond in this weather anyway. (Boy, was I drunk by the end - I am in a team with someone who can drink like a fish!) Far was I from feeling like blogging once that was done - I eventually escaped to home, and bed.
Anyway. Today was supposed to be film. All week, I'd had an idea what film I'd go to see - Velvet Buzzsaw looked really interesting: a horror film that started out at 9/10 on IMDB! Set in the art world, it stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, John Malkovich, and Toni Collette, so seemed set fair to retain a high rating. And the trailer looks clever. Plus, it could fall a great deal in ratings before I'd decide not to see it - the next on my list was Capernaum, at 8.2!
..And then Velvet Buzzsaw was generally released, yesterday - and by the end of the day, it had plummeted to 6.3!! (Now down to 6, at time of writing, I note.) Hey-ho, goes to show. So instead, I decided to head for Capernaum - currently the closest place showing it (in preview) is Picturehouse Central, and as they were already half sold out, I booked. For the matinee, which was happily later than the only showing of Velvet Buzzsaw.
And I even managed to drag myself out in good time for it! After a very crowded bus trip, where I had to stand, I had a short walk from where the bus dropped me - Google Maps hadn't been aware that the Soho Street stop is closed, but the next one down did me just as well. And as I wove my way through the crowds on the streets - and then through the crowds at the cinema - I remarked to myself how I keep forgetting how very crowded London is at the weekends!
The screen wasn't quite open, it seemed - they have a fast turnaround here. So I queued for chocolate, and a packet of Minstrels served as brunch. And by the time I got back, there was a change of usher - and the new one said, sure I could go in! There were a few people in situ when I got up there - I do wonder whether the other one had quite known which screen I was talking about..
Nice, comfy seat I sank into - and with lovely, high headrests. Anyhoo, it wasn't long before we got going. Capernaum is yet another Oscar-nominated offering - for Best Foreign Language film. (That makes three of those I've seen, now.) Set in the slums of the Lebanon, it follows the story of a charismatic and street-smart little boy: in real life a Syrian refugee, it seems. And it also transpires that the lives of the film's characters were plenty familiar to the actors playing them.
The entire film takes place in the slums, following this little boy around and seeing what his life is like. You wouldn't believe the ingenuity of trying to survive in this environment. What about getting prescription drugs, mashing up the pills and mixing them with water to formulate a drinkable drug, which can be sold by the shot? or the cleverness of smuggling it into prison, by washing clothes in the water and taking them in for the prisoners, who can then wring the chemicals out of them and sell the product on the prison black market?
The camera is almost always on the little fellow's level - but he's so grown up (he has to be) that you tend to forget that he's just a kid. Except for the odd moment, when for example he asks to be let go to school in the mornings, that he can still work his job in the afternoons - only to have the idea dismissed out of hand by his parents, who need the money he brings in, for their ever-growing brood. Speaking of which, the basic plot of the film is that he's brought them to court - he wants to sue them for having conceived him, because his mother is pregnant yet again, and he doesn't want then to bring any more children into the world!
Seeing what he endures - and not only him, but those around him - you can see his point. It's horrendous - and yet the lot of millions of people around the world. With plenty of closeups, and lingering, silent shots, we really get to know the characters, so it's suitably devastating when bad things happen to them. Very moving, and very focused on the children - I just have one quibble with it, which is that it's overlong in the middle. The ending will tug at your heartstrings though, definitely. Currently previewing at selected cinemas, and recommended.
On the way back, I stopped off at Tesco - where I availed of one of the many discounts on chocolate! (Deprived January, stopping people buying it?) I notice they seem to have built a second shelter at bus stop V, closer to the actual stop, BTW - which is wise; people were missing buses by standing at the other one, further down. And it's nice to get finished early - particularly as I'm on early again tomorrow! I'm finally back with Spooky London, for a talk on Dracula Meets Jack the Ripper (with Dacre Stoker). Apparently, Dacre is the great grandnephew of the famous Bram Stoker, who wrote Dracula - and the premise is that Jack the Ripper was his inspiration! I've missed lots of interesting events with this group - delighted to be back with them, should be fun.
Back to film on Monday - not Oscar-nominated, for once! With a choice between Burning and If Beale Street Could Talk, I went for the former - fancying the ominous soundtrack on the trailer. Happily, it's in the Vue Islington, which I can walk to! and nice and early - and, as of now, I don't have an evening meeting that day.. I booked, which is always cheaper with Vue.
That's my last film for a while. On Tuesday, my very first Meetup with the London Chamber Music group, finally. Well, they usually clash with something else! Delighted to make it at last. We're off to a concert in Wigmore Hall, and the organiser personally messaged me to let me know what he'd be wearing, and where he'd be, and expressed his hope that we'd meet.
The next three events are with Up in the Cheap Seats! Great chance to catch up with people. On Wednesday, I'm going with them to The American Clock by Arthur Miller, at the Old Vic. I see London Dramatic Arts is also going, and sitting in the stalls - I guess we won't be mixing much.
On Thursday, to Aspects of Love, at Southwark Playhouse. Based on an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. And on the event organiser's recommendation, I bought a subscription to the theatre, which entitles me to five tickets, and has no time limit - used the first for this, which made it very good value! Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.
On the 11th, I'm with the group again, for another Arthur Miller play - this time, it's The Price, at Wyndham's. Oh, and for two of these, I could have used my Seatplan vouchers, which arrived last week. If I'd had them with me. Never mind - I hadn't been expecting to book so much so soon, but they don't expire anyway.
And on the 12th, Let's Do This is off to Tango Fire at the Peacock. They booked a box, so had a very limited number of seats, and I wasn't in time for theirs - but I got my own ticket, and have agreed to meet them for a drink afterwards.
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