Film: Black '47

I was miffed when Black '47 was unexpectedly shown on telly last week, clashing with what my mother wanted to see. And so, I was delightfully surprised to see it scheduled for this evening again! on a different channel, and later in the night, so I could watch it. Unfortunately, I then forgot about it and watched the most boring Golden Globes ceremony ever. Well, it doesn't help when you've seen hardly any of the nominees - although I did find it easier to spot the losing nominees' bored faces. ;-)

Never mind, I got to see over half of the film. And what immediately struck me is that it really has the feel of a Western - with more grass, rain, mud.. but you have the lone gunslinger, riding through the wilderness in search of justice, going up against the law, fighting for justice on behalf of oppressed people.. The story concerns an Irishman in the British Army, stationed in Ireland, who deserts to try to help his beleaguered family, suffering in 1847 (the worst year of the Irish famine); he can't do much for them (they are evicted, and die, starving, of exposure during a snowstorm), and so instead he heads off on a quest to avenge their deaths on those responsible for them.

Hugo Weaving plays an English ex-comrade of his, who is supposed to be on the other side, but has sympathy for him. Stephen Rea is a local man employed as a translator by the posse searching for the deserter. Jim Broadbent is the local, English (of course) landlord, as obnoxious as you'd expect - loves the scenery, can't abide the "aborigines".

It's not hard to hate the English in this - and, of course, what they're guilty of is what they were guilty of in reality. (And the redcoats are as despicable here as in any film they appear in.) But what I did enjoy about them, in this film, is that they're not cartoon villains - we get to know them, they're allowed to give their reasoning. Not that it does them much good against our vigilante. But we have plenty of reason to support the renegade - and he truly is a heroic figure, seemingly bigger and stronger than his opponents, dodging bullets, stealing horses.. I missed the start, of course, where his family dies, but what I saw is fast-paced, the action compelling. It's also lauded for its use of the Irish language. And I loved the ambiguous ending - literally, at a crossroads. Recommended - and even if you're English, well, there are a couple of sympathetic Englishman in it..

On Saturday - wow, at last, Meetup is running things early enough in the day for me again! Up in the Cheap Seats is watching a couple of contemporary dance shows by Grupo Corpo - Bach and Lecuona, each streaming on Vimeo and available to rent for 48 hours for £3.95. So I've signed up - will rent closer to the time, and we'll be chatting about them on Saturday. Phew, it'll be great to see these folks again, it's been ages!