Film: The Salt of the Earth

Film it was this evening, and I had to choose from a list of three: a very long Indian one, and two I was equally ambivalent about. So I picked the one that was on closer - The Salt of the Earth, showing in the Curzon Victoria. Now, I am familiar with the Curzon being far too expensive - indeed, they're now somewhat eye-wateringly so, at £18 for a standard cinema ticket. As someone remarked when I told her, for that price you'd expect the seat to vibrate! But well, I did fancy going to somewhere close to home, so the Curzon Victoria was where I went.

The Tube to Victoria was crowded and sweaty in the heat, and I was glad to leave it. Upon exiting the station, I headed for Victoria Street, but knew not to cross straight away, as the interminable construction works have blocked the pavement at the far side, near the junction with the station. So, only cross when you can see you've passed the hoardings. Once I'd crossed, I just kept walking, and there it was, eventually, quite inconspicuous among the chrome and glass facades that line this street now.

I bought my ticket without ever considering buying anything else - I might have agreed to pay this much for the ticket, but they weren't getting any more of my money! Curzon Bloomsbury charges less for documentaries, you know.. I went straight downstairs - at least they signpost the screens well, and despite the lights still being on, I could take my seat straightaway. I'd chosen C10 (Screen 1), which turns out to be beside a pillar. And if, as was the case this evening, your only companions at the screen are seated at the other side, this means it's very private. My seat was a double, which meant plenty of space to spread out - and they're extremely comfortable Pullman seats, whose angle adjusts to how you're sitting. So I settled in.

If I'd paid more attention when I was researching this film, I'd have noticed that it's co-written, co-produced, and codirected, by Wim Wenders. And that the subject is the photographer, Sebastiao Salgado. And I'd have recognised that name. The combination of an iconic filmmaker and an iconic photographer is intoxicating, and I wouldn't have had to base my film choice on location. This really is a dream team, and I was in for a treat!

The film deals with Salgado's fascinating life, and his work. And it's completely stunning. We learn how he drifted into photography for the sheer love of it, and all the work he did in conflict zones, with refugees and so on. The photographs from this period are breathtaking. And we hear how his work in Rwanda left him completely jaded and despairing. And then we hear how, when his father died, he and his wife took over the farm in Brazil, which deforestation had left as a desert. She was the one who had the idea simply to replant it - and now it's a national park, and an example of what can be done. So his latest work - Genesis - focuses not on the misery caused by humanity, but on the beauty of creation.

Wow, what a film. Recommended for lovers of film, lovers of nature, lovers of photography - and even worth the price of admission.

Tomorrow, I'm off - for the first time in two years - to the Proms, at the Albert Hall! Prom 7, tomorrow, features Delius and Ravel, among others. I have a cheap-as-chips seat in the Gods - ironically, costing just over half what I paid for this evening's cinema ticket. Restricted view, but that's not what I'm there for. On Thursday, there are leaving drinks for yet another colleague, and on Friday I'm back to Ireland again, for the weekend..

Film: Kraftidioten (In Order of Disappearance)

In looking for a film for tonight, I rejected two documentaries at the top of the list. That's not to say I have stopped going to documentaries - just that these didn't float my boat. One, Ballet Boys, is about three young male ballet hopefuls; the other, Letters Home (2006) is about a series of letters written by a suicidal young woman to her mother. Both showing at the ICA, if you're interested.

Instead, I went to Kraftidioten (In Order of Disappearance) - a Norwegian thriller, starring the ever reliable Stellan Skarsgard as a father who goes on a murderous revenge spree following his son's murder. The closest place it's showing is the Curzon Victoria - horrendously expensive, but close is good. I chose the early showing, and left straight from work. After an extremely sweaty Tube ride, I ploughed through the crowds at Victoria, and had to queue for a ticket - but the trailers were still showing when I got there. There were five other people at the screening, and I decided on a different seat to the one I'd chosen. Took one of the double seats at the back - plenty of room for my stuff.

This is a thriller with occasional, pitch-black, humour, set in a, well - snow-white landscape, somewhere in northern Norway. And the scenery is spectacular. I shivered, the depiction of cold is so effective - it's all howling winds, snowdrifts, and people wrapping up to go outside. Tough folks, up there - which must be why Stellan Skarsgard, a mild-mannered snowplough driver who's just won Citizen of the Year - transforms into Bruce Willis when provoked. They keep mentioning Fargo in relation to this, and I can see their point - inept cops, in a barren landscape, way over their heads with drug dealers - but Fargo is much more lighthearted. This, on the other hand, is extremely violent in parts. The title refers to all the people that get killed - emphasised onscreen by a black frame, with the man's name topped with a cross, or other religious symbol.

It is entertaining, but be warned about the violence.

For tomorrow night, I'm delighted to have scored a good deal on a ticket to the opening night of Verdi's Otello, showing at the Coliseum (the largest theatre in London, and home of the ENO, rather than Covent Garden, which is actually the home of the Royal Ballet!) I was dithering, until I watched the trailer and was won over by the spectacular music. LoveTheatre (via UkTheatreTickets) turned out to be the best value I could find.. cheapest on the official website were £30, Viagogo advertised tickets for about £21, which rose to over £25 by the time booking fees were applied (and I had a bad experience before with them anyway), and What'sOnStage would have given me one for £23.99. But LoveTheatre obligingly sold me one for £23.40, no booking fees, my experience with them has always been excellent.. and what's more, for that, I get a seat in the Upper Circle, one level lower than the balcony, where I've always been before! Result! It's worth it for not having to climb so many stairs, alone.. the Coliseum is terrible for them!

Remember how ShowFilmFirst sent me an email with offers of free tickets to six events? Well, I didn't just book last night's event - I also booked a ticket with them for a concert called Cabaret Songs on Saturday. Can't seem to find any information on it now - shall just have to rock up and see what the story is..

Film: Wakolda

Fanfare please! It's happened, I've gone to a film rated at 6.9. And it was excellent!

So, Wakolda came out top of the list for today, by IMDB ratings. This is given the amount of rubbish that's being shown at the moment, plus the number of kids' films that I wouldn't be interested in, plus all the films available online - which is always cheaper. Ok, I didn't mind -  it sounded interesting, and I could live with the fact that it's only showing in the Curzon chain, despite their exorbitant prices. I'd generally pay more for a play, anyway. The closest was the Curzon Victoria, so that's where I headed this evening.

I arrived at the station just as a train had pulled in - which meant I missed it. But it probably wasn't headed into town anyway - because the one 1 minute later was! So it wasn't long before I disembarked at Victoria, and weaved my way through heaving crowds to the cinema.

They only have Pullman seats in Screen 3. I have nothing against them - they're very comfortable, mine tipped automatically to whatever angle I leaned back to. I just wish you had a choice of paying less than £18. Never mind. There were trailers for a couple of interesting films - particularly Night Moves, with Jesse Eisenberg and Peter Sarsgaard. Not highly rated, but you never know these days. Obviously!

Wakolda is a highly atmospheric film. Based on a novel, it opens with an Argentinian family heading south, across the Patagonian desert road, to Bariloche. There's a German that wants to travel behind them - foreigners are nervous of this road, and they accept. Turns out he's a doctor. Turns out he wants to be the first guest at the hotel they're opening. Turns out he wants to experiment on their daughter, who's not growing as fast as she should..

The scenery is breathtaking - I'm definitely putting this place on my bucket list. And he's suitably sinister - at first, the concerned and obliging doctor: later, when the net closes on him, we see his darker side. Utterly compelling - I highly recommend this. And it was interesting, having a mix of German and Spanish throughout the film - meant I could practice both!

Tomorrow, I'm off to see Sinéad O' Connor at the Roundhouse, which, as I mentioned before, will be the first time I've seen her live.

Film: La Jaula de Oro (The Golden Dream)

I didn't go out on Monday - had to run to the post office for the parcel they've been holding for me for over two weeks. I'd been waiting until I was next at my local cinema, which is down that way, but that only happened on Sunday - when, of course, the post office is closed - so I decided I'd better get onto it, and went on Monday evening. Which meant that going to La Jaula de Oro (The Golden Dream) was postponed until last night.

It was beautiful yesterday evening, so it was lucky that the film wasn't on until 8.55. I headed to the cemetery first and passed a pleasant while in the sunshine, reading the free book I'd been sent (and collected the day before) as part of my U2 fan club subscription. Saw someone walking a small fluffy dog right past the "No Dogs" sign. :-)

Now, it was interesting getting to this cinema. The Curzon Victoria is new - I hadn't been there before, and Google Maps has never heard of it. Nor is it on Streetview, which just shows a large construction site - they've massively redeveloped all this area. So I was obliged to go by the address on the cinema website (58 Victoria Street). It turns out to be about equidistant from Victora and St. James's Park Tube stations. Google Maps wanted me to go to St. James's Park and walk down back streets - I figured it would be easier, and about as quick, to get off at the previous stop - Victoria - and walk straight down Victoria Street. And that's what I did.

That, in itself, was made a bit tricky by the ongoing construction works. I knew the cinema was to be on the other side of the road, so I crossed over, weaving my way between construction barriers. And promptly had to cross back, and cross over again further down, because the pavement on the other side was blocked by yet more construction works! They have finished a substantial amount, however, and I found myself walking down a canyon of glass and chrome, all shiny new shops. I haven't been down this side of the station in years, and it was quite a revalation to me. And then.. there was a sign for Westminster Cathedral (to the right). You wot? Yes indeed, there it was - sandwiched in between a couple of tower-block shopping units. O dear, talk about insensitive developments - I don't like the way that's been done at all! Typical, as they say, of this mayor's lack of concern over building regulations (build 'em fast & build 'em high).

Anyway, I duly came to the cinema, quite discreetly tucked into one of the developments. It has the name over the door, it has a screen showing film clips. Still, I think you might miss it if you weren't specifically looking for it! Might be easier to see from the other side of the road. I rather dubiously walked in - I say dubiously, because apart from that screen, it doesn't look like a cinema at all, more like a swanky bar. I felt rather underdressed. Well, I approached the bar and asked for a cinema ticket. :-) No problem (except for the £14.50 regular adult peak price, which I guess is necessary to pay for the swish decor). She produced a laminated seat plan to ask where I'd like to sit, told me it was downstairs.

So down the glass staircase I ventured, now feeling distinctly underdressed. Into an even swisher bar - all black walls, a huge screen on the wall showing film clips. Glass cases to the side housed banks of cd / dvd players. The staff were quite attentive - one immediately appeared and asked me what screen I wanted. But it wasn't hard to find - Screens 3, 4, 5 are straight ahead as you come down the stairs. For Screens 1 & 2, you have to double back. I proceeded to my screen, admired the decor in there too. Understated red and black, quite a small space. The seats are lovely and comfortable, non-tipping. Oh yes, very nice indeed.

Well, I was here to see a film. For once, the trailers before it were for films I might actually like to see. And o my, what a little gem this is. It's the story of three Guatemalan teenagers heading for Los Angeles, subsequently joined by an Indian who doesn't speak Spanish, meaning that what dialogue there is is somewhat curtailed, particularly near the end of the film. Now, I like that - films that use that device generally keep your attention in other ways.

It's a long and dangerous trip from Guatelama to the States. Not only do they have to worry about US immigration - they have to get into Mexico first. The film title in Spanish means "The Golden Cage", which should give you a hint that all does not go well - and indeed, this film pulls no punches. Although it's not too graphic, you wouldn't believe everything that happens to these poor kids. Quite apart from the difficulties of travelling all that way with no money, and no travel permits of any kind, they encounter bandits, corrupt local police, army, and US immigration guards, all out to do them no good. And it's a moot point which are worse. Some events in the film are a real wake-up call - actually, pretty much everything is.

It's harrowing, but it's such a memorable film. The (obviously inexperienced) actors were given outline scripts and just let do their thing, and it works tremendously. As one reviewer remarked, these are characters we really care about. And the visuals are absolutely stunning. The scenery is breathtaking, and as mentioned above, when the dialogue peters out, the visuals just take over, with mesmerising shots of the trains they're riding on, use of light, images telling a thousand words. As the film ends, we see the "golden cage" of the Spanish title.

I can't recommend this highly enough. It's one of those films that will stay with you for a long time. It's been a long time since I sat in a cinema and didn't want to leave once the end credits rolled.

For tonight's film: well, I've given up entirely on Chef. It's still highly rated, and should be next on my list - but, you know what happened? I simply saw the trailer too many times! I got sick of it, and started to think this wasn't my thing. I was bolstered in my opinion by a review in the Evening Standard, which described it as a vanity project - a fair enough description, given that the same man directed, wrote, and stars in it. The same review described it as the male equivalent of a chick-flick whose star solves all her emotional problems by opening a cupcake shop. Except here, it's a greasy spoon. Well said. Instead, there is a cluster of films around 7.2.. but just checking them now, I see that one has pulled ahead - Venus in Fur, a new Polanski film, is showing tonight only in the Lexi. It'll mean a trek straight from work, but sounds like it might be worth it!