"I pledge allegiance, to the shoe......"

Or shoes, even, that were hurled at George 'I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully' Bush, one after the other, by iraqi cameraman Muntadar al-Zaidi during a conference in Baghdad on Sunday.....



At the time of the incident;
(a rather flustered)Bush: "it's a sign of free society"
Zaidi: "it is the farewell kiss, you dog".

When probed by the press, the soon-to-be ex-president's response was hilariously ever reflective of his infamously integral intelligence and humour; "All I can report is a size 10".
HA.

Film review: Waltz with Bashir

Film review: Waltz with Bashir

Lacking what was probably ample knowledge of a context which pretty much scaffolds this film, (but still drawn by curiosity of what looked like impressive animation), I was a bit apprehensive as to what I'd make of Waltz with Bashir, but, for anyone else unfamiliar with the Lebanese war of 1982; don't be hesitant, it's not as big an impairment as you think...

Directed and written by Ari Folman, whose own memories, or perhaps lack of memories, are what sculpts the films narrative, Waltz with Bashir depicts a riddled soldier, Ari (voiced by the director himself) who, after a nostalgic conversation with an old friend who confides in him about his recurring nightmares in which he is chased by a pack of 26 vicious dogs, believing that it has some connection to his memoirs of an Israeli Army mission he took part in during the war and having long forgotten himself what surrealy seems like a bad dream, attempts to recollect the hazy fragments of his time spent in Palestine during the war. From here-on in the film is a quirky, jigsaw - like sequence of borrowed memories and accounts of others, collected through a series of rendezvous’ with his fellow comrades, that Ari is hoping will help resurface his own. These accounts are real, the only fictitious aspect being the fantastically similar animation of the men who give them.

It's not just the enthrallingl and surreal recollections the interviews with Ari’s associates unfold that leave us transfixed; the incredible graphics alone make Waltz with Bashir undeniably elite amongst all comparative docu-films. Razor sharp illustrations brilliantly personificate everything on screen, and, be it the impeccibly defined physical characteristics of Ari and his comrades, or the surfaces of water or landscapes that crawl in motion, there isn't an animated stone left unturned.

Inconceivably, the subtitled but contextually humorous dialogue only further superiorizes what is already a visually and historically poignant portrait. However, I think that the icing on this cake is the concluding couple of minutes, during which a transition is made and Folman, using archive video footage of the trails of wreckage left in Lebanon post-war, brings his animated masterpiece to life in grim and quite disturbing reality.

Film: Pirate, Private or Paid For?

So, with the arrival of the Cinema de Lux at the new Cabot Circus, a trip to check out the cinema where the audience is promised a magical experience with ‘extra wide Ultra Leather loveseats’ (are they saying we’re fat?) has definitely been on most Bristol film buff’s to-do lists. The question is, can the plush new multiplex triumph over a night in on your own sofa with a copy of Adulthood that you got for three-fifty at Southmead market?

There are questionable cons of pirate DVDs and TV Links type things. They're not really for the visually impaired; sometimes the fuzzy or stretched picture can begin to annoy you, especially if you're busy trying to see if Keira Knightly has better skin than you. There's also the possibility of the odd silhouette of a front row resident sprinting across the length of the room as they decide they need the toilet at the most crucial moment of the film. Apart from that, it’s cost efficient, energy efficient (if the last thing you want to do on a Friday night is walk to Broadmead) and at least we’re only 4 metres from the nearest loo...

However, on the off chance that you decide against piracy, DO visit Cinema de Lux. It probably IS worth it. The shiny new film haven introduces its swanky Studio One restaurant, the Directors Hall and Lounge and a number of staff there to spoon-feed you.
Besides these amenities, I’m fairly sure that the greatest relief to every film-goer visiting the Cinema de Lux is that we can finally wear something nice, and know it’s not going to come home smelling like stale popcorn and body odour. I hasten to add that it’s also reassuring that you won’t fall victim to a pick ‘n’ mix assault from the gang of school-kids sat on the back row.

Enticing? Tickets are around £6 for the standard seating screens (not extortion but at this price alone you might want to byo sandwich on the sly). If you're feeling flush though, opt for the Directors Hall. You'll be paying a steep £9, buuuut you don't have to leave your seat for anything, a ‘concierge’ (a boy in a hat) is at your beck and call to bring you food from the ‘Studio One’ menu (note: they will not accompany you to the toilet, so don't ask). The downfalls of the Director's Hall is that you WILL be sitting next to either a) a geek b) a business man, c) a businesswoman or d) a couple who think you can’t see/hear them groping.
Things are looking up though, you no longer have to sneak alcohol in with you; cocktails and other drinks are available from the cinema's Studio One bar. I wonder how many times the bartenders were asked for a martini; shaken, not stirred….

(I have yet to visit the Cinema de Lux. I think I'll stick to the watershed for now though....)

I’ve Loved You So Long (Philippe Claudel, 2008)

A delightful film with an unexpectedly thought provoking and moving story to tell, a film that demurely, yet with abrasive honesty, unveils a gritty past with a tragic secret, a film with heartfelt acting and a host of wonderfully charismatic and emotionally accessible characters, I’ve Loved You So Long is stunning.

The film is a portrait of the difficult struggle of a forty-something woman, Juliette (Kristin Scott Thomas) as she begins her settlement into a life of normality with her sister Lea and her husband Luc (Elsa Zylberstein, Serge Hazanavicius) and their two children, after being released from prison where she served a fifteen year sentence for murder. Harbouring a painful memory from both hers and her sister’s past, we see Juliette come to terms with the reality of her new life as a free woman with the help of her sister and a new-found companionship with Lea’s colleague Michel (Laurent Grevill).

Claudel cleverly depicts the tale of the heartbreaking rift that tore these two sisters apart through an array of powerful dialogue and frequent warming humour in an emotional equilibrium of scenes between the two women as we find that Lea, although Juliette had come to face the facts of her past, is still desperately trying to reach out to her long lost elder sister to unravel the truth and to lift herself out of the agonizing bubble of denial that her parents have kept her in since her sister’s imprisonment, and attempt to re-establish the treasured bond between them that was snatched away fifteen years ago.

With all the elegance of French cinema, and the magnificent emotional rollercoaster ride we experience, the beautifully devised and directed I’ve Loved You So Long will not be one to disappoint.

Rosa Morrison