Bienvenue Chez les Ch’tis - Leytonstone pop-up cinema

Bienvenue Chez les Ch’tis was shown as for the monthly (February) offering by Leytonstone pop-up cinema. A very funny French film which explores the clichés of the ‘frozen’ north of the country and the characters who live there.

 

For those of you in the area Leytonstone pop-up cinema pops up again next Weds 7^th March with what looks like another cracker, Memories of Underdevelopment, a Cuban film from 1968.

 

http://www.leytonstonefilmclub.com/

No Such Thing as Society: A History of Britain in the 1980s - Andy McSmith

A very readable account of the decade dominated by Margaret Thatcher and her free market/privitisation agenda which, by the end of it, capitalism had emerged triumphant from its ideological battle with socialism and with it vast differences between rich and poor. New Labour picked up the free markeet baton and ran with it into the 21st century, the effects of which only became apparent with the crash of 2008.

The author worked on the Independant newspaper during the decade and the book is like a series of journalistic essays on aspects of 80s politics and culture from the miners' strike to Live Aid, the Falklands War to Diana and very enjoyable it is too, well written, clear and concise.

The Descendants: dir. Alexander Payne; Carnage: dir. Roman Polanski

In honour of Oscar's day I thought I'd briefly review a couple of films I've seen recently. The Descendants, starring George Clooney is up for a number of Oscars. Clooney plays a husband and father of two girls, who is forced to re-examine his life when his wife suffers a boating accident. A decent film but to be honest I didn't really see it as an Oscar contender.

I thought Carnage was the better film, it is very much like a play, all the action takes place in the living room of an apartment.  Two supposed liberal couples, whose son's have a fight at school, decide to react in a mature fashion and sort out the problem. However they gradually descend into argument as, first the couples start to fight, and then, as alliances shift and problems within the realtionships come out, squabbles break out between the couples which is all quite amusing. There is a nice ending as well as the adults fight the two boys, who have not been seen before, are shown together at school having obviously just sorted the problem out as children do.

As for the Oscars I think The Artist will become the first silent film to win since 1929. Personally I would go for Gary Oldman as best actor for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy although I suspect George Clooney will win and Meryl Streep best actress for The Iron Lady (which I would've included on the best movie shortlist but for some reason the Academy didn't ask me).

For what it's worth the six films I enjoyed most in the last year (my Oscar shortlist) were:

1. The Rum Diary
2. Midnight in Paris
3. Hugo
4. The Iron Lady
5. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Serralves Museum, Porto

Serralves Museum displays cutting-edge international contemporary art in a striking minimalist building, opened in 1999. There is no permanent collection on display, temporary exhibitions take up the entire space. At the moment there is a Thomas Struth photography exhibiton which was a bit of a shame as, much as I like his photographs, I saw many of them recently at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. 

We spent more time in the grounds which surround the museum and contain formal gardens and sculptures and also the Casa de Serralves, a lovely pink Art Deco house which is only let down by a complete lack of explanation of how the inside of the building would have looked in its heyday, some reproduction furniture or even a leaflet would've been good.

Travelling Light - Government Art Collection

Selected by Simon Schama; Whitechapel Gallery

The third in the series of works from the Government Art Collection. It perhaps doesn't have the curatical spark that Cornelia Parker brought to his selection but nevertheless there are some interesting exhibits, I particulary liked Map of an Englishman by Grayson Perry, Dartmoor Time by Richard Long and Allotments, Ely, Cambridgeshire by Mark Edwards, all shown below.

Cyprus protest

Not strictly cultural but as I was doing my daily sweep of the world press the following from the Cyprus Mail caught my eye which I have produced virtually verbatim below. The Cypriot capital, Nicosia, is the last remaining divided capital in the world I believe which has led to the protest described. The part which I really like though is the bit where it describes an argument between anarchist factions which is pure Monty Python; the hard left will never let us down it seems. But then there is the lovely end paragraph about free lectures. One solution - revolution! ... and free tango lessons.

Peace marchers call for removal of all troops

A SMALL but vocal group of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots marched through the streets of old Nicosia yesterday, calling for peace and a social revolution.

Around 100 people, members of the Occupy the Buffer Zone in Nicosia along with members of the public, marched along Ledra Street to Eleftheria Square and from there to the Paphos Gate, where their Turkish Cypriot counterparts were waiting on the Roccas bastion.

Popular chants included “only one solution, revolution”, “one Cyprus” and “armies out”.
“We want to live together,” was repeatedly chanted once the two set of marches met on either side of the barbed wire at Paphos Gate. 

Increased numbers of policemen were stationed both at the Ledra Street checkpoint and the Paphos Gate, while minor scuffles between policemen and the demonstrators occurred outside the Greek embassy.
The activists had marched there to emphasise their message that the Greek forces – as well as Turkish troops - had to leave the island.

The participants’ numbers were surprisingly high, considering the recent diminishing numbers of activists occupying the buffer zone.

The numbers of the Occupy movement were notably reduced last month after a dispute between factions over the theoretical merits of post-anarchism and classical anarchism resulted in the die-hard anarchists walking out.

Peaceful activists have been occupying the buffer zone on Ledras Street since mid- November and have been calling for the re-unification of the island.

Free lectures on anthropology, philosophy, languages and free tango lessons have been on offer by activists, whose non-violent nature has secured the tolerance of both the public and the UN.

Zarina Bhimji, Whitechapel Gallery

Zarina Bhimji was born in Mbarara, Uganda in 1963 to Indian parents, and moved to Britain in 1974, two years after the expulsion of Uganda’s Asian community in the Idi Amin era. She takes beautiful pictures, often of desolute and abandoned landscapes and buildings in India and East Africa. The exhibition also features her film Out of Blue from 2002 and the premiere of her latest film, Yellow Patch (2011), inspired by trade and migration across the Indian Ocean.

Yayoi Kusama - Tate Modern, London

One of the joy's of going to the Tate Modern is to watch middle class parents dragging their children round desparately trying to get the nippers into it, 'oh isn't this one colourful'. Another joy is to see the madness on display, the pure insane in the membrane inventiveness that sometimes you get with abstract art. It's easy to look at a picture of a thing, a portrait by an old master say and think 'very nice' but then what? you move on to the next one and so on without really thinking about it. Abstract art demands more, its a bit more difficult and some things can be very, shall we say, 'challenging' but if you make a connection it keeps dragging you back for another look.

Anyway I digress, as I was saying often the joy is to see the madness and inventiveness on display and this exhibition has both in abundance; not surprising for the former, and possibly the latter, as the Japenese artist has lived in a mental institution since 1977. She experienced hallucinations as a child which she describes in her striking paintings and installations of polka dots; dots everywhere, in the living room, on cats and horses and rivers, in a mirrored 'infinity room', the woman is positively dotty. Not surprising perhaps, she was also forced by her mother to spy on her father's infidelities at a young age, which has seemingly also left her with a fascination with phallic images and voyerism.

In New York in the 1960's she organised happenings where hippies found themselves by painting each other with polka dots (what else) and she also offered to sleep with Richard Nixon if he would pull out (as it were) of Vietnam. Unfortunately Tricky Dickie didn't take her up on her kind offer but full marks for trying.

An exhuberant exhibition full of variety and invention that should be seen if at all possible ...oh and don't she look like Jo Brand?

Snaresbrook Tube station cinema

I saw this on the Waltham Forest Guardian website:

What may be the first cinema in a tube station has been set up at Snaresbook.
Malcolm Parker, 57, set up a projector and started showing his collection of films of classic steam trains for morning commuters in a disused office on the westbound platform of Snaresbrook London Underground Station when he started working there last summer.
Now the little cinema, which is decorated with classic Art Deco railway posters, has proved so popular that Mr Parker has had to extend its opening hours so those making their way home after a hard day’s work can pop-in and enjoy the show.

Mr Parker said: “There is a room on the platform that was completely dull so I put some old posters up I decided to put it to some use.
“I don’t know of any other stations with cinemas.
“People very much like it. You have people getting off the train and saying ‘what is that?’ and being quite amazed. People have also come along specially to see it with their kids on the weekend.”
Mr Parker was the train guard on the last Epping-Ongar service before the stretch of line closed in the early 1990s and has rare self-shot footage of the old route as well as even older footage of Great Eastern Line steam trains. “Some of the films of the steam trains have proved especially popular with the older ladies,” said Mr Parker.
“I have always been on the railways all my life, and my family have since the 1840s. My great-grandfather drove the royal train for Edward VII. Now my son and daughter both work on the railways.
“I love the railways, the architecture, the locomotives, I even find satisfaction in well laid tracks.
“It is great to share my passion,” he said.

The Snakes; What's Cookin' Birkbeck Tavern, Leyton, E11

The Snakes are a bit rocky and a bit country, inspired by The Rolling Stones when they were in their country inspired period. This show was the last with drummer Dan who is apparently off to live in Copenhagen and get a proper job unfortunately and therefore became a celebration involving an extended & raucous encore. Great fun from a great band, get out and see them live if you can & buy their music - http://the-snakes.com/