had lunch at the british library yesterday. the cheese cake with berry compote was delicious but not so much the quikes cheddar, tomatoes and rocket sandwich. dinner was out of this world at this small lebanese joint. i had chicken shawarma, hummus, shredded lettuce, pickled peppers with some hot sauce, wrapped in a toasted pita. yum! the play we saw was hilarious. it was feydeau’s “sauce for the goose” (le dindon) at the orange tree theater. it’s the only in-the-round theater in london. the acting was brilliant, the timing of the comedy perfect and the staging ingenious. was interested in the play’s sexual politics. altho lucienne (the female protagonist) is committed to sexual equality (if my husband cheats, so will i), it’s interesting how she’s kept chaste to the v end. she’s only trying to pretend to cheat in order to win her husband back. a clear distinction is made between a “tart” and a respectable married woman. so funny how social norms take such a long time to die.
Category: reviews
mughal india: art, culture and empire at the british library
went to see “mughal india: art, culture and empire” at the british library today. it’s an excellent exhibit of art, some objects, and a lot of books – on astronomy, medicine, mathematics, literary classics like the poetry of hafiz and saadi, pages from the shahnama and akbarnama, stunning copies of the quran, a recipe book from shah jahan’s household (how to make the best samosas and pulao) beautiful calligraphy by emperor bahadur shah and much more. i was delighted to learn that akbar’s library (some 24,000 beautifully bound books) was equal in worth to his entire stash of weaponry. loved a letter written by ghalib and enjoyed the sometimes frosty, always hypocritical, correspondence between king william III and emperor aurangzeb. didn’t like the last part of the exhibit where india’s history is relegated to the orientalist interpretations of the east india company. the most harrowing, heartbreaking exhibit is the only known photograph of the last emperor of india, bahadur shah zafar. granted the mughals were conquerors themselves and not always the most human rights oriented rulers, but bahadur shah’s personal saga is profoundly tragic.
more here.
strindberg today, shakepeare tomorrow
saw strindberg’s “dance of death” today at trafalgar studios. small theater. i was sitting in the front row, almost inside the set, an unwitting part of the conjugal storm exploding on stage. modernized to accommodate a strong, equally devious woman, this prelude to “who’s afraid of virginia woolf” is a vicious battle of equals. brilliantly acted by kevin mcnally, indira varma and daniel lapaine. tomorrow morning off to stratford-upon-avon for the whole day, to see “merry wives of windsor” and “the orphan of zhao.”
amour
watched michael haneke’s “amour”: unflinching, unsparing, intelligent, deeply moving. it’s about marriage and debilitating old age – the dissolution of love and life and its reduction to unadorned pitiful survival. there was complete silence in the theater after the film ended. no one moved. too much to absorb, too much to feel. stunning performances by jean-louis trintignant and emmanuelle riva (the beautiful star of “hiroshima mon amour,” more than 50 yrs ago).
melancholia by lars von trier
melancholia: sadness, lugubriousness, moroseness, wistfulness.
“an oppressive sorrow, which, to wit, so weighs upon man’s mind, that he wants to do nothing.” (thomas aquinas)
“the height of joy, the moment when the world can improve no further, is both the end of joy and the beginning of melancholy.” (christopher john murray)
“profoundly painful dejection, cessation of interest in the outside world, loss of the capacity to love, and inhibition of all activity” (sigmund freud)
watched lars von trier’s “melancholia” and liked it. what a stunning idea to depict melancholia as an actual planet, hidden behind the sun, which is about to crash into earth and annihilate all life. the film is suffused with cosmic imagery and the music of wagner. moonlit landscapes are bathed in blue light. startled birds take flight in a flurry of feathers and precipitate snow flakes. even family scenes emit the heightened, almost grotesque, drama of myths. as the end of the world nears, melancholia seems to make much more sense – perhaps it’s the longer view of life and our role in the universe. masterful performance by kirsten dunst.
freud’s last session at geva theatre
went to see “freud’s last session” yesterday. written by mark st germain, the play is based on an imaginary meeting between freud and c.s. lewis. lewis is a young professor at oxford. freud is in his 80s and dying of cancer. england is about to launch into the second world war. they talk about the existence of god with intellectual vigor and enthusiasm (freud is a committed atheist while lewis has just converted to christianity), they parse reason as opposed to emotion, they psychoanalyze each other, they surprise each other by broaching the subject of sex at the tail end of their meeting. they realize the importance of humor in helping us overcome horror and they use it often in their successive verbal jousts. the play is witty and engaging. it was brilliantly acted by kenneth tigar (sigmund freud) and ron menzel (c.s. lewis), and directed by skip greer.
MOVIE PREVIEW: Witness Palestine by Dayna Papaleo
City News
September 19, 2012
It’s difficult to know where to even begin when discussing the conflict between Palestine and Israel, a decades-old schism with passionate stances on both sides, each believing theirs to be the just one. Yet as the powers-that-be lock horns over figurative lines in the literal sand, there continue to be human beings trying to make their livings and raise their families smack-dab in the middle of the fight, with no control over the political maneuverings but every interest in their outcome.
Giving a voice to the Palestinian point of view is the inaugural Witness Palestine film series. Curated by an interfaith group of individuals from the Rochester area who traveled to the Middle East for a firsthand look, Witness Palestine aims to address this hot-button issue through a collection of narrative and documentary features that put faces to those directly affected by the conflict as well as those striving for peaceful change. All the screenings are at the Little, and each program will be followed by an interactive panel discussion. Tickets are $8 (except for “Budrus,” which is free); visit witnesspalestinerochester.org for more information.
“We’re not even aware of all of the influences of the military,” Israeli conscientious objector Maya Wind says in “Occupation Has No Future,” an effective documentary that explores Israel’s militaristic culture through the eyes of those who have refused conscription, as well as those who have actually served in the West Bank but are now actively protesting the occupation. This film came about in the fall of 2009, when American antiwar activists traveled to Israel to learn more about the movement, opening an enlightening dialogue with refuseniks and former Israeli soldiers who have joined forces with Palestinians to embark upon a campaign of civil disobedience in hopes of bringing about peace. (Thursday, September 20, 6:45 p.m.)
Writer-director Annemarie Jacir’s gorgeously shot “Salt Of This Sea” tackles the Arab-Israeli conflict through a romantic drama in which Soraya (Suheir Hammad), a Brooklyn-born woman with Palestinian roots, travels to Israel to get in touch with her history (and, hopefully, her grandfather’s long-gone bank account). Soraya sparks with a waiter (Saleh Bakri, “The Band’s Visit”) who becomes her sidekick in both larceny and tourism, leading to a number of none-too-subtle scenes designed to illustrate Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people. Soraya’s third-act tantrum at her ancestral seaside home threatens to derail the film, but it’s not impossible to believe that she would have become so impassioned during her brief stay. (Sunday, September 23, 2 p.m.)
The powerful documentary “One Family in Gaza” personalizes the conflict’s human toll through the story of Kamal and Wafaa Awajah, who suffered devastating loss during an Israeli siege in early 2009, but chooses to instead focus on a peaceful future for their remaining children rather than assign blame. Since 2008, Palestinians have been getting evicted from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in favor of Israeli settlers, and “Home Front” introduces us to four individuals of very different backgrounds, all fighting for Palestinian rights. We meet Terry, an American-born Israeli spurred to action in support of her protester kids, while young Mohammad, his Palestinian family now forced to share their home with Israelis, gets an eye-opening lesson in solidarity upon meeting a Jewish activist. (Thursday, September 27, 6:45 p.m.)
“We can accept this as God’s will, as we always do, or we can consider this an injustice,” says community organizer Ayed Morrar in the absorbing documentary “Budrus.” The “this” Morrar is referring to involves the Israeli initiative to build a separation barrier that encroaches way past the Green Line into Palestinian territory… and right through the village of Budrus, cutting its residents off from their beautiful, beloved land. As Morrar and his fellow villagers, including his feisty 15-year-old daughter Iltezam, engage in nonviolent protest against the barrier, we also hear from the Israeli soldiers doing their jobs without questioning their government’s tactics. (Sunday, September 30, 2 p.m.)
The gripping drama “Private,” by Italian director Saverio Costanzo, unfolds over a few tense days in the life of a Palestinian family of seven whose home has been commandeered by Israeli soldiers. Mohammad Bakri (“Laila’s Birthday”) plays the patriarch, a chilly academic type who’d rather endure the discomfort of coexisting with the military personnel than relinquish his home to them, no matter what his terrified wife says. Not content to remain banished to the first floor, however, the kids are a little more bold than their parents, and the film gets much nail-biting mileage out of some very close calls that convey the horror of an occupation. (Thursday, October 4, 6:45 p.m.)
TERRA BLIGHT trailer
watched “terra blight” today, at the greentopia film festival. it’s an extremely informative documentary about how e-waste (e.g. most of the 100 million computers discarded each year in the u.s. alone) is being shipped to developing countries like ghana where it is poisoning people and the environment. the sad part is that this e-waste is completely reclyclable. the cost of the reclycled materials is a fraction of the cost of mining those same raw materials from scratch. yet we continue to dump our toxic waste on poor countries. since i just watched “detropia” i couldn’t help thinking why detroit cannot become the capital of america’s recycling? the city’s already set up for manufacturing. why not make it the center of disassembling? it’s certainly more sustainable.
Detropia – Official Trailer
watched “detropia” today at the greentopia film festival. a lesson in filmmaking. by constructing a gradual, deliberate visual tapestry of the city of detroit as it stands today, accompanied by a compelling musical score, the filmmakers capture the saga of its economic devastation in an emotive, visceral way. the dialogue is spare and the facts of detroit’s prolonged recession terse. we are introduced to a few survivors and their commentary is interlaced with this visual weaving of a city’s shifting reality. the message is powerful. what’s happened to detroit is coming to the rest of america. i would go further – detroit embodies the future of capitalism. it’s coming to most of us.
Chasing Ice OFFICIAL TRAILER
watched “chasing ice” at the greentopia film festival yesterday. gorgeous, surreal cinematography. disturbing message about global warming, presented with undeniable visual evidence. must see for all citizens of the globe, esp those who contribute most to climate change. we’re close to an irreversible tipping point.
Certified Copy
watched abbas kiarostami’s “certified copy” and loved it. it’s an intellectual and visual treat (set in tuscany, it’s about art and authenticity, love and marriage, illusion and reality) and yes, juliette binoche is one of the most stunning women on earth. more about the film, including a clip, here.
BBC – Bookclub, Arundhati Roy – The God of Small Things
for years i have followed arundhati roy’s political writings – her moral courage and eloquence are a constant inspiration. i finally finished reading her only book of fiction “the god of small things” and once again i am inspired. the book has been called dazzling. i think it’s astonishing in how it’s structured (non linear, organic, rich with leitmotifs), in the musicality and inventive use of language, in the breadth and width of its small and colossal themes (life and death, love and loss, childhood and old age, caste and patriarchy, violence, sadness and infinite joy) and in how vividly, how lovingly she paints kerala. a staggering work of art…
here’s arundhati’s interview about the book on the bbc and a loose transcript of that conversation.
To Rome With Love
watched “to rome with love” – except for some sharp repartee between woody allen himself and the topnotch judy davis, the film sags and eventually fizzles out with too many great actors who don’t have nearly enough to do. the film pokes fun at every italian stereotype but it’s too superficial to be interesting. it could have been a visual ode to rome (like allen’s stunning “manhattan”) but even that possibility doesn’t quite crystallize. “midnight in paris” was much better and that’s hardly my favorite woody allen film.
Hiroshima, Mon Amour
watched “hiroshima, mon amour” last night and loved it. it’s about war and peace, about love and loss, about forgetfulness and remembrance, all intertwined in a poetic combination of script and cinematic imagery, musical patterns and physical synchronicity. alain resnais is a genius. am watching all his other films.
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
the most stunning thing about werner herzog’s “cave of forgotten dreams” is the exquisite art. by using uneven cave surfaces, dripping water and the transient light and shadows created by fire, artists endowed their work with life-like texture, movement and vigor. it’s breathtakingly beautiful, refined, haunting. humans had it in them, even 32,000 years ago.