The End Of British Cinema

I will be in town today doing some test shots with Euan for our film. So maybe I manage to also make some pictures for all of you, 'cause you have voted and want pictures of the town so now I have to make some, else there's no use doing a poll. Yesterday I was supposed to go boxing, but apparently there was no session. Don't know why. Maybe if there's still one on Thursday I can go on Thursday for a change, as for Friday I will be in London. Yesterday was also my lasts eminar for British Film. I only have to finish my essay and that will be it. I'm feeling my essay is coming together pretty well. And I have to say spending so much time in the library is very camling and relaxing. It's much better than sitting at home in my room writing. It's not that we talk constantly, but just seeing Alice with me or Clement makes it all the more easy. It doesn't feel like really working when I'm there. And knowing that i will be there every night, makes that I can write my essay without time pressure or stress. i know I will finish it in time, because I have so much of it. No television distraction etc. It's great. But yesterday was the last seminar and because it was the last one, we did something 'special'. The whole course is mainly about establishing what Britishness is and how far you can speak of Britain having their own distinct cinema. So what we had to do was form groups of 2 or 3 people and pitch an idea for a film. We then had to explain what it was exactly what made our film British. The group I was in, with Alice and another girl, we had to do an adaptation or remake. So we did an adaptation of Alice In Wonderland, making Alice journey one in which she comes to learn about Britain as multicultural and not at all the way the film Brief Encounter would have her believe. The group with the best idea could win a box of chocolates. Unfortunately our group came in second, with just one vote less than the winning group, which I happened to vote for, ouch! Well, I didn't really needed the box of chocolates anyway. I was already surprised though, so many people liked our idea, so that was very nice. So after i went to the sports center around 5 and there turned out to be no boxing class, I went to the library instead taking my laptop and books with me. Knowing that Once would finally be in the Gulbenkian, I knew the chance was big that I would end up going at the end of the day even though Alice and Heidi wanted to go on Sunday. So when it was almost 9 pm I looked at Alice and told her I was goign to see it tonight. Without hesitating she said I'm coming with you and before I knew it, Heidi, Alice and I were sitting in the Gulbenkian. The film started at 9.20 and I shall be honest. It was a film i wanted to see really badly, I don't know why, but I guess because reviews were overwhelmingly good and it took so long before I got to see it, that all those things combined made that I really could not wait to see it and was expecting a lot from it. But yes, i shall be honest and even though it was good it wasn't amazing. Maybe I was not totally in the mood for it, maybe it just isn't that good, I don't know but it wasn't Before Sunrise, it wasn't Dare Mo Shiranai, no Me And You And Everyone We Know, no Little Miss Sunshine. And it definitely was no The Fountain the film i was moste xcited about before Once came along. The Fountain was one of the best experiences i've ever had in a movie theatre, it's simply amazing, nothing like it. Critics either way loved that movie calling it the best of all the films that were released that year or were calling it the worst, saying it was a mess. I thought I would like it and was up for the challenge and indeed it was the best. Sometimes when you don't know what to expect about a film you will be completely surprised and overwhelemed when it turns out to be soooo good. With Once I heard the songs before, I knew it would be like one big video clip or modern sort of musical with these two characters making some sweet music together. And even though I looked away everytime the trailer was shown in the Gulbenkian, I could still hear every word making that I thought where and when to expect these short sentences I had heard. At the beginning of the film there's this great shot showing Glen Hansard, that one got to me immediately, making tears want to fill up my eyes. A moment like that i never got after it, except for at the end where a beautiful shot, even though the film is made with so little money, made me grasp for air. The movie is still very good, I love the songs i love the characters. maybe when i see it a second time i will absolutely come to love it. Maybe I was to tense while watching it, totally excited I finally got the chance to see it, expecting every moment to give me this great feeling. One thing that kind of surprised me, because of that, was the comedic aspect of the film, with sometimes kind of strange jokes that provided for some fantasy like scenes. I expected a deep deep love story, like Before Sunset, which it also was i guess, but I don't know, I didn't expect that there would be some moments to really laugh. Also watching Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova was kind of problematic as i really come to see them for who they are. i know they are musicians, not actors, so i never was able to really look at Glen Hansard as playing a character, even though when thinking about it he played his character very well. But still I felt like watching him, this musician. I was still really impressed though, how throughout the film Marketa Irglova really makes you fall for her. In the beginning you're not sure what to think of her, but she really wins you over, really showing me how it's like when a character achieves a thing like that. So yeah, it turned out differently than i expected. I'm less overwhelmed and crazy about it than i thought I would be, even though I would love to see it again today or tomorrow, i really would love to. But where Control also featured a lot of songs, some also shown in their entirety, I felt that one to have so much more beside that, and Once kind of missed soemthing at times it seemed. Still I bet it's really one of the best films this year, but it's just so different than other films and I guess I prefer the more usual dramatic little films, than this one.