Saturday, 14 February 2009

1016 Fellin's Amarcord and the Jizsaw man

Sometime ago I decided to list the completed MySpace Blogs on the profile set and found if difficult to recall the original post which were made on the same day. Today February 14th 2009 after unsuccessful trying to scan and then edit and which was going to be a long and boring process I gave up and instead tried something which so far has worked, giving discovered at the end of the first Blog the opportunity to go forward one Blog at time. As a consequence I have discovered some Blogs not only considered lost but which are not the present numerical listing. These are now being incorporated to one Blog for the nearest contemporary date question.

Fellini’s Amarcord

I did not like this film although it is highly regarded and won a best foreign film Oscar. Fellini was raised in Rimini which I visited as a young man, had a car accident with a pedestrian who fortunately was not hurt and then drove the vehicle into a storm ditch at the camp site on the way back much to the horror of my companion who was asleep in our tent. This was the day for sitting on the beach in the sun but by the time the car and a replacement window screen had been organised and we sat on the beach, the storm came and the purpose of the drainage channels all to clear. We went to the pictures but I cannot remember the film which was unlikely to have been about pre war fascist small town life.

Amarcord takes a satirical surrealist look at childhood with child perspective but it is not a loving portrait of its people. The film suggests hat Fellini despised the town of his birth. In addition a town centre bonfire burning a fake witch but where there is potential nasty accident, the 1000 mile road race through the town, a 1947 British Winter type snow in, brothel ladies. a woman of easy virtue and a very generous buxom wife, theatre is a country visit to a mad relative, a couple of weddings , a death and a burial, a grand hotel, with a visit from sheik and harem There are school scenes with children and with adults as children. There are beach scenes and a phantom type cruise liner.

I thought of a second viewing but decided to watch a U2 concert instead.


Daily Note

I try to use an hour of my own remaining time every day visiting my mother aged 100 and 1 month, living among those who know what it is to lose everything, except memories and dreams, and whatever contact remaining relatives can give, and the attention of those who have so many to care for and their own lives.

I get to know their fear of what they have become, and my own, and the joy experienced from a micro second of recognition of who you are and they have been, and because you know you can then go out into the sun or the rain, read the written souls or hear them speak in across language, voice and sound, from this world through time and maybe soon from across the universe and you understand the meaning of life, your own and of your God, whatever that belief is, you shed a tear for all those who never knew or could not face the knowing, and you try and make peace with them, and yourself, and everyone.

What you do and say and who you do it with lives on in you and them, and in time, across the universe and can be heard and seen, but it does not matter if it does not, as long as you listen to you and see into yourself and learn to love and to forgive.

But how do you explain that to the baby starving beside the mother blown to pieces by one of God’s bombs in the name of some cause or belief. How can you know that and still do what you do, or what you do not?

I wish I had the words, or some other talent to explain.

The Jigzaw man

I have not seen this film before in cinema or TV, so this free Daily Express DVD is a bonus although when I attempted to view on the DVD player TV it cut up for some reason and the ground to a halt. However the problem resolved on the computer and new slim line 19 inch monitor.
The film stars Michael Caine, Sir Laurence Olivier, Susan George and Robert Powell. Being a suspense spy thriller it is difficult to know what to say of the story without spoiling the fun of future viewers. The film has some merit in exposing once again the duplicity of secret services and their willingness to betray their country and each other for money and or self interest. Intelligent people also behave stupidly and innocent bystanders get caught in the cross fire.

The film cashes in on the Philby Burgess Mclean Blunt scandals but this time pretends that the head of service has defected and return to Britain on a mission which could destroy the Russian spy network. This character is played by Michael Caine, Sir Laurence is the chief spook and a good guy or is he? Susan George plays Susan George being the daughter Robert Powell her boy friend and guess what he is also a spook but she never guesses and is he a good guy bad guy and what is the position of the other guy policeman spook good or bad guy? Does it really matter to anyone? By the end of the film you cease to care and secretly applaud the amoral ending.

A good way to use 90 minutes if you have nothing else better to do. How much time of my life have I used in this way?

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