Londres: Sebastião Salgado & Tim Burgess & Lambchop

3 july 2013

Já estive na linda Londres, que adoro, não sei nem quantas vezes. Mas sempre que vou tenho duas alegrias: uma por estar indo para aquela cidade que é um poço sem fundo de coisas sensacionais pra gente ver ou fazer; a outra alegria é que não moro lá. Acho cansativo o trânsito e o movimento intenso do monte de gente, o metrô lotado em certas horas do dia, com algumas estações tão grandes que a gente tem que caminhar um bocado mesmo dentro delas. Isso não me atrai mesmo como projeto de vida. Gosto de conforto e um pouco de lentidão.

E então que no domingo, 23 de junho, fomos para Londres, mais uma vez, com uma programação super:

1. Fomos direto para o Museu de Historia Natural [Natural History Musem - http://www.nhm.ac.uk/index.html] visitar a exposição Genesis, do brilhante fotógrafo brasileiro Sebastião Salgado. A exposição fica aberta até o dia 8 de Setembro de 2013 e é imperdivel para quem aprecia fotografia, o trabalho do Salgado, ou tem amor pelo nosso planeta. É uma viagem entre os continentes em imagens em preto e branco de paisagens, vida selvagem, e comunidades remotas. A entrada custa 10 libras. Paguei 5 libras com minha carteira de estudante. Atenção: se você for visitar apenas o museum, a entrada é gratis. No site do museu tem um link para um vídeo sobre a exposição. Vale a pena assistir.

2. Depois do café com torta no café do museu fomos para o Soho, direto para a loja de CDs e DVDs e livros Fopp, em Covent Garden. Loja ótima, com muitos títulos e promoções tentadoras.

3. Ainda em Covent Garden, jantamos no Maxwell’s bar & grill, que existe desde 1972 e serve um burger muito gostoso. A música é alta e vibrante.

4. E tomamos mais um metrô, dessa vez para o Barbican pro show do Tim Burgess, de Manchester, com abertura [support band] da banda americana Lambchop. Lambchop é uma banda de Nashville, Tennessee, com raízes no country alternativo, hoje com uma influência feliz do jazz na música que eles fazem. Kurt Wagner, vocalista à frente da Lambchop, convidou Tim Burgess para cantar com ele. Depois eles voltaram ao palco no show do Tim, que faz música alternative, indie rock e Britpop. Os dois shows foram sensacionais. Sensacionais!!!

5. Tudo terminou às 22.40hrs, trinta minutos depois do previsto. Domingo de noite, metrôs em manutenção e serviço limitado. Esse quadro fez a gente, apesar de correr o quanto pode, perder o trem de 23:35hrs. Entramos na estação de Waterloo exatamente nesse minuto em que o trem saia. Paciência. Fomos tomar café, sentar abrigados do frio e esperar pelo próximo trem, a 1.05 da manhã de segunda-feira. Foi um trem lento, parando em tudo quanto é de vilarejo na noite gelada. Descemos em Basingstoke, onde tínhamos deixado o carro exatamente para agilizar a volta com horários de trem, e dirigimos de volta a Southampton. Quando mirei a cama para desmaiar no sono dos justos o relógio despertador acusava 3.07hrs da manhã.

6. Na segunda-feira de manhã minha pessoa não respondia a nada, dormi até umas 8.30hrs e só depois pude despertar para voltar ao mundo real, do serviço e da disciplina.

Domingo maravilhoso em Londres. Maravilhoso!!!

‘home’ através da música e do cinema

27 june 2013

Sábado passado, 22 de junho, trocamos um jantar com mesa reservada no restaurante brasileiro que abriu aqui em Southampton por um evento cultural na Aspex Gallery, em Portsmouth. A cantora Emily Barker e a artista e cineasta Patti Gaal-Holmes, que são amigas desde 2004, apresentaram uma programação cultural maravilhosa, de graça, na galeria.

O nome do evento ‘home’ sintetiza a idéia de que elas estavam falando de onde é e do que se configura o que elas sentem como sendo ‘lar’, ou onde pertencemos, ou onde nos sentimos em casa. Aqui na Europa esse assunto de procedência e identidade é muito forte, por conta do movimento migratorio que acontece.

Primeiro Patti compartilhou sua história. Em seguida Emily Barker falou e tocou, com os filmes acompanhando as canções. Alguns filmes foram feitos para as canções. E algumas canções ganharam o filme depois, nessa parceria criativa e brilhante. Foi a terceira vez que fui a um evento que combinava música com cinema, e achei fantástico. Adoramos o evento e os trabalhos das duas. Fomos antes a dois outros shows da Emily Barker [de quem sou grande fã], um em Winchester e outro em Salisbury; e de vez em quando encontramos Patti e o marido, Marcus, em shows. Povo inspirado, leve, talentoso.

Patti nasceu na África do Sul, para onde o pai húngaro fugiu da guerra nos anos 1940 com a esposa alemã; tem passaporte belga, é casada com um inglês e mora aqui no Reino Unido, em Portsmouth. Ela concluiu o doutorado em filme no ano passado. Faz uns filmes curta experimentais muito bacanas; e passou os meses de outubro e novembro do ano passado na África do Sul, num programa de residência acadêmica para a pesquisa dela, com a idéia de lar e de identidade. Me parece que essa é uma busca de vida.

Emily Barker tocou canções do disco novo e também antigas, com o filme. Ela é australiana, neta de holandeses, casada com um inglés, e mora aqui no norte, em Cotswolds.

Home foi um evento para poucas pessoas, não mais que vinte. Tomamos café e conversamos com elas na galeria depois do evento. Como iriamos no domingo para Londres procuramos um jantar prático e no nosso caminho. Jantamos no restaurante chinês no Gunwharf shopping, a alguns passos da galeria, naquela noite fria e de vento muito forte. Ah, que programa sensacional. Mil vezes alimentar a alma, hein. Hehehe mas hoje vamos ao restaurante brasileiro. Já tô sabendo que é bom o estabelecimento.

music: stacey kent in basingstoke

about yesterday, 18 june 2011

yesterday we went to stacey kent's wonderful jazz concert at the anvil in basingstoke. we also listened to her great music both ways on the road. what a day and what a night! the day was bright and beautiful when we drove there. the night was ours when we drove back to southampton. it was my third time seeing her show here and the first time with mike, who said he was happy to go to a concert of my choice, to listen to my music.

this show was a transition between her french cd / tour and the new one which should be released soon. she left the concert straight to the studio with her band. she told me she will come round next year with the new cd. i need to mark that one in my diary.

a few days before i sent her a message saying we would go to the show and said where we'd be seated. she spotted me and greeted me from the stage. i was thrilled. she has been to brazil a couple of times for concerts since i last saw her. mike was much impressed to see her treating by my first name. he said 'you two are friends on a first name basis'. during the break she autographed her cds that i have and love. and we had our photo taken.

'. . . quer guardar o mundo em mim' (Caetano Veloso)

she loves our music. stacey said beautiful things about brazil and its people and its music. she sang joao gilberto, jobim, and caetano. she introduced the song 'coracao vagabundo' by saying she fell in love with the lyrics of the song and explained to the audience how it represents the brazilian people who have so much hope and warmth and joy in their hearts. she translated the first lines into english but then sang it in portuguese:

'meu coracao nao se cansa
de ter esperanca
de um dia ser tudo o que quer
. . . ' caetano veloso

i loved the concert, once again. music inebriates my soul.

film: senna

about yesterday 16 june 2011

ontem fomos assistir o otimo documentario ‘senna’ no harbour lights. a producao franco-americana de 2010 mostra a vida e a carreira do melhor piloto de formula um de seu tempo, com cenas ineditas de videos da familia e muito mais. o filme mostra tambem os bastidores da formula um e suas reunioes, varias vezes tensas e que dao uma ideia da pressao que ele recebia nesse mundo que, como senna diz, eh cheio de politica e de dinheiro, diferente do comeco da sua carreira, ainda como o corredor de kart Ayrton Senna, que ele menciona numa entrevista anos aa frente de muito que passou.

varias cenas me fizeram lembrar do nosso senna e de como nos, brasileiros, estavamos inconsolaveis com uma morte tao prematura, absurda e anaceitavel, como se a morte pudesse ser inaceitavel. foi mais uma dessas despedidas dolorosas em que a gente fica querendo ser magico e bem poderoso para traze-lo de volta, mas a vida nao nos da esse poder.

eu fiquei pensando em como, quando ele ta ganhando um mundial de formula um, vencendo, tendo ultrapassado varios pilotos, ele ja se sabe vencedor e diz que foi Deus que lhe deu a vitoria. um homem que alcanca o sucesso mais almejado e grandioso, um titulo mundial, e diz que foi Deus, revela uma humildade que so as almas boas tem, a de nao se sentir Deus. achei muito bacana ele dizer que ainda tinha muito o que aprender como homem, que aos 30 e poucos anos de idade talvez estivesse na metade de sua vida, que a carreira de piloto poderia nao durar mais muito tempo, mas que ele precisava ainda aprender muito mais coisas da vida. nas entrevistas ele revelava o que sentia, nao se ocupava de passar imagem de grande. muito, muito linda a cena quando ele vence em interlagos e desmaia, tem dores insuportaveis nos ombros e mal consegue se mexer. a equipe o ajuda a sair do carro e quando, nos bastidores, ele ve o pai, pede que o pai chegue perto dele e lhe de um abraco suave. esse momento foi magico.

as vitorias, os milhoes e o sucesso nao tiraram o sorriso leve da pessoa integra e profissional que senna era. foi bom ve-lo tambem sabendo se proteger e se colocar, como mostra uma das discussoes das reunioes, e algumas entrevistas. antes e por tras de cada vitoria ha um mundo pra se vencer que a midia nao consegue mostrar; ofoco eh sempre em um aspecto apenas. muito bacana ver a tragetoria da carreira dele e as passagens pela toleman, onde estreou em 1984, depois a lotus, a mclaren e finalmente a williams, com muitas vitorias, de premios em paises diferentes e de mundiais. mas eu senti falta de saber mais sobre a vida diaria de treinos dele e do trabalho com o nuno cobra, seu preparador fisico.

o documentatio traz cenas do brasil muito miseravel daquela epoca, epoca de verdades ainda escondidas na nossa historia. eu fiquei chocada com o contraste e tomei um susto, de verdade. quando a gente nao ve a miseria com frequencia, se esquece que ela existe. nos, brasileiros, nao duvidamos que ela exista, mas o conforto da vida nos distancia dessa realidade perversa e contrastante que existe no brasil. o filme tem a participacao efetiva da irma dele, viviane senna, narrando fatos e acrescentando informacoes. ela aparece em imagens numa cena breve de familia e no final, no velorio. quando vi o caixao meu coracao doeu, parece sempre o susto do indesejado evento. chorei, chorei muito assistindo o filme, que tinha o pouco publico de quase sempre no harbour lights. e agradeco muito ao mike pela mao calorosa segurando a minha o tempo todo.

e a chuva, sua companheira maravilhosa? ah, a chuva!

feliz dia dos namorados

about yesterday, 12 june 2011

l'artiste et sa muse

12 june is valentine's day in brazil. it was justly celebrated here, too. how? by

- waking up in the morning to find a sweet valentine's day card at breakfast surprisingly written in portuguese 'feliz dia dos namorados';

- enjoying a rainy and windy day;

- going shopping for food [in the rain];

- appreciating andy warhol's exhibition at the city art gallery. the set of pieces at the city gallery are worth a visit. the other set, which is at hansard gallery at the university of southampton we didn't like very much;

- eating pear, garlic and mushroom cheese with stone baked bread for lunch;

- watching on cosy sofa the american film 'brother, where art thou?';

- eating 'winter in summer chicken' with new potatoes and drinking wine for dinner while listening to good brazilian music;

- . . .

music: emily barker in winchester

5 may 2011

emily barker and the red clay halo in winchester

emily barker and the red clay halo in winchester

great show tonight at the railway in winchester. emily barker & the red clay halo. she is a guitarrist and song-writer from australia. it is so good to be close to the musician and really feel them making music. this original experience no cd or dvd will ever provide. the girls so reminded me of the dixie chicks. the harmony of the instruments is magic. once again we were sitting in the first row, right there, in the best place. their song 'pulse' is now the opening theme song for bbc two tv series 'the shadow line', a crime and investigation series. pulse is a great song.

before emily barker harp device played as the support band of the night. the link i found to the band is the right one, but it was a different girl singing this time. they are a new band from basingstoke, a city nor far from here. they write and sing their own songs. there is music everywhere in this country, and there are always people coming to the gigs. it is amazing.

switzerland: montreux

about sunday 10 apr 2011
it took me long to decide on the few photos from the trip to montreux to post here. the whole trip, the amazing cities we passed by on our way to montreux and the city itself are incredibly charming and beautiful. oh, so beautiful! yes, nature was generous to switzerland. i will now post the photos here so that they translate a bit what i experienced on the 10th of april with my friend fran and her husband didier:
- a taste of the place where the famous music festival has happened for decades - beautiful people - a gorgeous sunny day - breathtaking mountains - a long and relaxing walking by lac leman - and some refreshing ice cream to wrap up. what a trip!!!

this is the Nestle head office. we passed by it on the way to Montreux.



the Grand Hotel du Lac is very charming. it is close to Lac Leman in Montreux.




view from the car. getting to the lake front we can already appreciate the swiss alps.



people everywhere enjoying the sunny day. one of the cafes by the lake front.

fancy a boat ride?

 

these flats face the lake. i sent out the papers to rent one for the summer.

 

Fran is an old and very good friend of mine. we probably met around 1992, when i started working at yazigi as an english teacher. she taught french there. she had already lived in switzerland as a young girl with her aunt raimunda. she has now been living in switzerland for a good number of years, but every time she went back to brazil and i was there we got together. we have followed up on the events of our lives all this time. she has three kids: martina, who lives in geneva and studies law, and igor and gabriela, who are now living in brazil. i had a great time catching up with my friend and travelling around with her and her adorable husband, didier. martina is doing great and  speaks an impecable french. fran and didier live in cheserex - in a lovely and large apartment - with didier's two boys from his previous marriage.

music: simone felice in winchester

about yesterday, 13 apr 2011

last night mike, johnny, and i went to see simone felice's show at the railway in winchester. there are always nice gigs at this venue. felice's show was organised by oliver, a friend of mike's. it was my third time at the venue with mike. the show happened in the room upstairs that could fit 80 people, and was sold out. it was really very good. why is it that the artist sounds so different in a show from when we listen to him in a cd? we went to winchester listening to felice's music, but the presence of the great artist was fantastic. (what an obvious observation). simone felice is a young man who already had an open heart surgery. this was last summer, as he told us in the show. we were sitting at the front row, very close to him, and got to give him a hug afterwards. cool! before the show he sat for a little while in the sofa reading this book of his, called "black Jesus". when the concert was finished he remained at the venus autographing the book. mike bought one for himself.

film: submarine

from yesterday, 28 mar 2011

submarine
Director : Richard Ayoade
Producer : Mary Burke, Mark Herbert, Andy Stebbing
Screenwriter : Richard Ayoade
Starring : Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins, Noah Taylor, Paddy Considine, Gemma Chan

yesterday mike and i saw this great film at harbour lights. set in Wales, Submarine, adapted from Joe Dunthorne’s novel, is Richard Ayoade’s debut as a film director. the film is a funny, romantic, and truthful portrait of teenage life in the 1980s in Britain, when we had no computers, social networks or mobile phones between us and contacts were mostly done in person and or by landline phones. this alone gives the film a particular charm. i saw the other day an interview on tv Ayoade and the main actor, Craig Roberts.

Oliver Tate’s (Craig Roberts) plans are to lose his virginity to his outspoken school sweetheart Jordana (Yasmin Paige); and to save his parents’ marriage. the schoolboy is more educated by his books than by his parents. From the beginning of the film Oliver reminded me of Salinger’s Holden Caulfield. i love the scene in which he gives Jordana three books: one by Nietzsche, one by Shakespeare, and Salinger’s ‘the catcher in the rye’. the books are the synthesis and the very essence of his thinking, I suppose. Oliver’s Dad (Noah Taylor) is a depressed marine biologist and his mother, Jill, (the great Sally Hawkings – see her also in Made in Dagenham) a frustrated civil servant who finds herself trying to be back to an old times’ relationship with her first love (Paddy Considine).

the film has made me laugh and feel light and delighted by the fantastic interpretations and use of colours and some special effects, like when Oliver is in his bed after Jordana breaks up with him and his bed is transplanted to the ocean.

photography is great. the effects and the colours give the impression that it is not a low budget / independent film. Carefully and creatively planned, Submarine is unique, lively, witty, and also about human pain and truth. it is delightful entertainment. i highly recommend it.

music: tea hodzic trio

17 mar 2011

tea hodic trio at turner sims concert hall 17 mar 2011

tea hodzic trio is based in london and performed today here in Southampton, at the turner sims concert hall. Tea is originally from the Balkans, this region in central europe very much marked with ethnic, religious, and political conflicts: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, plus the autonomous provinces within Serbia: Kosovo and Vojvodina. Tea left former Yugoslavia long ago to establish in london and her trio plays folk music from the balkans. it was very interesting to listen to this music and to observe the trio with a repertoire filled with songs that talked about beautiful girls. Oliver, the violen player who is originally Welsh, said there are no ugly in the balkans, as a joke or course. Luke, from london, plays the accordeon sooo beautifully. it had been very long since i last even saw an accordeon. i really loved to see tradition and history in every sound and tune.

Diana's mother is Serbian. she told her mom she was coming to the concert and her mom got so excited. diana bought mom a cd with the music from her heart. what a night! afterall it is always healing to be able to go back home, even if only in our souls.

film: wasteland

13 mar 2011

it is a pity this documentary about brazil will have on run only, this coming tuesday at harbour lights. wish i could come to see it.

film: brighton rock

10 feb 2011

Brighton Rock

Production year: 2010
Country: UK
Cert (UK): 15
Runtime: 111 mins
Directors: Rowan Joffe
Cast: Andrea Riseborough, Andy Serkis, Dame Helen Mirren, Helen Mirren, John Hurt, Phil Davis, Sam Riley

we saw 'Brighton rock' at harbour lights. the film has a fantastic photography and some remarkable interpretations, like Helen Mirren's. my ignorance on the plot has made me choose to watch it, i must say. i thought at first it was a film based on a true story / crime that happened in Brighton in the 60s and the subsequent investigation about it. it is actually about the violent battles between Mods and Rockers. i was pleased to watch it anyway. again, the excellent photography, the wardrobe and the collors, oh and the music were all worth the while, really. also, it felt nice to see the places i have been to in the big screen: the brighton pier, the pavilion, and all the others sets from the movie. not a must see, though.

film: another year

11 nov 2010

Director: Mike Leigh

Writer: Mike Leigh
Stars: Jim Broadbent, Ruth Sheen and Lesley Manville
Jim Broadbent ... Tom

Lesley Manville ... Mary
Ruth Sheen ... Gerri
Oliver Maltman ... Joe
Peter Wight ... Ken
David Bradley ... Ronnie
Imelda Staunton ... Janet
Release Date: 5 November 2010 (UK)
for more check out imdb website

today we saw this film at harbour lights written and directed by Mike Leigh, released just six days ago. at first i told Mike i loved the film and am quite impressed with the actress Lesley Manville for her excellent interpretation of Mary, this all screwed up woman. but now i think back and have to admit Mike Liegh exaggerated in the blissful life of the forever happy couple Tom (Jim Broadbent) and Gerri (Ruth Sheen) (unlike the animation characters). the film portrays this couple's house as a magnet for friends and family for both good and bad times. throughout the four seasons of the year they are there for everyone.

part of Leigh's style is that much of the film dialogues are improvised. he is talented and makes ordinary people with ordinary life living ordinary events look remarkable. moreover, i do love the photography and the pace of the film, which is really worth watching. i like it, but i question the forever blissful happiness of the aged couple. 

however, i am also - have to confess - disappointed to see how miserable he portrays Janet, the woman at the beginning of the film, who is so lost she can't even remember a happy moment in her life. Mary herself is so lost. she buys a car, which instead of leading her to new places brings her lots of problems and makes her get stuck and have get tickets and all sort of troublesome stuff possible. a bit too much? anyway, Manville's interpretation of Mary is outstanding. Ronnie (David Bradley), Tom's brother who becomes a widower comes into the picture towards the last part (last season) of the film. i like him very much. Ronnie does not pronounce many words, he only displays Bradley's talent to say much with his presence and pass along all the feelings of the character. 'Another year' was filmed in Derbyshire,UK.

film: 'kitaj'

30 may 2010

Kitaj

Last night I watched a documentary about the life of R. B. Kitaj . He was a Jewish painter who lived in the US and in Europe for many years. The documentary is mainly based on his own account of his life. It was very interesting to hear him telling about his ideas of turning a story from the thing he saw or stories people told him into a painting. He was an influential painter, born in 1932 in Cleveland, Ohio. He died in Los Angeles 2007. Kitaj pointed out that a painting should be used for both intellectual and sensual communication. lots of nudity in his paintings.

I watched it at home, by myself. It felt nice to be under the sheets in the cold night. It felt like being somewhere on a lazy holiday. Thanks a lot for lending me the film, Diana. I loved it.

film: 'bande a part'

30 may 2010

‘bande à part’

released as ‘band of outsiders’

Production year: 1964
Country: France
Runtime: 97 mins
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Writer: based on Dolores Hitchens’s novel “Fools’ Gold”, written by Godard
Cast: Anna Karina, Sami Frey, Claude Brasseur, Daniele Girard, Louisa Colpeyn
Music: Michel Legrand

Last night I watched the film ‘band à part’. As far as I can remember it was my first nouvelle vague film. I like it very much. It is about this girl (Odile), who meets two guys (Arthur and Franz) at their english class. Both guys become interested in Odile, and she is more interested in Arthur. They go the cafes, dance, and when Odile realizes it is too late and she is involved with the plan of robbing the money Mr. Stolz keeps at home, the home where Odile lives with her aunt Victoria. From there problems arise.

I love the film, the scenes in Paris, the black and white effects, the whole natural atmosphere. According to one of the people who worked in the production of the film, in an interview in the extras, Godard said he didn’t do films, he did cinema. i read i think on wikipedia that godard said 'bande a part' is an 'alice in wonderland' meeting Kafka. LOL. ironic and so true. perfect definition.

i watched the film alone, at home. nice and cozy in the cold night.
Thanks a lot for lending me the film, Diana.

film: 'a single man'

18 may 2010

A Single Man

Production year: 2009
Country: USA
Cert (UK): 12A
Runtime: 99 mins
Director: Tom Ford
Cast: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, Nicholas Hoult
 
i just got back home with mathilde. we went to watch 'a single man' at the susu on the highfield campus. price of the ticket: £2. the filme, set in 1962, tells of a day in the life of George (Colin Firth), an English professor who is filled with sadness because his partner, Jim (Matthew Goode) has suddenly died in a car accident. jim's family prohibits george of attending jim's  funeral. george is then lef to lead a lonely, sad, and empty life, despite the work as a teacher and a nice friendship with charley (Julianne Moore). george plans to go about his routine for the day in Los Angeles and to put an end to his life later on.
 
i loved the film, slow at times, beautiful photography and superb interpretations, specially Firth's and Moore's interpretations. i love old movies or movies set back in time, where there is not much of technology, only humans struggling with their lives and make ups. Julianne Moore is fantastic as a recently divorced alcooholic. i do recommend it. i love the in which charley is putting on make up to get beautiful for the night with her friend george. the scene shows she nearly finished with one eye, now with a heavy load of make up that makes her look ver different and upbeat, in contrast to the other side of hers. she looks at the mirror and says, as if her voice were coming from an outsider: 'very beautiful'. i might be wrong about the precise words she pronounces, but i think i am right, and this is the idea, anyway. she is half astonishingly beautiful and half the original, raw, charley.

when we left the cinema we met with yuki (my japanese friend) and hamish (my english brazilian friend), who by the way were together :-)
i chatted with hamish for a while and mathilde with a german friend of hers.  hamish is planning to move back to brazil as soon as he is finished with his phd here. he has dual nationality because he is born to a brazilian mother and a scottish father. he is cute and funny. it's always a good chat whenever we meet up.

they invited us to go to the stag's head, this pub right there on campus, but we said no because we are very (ir)responsible people who keep working. we talking standing outside susu, facing the pub, but still resisted temptation. am i growing up? i doubt it, but there is hope. mathilde, isabella (german girl), and i were then headed to the interchange to get the bus home. at the interchange i met with najima and we discussed our problems with our research. . . readings. . . first year presentation. these conversations are important.

for some reason everyone is on the same boat of being a little too slow, not so happy about production, and worried about deadlines. this defines me at present.

ole: juan martin flamenco dance ensemble

13 may 2010

acabei de chegar do turner sims. ainda tenho que arrumar mala pro final de semana em londres, mas nao aguento e vou falar aqui. as fotos ficam pra depois. so uma por enquanto. fui com diana, mathilde, agota, e simon.

apresentacao do 'juan martin flamenco dance ensemble'. musica flamenca sensacional.
tao intenso
tao lindo
tao dramatico
tao estranhamente leve

o juan martin toca o violao dele, tem um flautista muito legal e um cantor de tirar o folego. eu queria trazer ele pra mim. e tem mais um casal de dancarinos de flamenco. eh impressionante como eh tudo tao intenso e dramatico e no final nao fica nada pesado. a sintonia entre eles eh magica e eles jogam com as maos e os olhares tudo que viveram na musica. adorei.

musica com influencias judia, arabe, e flamenca. uma riqueza de culturas na musica deles. parece um lamento, uma dor profunda, um sentimento extravasado. o juan martin contou que foi cantar no aniversario de 90 anos do picasso. preparou um repertorio todo bem elaborado. quando chegou la disseram pra ele: 'simplesmente interprete as obras que estao na parade'. ele disse que o que saiu foi rock - jazz - flamenco. morremos de rir. muitos aplausos e vibracao da plateia, teatro lotado.

*suspiro*
toca de novo.

film - 'walk the line'

about yesterday, 1 may 2010

. . . from highfield diana and i walked to her place, on kitchener road. there we met with agota and chatted chatted chatted bla bla bla bla bla. about what? our course here, our home countries, our life here, men (oh!), traveling, films, friendships, you name it. of course, relaxed and great talk, as always. i went to sleep over, as i said before.

the next door neighbour came buy the window to say hello. he is from goa, india, brought up in dubai. very young and nice guy. we invited him over to watch the film with us. the film we watched was 'walk the line', from director James Mangold, based on the book 'johnny cash', about the singer's life. Joaquin Phoenix plays the role of johnny cash and Reese Witherspoon plays june carter. we all liked the movie very much. love, alcool, dreams accomplished, hearts broken, and a beautiful musical career, spiced up with a love story he lived with june carter. even the most tragic event, when on screen, is softened. it all becomes a little surreal. i can imagine the pain he went through many times in his life, though.

oh, we prepared veggie salad and a tomato and cheese salad. we also had stone baked bread and grapes to munch. superb! we went to bed at about 2 o'clock in the morning. a tv at home is a great programme, especially in these chilly nights.

movie "Sukkar banat" or "Caramel"

this is the view from my window, and my feet resting a bit :-)

19 Oct 2009

i should be at uni now doing more reading and writing my literature review. instead, i decided to stay home and watch this very nice lebanese movie called originally Sukkar banat and Caramel in English, about the life of five lebanese women living in beirut. 

i do love and recommend the movie. it is very interesting that through cinema we have the chance for a flavor of other cultures and their peculiar perspectives on life. 'caramel' tells of the life of these five lebanese women who have different personal needs and possibilities and how they struggle in life. it also points out the common things between them, the beauty parlor being the main stage for this. the beauty parlor - with its sweet 'caramel' - i reckon stands for femininity and the inner search for outside look of ok & acceptable & attractive appearance that gives everyone, we all included, the impression that the situation is pretty much under control. but this is not enough, of course, to guarantee that life is indeed under control for them. that is clearly stated throughout the movie, so beautifully expressed in the song that talks about their search for identity. the song that plays in the end was, according to karen, a lebanese girl who is my flatmate, especially composed for the movie. this musician is married to Nadine Labaki, the movie Director. She plays layale, the main character in the movie. caramel is a must see movie.

the soothing song goes a little little this:
'mirror on the wall
listen to my story
tell me who i am'

another point that has drawn my attention is the language. i had no idea the arabic they speak in lebanon would sound very soft and display an enormous french influence. it actually has some french words incorporated to its daily speaking. 'merci' for this extra piece of precious information about the lebanese culture, nadine.

from the movie:
Sukkar banat or Caramel
- Director: Nadine Labaki
- Writers: Rodney El Haddad (writer)
             Jihad Hojeily (writer)
- Awards:3 wins & 2 nominations more
- Cast (Credited cast)
Nadine Labaki ... Layale
Yasmine Elmasri ... Nisrine (as Yasmine Al Masri)
Joanna Moukarzel ... Rima
Gisèle Aouad ... Jamale
Adel Karam ... Youssef
Sihame Haddad ... Rose (as Siham Haddad)
Aziza Semaan ... Lili
Fatmeh Safa ... Siham
Dimitri Staneofski ... Charles
Fadia Stella ... Christine
Ismaïl Antar ... Bassam

cheers,
Kalina

movie and book: 'Le scaphandre et le papillon'

 Jean-Do dictating his book. .

                                                               photo from wikipedia

 Le scaphandre et le papillon or The diving bell and the butterfly

I saw this movie a few days ago. It is impressive how Jean Dominique Bauby (Jean-do) managed to write a book by only blinking his left eye after he had a cerebro-vascular accident. At the beginning of the movie he is waking up from a 3-week coma after the accident. we see the room in the hospital from his perspective, from what his eyes manage to see. It is sort of disturbing. Well, the doctors and therapists come by and talk to him about his problem and explain to him he has this 'locked-in syndrome' and thus will need help for anything he might need or want. There is a strong scene when the doctor stictches his right eye. Jean-do is bedridden but his brain works perfectly. From his perspective we see the doctor coming close to him and saying that he is going to stich his eye because it is dry, no longer good. stitch by stitch we see a wondow being closed.

He start different therapies: physical, and speech therapy. we hear his thoughts throughout the film. he says that after the accident he only has his memories and his imagination left to him. when this therapist comes to help him she teaches him to dictate to her what he wants to say, by blinking his left eye. amazing!!! everyone should watch this movie and, i believe, read the book.

i ordered the book and already got it in the mail. i'll read it as soon as i have some free time.

from the movie
Director: Julian Schnabel

- Writers (WGA):Ronald Harwood (screenplay)
                           Jean-Dominique Bauby (book)
- Awards: Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 40 wins & 33 nominations
- Cast (Cast overview, first billed only)

Mathieu Amalric ... Jean-Do
Emmanuelle Seigner ... Céline
Marie-Josée Croze ... Henriette Roi
Anne Consigny ... Claude
Patrick Chesnais ... Le Docteur Lepage

cheers,
Kalina