Sunday, August 30, 2009

rumba


Alan+Moira+I went to the Watershed this afternoon to see this film. The blurb described it as “Jacques Tati meets Mr Bean”. I really don’t like Mr Bean, so I didn’t have high hopes. It’s a “largely silent slapstick tale of thwarted love and visual comedy” featuring two teachers who also share a passion for Latin dance. Although it DID include sections that simply made me cringe, it also provided some wonderful moments of physical theatre at its best – especially the dance sequences and the main actors (Fiona Gordon+Dominique Abel) are simply fascinating to watch.
Definitely worth seeing just for the dancing (I can't believe I've just written that!).
PS: Bought a DVD in Fopp yesterday (as you do) – “Monday Morning” (2002) directed by Otar Iosseliani. It’s about a guy who he can’t take the monotonous routine of another Monday morning (the commute from his home village, his uninspiring job, demanding family etc) and decides to travel to Venice (that’s the bit that attracted me!!). Charming and funny – I found myself smiling a lot of the time at the absurdity of some of the situations. One review described it thus: “the whole film seems like one long, complex build-up to a punchline that never comes”. But, I have to say, I found it very engaging.

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