#57 Have a cheap-as-chips movie day - all movies, all day(also counts for #66 Attend some festival events - arts, literature, movies etc. and #76 Attend films I want to see - by myself if necessary)
Done and done. Four movies in one day. I thought they started at 11am and that I'd missed the start because of the traffic. Then it turns out they started at 11:30am so all was good.
First two films were at Sky City village theatre. Nice, comfy seats and places to put your drink. Next one was at the Civic. Luckily it was a short one becaus those seats weren't very comfortable. Plus I got an itch and fidgeted all the way through the film. The last one was at the SkyCity Theater. Comfy seats but nowhere to put a drink except on the floor. And they had the sound too loud. I kept wanting to put my hands over my ears!
"A world of shorts" - Short films from around the world. Top one - "Family Reunion"About a girl from Iceland who has moved to New York. She has a girlfriend there who her family doesn't know about. Then she goes back to Iceland for a family party where she thinks her secret has been discovered. Excellent twist at the end. Some other thought provoking films in the lot too.
"The great happiness space" - Japanese host clubs where men encourage women to come and party (i.e. get drunk and shout a lot. Oh, and moon over their host.) Very interesting. I thought the host men were a bit like geisha in that they provide support and emotional comfort to the woman who go there. It was quite sad in that host clubs were quite expensive, so to support their 'habit' the women they interviewed had moved into sex trades to get the money. Therefore it was a bit of a revolving circle of sorrow and money and sex and desperate attempts to feel something and manipulation and lies and deceit.
"Manufactured landscapes" - This wasn't what I was expecting so I didn't really get into it until after the film. It was about a photographer who interprets man-made landscapes. During the course of his career he has come across many interesting created landscapes which show the influence that manufacturing has had on the environment and on people's lives. Some of his phtotos were amazing - great, enormous caverns that were quarries, making huge dumptrucks look tiny. Large factories in China where there are over 50 rows of workers (a shot of the factory opened the film. I didn't count but it must have gone on for several minutes, just dolly-ing down the side.) He had a few pictures that showed the end-life of some things we use - ships that are taken apart by hand and computer components that were melted down and all useable metal salvaged. He didn't really come out and say "You idiots! Look what your desire for stuff has done to these people and this country and it will be only a matter of time before this impacts on your lives!" but you could tell that he had thought about the consequences of his actions and what he does etc. I think it would be a good companion piece to "An Inconvenient truth" (which I have not seen) and "The Planet" (which I will see next week.)
"Helvetica" - about the font. Wonderfully done. The font is treated like a person with its history delved into and opinions on it from a number of graphic artists. They are all interesting people if slightly manic. I love the way they describe how the font makes them feel, what it reminds them of and why (or why not) they use it. The most surprising thing to me was how many people were NOT graphic artists (all the articles I've read seem surprised by the opposite.) The director was there and told a great story - apparently he is now tired of Helvetica and sees it everywhere. On Sunday he went out to Piha and climbed Lion Rock. What should he see but Helvetica on the sign. Priceless :) However, his doco was not priceless. All financed by Mr Visa so if you get a chance go see it, buy the DVD and download the music. (All available later this year.)
#87 A-Z reading challenge - titles
"On a hoof and a prayer : around Argentina at a gallop" by Polly Evans.
About a woman who rides around Argentina on a horse.
What did I think?
It was interesting to compare this book with the Llama book. Both women travelling alone. Polly has also written a great book about cycling through Spain. Their attitude was certainly different - Polly being a bit more concerned about appearances and comfort and eating well. This one was okay. Read the book that's "Not about the Tapas" rather than this one for a better travel story. Bussing somewhere and then jumping on a horse was interesting but not as gritty as the cycle story.
*song title/chorus
