All posts by Sherry

Not today

Journal

Monday, February 17, 2020

Now that the film festival is over I fully intended to get back to normal – as in doing something productive. So far that hasn’t exactly happened.

I enjoyed the film festival but it was a relief when it was over and I could stay at home all day Sunday. I did the minimum of work all week – for myself, the Guild and the Hall. I guess I was “into” relaxing because I spent most of the day sitting in my chair and crocheting (my chair is much more comfortable than the theatre seats).

My intention was to head out to the Hall first thing this morning, catch up on what needed to be done (for everyone) and then get projects ready for the sewing bee tomorrow. Pat called just as I was getting out of the shower; he was on Texada over the weekend and decided to take the morning ferry across rather than the afternoon ferry. I didn’t think I had time to get myself ready and get to the Hall before meeting him so my start was delayed. Pat will go back tonight after his meeting so he did a walk-on across.

I managed a bit of work before lunch. While I had my lunch we decided to go downstairs and watch a TV show – well we watched several before it was time for him to head out.

I’ll be struggling, but I hope to get my projects for tomorrow packed up before Pat is back home and looking for a ride to the ferry.

Film Festival 2020 – Final

Movies

The Men's Room


A group of Norwegian men get together weekly to sing, but they are mainly there for the friendship and the drinking. We follow the group as they prepare to open for Black Sabbath at a rock festival. The film is very funny and I had to keep reminding myself that it was a documentary and not a work of fiction.

The men have agreed they will sing at each other's funerals but they are unprepared when the first loss it their conductor who dies just a few days before their big performance.

Powell River's men's choir sang before the movie. Their conductor invited men in the audience to join them on Monday evenings "where there is no audition required and they only take your pulse once".




I expected this one to be sad, and it was. And the saddest thing is that this scenario takes place all over Canada and it is not restricted First Nations people.
Rosie is a young, pregnant woman who has fled an abusive encounter with her partner.Áila finds Rosie barefoot and crying on the street and takes her home and attempts to get her help.



Alan, played wonderfully by Bill Nighy, has lost a son; he walked out in the middle of a Scrabble game and hasn't been heard from since. Alan has another son, Peter, but the two have a less than ideal relationship. Since losing his son, Alan spends most of his time playing online Scrabble, where he hopes to find that his missing son is also playing. The Sometimes Always Never refers to what you should do with the buttons on a 3-button suit jacket.

A Kiss from Maddalena

Books

Author: Christopher Castellani

I found an interesting (cheap) e-book on one of my book lists. When I looked it up on Goodreads it was the second book in a series of three. I bought the e-book and ordered the first in the series from the Penticton library. I’m glad I did, and I’ve place an order for the third book.

The story starts in a very small village in Italy during the 2nd World War. The villagers are just getting used to the idea of the war when it is announced that the Allies are taking over the country and Mussolini’s rule has ended.

Maddalena is the youngest of several children and, by everyone’s account, the most beautiful. A poor boy has fallen in love with Maddalena but he has been scorned by her family. As Maddalena’s family retreats to the country until the end of the war, Vito somehow manages to survive by staying in the village.

At the end of the war Maddalena and her family return to the village. But can she persuade her family that Vito is worthy of her?

Goodreads Rating: * * * *

Film Festival 2020 – Part 4

Movies



After seeing the racism displayed in Les Miserables, this film reveals the depth of racism in Canada. This movie brought me to tears and I didn't sleep well after the screening.

The shooting of Colten Boushie by Gerald Stanley is at the root of the film. The story is told mainly by members of the surviving family. The racism experienced by the family immediately after the shooting, through the bail hearing and the trial was devastating, and it was unforgivable in the way the evidence was collect (or not collected and preserved). I remember the many Canadians who were shocked at the Not Guilty verdict, as well as the "Justice for Colten" protests.

The family have gone on to fight for equality in the legal system - as one First Nation's leader said, "You can't call it a justice system".



The movie was shot in the same location as Victor Hugo set his novel of the same name. Corrupt and racist cops keep peace in the neighbourhood whose residents are mainly immigrants. One day one of the cops takes things too far and injures a young boy. In an attempt to maintain peace and keep their reputation and jobs, the cops associate with a couple of groups but to no avail. The youth of the area rebel and chaos erupts.

I loved this Hugo quote at the end of the movie: "Remember this, my friends: there are no such things as bad plants or bad men. There are only bad cultivators."



I'm pretty sure this one will make it into my top three or four films. Claire is a 50-something woman who is a single mother to two sons. Although she has a fulfilling career she is lonely and her lover doesn't pay as much attention to her as she would like. In order to keep tabs on him she creates an online profile (Clara) and targets her lover's roommate, the much younger Alex. As things become more serious between Alex and Clara, Claire must decide how she will handle her deceit.



I thought the film was repetitive; the movie follows a family in Mexico as they struggle to make a living driving a private ambulance. Apparently, in Mexico, there are only 45 government-sanctioned ambulances for 9 million people. The private ambulance services struggle to reach accident scenes before any other ambulances do, they have to pay bribes to the police, but they are paid well when they take their passengers to privately-run hospitals. Long story short - don't have a medical emergency in Mexico!