The Girl in The Cafe – travelling

The Girl In The Cafe What can I say, Bart doesn’t like Bill Nighy. Ouch.
I am not entirely sure that he likes the film either, but read his review yourself.

In the mean time, one Girl is trying to catch some sunlight in Spain before flying to Holland, and the other one is in the States and will stay there for a while. Here is a list of people participating and if you want to be added to this list : read more here and join in.
There are 3 simple rules : Watch the film, Write a review on your weblog, Send the DVD to the next person. Easy does it.
Everyone is welcome.

Love can?t change
what?s wrong in the world.
But it?s a start.

makepovertyhistory.org

The Girl in the Cafe review by Bart.

Picture this:

It?s Sunday morning 6.40 am and you?re behind your computer. Not because you?re a cyber junkie, but because you know your almost-2-year-old daughter is waking up any minute and your biorhythm tells you to get out. At that moment you remember that a friend has been so kind to let you participate in this great initiative and that every night before going to sleep you have been thinking about what to write in the review. The Saturday night before you have been reading one of the magazines piled next to your bed. One article was titled: ?18 Strategies to Simplify Your Life?. It was all about how busy we seem to be these days and how you could solve that. It appeals to you as you live a full life.

It?s a striking difference with the movie The Girl in the Caf?. Because the one word that has been going through my mind when thinking about this film is: empty.

Picture this:

A middle aged guy named Lawrence working for the government is a workaholic but has a very, very empty life otherwise. He?s quirky in the way he moves and talks, is not what I would think an attractive man (sorry Ingrid!) and he seems extremely shy. Somehow he has the nerve to sit opposite a stranger in a cafe to drink his tea. Her name is Gina and she is the same shy, introverted type but she?s beautiful (as another woman in the film puts it) and she has this adorable Scottish accent. That?s a killer combination for many men (including myself) so I can understand why Lawrence has the guts to ask her out for a lunch date. And so a love story gradually develops.

But there?s obviously more to this story. The other main theme is about making poverty history. Lawrence has to attend the G8-conference in Reykjavik and brings Gina along. She ends up having more influence on Lawrence and the G8-conference than she realizes, and I won?t tell more or otherwise I?d blew the plot, if I haven?t already.

After the first time I saw this movie I was a bit disappointed. I thought the characters of the two leading roles should have been explored more. I also found it a bit unlikely that Lawrence would invite an almost stranger to the G8 and that she would accept, only after a few dates, or even had any interest in this guy. For me the story wasn?t complete. I would have liked to see more. I was left with a feeling of ? emptiness. Maybe I just didn?t want this movie to end. I wanted to learn more about these people, I wanted to see more of the great shots (great camera work) and as a sucker for romance I wanted more of that too.

So what to do? Watch the movie again and discover new aspects and the finesse of this flick! If you haven?t seen it, go do it. Sign up for this great project!

Thanks Ingrid for sharing this with us.

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