When I woke up this morning I felt very weird. Weird that I didn’t need to go to work, weird wondering what I have done – quitting it, and well, my head is just still a bit confused about what is happening in my life at the moment. It will get better soon I’m sure.
A way to get me out of that kind of state of mind is the cinema, the cinema is my second home. Yes, you probably knew that already.
I went to the Renoir, which is a very nice art cinema in the Brunswick centre (near Russell Square tube station), and one of the very few cinemas in London showing
Not here to be loved. Now, French films can be a bit weird and all, but this is a true pearl. I think it’s safe to call it a rom-com, and Patrick Chesnais who plays the leading character must be the French equivalent of Bill Nighy’s Lawrence, lovable, shy, quirky and absolutely charming. I will write a longer review about this film later, as it is the review I am going to add to my application, but shortly: go see this film, it’s so lovely, it’s so sweet, it’s so well acted and it makes you feel completely in love, actually when you leave the cinema.
After the film I just wanted to sit down to write my review right away, but apart from a filled up Star Bucks, there wasn’t any cafe around. And suddenly realizing how badly I have neglected my The Cafe, I jumped on the Piccadilly line and went for it straight away. It was so good to be back. When I stepped in the owner told me that they recently had been wondering if I had survived my Trans Mongolian trip at all, as they hadn’t seen me since. This made me feel even worse, I can’t believe I hadn’t been there that long! I ordered my tea and soup and bread, sat down at Lawrence and Gina’s table, felt intensely relaxed and happy and inspired, and the review poured out of my head and onto the paper in no time. The 2 page outline of the story I am going to submit for the application got fine tuned as well. I feel a lot more confident about it now, but I still keep in mind that the rules will have to be bend to get in. I am not counting on getting in, just to not be disappointed.
I admit that the business in London sometimes drives me nuts, but walking around in the city on a Monday is nice. After that lovely visit to The Cafe, I promised my self not to wait that long with the next visit again, I wandered to the TKTS booth on Leicester Square to see if there were any interesting plays on sale for half price. Not traveling away in my week off doesn’t mean I can’t spoil myself a bit in my holiday week anyway. I bought a ticket for A Matter of Life and Death which I am going to see at 7.30pm in the National Theatre, about an hour from now.
One of the tag lines is:
Here in this tear, are love and truth and friendship, those qualities alone can build a new world today and must build a better one tomorrow.
That’s enough to get me interested. Life is good, and I feel so much better already.
That play’s based on the old David Niven film, isn’t it?
I really must try to visit the cafe soon. I feel a trip to town coming on.
Yes it’s based on the film, very losely I hope. I liked the message in the play, but I sometimes get tired of plays that try to be highly intellectual. I only got interested in the last 10 minutes of it, but then, I am not a true fan of modern, too experimental theatre.
Yes visit the Cafe, it’s a nice place. But remember it’s not fancy or anything, it’s just a cool place with very nice waiters, and the style is so cool. Feels like time has stand still for a long time there.
The movie sounds good – I am glad to see that you are treating yourself to things that you enjoy while on holiday. I wonder what tomorrow will bring!
If you happen to like salsa, funk, jazz and hip-hop mixed together in catchy rhythms and energetic sounds, I can recommend Ozomatli to lift your spirits. They are playing July 7-8-9 at the Jazz Cafe in Camden Town, London. And they are definitely a must-see, no, a must-hear, no, a must-experience!
@Kate – catch that movie if you can, it’s lovely!! (Do you speak French by the way?)
@Marieke – thanks for the tip, I might check them out. However they are playing in the weekend where the Tour de France is visiting London, so I might be doing other things. :)
And – my spirits don’t need to lifted, I am not depressed or anything. I try to keep up with life which seems to be far ahead of me at the moment! My ultimate always working spirit lifter is a picture on my wall of this man with those funky specs taken in NY. Works every time I look at it.
Hey Ingrid, I’ve been meaning to ask you for some time now: have you gotten used to watching the films in England without subtitles? I mean, I hate Danish subtitles when I’m watching a DVD (bad translations) so I always put on the English and now I can’t watch a film without them!
@Anna: yes I have :-) My ears had to get used to listening more carefully when I just got to London, but now they run on automatic and I love it. When I watched the French film yesterday it had English subtitles and that made me realize how nice it is not to have them on most films here in the UK, as your eyes need to read the lines all the time, which makes it less easy to concentrate 100% on the people in the film!