Been there, seen that
March ... in like a lion, out like a lamb. My month started with No Country for Old Men the Coen brothers' adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel and winner of the 2008 Oscar for best film, best direction and best supporting actor (Javier Bardem). This...
March ... in like a lion, out like a lamb. My month started with No Country for Old Men the Coen brothers' adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel and winner of the 2008 Oscar for best film, best direction and best supporting actor (Javier Bardem). This is a no-holds-barred, edge-of-your-seat thriller that grips from beginning to end and
Mr Bardem's performance as Anton Chigurh is as menacing as it gets. Bloody but not gruesomely so.
Staying with the movies... Anyone who knows me at all knows that I am no Francophile ... I will drink their wine and love their women but all else leaves me sang-froid.
So it surprised even me the quality of La Vie en Rose, Olivier Dahan's wonderful Edith Piaf biopic.
Quite apart from Marion Cotillard's Oscar-winning performance this is top quality cinema and it was all I could do to stop myself from getting up at the end and singing the Marseillaise myself... so there indeed is a recommendation. A must-see.
Staying with Sang Froid, the exhibition at St James I Have Not Seen a Butterfly Around Here on loan from the Zidovske Museum in Prague was as wonderful as it was macabre. This is a selection of facsimiles of some of the many paintings and drawings done by the children of Terezin (or Theresienstadt) a Czech fortress town used as a model settlement for Jews during the World War II. These works, saved by artist Friedl Dicker-Brandeis, herself sent to Auschwitz in autumn 1944, are both haunting and in some cases hopeful. The names, dates of birth and dates of death of these young artists made the works all the more real and all the more tragic.
In an effort to lighten the emotional load, my next outing was to Michael Frayn's comedy Alarms and Excursions. It was produced by Masquerade, directed by Simone Ellul and performed at the Manoel. A series of " related " sketches based on the pitfalls of modern technology", this did not generate the belly-laughs it promised though Toasters did have me guffawing a tad and Doubles was well done and well timed. Of the four protagonists, Malcolm Galea, Paul Cilia, Angele Galea and Abigail Williams, Ms Galea impressed the most though Paul Cilia's Dietrich in Immobiles hit a nerve. In the real world I teach English to German business people.
Last month's Must See in Showtime was Sketches From Home and must-see it turned out to be. The trio of Guo Yue on Chinese flutes, Renzo Spiteri on percussion and Englishman Ben Murray on keyboards and accordion gave a truly mesmeric performance.
The skills of all three blended into something quite unique. I could have had another hour of them and I wasn't alone. Next time Showtime recommends... pay attention.
Out with a lamb... or lambs in fact. Verve 2008, the showcase for The Dance Workshop, was part school performance, part adult dance theatre. The first part was based on the Maltese legend L-Għarusa tal-Mosta and gave the kids their chance to shine... and shine they did. Choreography was good and the timing of these young dancers was perfect. A bit long, but then everyone had to get his or her chance.
Part two... A Night at the Opera was seven sets and all worked well though I felt A Time to Dance fell a little flat. My own favourites were Inside the Voice and Callas Has No Rivals and if I had to pick out two dancers who stood out it would be Christina Aquilina and Karl Cini. Mr Cini was seldom off the stage and remained graceful, lithe and strong throughout. I know Mr Cini from his stage work but this was my first experience of him as a dancer and I was impressed. Well done to all and a very pleasant evening. Roll on Verve 2009.
Mr Bardem's performance as Anton Chigurh is as menacing as it gets. Bloody but not gruesomely so.
Staying with the movies... Anyone who knows me at all knows that I am no Francophile ... I will drink their wine and love their women but all else leaves me sang-froid.
So it surprised even me the quality of La Vie en Rose, Olivier Dahan's wonderful Edith Piaf biopic.
Quite apart from Marion Cotillard's Oscar-winning performance this is top quality cinema and it was all I could do to stop myself from getting up at the end and singing the Marseillaise myself... so there indeed is a recommendation. A must-see.
Staying with Sang Froid, the exhibition at St James I Have Not Seen a Butterfly Around Here on loan from the Zidovske Museum in Prague was as wonderful as it was macabre. This is a selection of facsimiles of some of the many paintings and drawings done by the children of Terezin (or Theresienstadt) a Czech fortress town used as a model settlement for Jews during the World War II. These works, saved by artist Friedl Dicker-Brandeis, herself sent to Auschwitz in autumn 1944, are both haunting and in some cases hopeful. The names, dates of birth and dates of death of these young artists made the works all the more real and all the more tragic.
In an effort to lighten the emotional load, my next outing was to Michael Frayn's comedy Alarms and Excursions. It was produced by Masquerade, directed by Simone Ellul and performed at the Manoel. A series of " related " sketches based on the pitfalls of modern technology", this did not generate the belly-laughs it promised though Toasters did have me guffawing a tad and Doubles was well done and well timed. Of the four protagonists, Malcolm Galea, Paul Cilia, Angele Galea and Abigail Williams, Ms Galea impressed the most though Paul Cilia's Dietrich in Immobiles hit a nerve. In the real world I teach English to German business people.
Last month's Must See in Showtime was Sketches From Home and must-see it turned out to be. The trio of Guo Yue on Chinese flutes, Renzo Spiteri on percussion and Englishman Ben Murray on keyboards and accordion gave a truly mesmeric performance.
The skills of all three blended into something quite unique. I could have had another hour of them and I wasn't alone. Next time Showtime recommends... pay attention.
Out with a lamb... or lambs in fact. Verve 2008, the showcase for The Dance Workshop, was part school performance, part adult dance theatre. The first part was based on the Maltese legend L-Għarusa tal-Mosta and gave the kids their chance to shine... and shine they did. Choreography was good and the timing of these young dancers was perfect. A bit long, but then everyone had to get his or her chance.
Part two... A Night at the Opera was seven sets and all worked well though I felt A Time to Dance fell a little flat. My own favourites were Inside the Voice and Callas Has No Rivals and if I had to pick out two dancers who stood out it would be Christina Aquilina and Karl Cini. Mr Cini was seldom off the stage and remained graceful, lithe and strong throughout. I know Mr Cini from his stage work but this was my first experience of him as a dancer and I was impressed. Well done to all and a very pleasant evening. Roll on Verve 2009.