Film: The Sparrow

Well, back in Ireland again for the weekend - and oops! completely forgot to mention the film I went to see yesterday. Which was The Sparrow - I'd never heard of it, but it was the highest rated that I hadn't already seen, and could manage to get to. Having said that, the only suitable showing time was in Ennis, where I hadn't been in ages - so I took myself off there.

Wow, you can tell it's been a while - I was surprised to find the roads leading to the cinema all dug up for resurfacing, and the cinema itself has had a makeover, with a spanking new sign! As to the film I'd never heard of - well, I never need to book here, so I hadn't, always buying my ticket over the counter. And not even the guy who sold it to me had heard of it, patently - he had to ask me for the name again, and sounded most confused. And sure enough, I had the screen to myself.

So, it's one of those coming-of-age dramas - set in Baltimore, and filmed there and in Skibbereen, it seems. And it's never looked more beautiful - albeit overcast, appropriately for the theme. The film centres on a troubled teen, Kevin - never fits in, he misses his mother, who died in a car crash, along with the man she'd been having an affair with! which is how everyone found out about the affair. So our protagonist's father and older brother won't talk about her, and all her things are locked in the attic.

Kevin wears makeup, dresses in a hoodie. He's not "normal" - although he does ok in school, he's just not interested in what kids his age are into, and keeps himself to himself very much. He always lives in the shadow of his older brother, who's everything their father could want - sporty, outgoing, and thinking of joining the army. Kevin, on the other hand, seems to mess up everything he attempts - he can't seem to get anything right. As his frustration builds, something has to give..

Watching this, and as big a U2 fan as I am, I couldn't help but draw parallels with Bono, who experienced something similar when his mother died, when he was in his early teens, and he was stuck at home with his father and older brother, and might as well have been from another planet. It's a moody film, and mostly a silent one - these are not people who talk much. But facial expressions speak volumes, and the young actor, Ollie West, who plays Kevin, is compelling, as you imagine all that's going on in his head, but that he can't express. Really, a very interesting film - I'm glad I came across it, because if audience numbers don't pick up, I can't see it hanging around long..

Tomorrow, back in London, and back with TAC for another talk at The Conduit - this one is History for Tomorrow, about what we can learn from history, and is, as usual, also the occasion of a book launch. Now, here I'd normally go to Bella Italia again - but I've discovered it's actually closer to Seven Dials! So I'll probably do that - looking forward to that fried chicken again!

On Tuesday, back - first time in a while - with Over 40 Living the Life, for a dinner in the Greenwich Yacht Club. 

On Wednesday, in Greenwich again - I should nearly stay the night! This time, I'm back with London Literary Walks for The Greenwich Walk. We're meeting in The Spanish Galleon, and as usual, I've booked to eat there beforehand.

And on Thursday, film.. and what completely changed my mind about what I was going to was an email from UK Jewish Film - they're previewing The Commandant's Shadow, about the son of Rudolf Höss, the governor of Auschwitz, and his coming to terms with what his father had done. A documentary about the real-life characters depicted in The Zone of Interest, and a very interesting follow-up.. It's in the Phoenix, in East Finchley, and includes a Q+A (afterwards, I presume) where Vanessa Feltz speaks to the filmmakers. I'll be in the office that day, which is at least a bit closer than home to East Finchley..