Film: Intercepted

Tonight, I booked - because it was also selling out, and finally did - for Intercepted, an interesting-sounding documentary, showing at Curzon Bloomsbury only, as far as I know, about phone calls home from Russian soldiers in the Ukraine, and intercepted by Ukrainian security forces. I was in the office today, and could walk from there - mind you, with all the work I had to do (that team's work always turns out to be more than anticipated!), I left a little later than I'd have liked. Cue a slog across town with that heavy laptop bag.. 

Anyway, I arrived while the ads were still on, and mercifully, so were the lights. Manoeuvred my way in, right to the end of the row - as I say, it was sold out, so I couldn't just take the most convenient empty seat - and lo, as I was halfway along the row, the lights went out. Anyway, being by the wall is handy with lots of baggage - I just dumped it there, with the extra floor space proving handy. And then set to eating my chocolate, and drinking my wine, as inconspicuously as possible - I'm sure the guy in front of me looked in my way irritatedly at one point, probably because I was chewing too loudly.. as to his companion, he was one of those people with an annoyingly large head: and with this film being in subtitles, I kept having to shift around to see past him on one side or the other.

Meantime, a whole stream of people arrived late - at least I wasn't the last! And as to annoying noises, it was interesting when it seemed as though someone's phone had gone off. Guy in front of me looked, I looked.. and wouldn't you know it, it turned out to be on screen! Surround sound is very effective..

Interesting footage is played over the narrative of these phone calls - we get the POV from something that looks like a tank, we get plenty of shots of the interiors of flats and houses: some deserted, some not: some in better repair than others. Some poignant interior shots depict homes left in a hurry, food discarded on the table. We see some folks going about their regular business, some hiding in a bunker, some ruined buildings - no context is given for what we're seeing.

Except the backdrop of the phone calls. Generally, it's men on the front talking to women they've left behind - wives, sweethearts, mothers. I have to say, that's quite depressing - the sheer nonsense they come out with, using insulting terms for the Ukrainians, calling them fascists, and the general belief that they're there for the Ukrainians' protection. Contrast that with the folks saying they shoot civilians on sight - and indeed, their relatives praising them for it, saying you can't trust them! One guy is describing how he's really gotten into torture, explaining to the girl he's speaking to how this particular torture method works - and her supporting him, saying how she'd react exactly the same..

Of course, they're not really to be blamed - not only are they apparently being spoonfed propaganda, but they do need some belief to cling to, to explain why their loved ones have to fight. There are a few dissenting voices, people who are jaded, don't trust the government, or its promises - and one man who's talking about a little boy, perhaps his son, we aren't told: but he's trying to persuade the woman who, I presume, is the little boy's mother, to do all in her power, and indeed to get her relatives to do the same, to prevent that little boy ever joining the army.

It's interesting - but ultimately depressing. What else could I have expected, I suppose? I did find it interesting to get a peek into people's lives, though - and as the guy beside me (who didn't want to leave until he absolutely had to, so I couldn't really either) remarked, wasn't it interesting how the soldiers on the phone were describing the great clothes and furnishings of the Ukrainians? (and of course looted them), especially when we hardly saw anything remarkable. But as I said, be it Russia or the Ukraine, there are poor and rich in both societies..

And so to GBK, and another tasty meal. I tell you what, though, I was glad to get that blasted laptop bag home..

Tomorrow, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. Where, sorry to say, I don't think there's a single cinema option for me. On Monday though, and back in London, I'm thinking of film again - and what's coming up is To a Land Unknown, a drama about emigration, which I meant to see previously but never got around to. Showing in the Garden Cinema.

On Tuesday, I'm headed - for the first time in years - to join Kensington Classical Music Meetup at a concert called Nordic Journey, at the Leighton House Museum - tickets only available by contacting the organiser directly, as advertised on the Meetup event page. 

On Wednesday, we have another work social! Back to Fairgame, which was such a hit last time - and I see this one is sold out.

And next Thursday - I'm accompanying my sometime Meetup companion.. to Switzerland! She's a big fan of Jakub Józef Orlinski, who's appearing in Agrippina at the Zurich Opera House on the 9th - and as she's never been to Switzerland before, and I'm dying to see it again, we're taking a few days there. We're flying Swissair from London City, conveniently (well, she's coming back on Easyjet), which I booked with Booking.com - and we're staying in the Aldstadt Hotel, booked through Vio. Ooh, the sheer luxury of having the means to travel in Switzerland without having to stay in a hostel!

We'll do a bit of sightseeing too, of course - but the only thing we've actually booked is a tour, with Viator, to Interlaken and Grindelwald, on the 8th. Because I can't imagine going to Switzerland without seeing them again..

We fly back to London on the 10th. Of course, this is dependant on my boss approving my holiday request.. which I only just finally got around to putting in..! Three days (Thursday, Friday, Monday) - he surely couldn't object! Didn't say anything about it today - I'm taking it that no news is good news..