Films: The Seed of the Sacred Fig & Bring Them Down

Yesterday, the last of a run of Meetups, was also the start of a run of four days of film.. First, Movie Roadhouse London (MRL) was off to The Seed of the Sacred Fig, a thriller, shot in secret in Iran, the footage smuggled out. I do love Iranian film, and this looked fantastic..

I set out in good time (after a lovely, long lie-in) and was making excellent progress - until our bus had to stop "for a change of drivers". "We apologise for any inconvenience to your journey." The driver said we'd be a few minutes - when somebody asked how long, he didn't know - he was waiting for his replacement. It turned out to be so long, he advised us all to hop on the bus that had just pulled up behind! On the bus behind, guess what - we had to wait "for a change of drivers" again!! Several people complained to the driver that he should have told us when we got on.. some people gave up at that point and set off to make their way by some other means. Me, I hung on - I wasn't late yet - and mercifully, this replacement driver did actually show up!

So I arrived in time to eat before meeting the group - with a double-bill of films ahead of me, I needed to eat beforehand. It'd been a while since I had a Chinese - so I headed for New Loon Fung. It was packed - I'd completely forgotten it's Chinese New Year!

They squeezed me in at the side. In fact, when a group of six arrived, they squeezed them in somewhere too - they're really reluctant to turn people away! which is handy. I did consider the entire menu - but ended up with my tried and true favourites, which were gorgeous. Definitely one of the better places to eat in Chinatown. Service was quick, and I was finished nice and fast - a small problem arose when I noticed they'd charged me for three, instead of two, glasses of wine - now, I know they're not large glasses, but neither had I been there long enough to go through that much! They had no problem amending it, though.. However, I suddenly remember I didn't get a fortune cookie! Hmph - perhaps they'd run out.

Anyway, just a hop, skip and jump to the cinema, where I was ensconced in the bar by the time the organiser made it, slightly late. Mind you, I hadn't noticed where they were keeping the chocolate - made sure to grab a tub when I did! And as the others arrived, we had a good old chat before we went in.

A damned interesting poster for a damned interesting film. I was just checking the Oscar nominations, and I see it's up for Best International Film - under Germany though, where it was edited and finished, rather than Iran, where it was set and filmed. I mean, apart from anything else, I can see why the Iranian government doesn't want this to be associated with the country.. indeed, after the film's success at Cannes, the cast have been barred from leaving Iran. The director fled, under threat of imprisonment and flogging..

Simply, it's the story of a happy family man, married with two teenage daughters, who is promoted to be an "investigator" in the midst of the real-life riots - from which a lot of footage is shown in the film. So, he's kept busy chasing revolutionaries. As part of his new position, he's given a pistol, which he keeps in a drawer at home. Meantime, his family are skirting the edges of the riots - one of his daughters has a college friend who's involved, and is actually shot, then disappears into police custody - but this is all kept secret from him, and it isn't until his gun goes missing, and he knows one of the family must have taken it, that things get serious..

He's a lovely fellow - until he isn't. But then, he's under a tremendous amount of pressure - his boss urges him not to report it straight away, lends him his spare. Because when their superiors find out, it'll mean the loss of his job, prison, and utter disgrace. It's interesting how his wife, who's been loving and caring all through the film, remarks to her daughters at the end that this is why she tried to hide his true colours from them. 

On one level, it's a focus on the riots, and an effort to publicise them - on another, it's a wider commentary on the status of women in Iran: and the last shot of the film is an iconic one, perhaps meant to suggest the collapse of the patriarchy? The most overtly political film I've seen from Iran. On an entertainment note, it is a wonderfully tense thriller, with one of the best games of hide n seek I've seen, at the end. Highly recommended.

Later in the evening, MRL's sister group, The Hideout, saw Bring Them Down, a thriller of a different sort, involving bad blood in a rural Irish farming community. Starring Barry Keoghan (originally supposed to be Paul Mescal, I believe) and Colm Meaney, it promised to descend into Peckinpah-esque violence at the end.. topical, considering the number of rural Irish disagreements that have come to a violent conclusion in recent years! Anyway, both showing in the Curzon Soho.. so I said, why not? Years since I was there. So I grabbed another glass of wine - and some water, I was thirsty - and we chatted briefly about the first film, and the next, before rushing back. To the exact same screen, and certainly for me, the same row.

This screening was less crowded. And the film not as stunningly good, although it was interesting, and as our organiser remarked afterwards, "gritty". Set in the wilds of Mayo, it was actually filmed in Wicklow - probably for logistical reasons; it's closer to Dublin, and the roads are better..

Well, in these wilds, the people are hamstrung by limited opportunities. Not only Barry Keoghan, playing a youngster again here, but also his dad dream of faraway lands. And his mother - having rejected one no-hoper only to marry another - can't be blamed for her decisions, in this constricted, if beautiful landscape; when we meet her, she's just been accepted for a job in Cork, which offers a fresh start.

Funnily enough, it's the animals that suffer the most in this film - not for real, I presume. First there's sheep rustling - not a spoiler, I think it's in the trailer, and doesn't form the bulk of the plot anyway; then there's something altogether more sinister. The unfortunate human victims of these shenanigans are a family consisting of the crotchety old Colm Meaney, bad knees rendering him practically unable to walk unaided these days, and his son, of whom you could say, if he didn't have bad luck, he'd have no luck at all!

To watch, it's rather heavy going - "gritty", as the man said. Good performances though, even if we do end up frustrated at the characters' actions. The showing of the same events from two different points of view certainly achieves its purpose of changing the audience's perspective - but ultimately, the film kind of fizzles out, being the eternal story of a man who cannot get anything right. All I can say is, I'm glad I'm not related to them! Anyway, good to see everyone - again, I was to tired to blog last night.

Shortly, I'm seeing a film under my own steam - A World Not Ours is a documentary that promises a different take on the Ein El-Hilweh refugee camp in Southern Lebanon. Showing in another Curzon - Curzon Bloomsbury, this time. I must be off, imminently - just managed to squeeze this in!

The next two days, back with MRL! in Picturehouse Central, this time. Tomorrow - well, they're seeing The Last Showgirl, starring Pamela Anderson as an ageing showgirl whose long-running Vegas show is about to close. I just couldn't resist, the shots of the Strip in the trailer made me so nostalgic!

And on Tuesday, they're seeing September 5 - a tense thriller about the terrorist attack on the Munich Olympics. The trailer looks terrific - really tense - and it apparently includes some original footage.

On Wednesday, a break from Meetup and from films - I'm back with Storytelling at Torriano Avenue! This one is "Queens of Albion"..

On Thursday - yes, back to film, this time on my own again - I'm thinking of Certified Copy, a nice pre-Valentine's Day romance, with Juliette Binoche showing an English author around Tuscany. Showing in the Prince Charles, one day only - and I'm planning to eat in my fave Bella Italia (Cranbourn Street) afterwards. I see French Film Fanatics are seeing it too, but they're meeting for a drink afterwards, and I want my dinner! Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.

And on the 17th, back with CT for a jazz & tap night at Piano Smithfield..