Book Launch: The Devil in the 19th Century & Film: Dead to Rights

Last night - couldn't find anything really appealing in person, but Watkin's, which I hadn't been at an event with in years, had a free online discussion about The Devil in the 19th Century, the book discussing a publication that was a hoax, designed to convince the Catholic Church that there was a secret society of Satanists. Now, I was supposed to be in the office - but with the strike, we were let work from home for the week. So that was handy. Hell, the night before, I felt the benefits of a late start, with not having to go to bed as early!

Signed off my work computer, and booted up my personal one, about five minutes before start time - which was just as well, as it turned out I needed to install Zoom! Which took forever.. so even at that, I was late: but just for the introduction. The speaker, Aurélie Dekoninck, was remote - somewhere - and we saw her on screen after the intro.

Ah my, what a tale of derring-do was spun by the author of the original book - which she has now translated. It tells tales of its author sailing the seas of the Orient, and coming across strange practices.. human sacrifice, and a worldwide society determined to initiate the birth of the Antichrist and the fall of the papacy. As she says, it reads like a penny-dreadful, full of exotic locations and dangerous characters.. and it ran for five years, serialised! Full details were given of the rules and rituals of this secret society, which the author infiltrated..

The Church lapped it up - the Pope was always suspicious of the Freemasons anyway, and lo, they, or their symbolism, were always in the background of the lurid illustrations (such as above). It became an international hit - so imagine the interest when a meeting was called, in the Royal Geographical Society, around the time the story finished, so that the author could publicly give insights into his stories. But - imagine their shock when, instead of the brave Dr. Bataille (Dr. Battle), the author, the person who stepped onto the podium was Léo Taxil, excommunicated, and well-known for the publication of blasphemous materials mocking the Church in general, and the Pope in particular! The whole thing was an elaborate hoax, designed to make a mockery of the Church and its adherents, as they lapped it all up..!

I'm surprised he got out alive. Indeed, as she went into his life story, it wasn't a huge surprise that he was so vehemently against the Church.. his ultra-strict father actually had him thrown into prison - which could be done in France in those days; the government allowed for "paternal chastisement", whereby a father could condemn his son to prison, without cause, for six months - which could be renewed on a rolling basis. So the poor lad languished in solitary confinement, apparently for saying something against the Church. He was later to meet his partner in prison.. it seems to have been a real feature of his life. So. His attitude was understandable.

What's really amazing though, as she said, is that, despite the whole thing having been revealed as a fabrication - wow, it's actually really taken off. Satanic societies, and people involved in magick, actually use the same rituals described in the book, to this day: not to mention a gaggle of horror films. I guess it's too good a story to let die! Probably makes a cracking read too.. I passed on buying it, I have enough clutter. She's crowdfunding to publish the next volume, BTW, if you're interested in buying a copy..

Afterwards, I decided to pop out to eat locally - took myself to The Pommeler's Rest, my nearest Wetherspoon's, about five minutes' walk from me. Which was packed - but I got one of the last three tables, and the only one without high seats. And had a lovely chicken katsu - especially cheap, as Thursday is Curry Day! Not the hottest, mind. By the time I was working my way through it, people were seriously stuck for tables, big as the place is.. I'm sure someone was delighted with mine, when I left - I might have stayed for a second glass of wine, if not for the deafening noise levels!

Well, there's another slew of films coming up. The film list wasn't out - even partially - before yesterday, and then I spent all yesterday evening doing it, so was too late to blog last night, having to be up for work today. So here we go: tonight, the best offering for films was Dead to Rights, a historical drama about the Nanjing massacre, committed by the Japanese in 1937. Cheery, not. Only showing in the Odeon Luxe Haymarket - which I booked, because it's cheaper. Two showings this evening - but I wouldn't have had time to eat beforehand, even for the later showing. I might have eaten after the late showing, in the Angus Piccadilly, my go-to around here - but when I was checking their closing time, it was to discover that they're now permanently closed! Wow, I'd eaten there since I first came to London! So instead, I booked for Bella Italia Cranbourn Street - it's only five minutes' walk away - for after the film - but they're not open that late, so I had to go to the earlier showing.

What with my computer being so very slow to open links, there was no way I could finish this post before I left. Indeed, I was tight for time - with the strike finally finished, I decided to take the Tube, which was unusually uncrowded, and got me there in time to grab a wine from the stern guy behind the bar, all frowns and checking everything was above board. An usher showed me in - the ads were on. No problem walking past people to my seat, here - there's plenty of legroom, all the seats are lovely, big leather recliners with trays and cuprests. Mine was at the end of the row - necessarily, because of the rule that you can't leave a gap of a single seat. But that was fine, and it was lovely to sink into that lovely, comfy seat and find the right angle.

First thing I noticed was the cinematography - grand sweeping shots make the most of the destruction of Nanjing, then the capital of China. Well, we all know about the cruelty of the Imperial Japanese army - I remember watching Tenko, a TV series years ago about a group of white ex-pat ladies taken prisoner by the Japanese in Singapore. And for sure, they don't hold back here - you see plenty, but not all, in the trailer. As the censor's certificate states, "extreme violence". We see mass murders, for no apparent reason, mass rapes, atrocities perpetrated on children.. And our central characters are Nanjing natives, conflicted about helping the Japanese invaders - who, almost without exception, are shown as brutal psychopaths. They feel entitled to do as they like to the Chinese because, as they're told, they're no better than pigs.

Well, the story is similar to ones we're familiar with from WWII films. A young postman takes a wrong turn during the evacuation of the city, and runs into a group of Japanese who would happily shoot him. Luckily for him, the guy given the task is actually a photographer rather than a soldier, and a photo album has spilled out of the mailbag - seeing it, the Japanese photographer asks whether he's a photographer too, and he figures the safest thing to say is "yes". The Japanese guy asks to be taken to the studio, as he needs to have his photos developed - happily, the postman knows where it is, at least. And as he's busying himself trying to look as though he knows what he's doing, he finds the actual owner of the studio hiding, with his family, in a cupboard..

I was confused about sporadic mentions of the Geneva Convention - but yes, although what we understand by that today was brought into being after WW2, there were previous versions, the most recent to the events of this film being in 1929. The film is full of near-misses and chance events. The plot has many different characters with different problems, different priorities, and different ways of surviving the regime. And you get a real sense of the uncertainty of war, of how sheer luck can determine whether you live or die, as all the rules of society break down. It's actually a compelling watch, as we move from following the stories of people we get to know quite well, to a broader sweep of atrocities committed against the general populace. And they are truly shocking - the filmmakers don't hold back. The stories culminate in a really moving finale, early one morning.. 

A really good film, in short, but not an easy watch. If you do go though, make sure to stay for the closing credits - at the start, they do a photo comparison, holding old photos up in front of landmarks to show how it's changed.

I was glad I'd left a little extra time before my restaurant booking - I only just made it in time! They were crowded, so I ended up being the only one sat upstairs, which was just fine - lots quieter. In fact, they turned on the music specially for me.. and I had a lovely view of the square, and was fed to bursting. Waiting for the bus on the way home - and with no sign of it - I started walking along the route to the next stop, to see where the internet would kick in, out of curiosity, and can now testify that it does so as you approach St. Martin in the Fields..

Next, a few days of Meetup. The weekend is all about my film groups - tomorrow, Movie Roadhouse London (MRL) is off to Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale. In the Curzon Mayfair, natch. Handily, as a member, I get a free ticket.. and what really caught my eye was the (optional) black-tie social. Booked to eat in the King's Arms Mayfair beforehand. I still have to pick an outfit - but that should be fun. And I do hope it doesn't rain..!

And on Sunday, The Hideout is off to see The Long Walk, based on the short story by Stephen King, writing as Richard Bachman. It was actually the first thing he ever wrote and deals with a dystopian future in which a walking contest sees the losers executed, and the winner achieve whatever he desires - for the rest of his life. Excellent book - let's see how they do with the film! We're seeing it in the Vue West End, meeting in Victory House beforehand - and of course, I'm eating in Bella Italia again before that.

Completing a trio of Meetups, on Monday I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for the only non-film of the week - we're seeing a female-centric version of Dracula at the Lyric Hammersmith.

Then a few more films coming up - on Tuesday, thinking of another Palestinian documentary, this one is From Ground Zero, a collection of short films made by Gazans. Produced by Michael Moore. I saw the trailer when I was in the Curzon Bloomsbury, but this week it's showing in the ICA.

On Wednesday only, the Cinema Museum is showing The Big Heat, a film noir with Glenn Ford. Eating beforehand in the Toulouse Lautrec.

And on Thursday, back with MRL at The Garden Cinema (complete with member's discount) for a murder mystery called Islands, set in the Canaries.