And so, here we are in the 1920s (all over again)!
I have skipped the whole month of December - not because my life is boring and there is nothing to write about, but to a contrary, because there was simply too much going on - I have moved the address (again) and in addition to my regular job I also juggle language courses, gym and whatnot - sometimes there are so many things going on that I hardly have time to reflect, however I did came back to my regular old-fashioned diary so that is a welcome return to tradition and I am very pleased with it, because it is a helpful and very therapeutic habit. I was planning to write about things even back in December - movies, music etc. - but got distracted so here we are, new year & new beginning. On the last day of 2019 I noted how everything that I wanted eventually comes true but it just takes some time and patience, basically it was a very good year for me except that I still haven't completely fix the housing issue but oh well, it will happen when it has to happen.
And now onwards with the latest movie or should I say the first movie of 2020:
"1917" by Sam Mendes
Under normal circumstances I would never go to cinema to watch war movie, since I was in war myself and don't find it thrilling or entertaining - however, at this point I am distanced from that experience enough to sit back and enjoy the fictional movie without being traumatised. The reviews were excellent, trailer looked great and I was ready to visit cinema, so off I went with a friend in tow (who, as usual, was innocent victim and had no idea where I am taking him). It turned out very solid movie - I would even say gripping - about WW1 and all those fresh-faced boys in trenches. Both Dean-Charles Chapman and Richard Madden come from "Game of Thrones" universe so that was fun to see two worlds colliding, but there were also other famous actors involved like Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch and Mark Strong. (No ladies in sight, as this is a frontline war movie and when one comes along, she is more a symbol than real character) The story actually happened and it was told to a director by his grandfather who lived trough this: he was sent across the fields to warn the Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment not to attack retreating Germans because that was a trap set to annihilate them. In real life it was director's grandfather Alfred Mendes but in the movie the story is divided between two boys (Tom Blake and Will Schofield) who got a unenviable task to go across the deserted and utterly destroyed area (no man's land) to warn fellow soldiers about potential danger. It looks and feels very much like Odyssey because boys go from one adventure to another + technically it is a feat of cinematography to present everything in a smooth, never-ending continuous shot. It has been done before but its still a interesting idea and I must say the audience was spellbound to the very end. Perhaps the middle part of the movie slows down a bit but on the other hand it is a welcome rest between two major chapters - and even this middle part looks fantastic, with town in ruins lightened only by hand flares. As expected, I cried my eyes out and left the cinema feeling completely cathartic - it was a great movie and definitely one to watch in the cinema because it would be a pity to see it at home, it really deserves big screen.
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