another year

ah - well 2 years later and blogging is resurrected
kind of ran from it cringing with embarrassment
what self-obsessed attention-seeking fool am i
who reads it anyway - well hopefully nobody
but on a night in isolated wonder i did it
trawled back through the story of my life in blog
well at least a couple of years and quite enjoyed it
some fond memories of music, films, places seen and heard
and confirmation that indeed the written word is more reliable
moments of sensation kind of captured in black on white
certainly not in any way retrievable from the grey matter
which brings me to the fil-um in question from last night
another year - the latest from brit mike leigh
seen a few of his and from that he has a tick
in that definitely worth seeing anything he does
as usual these days the reviews are mixed for this one
but generally on the positive side so off i go
in splendid isolation and in a smallish theatre
pick a seat half way back and perfectly centered
opening scene sets it really - hello uk circa 2010
lovely intelligent african-english doctor lady at work
her patient a neurotic depressed sad messed up pommy lady
imelda staunton playing the part and immediately dragging me in
poor love just needs some respect, love, happiness, cuddles
seems none of that forthcoming and despair is pervasive
cut to the centre couple of the film - tom and gerri
a respectable, comfortable, average decent couple
in their sixties - both working, contented
but with friends where loneliness rules
mary works with gerri - alcohol is her friend
ken is an old school mate of toms - obese and glutenous
the reviews i read post-film reckon they are caricatures
some commenters said if they were real they'd not be friends
as if tom and gerri would have cast them aside before now
but i think this is why i have the time for mike leigh
he knows these people are real and not far from us
what we could be given the same set of circumstances
upbringing, abandonment, insecurity, loneliness
tom and gerri have hearts that reach beyond that
they love their friends for all the right reasons
there's goodness in them - and they need their friendship
i couldn't help but think this is a quite political film
the liberals (conservatives) say - it's all about you (me)
get what you can go for the most discard anything negative
what can you do for me - nothing - well bugger off then
the labour-ites (liberals) say - i accept you, in you i see me
i understand your anxieties i can't and don't want to fix you
let me give you that which you need - companionship and love
yep - this is a deep film - though how simply done
no wonder mike leigh prefers actors to improvise
set the mood and let the actors do their stuff
but it isn't acting - these people get it
no doubt drawn on their own experiences
what a seriously good film this one is
has had me thinking about it constantly
every single character is any one of us
there's a couple of lines from a song
seems to fit the theme of this film
i am human and i need to be loved
just like everyone else does
(thank you mr morrisey)
thank you mr leigh
unforgettable