Two movies

I’ve been a bit sick lately, with one of those colds I "never get". I think it was brought on by cycling home in the freezing conditions late last Monday, when I got caught out without a coat or anything resembling one, then walking about that night and getting rained on. But I thought one only fell ill from being out in the elements in Bronte novels, so perhaps it’s all a little romantic. I wasn’t feeling great on Wednesday so I took work home to do at home Thursday, then thought I could sleep in a bit and go out for a jog when it was “warmer”, so I set out at 7:30 am only to discover that Thursday was the coldest May morning in about 50 years! I don’t think that helped. So Friday I stayed home.

I then did something most unusual for me and decided to go to a video store. As per usual they didn’t have the movies I’d like to see: top of my list was Secrets and Lies directed by Mike Leigh, because I really emjoyed Another Year, which I saw at the cinema earlier this year, and apparently Secrets and Lies is similar only better. Then I wanted to see Remains of the Day, based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, because I never saw that either. But I did get bingo when I got down to The Hedgehog, which is based on the book I'd also like to read called The Elegance of the Hedgehog. It’s a French movie, and almost a bit stereotypically “French” really, with the characters bonding over a Russian novel and discussing obscure Japanese films and so it goes on. But it’s nice. In it the building concierge secretly devours literature (under the claim that “no-one wants a pretentious janitor”) but is caught out by a new resident when she says “All happy families are alike” and he responds with “but each unhappy family is unique”, which is the opening line of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina (a book I wouldn't pick for bringing people together, because it hardly bodes well does it?). Her cat is called Leo, his cats are called Kitty and Levin, and then there is little Paloma, who lives upstairs with her family, and their cats Constitution and Parliament. And it’s really just the story of how they all become friends, with a good bit of French arthouseness thrown in along the way.

I also hired out Possession, which I picked up while looking for other things. I never did finish the book by AS Byatt. It was a long time ago, but the truth is, I just thought it was "pretentious". There are certain types of writing, generally considered "good", which is a bit too self-consciously artsy for me, and even as a former biologist I couldn't get through all those insect letters. But, I did enjoy the movie, in a sort of guilty fashion, because it's so amoral (it's about two poets though you see, and that said, there is actually a whole lot less "sex" in it than I thought there might be - DVD covers can be quite misleading on that point). This is somewhat redeemed by Christabel's maturing acknowledgment that she has "done a great harm". Anyway, I might go back and have another go at the book someday.