Monday 7 September 2015

LET's ALL THINK TWICE AND AWAKEN OUR IMAGINATION

As I say good night and goodbye to The Venice Film Festival, I have to say that I loved it, yet I am a little surprised  at the lack of imagination still going on in the casting rooms?.  I was going a little mad when I saw Spotlight one night based in Boston about the Catholic Church and Black Mass the next night, again based in Boston this time about gang leaders and politicians, with yet more killings I felt it was one gun shot too many. It was however good for the 50 plus stars and shows it takes some years to have such a huge fan base.


The once devastatingly handsome Johnny Depp  at 52 turned up bloated and middle aged and as I stared into the mirror I realise time creeps up on us all.  Despite work outs, trips to the dentist and regular exercise, botox and a facelift, time takes its toll, on everyone, even in Hollywood.
Perhaps Tilda Swinton is the only 55 year actress who looks good enough to play in the film, The biggest splash, I thought I saw it three years ago, or is it just that the Director, Luca Guadagnino is the same? I felt despite the film being reasonably good I was in a merry go round to nowhere.   The same clothes, the same writing, the same obvious casting, but hells bells why did Ralph have to play a fool when he is so magnificent serious. In amongst the "sameness" excellence appears like lightening from heaven in the shape of Eddie Redmayne in his sensitive portrayal of Lily in The Danish Girl. I totally understood that the feeling of lace against the skin could set off the turmoil in his life. Excellent casting, good directing from Mr Hooper and an incredible part yet again by this genius actor. I was so moved to tears by the story line, by Desplat's music, Danny Cohen's  rich cinematography, which was so stunning I want to move to Denmark and embark on an entirely new life. The story was  fragile, so close to my truths that I fell asleep in a deep depression, crying at the thought of people in my life maybe having to live stories such as this one. To not be happy in the nude must be one of the worst things imaginable? To not be the gender you wish to be, a living nightmare. On every level I was reminded of the pain and pleasure I have encountered.
The cinema is a closed club where the public is allowed a tiny look at the actors in cages, a money making venture, with little room to make mistakes. The Producers play it safe. There is supposed safety in casting the 53 year old Ralph Fiennes, safety in Tilda Swinton, safety in Johnny Depp and definite ultimate safety in Eddie Redmayne. Lucky Venice is the visual and generous host it is. I feel I am living in perpetual state of deja vu. It is why I love new and exciting theatre and film much more. It is why I made my own, The gun the cake and the butterfly and it is why I like new production companies such as Dark Theatre, which on no budgets but bottles of imagination have seconds that make bigger theatre/film companies look mundane, mainstream and ordinary. They do not need endless scripts, Universal, huge entourages, but just need two words energy and passion.
As for the drama and sadness on our doorstep.
The crisis in the Middle East should have been halted by the simple act of irrigation and modernisation, famine was used to step up hostilities. Actually the healthy young men at Calais right now could be irrigating their land increasing its fertility as I write. The Syrian's have been living in a draught for about 5 years.  In June, July and August, the tempers rise. notice last year it was Israel and Palestine at war?

 Cameron was elected four months ago to put a halt on immigration, and now is made to look incorrect by Germany, who in the last war murdered 5 million Jews whose population needs labour, whereas ours does not. Some intelligence should be considered, Sharia Law and a drunken Saturday night for British girls do not go together? Homosexuality is not allowed and Lily would definitely be strung up and all those that made The Danish Girl. We live and celebrate freedom.  Girls could all  be wearing a burka and stoned to death in the future? I beg all leaders of Great Britain to consider as Enoch Powell did, the effects of allowing people in who have opposite values to ours and who we are at war with into our country. This is not to say we should not help the children but consider that both men and women from Muslim countries believe us to be Kafirs, and we do not agree on women's rights.  When they are here they do not acclimatize.  In Germany perhaps the Muslims should uncover their arms if they want to be accepted in our culture? It will not effect me personally but I can see a potential blood bath. How do we know we have not been fighting them?  The press should be shamed into reporting things correctly and whilst all children are  innocent their parents may or may not be. In the case of the man who had no teeth, it is a tragedy,  he was living in the safety of Turkey whose refugees are given money by Sweden,  and decided to leave the country in a Rubber boat, giving no thought to the consequences that his wife  could not swim and no rubber rings for his children  either. We should have taken every single Yazidi family but we did not. The Christians of the Middle East where are they?. Let's all have compassion and common sense mixed together for a second. We would all love a world where religion did not matter, where traditions and customs intermingled, but people don't change and their are certain countries that are living in the Middle Ages, where capital punishment is the norm.
We are on a runaway train to nowhere with no destination and nobody being able to stop it? England as I knew has gone, farewell. Peter Hitchens says it so well.
The England, I remember and knew exists only in Disney and museums.
We need to help the people here in my opinion. The homeless who cannot help themselves giving them opportunities before people from faraway places. There appears to be no money or kudos for that? Come on?
We Europeans should forgive The Greek debt if they take the refugees?

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