Sunday recovery and movie

Today, yesterday's dancers were supposed to come for brunch at Karaka on the wharf, which happens to be the restaurant of my housemate. There were about ten of us only, not a great number, but small enough to have a nice chat with the Sydney contingent who were all women. I made some good contact numbers for when I return to Sydney in August. It all comes down to 'will I be concentrating all my attention on Gosford', or not, but it may well be the best way to go, otherwise my energies are too spread out as always. Sydney does consume a lot more energy than Wellington.

The brunch at Karaka was nice; I ordered some Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon, and then afterwards did some market shopping before going on to my interview with Gareth at his quaint little home at Mt. Cook, an area which I didn't know too well. Instead of the allocated one and a half hours we spent an extra hour which just disappeared. He didn't seem to mind, and will edit where he wants. It is going on to the Gay Archives site I believe, and so now I am a permanent resident in the cyber-world of New Zealand. It was quite exhausting and I feel I said a lot too much, and now I am glad it is over.

Came home for a rest and to see the housemates before I may catch the French movie, 'Samba', which is on at the Cuba Lighthouse. The weather has turned dirty, windy and a bit wet, but then, hey, I am not a victim of this Wellington weather, so I will go out and enjoy a much awaited movie with the new French star actor, Omar Sy.

And tomorrow is a visit to the dentist, or at least an appointment for a broken filling repair, and then the meeting with the Glamaphones for the Candlelight memorial. It is an important one and is at the famous political Backbencher Bar in Molesworth Street in the region of Parliament House. 

It is a busy star to the week.

Lighthouse crowd...

...not going to see 'Samba'

This quite enjoyable French movie, made by the formulaic couple who had the enormous success with 'The Intouchables', which was a comedy tear-jerker sort of movie about a man in a wheel-chair, is in the same vein - people with problems, treated comedically and with nothing in depth. The star, Omar Sy, is indeed excellent, as is all the supporting cast, especially Tahar Rahim, as his buddy. 

The movie is based on the story of illegal immigrants to France, of which there are many, with the sub-plot woven into the story of the new 'burn-out' syndrome of French workers who have committed their lives totally to work and nothing else. This is the case with the female lead, played by the always good Charlotte Gainsbourg who is now a stalwart of the French cinema scene. However I found this double story a bit clumsy and it didn't add to the thrust of the main theme. 

Naturally it had a love story involved, which was nearly tragic, but in good cop-out Hollywood style it had happy ending, or possibly so. As I feared with their earlier film, it is a little mawkish, sentimentally, and not in the top rung, for me, of French movies. However it will appeal to some. I feel it could have been better, but it did entertain, and make some statement about the dire condition of illegal immigration in France, albeit painted in pastel hues.     Three stars.