I am now two years into my new relationship with Borderlines Film Festival - no longer just an enthusiastic film goer - now a guest blogger who needs to pay a different kind of attention to what she is seeing on the screen.  This new role has enriched my experience of  Borderlines and made me more aware, not just of which films I would like to see, but also how hard the organisers work to make it happen.  It is quite a feat to bring new and also less widely shown films to every corner of Herefordshire and Shropshire during an almost three week jamboree of cinema.   Based at the Courtyard theatre in Hereford, films are shown in remote village halls along the Welsh Borders where this year the locally filmed Resistance was a particular hit.  

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Chatting to a friend who drove back from West Wales on Sunday evening in order to see the late evening showing of 

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Blue Valentine

Derek Cianfrance's Blue Valentine offered me another study of a rocky marriage. The previous day I had seen Rabbit Hole which gave us a vivid and very believable portrayal of a marriage threatened by the loss of a beloved child.

Nothing tragic or dramatic has happened in Dean and Cindy's marriage in Blue Valentine but instead something has died between them. Jumping back from the bleak present to the romantic past, we see how they met, the fun they had together and their decision to have Cindy's baby and to be a family. In the present, however, Dean cannot grow up and Cindy no longer finds this endearing. Exhausting arguments and misunderstandings wear them both down until they have nothing left to give one another.

This film does not try to pose or to answer any questions about marriage - instead we see a carefully drawn portrait of a relationship which has no future. The dialogue is so accurate that many people may experience a shudder of recognition. Cindy and Dean are not romanticised - their faults are very apparent, but their wish to preserve their little family adds pathos to their inevitable parting.

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Labels: Blue Valentine, Rabbit Hole

Saturday, 9 April 2011

Rabbit Hole

This film while exploring the relationship of parents who have lost a very young child, avoids all the cliches and the usual emotional manipulation. Instead, we are given a very tender, compassionate insight into Becca and Howie's attempts to live with their pain. Both are locked into their own experience of loss and they are unable to communicate about or to share their grief or to comfort one another. Some friends try to show support - others run for cover.

Grief is shown here as messy and unpredictable. Becca turns her anger on her mother and hits out at a stranger in the supermarket. Her husband, Howie, feels attracted to a woman he meets at "group". They argue about whether to keep Danny's clothes, toys and drawings - whether to stay in a house full of memories or to sell up and start again.

This is a gentle film about a desperately painful subject. It does not flinch from its honest portrayal of grief, but nor does it wallow and become mawkish. Grief is shown as a very personal response - different for every individual - where no rules apply and no time-frame makes sense. Becca asks her mother, who has lost an adult son, "how long does this go on, does it ever go away?" and her mother replies "No, it never goes away, but it does change"

Posted by WriteRetreat at 08:24 1 comments

Labels: Rabbit Hole

Thursday, 7 April 2011

An Australian Allegory

Leaving the main theatre at Hereford's Courtyard after the showing of Animal Kingdom last night, the atmosphere among the audience was muted. Animal Kingdom was not a comfortable film to watch and the world it depicts is one devoid of hope.

Based in the suburbs of Melbourne the film describes the violent unravelling of an entire family as seen through the eyes of a 17 year old boy. Suddenly orphaned and with no home other than that of his maternal grandmother and her gangster sons, Josh finds himself at the centre of that family's destruction.

The impression I took away with me was one of claustrophobia mingled with menace. Most of the scenes were shot indoors with the camera lingering on close-up shots of Josh and his uncles where affectionate family feeling could turn into betrayal at any moment.

Jackie Weaver's portrayal of an apparently loving grandmother who lives for her "boys" was chilling while Guy Pearse's police inspector Leckie shone through the murky police culture of cruelty and corruption and provided a rare example of integrity.

As Josh, James Frecheville shows a profound stillness. Josh's family attempt to use him and to manipulate him. He is told that he is weak because he is young and that he needs to be protected, both by his uncles and by the police. He manages, however, to keep his emotions well hidden in order to survive and to carry out his revenge.

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Images from the second weekend of the festival Inbox x Fran Ham fran@linklight.com via gmail.com  8 Mar (8 days ago)   to borderlinesfil. The highlight of the second weekend for me, was the screening of Mother and Child which proved to be moving and very believable. A film on the subject of adoption, loss and dealing with separation could so easily have been sentimental and maudlin.  Annette Bening was outstanding in the role of a woman forced to give up her child for adoption at the age of fourteen and who has closed herself down emotionally in order to live with the pain of separation. Earlier in the day, we were among a very small audience in the large Courtyard theatre to see A Useful Life which I am afraid was too "Art House" for both of us.  Filmed in underlit black and white and featuring long sequences in real time, it was not surprising that several audience members took a short nap.   The story of an unconfident cinema projectionist who finds he must leave the fantasy life of film to fulfil a fantasy in his own life was charming, but the slow pace and the indistinct images made it tiring to watch. Sunday brought the cancellation of Las Acacias which meant exchanging our tickets for the screening of W.E. and filling in two empty hours reading Sunday papers and drinking tea. We found Madonna's film disjointed, disappointing and self-indulgent.  In short, we learned nothing new about Wallace Simpson while her modern day fan Wally brought no fresh perspectives to such a well-known story. Reeling from the Studio at 7.59pm and into the theatre at 8.0pm to see Miss Bala we were assaulted by a fearsome plot centering on drug gangs in Mexico and the callous treatment of anybody who comes into their orbit.   Laura seeks help to find the friend with whom she is entering a beauty pageant, only to be captured and used by one of the gang leaders. The film showed the brutality and lack of concern for human life that is rife in Mexico, but it was a painful experience and we came out wishing that there had been a measure of light relief to make the film more bearable. After 10pm we went out into the car park where my friend found she had been fined £40 for neglecting to buy a second ticket after 6pm.   This was the final straw as far as she was concerned. These photos are from her camera. WriteRetreat

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Posterous <no-reply@posterous.com>
Date: 27 February 2012 13:45
Subject: [borderlinesfilmfestival] Re: First impressions
To: fran@linklight.com

	Your email has been posted! Or, Edit This Post First impressions The 2012  Borderlines experience began for me on Friday 24th February with The Well-Digger's Daughter starring and directed by Daniel Auteuil. The lush setting of fields, streams and the tree lined country roads of the South of France forms the background to a familiar story of young love awakened, thwarted and finally reconciled.  The most convincing relationship, however, is not that between the lovers, but between father and daughter with some light relief provided by family friend, Felipe.  Small town prejudices are explored while the start of the First World War forms a wider backdrop, made evident by the mobilisation of the local men.   The studio at the Courtyard theatre was packed out for the first afternoon of the Festival while the bar area was too crowded to walk through!  Also filled to the rafters, was our second film Resistance which was being shown in Moccas Village Hall where numbers meant that cars had to be parked in a field and doors were shut at 7.30 regardless of anybody waiting outside.  The Village Hall bar was busy too and after showing a film about Arts Alive and Flicks in the Sticks and four very impressive short films made by "Same but Different" there was an interval to allow people to refill their glasses and to buy ice creams.   Resistance was of particular interest to a rural Herefordshire audience who could recognise pubs and cottages where the scenes were filmed - not to mention the familiar countryside of the Olchon Valley and LLantony.   Those who had not read the Owen Sheers novel may have found the plot difficult to follow, but the visual impact was striking and the slow pace gave the film an almost hypnotic, poetic quality.  The "what if" story of a German invasion of Britain in 1944 was intriguing and was illustrated by numerous flash-backs of, for example, the Russian Front. The characters of the women left to work the farms while their men joined the Resistance were very well drawn, while the central love story and the ending were left ambiguous - which some of the audience found disappointing.  A neighbour told me that he found the film unconvincing because the Germans were too nice while others mentioned that they found the pace of the film too slow. Both of these films were set in rural areas where the scenery acted almost as one of the main protagonists.  My next Borderlines experience will be My week with Marilyn which should provide an interesting contrast!   On the go? Download Posterous Spaces for your phone Sent by Posterous. Change your email settings or unfollow. Other questions? We’d love to help.

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A HOLIDAY COTTAGE IN RURAL HEREFORDSHIRE

Waiting for the arrival of the Visit England Inspector to look over Rose Cottage and award stars before the start of the first letting season.   Vases of spring flowers, new bedlinen and towels, pretty flowery paper in the drawers and a brand new kitchen.   The Inspector is very thorough - looking closely at the mattress, searching for grubby grout between the shower tiles and checking the kitchen cupboards for china and cutlery.  He enquires about outside lights, smoke alarms and asks to see the Fire Assessment documents.   Are we giving our guests enough information about the nearest shops, telephone boxes and hospitals?

Year One and Rose Cottage is awarded 3 stars.   Advertising in the Visit Hereford Magazine brings in plenty of visitors.  Two groups of guests book for the ten days of the Hay Festival.  Among walkers, painters and dog owners a couple of music lovers book for the Three Choirs Festival in Hereford. A very good beginning and it bodes well for the future.

Year Two - several improvements mean that Rose Cottage is now a 4star Holiday Let.   The visit from the Inspector goes well, due mainly to 5 year old Rosa, who takes charge of the conversation. A bright and cheerful website means that most of the bookings are now made online.  Hay Festival is booked by a literature lover for the entire 10 days and there is a surprise from the past when a colleague from Bath University and his wife choose to spend a week here.   City dwellers, they were taken aback and didn’t know where to turn when sheep invaded their garden. (This happened a couple of times before we could reinforce the fences!)

Half way through Year Three - still with our hard won 4star status and a dazzling report from the Inspector at the end of April.  A good start for the season heralded by the return of last year’s Hay Festival couple who have now asked for ‘first refusal’ for Hay Festival 2012.  So far,  a two week stay to celebrate a 60th birthday gave visitors the chance to visit Hay, Hereford, Ross, Symonds Yat and Ludlow - starting with a birthday dinner with family at The Castlefields pub.  Two sets of return guests are coming back in September - drawn once more to this beautiful county and they include keen birdwatchers, walkers and book lovers.  

• Making Rose Cottage a welcoming holiday cottage has been a very rewarding experience.  Meeting people from Japan and Germany as well as from all around the British Isles has been interesting and entertaining.  Up to now visitors have booked only in the summer and autumn, but the social network Twitter is the ideal way of contacting and attracting people such as writers, in search of solitude and peace.   A winter-let to a well known novelist maybe?

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As much as I love trees, shrubs and flowers, I get the most satisfaction of all from growing my own vegetables.   A few weeks ago, after being ill and still having very little energy, I was presented with five raised beds filled with rich loamy soil, all ready to be planted up.   It proved to be just the therapy I needed - modest exercise, fresh air and the fun of planning which seeds and plants to choose for the first ever season.  

Vegetables that are not easy to find on the shelves of the supermarket were my first choice and in most cases the ones I chose come in unusual colours.  Yellow courgettes, purple french beans and multicoloured chard.  Among the vegetables I have sown flowers and herbs to make a riot of colour:  nasturtiums between the rows of runner beans, borage beside the broad beans and coriander next to the courgette plants.

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Taking a deep breath after all the excitement of the Borderlines Film Festival before taking the plunge and getting involved with the Hay Literature Festival at the end of May.   Tickets have been on sale for a couple of weeks and many events are sold out - especially the evening concerts and all the outdoor guided walks and jaunts.  Work in the Box Office has been relentless - telephones ringing off their hooks from 9am until 6pm every day of the week.

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