Glasgow Film Festival: Whisky Mit Vodka and Pere Ubu

If you live in, or around, Glasgow and like cinema, you may well be aware that the Glasgow Film Festival is on.

There's usually something interesting being shown, and certainly plenty of stuff that may not get a great deal of attention (often unfairly). This being the case, I'm trying to catch some films over the next couple of weeks.

WHISKY MIT VODKA

So, on Friday, Stripey Baz asks me what I'm up to Saturday afternoon. "Not much!" The wife was off to see The Sound of Music in Edinburgh, you see (apparently it was very good).

So, "wanna see Whisky Mit Vodka?" Why not...as noted, nothing much else happening that afternoon. Anyway, the arrangement was we'd grab some lunch before heading off to the cinema. Oh dear. Baz was out for his kid sister's birthday on Friday (you can read all about that on his blog)...given the start time of the film, there was the distinct possibility that our carefully laid plans could all go to arse.

Saturday 13.20: "Where are you?"

"In the Cineworld queue. Will I score tickets?"

"Cineworld? I'm on my way to the GFT!" Ahaha...fail, my friend, it's on at the Cineworld. Mind you I had also trekked up to the GFT, only to see that it wasn't on there. Although this isn't quite so bad as the time that we turned up at Cineworld a month early for Spartacus (and the fault there was entirely mine).

The film was starting at 13.45, so lunch was a non-starter. "OK, will I get us sandwiches? What would you like?" Obviously, as anybody that has made a telephone call in public knows, unless you are the least self-conscious person ever, it's not a lot of fun. I, anyway, have a tendency to mumble so that I don't look like one of those idiots that likes to broadcast the minutiae of their life to all and sundry (he says, writing a blog post...Oh. The. Irony!)

Anyway, this led to an exasperated and expletive laden explanation of what a ploughman's sandwich is.

Old lady with grand-kids in the queue behind me? Check!

Tickets safely stowed in my wallet, I go out to get Baz...of course, both being basically incompetent at life, we walk past each other. This, however was the last fail of the afternoon (we were late for Ubu Roi...but that was in the evening).

So, all this nonsense done with, we settled down for the Whisky Mit Vodka (Germany, 2009). If you've read the blurb on the GFF's website, you'll be aware that it's a melancholy black comedy about film, actor's and acting.

I enjoyed it - if you like black comedy it's well worth a punt.

In it, famous actor Otto Kullberg is involved in a film about a real-life love triangle in Weimar Germany, involving his character and a mother and daughter (who has a fiancee, whose actor points out that, strictly speaking, it isn't a triangle). Although Kullberg is a well-respected actor (the female lead who had been involved with him in the past pushed for him too get the gig - she is married to the director, further complicating matters) who everybody on set has respect for, there is also a sense that he is a liability. As he puts it "I drink." This had led to a previous project he was involved in folding.

When he turns up for shooting drunk at the start of the film, the backers get uppity and decide that they should take the unprecedented step of hiring an unknown to understudy him so that they have a weapon against Kullberg. For this they hire Arno Runge, a relatively unknown stage actor. He, as the rest of the cast and crew do, has a great deal of respect for Kullberg (although not extending to refusing the job!)

This leads to tension, as well as many humourous moments, although very seldom are any of the characters actually hostile to each other. There is more of a sense, by everyone, that they are being ill-used. The director for example (whom, we are given to believe, has a higher regard for the film than perhaps it deserves...) repeats the phrase "I am not a bucket for people to shit in!" several times.

We also get some kind of feel for the compromises made in films when the budgets aren't perhaps as lavish as you may find in Hollywood - the film is being made on the Baltic coast, rather than the Black Forest, where the real story happened, simply because of who was willing to fund them.

It used the (admittedly obvious) trick of using a sepia tinted filter to show when they showing scenes from the film. In general, the cinematography was good, without being breath-taking...it is, however, always pleasant to see a movie that isn't shot and edited as if it's intended for the Ritalin-dependent.

If you get a chance to see it, I'd recommend you do. It's not a life-changing piece of cinema, but it's entertaining and sympathetic.

PERE UBU

That evening, I went to the Classic Grand to see Pere Ubu performing Long Live Pere Ubu! The Spectacle with Craig.

It's hard to know what to say about this: I enjoyed it, but I basically had no idea what the hell was going on. As their intermission card said "you have 20 minutes, drink more and it'll make sense."

Speaking factually, it's an adaption of Alfred Jarry's Ubu Roi (that's where Pere Ubu got their name from) featuring music by Pere Ubu and animation by the The Brothers Quay.

The music was enjoyable enough (I must confess I do still prefer their "classic" era), and the animation and acting pleasantly bonkers. There is some of this available on their website: check it out if you get a chance: Ubu Projex.

So: good, but I think I'd like to see it again....

Social Awkwardness FTW!

Those of you that know me are probably aware that I'm an atheist. So, when we were invited to a christening today, my feelings were slightly conflicted. On the one hand, it was nice that we were invited (and I am really grateful for that) on the other, I'm really not keen on religious rituals. I'd have to say that christenings are (of those that I'm familiar with, anyway) my least favourite.

Anyway, we dutifully traipsed off to the church this morning. First thing I noticed was that I appeared woefully under-dressed in my usual flared cords and a shirt and sweater combo (for smartness, you see). So that was great. Never mind, we were hidden out of sight and far from the most important people there. As long as I could avoid heckling the minister, we wouldn't ruin the day.

I'd come to terms with the fact that the ceremony was going to be, well, religious and there'd be a lot of chat about Jesus, but my heart sank when I realised that we'd be there for longer because it's also the Girl Guides 100th anniversary.

Early on in the morning, I had a mild sense of trepidation when they marched up the aisle with some flags, one of which was a union flag (the other thing that those of you that know me are probably aware of is that I'm no patriot). At that point, not really being that well-versed in how the guides work, I thought, be fair...perhaps that's all there is to it.

So...the service could start in earnest...there was some praying, hymns and finally, the reason we were there: the christening. It was fine, passed off without incident. Although when the minister walked up the aisle to display the newly inducted Nathan, I was more than a little disappointed that the minister didn't start cackling madly and break into a sprint, clutching the child to her bosom, screaming "he's my child now" trying to make her escape, only to be thwarted by a quick thinking parishioner tripping her up and catching the baby as he flew from her arms. Bring a bit of action and heroism to the day. Unfortunately, the only place this happened was in my imagination. On the plus, I'm marginally less depressed about my impending 31st birthday. At least I still have my imagination! Hurrah!

After the christening celebrations finished, we moved on to the matter of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the guides. Sadly, my initial suspicions about all the flags were confirmed. Apparently they have to "be loyal to queen and country." Bleuargh. So, not only were my atheistic tendencies being tested, my republican (the form of government, rather than the swivel-necked mental cases in the US) instincts were also having to be forced down lest I ruin someone elses day...

Apart from all that...a pleasant morning all round!* Ahahaha.

*Really: I am a nice guy. It was nice for us to be invited.