Anniversary-ing

Time certainly flies: we had another anniversary. Just like every day, we shared the best bits of the experience.

As we have issued ourselves a travel ban until some ‘urgent’ things in and around our house have been sorted out, we were hoping to spend a couple of hours in Rome but had to settle for Paris instead. The showing time of La grande bellezza, the movie that won the Oscar for the best foreign film this year, didn’t suit our schedule. Our second choice The Grand Budapest Hotel was fully booked in both the theatres where it was playing.

The third grand one Yves Saint Laurent wasn’t at the very top of our wish list but as the film only opened a few days ago it was shown in a large enough theatre at a convenient time. I do appreciate his anniversary-like gesture to suggest watching that one together.

When we left YSL and were walking to the car the sun was starting to set turning the top of the neoclassical Helsinki Cathedral all pink. Quite a rosy end to an evening out for the two reluctant merrymakers.

It is beginning to look worryingly prosaic. I had better start planning some serious celebrating at a faraway location for next year’s 10th anniversary.

Luminous ladies

It was Oscars night last night but this time I didn’t even start to watch the show because for me starting would have meant staying awake through it all, in our case until 7 am. I can no longer take that without consequences. So I recorded the broadcast, took care not to listen to any news during the day and watched it this evening, on our home cinema screen of course. 

My favourite parts in this year’s show were Dame Shirley Bassey (76) performing ‘Goldfinger’, the first one of the three James Bond theme songs she has given her voice to, and Adele (24) performing her and Paul Epworth’s ‘Skyfall’ that later won the Oscar for Best Song, quite rightfully out of those nominees if you ask me. It is a thoroughbred 007 theme song for everyone to enjoy, catchy but sophisticated, and the glamorous Adele’s voice is pure beauty. The two British ladies were so luminous even Norah Jones felt somewhat lame. Quite a pair!

Knitting by the screen

When I lived closer to ‘civilization’ I was an enthusiastic moviegoer. There was a period in the 1990s when I saw practically every quality movie they showed in the theatres here. I had a part-time job in downtown Helsinki and often arranged my comings and goings so that I could leave the office early and pop in a matinee on my way home, most often in a cinema a couple of minutes from the office. Now that we have a 45-minute drive to the theatres and no longer any reason to make the journey on a regular basis I’m afraid we only see a handful of movies on the silver screen annually.

Yet we do see quite a lot of films on our own white screen. A few years ago, my husband invested in a first-class home cinema system, which has certainly proved to be money very well spent. It is in rather constant use this time of the year. We watch through the projector not only movies but also the few series we both follow. In fact, spending time by the screen is our main hobby during winter evenings and is helping us endure this – so it seems – never-ending cold and dark season when you don’t even need to pull down the blackout blinds no matter how early you are switching the projector on.

But it would feel a total waste of time to sit by the home screen idle. I would never feel this way in a cinema where I want to concentrate 100% without any popcorn or other disturbing refreshments, but at home I no longer feel at ease unless I’m knitting. As sitting by the screen is virtually the only time I’m knitting, it means my patterns must be simple and preferably in just one colour not to take too much of my attention. So it has been for the most part socks plus a couple of hoods in a simple knit 3, purl 3 rib.

Actually, there are two more screens by which I’m often knitting these days: the windscreen when we are driving somewhere during daytime (the above photo is from last winter; we haven’t seen this much sun in ages) and the upstairs TV screen when I’m watching something I have recorded for myself and it’s past my husband’s bedtime. 

Currently, I’m hooked on two Danish series, Forbrydelsen (the American remake is called ‘The Killing’) and the political drama Borgen (an NBC remake to follow). We have seen so many brilliant series from Denmark in recent years it’s no wonder they have gained wide international acclaim but I don’t believe in remaking something that’s already perfect. I’m definitely skipping the remakes. Well, I did watch some of the British Wallander episodes, much thanks to Kenneth Branagh but also because they were very well done. After all, the original Swedish series was only great, not perfect.

Rome versus Paris

Woody Allen’s latest movie To Rome with Love has been in town for a few weeks now and we went to see it. Not so much thanks to Mr Allen himself, although I have enjoyed quite a number of his films over the years, but more thanks to the setting of the film. 

We seldom go to the cinema these day. Firstly, because of the 45-minute drive to Helsinki but, more importantly, because a few years ago my husband invested in a state-of-the-art home cinema system with excellent loudspeakers and a large screen and everything. However, this time we couldn’t help it. We both love Rome and can’t wait to make the next trip there. I do love London, Barcelona, Paris and a number of other cities, too, but for me Rome is probably the dearest of them all.

I very much enjoyed Woody’s previous movie Midnight in Paris and therefore entered the cinema with quite high hopes. (He’s not that keen on romance nor fantasy nor Paris and hasn’t seen it yet.) To Rome with Love is a crazy Woody Allen alright but we found it rather simple and routinely made, showing little traces of the wit seen in the wonderful Paris movie described by some to represent the genre of ‘luxury amusement’. It didn’t deliver the same kind of charm, grace, lightness and joy as the previous one. I felt totally happy when leaving the cinema after Paris but confused and disappointed when leaving it after Rome.

The Paris movie changed my view of Owen Wilson as an actor. In that role I liked him a lot. Maybe this was one of the reasons adding to the charm of the Paris film that the actors were given more space as Mr Allen wasn’t acting himself at all. In the Rome movie he is again very much present on screen. I’m hoping he would concentrate on screenwriting and directing and finally leave the acting to others and we might be given another Paris one of these years. 

As for the message of the Rome film, most of the reviews I read on the Internet didn’t tell a word about any message. However, to me there was one but it was the complete opposite from how it was seen by a few (American) reviewers who had found one.

Moreover, Woody’s old-fashioned choices in film music have often been ear-hugging to me but now he starts the movie with ‘Volare’. Come on! It might be a bit different for an American but at least for a European this is such a worn-out song, a sad cliché from past times, it will flatten the thrill from the very first seconds. And the closing tune (can’t remember what it was though) will surely kill any spell you might be under. I mentioned about the music to my husband and his feelings were exactly equal.

Nevertheless, despite the slight disappointment our feelings for Rome and Italy are unchanged. In real life, Rome could never disappoint you. We haven’t been there for a year now and are missing it. 

Last autumn, I hadn’t started blogging yet so I’m posting a few photos of some of the places where the movie was shot: Piazza della Pace (with the popular Cafè della Pace and the charming restaurant across the street both of which, as we were told, had had Mr Allen’s crew filming at their place), Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere (the whole Trastevere area is an absolute favourite of ours) and Piazza Navona (not among our favourites because of the ever-lasting crowds).