Not since Polansky´s The Pianist was awarded best film Oscar, I was so delighted to see a film winning the Academy award. The mere idea of Biutiful and Bardem being the winners irritated me. I did not like the film nor was I impressed with his performance. Bardem is no doubt a brilliant actor but frankly, I found the film is pretentious, gratuitous in its approach and aesthetics, and rather patronizing in the way it depicts the human drama that intends to deal with. In fact, Iñárritu as often happens in his films, tries to deal with so many things at once that the result I found rather boring and quite irritating at times. I know so many people would feel is a great film and would feel so touched deep in their hearts, by the sheer crudeness of the tragedy of this poor man.
Many would feel shaken and appalled by the idea that Barcelona has its darks sides as well. But the truth is that we are all so hypocritical and I am rather bored of the paternalist posing pseudo philanthropic attitudes that we often show when we go to watch films like Biutifil. I would say that applies also for instance to photography exhibitions, when we go to redeem ourselves from our very middle class-well, off-guilty lifes by paying a 3 euro ticket to see the latest chapter of the World Press Photo which has become (in my modest opinion of course) a bit of an amusement park where people go to indulge looking at horrifying pictures of disfigured Afgan women. Of course we all leave these exhibitions feeling so appalled, solidarious and compelled to do something to change the world.....
Quite on the contrary The Kings Speech, was brilliantly scripted, directed and acted. Colin Frith´s and Geoffrey Rush´s performances were simply brilliant unpretentious, magnificent I would say. But above all I was delighted because Andrew Havil though he had a small part was in the film, which it was a very nice surprised. I know Andy very well and we worked together in Kanape many years ago and I even had the pleasure to be a guest at his family home over one Christmas Day in which I had to fight hard with him not only to win at Risk, but also to make sure that he did not eat all my Christmas pudding. This picture of Andy and James Waddell ( man in the mirror) was taken at Andy´s London flat in Clapham South on the day of Pete Jones´s ( Andy´s brother and I think I can say without annoying him one of my best friends) stag weekend.
Well done!
