In the last two weeks in October, I have been on a magical world tour that included the US, France, Italy, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan and India, to mention a few. But as all these countries came to me in London, I only had to travel to London. Before you all wonder if I have gone crazy, let me tell you that the Times BFI 51st London Film Festival made it possible! There were around 184 feature films and 133 short films from 43 countries, shown at various venues in London. The Festival Started on 17 October, with the opening night gala showing David Cronenberg’s ‘Eastern Promises’ and finished on 1 November, with the closing night gala showing Wes Anderson’s ‘The Darjeeling Limited’, a train voyage across India. Few films from the festival are reviewed below and I hope you enjoy the tour as much as I did.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: Julian Schnabel/France.
What does one say after witnessing such brilliance! Perhaps, ‘Thank God for the London Film Festival’, without which I could not have seen this most wonderful French film! Brilliance in performance, acting, photography and technical details were evident through the film, making it totally gripping to the very end. The directorial skill was at its best in the restrain showed at the most crucial moments. The film is based on a true story. J D Bauby, the editor of French Vogue suffered a stroke and the film starts as he comes out of a coma after 20 days. He was diagnosed with a rare ‘locked in syndrome’, which left him with his memory and only the movement of his left eye! With the help of the speech therapist, through the alphabet of blinking, he tells his story which became a best seller.
