Blind Spot Series: Grand Hotel

Determinded to start this year well and in style, at least when it comes to the Blind Spot series, I've gone through my film collection and looked for the films I own and STILL not seen and that happen (in my opinion) to be classics that I need to watch and long over due. A bargain I found in 2017 while in Bristol finally had its day, Grand Hotel.

Originally placed on a previous list as one of the films that inspired Wes Anderson's Grand Hotel, this gem from 1932 directed by Edmund Goulding has a rather star studded cast playing an aray of characters that pass through the hotel in Berlin. A despressed famous dancer can't bring herself to go on stage, a Baron and gentleman thief is trying to steal pearls from the dancer and makes friends with an over worked book keeper who has found out he is dying and wants to live a good life before he goes, his employer, also staying at the hotel is trying to put together a merger that will save his business calls for a stenographer who in turn catches the eye of the baron, with a few other characters who appear through out such as the stressed porter who's wife is in labor at the hospital and the disfigured veteran doctor who comments at the start and the close of the film that nothing ever happens at the hotel. The famous line 'I want to be alone' originated in this film, said by Greta Garbo's dancer as she languishes in her hotel room about to take her own life, she is stopped by John Barrymore's thieving Baron who changes his mind about the pearls.

The intricate details of the hotel, with the guest rooms, dance and bar room and the fantastically designed lobby, that is in the center of the spiral of floors. It is grand in every sense of the word. The 360 degrees desk was designed so that the audience could view the action at any angle. A hotel is always a fascinating place to set a story as there is a story behind every door and quite the opposite to what the doctor says, so many things can happen in just a few days. Love, peace and murder are just a few things that take place in the Grand Hotel with vibrant characters to keep us entertained. There is beauty to found in 30s decor, costume and location, especially watching the film now.

The film inspired a remake in the 40s, this time transporting the hotel to New York. A second remake was in the work in 70s but never came to fruition. A story like this has a universal appeal but the setting in 30s Berlin captures the energy of the time and film itself. A film worth waiting to see.

To find out how it all started, head over to The Matinee and to see what's happening now, check out Returning Videotapes who is the new host of the Blind Spot Series.

I Got You Babe

 Great love stories are hard to come by. Especially those that have the power to cause an audience to emote to the point of tears. Even when there is awful drunk old man swearing very loudly and flashing his phone light all over the room.

I've always been a Chaplin fan so never really watched Buster Keaton and only a few bits and pieces of Laurel and Hardy, but with word on the grape vine or through emails at one of my previous jobs, I found out there was going to be a biopic of sorts about famous comedy duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

The film focuses on their 1953 tour of the UK and Ireland, which doesn't quite go as planned. Staying in dingy hotels and playing to barely an audience. The understanding is that they are doing the tour until they start shooting their next film, a spoof of Robin Hood, which Laurel has been in talks about with a producer in London, who's name Hardy continuously gets wrong. Dealing with the decline in popularity, decline in health, past arguments which they both still hold on to and their lifelong partnership, take a toll on the two comedians but not their unbreakable friendship.

Starting with a fantastic opening scene, where Stan and Ollie, at the height of their fame in 1937 walk across the studio to their set, with their backs to the camera for most of the scene, we hear them casually talking, we know exactly who they are and instantly understand what the two men are like. The film then picks up in 1953 in dreery North England where the duo are about to start a tour. The empty theatres, a sign of the times and a question of whether they should keep going. Their age, health and status are always in question, even they start to do a bit of publicity bringing success and sold out audiences. The most charming a brilliant scenes are when the two friends are alone, going over new material Stan has written or simply just comforting each other after Ollie, or as he is more affectionatly called, Babe, makes a shattering decision.

Heart aches and breaks that these two friends have shared aren't really about their many marriages, but with each other. Notably, when Hardy made a film without Laurel while the latter was in a contract dispute with the studio owner, Hal Roach. This felt like a betrayal to Laurel which comes out after a successful performance when the duo argue. But this is not a spectacle of an argument, this is quiet heated angry words followed by the throwing of bread roll. The heightened emotions of the film are gloriously understated, no dramatics, just real heartbreaking moments. With a brilliantly cast John C. Reilly as Hardy and Steve Coogan (who deserves more praise than I've seen/read) who really does morph into Laurel. Their wives Lucille and Ida, played by Shirley Henderson (always a delight) and Nina Arianda are also an amusing pair, as said in the film, two double acts for the price of one.

A great love story doesn't have to be about romantic love, the friendship of Stan and Ollie is a great love story and we get to see just a glimpse into it through this film.

Novelist, Mime, Actress and Journalist

What a way to start the new year with not one, not two, but THREE British films and all period costume dramas AND all based on real people. What are the chances of that? Having been lucky to see both The Favourite and Colette at LFF last year, I will hopefully be catching Stan & Ollie later this week.

There are far too many stories about women who have propped up men's careers at the expense of their own, fictional or otherwise and say this not as someone who is fed up about hearing about them, but as someone who is appauled that there are just so many. 'Colette' is no different on the surface, as it tells the story about Gabrielle Colette who married Henry Gauthier-Villars, 14 years her senior, famous writer known as 'Willy'. With ideas at his 'factory' drying up, Willy persuaded his wife to write, thus creating the 'Claudine' series. But as Willy was the famous writer, all the novels were published under his name. As 'Claudine' rose to such famous heights, books sold out in bookshops everywhere, the novels adapted into a stage play, her picture on products aimed at young women, Colette wished for her named to be credited alongside her husband's, which he refused.

'Colette' explores her early married life with Willy, her twenties where she created Claudine, the success of her work and her wish to be acknowleged as the writer as well as her strained marriage with Willy, who, a know libertine, had affairs and even encouraged Colette's own affairs with othe women. It would seem that this story doesn't aim to shock but to witness Colette's flurry of creative and sexual desires. She experiences a sort of freedom when she writes about a ménage à trois between herself, Willy and a married woman, even though it seems as if her creative alliances come crashing down for a moment at the thought of her books being burnt. The film is occupied with three main things, Colette's beginnings as a novelist, her marriage to Willy and her burgeoning sexuality. With the author blurring the lines of her fictional character, Claudine's exploits, as the books were inspired by truth, Colette is in danger of being swept up with the Claundine hype. Her choice to take to the stage seems an odd career choice and more of a creative release.

Needing and wanting a release feels like the real theme of the story, rather than Colette just wanting recognition for her work and her husband taking all the credit. It would have been interesting to see what happened to Colette, post marriage breakdown and post Claudine, as she continued to write, most famously, 'Gigi', which was adapted and made into that 50s musical about a young girl who is being groomed to become a courtesan. But do not think that this film falls short of his dramatic and biopic service, it has a great cast, actually welcoming to see Keira Knightly back in a role that suits her perfectly and Dominic West bringing the house down with his awful obnoxious Willy. A story with more to tell and true heroine that has far more to her that what we see on screen.

#LFF

The End Is Nigh

 This might be interpreted as an ominous post, especially for so early in the new year but it isn't. This is about a fresh start and the end of of the most brilliantly created TV programmes out there.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events comes to an end, a natural end, as there are no more books in the series to adapt. The story in the books, although odd and disjointed, also had an end. The makers of the show set out to make three seasons/series covering all thirteen of the books in the original series and THAT is what they have done. No, 'lets continue even though the ploy has ended and concluded' bullshit (looking at you Big Little Lies and 13 Reasons Why). The makers of the show know when to end a story. Though Snicket wrote four prequel books 'All the Wrong Questions' about young Snicket and how he became part of VFD, there is little about the books and stories, but then again, never say never.

The series has been a masterclass in how to make a brilliant, faithfull and also creative adaptation. Having the creator the series, Daniel Handler, on board was the best move. Deciding and planning for all three series was also an excellent idea. Keeping all characters roughly the same age as they appear in the story instead of waiting months, years on a possible sequel. TV lends itself to stories such as the Baudelaire's tale of woe, misery and to an extent, adventure. With a story spanning 13 volumes where three orphans have to endure really horrible situations, are threatened with death, their parents murdered and on numerous occassions have had to save each other, on paper this doesn't read a something for children. But with a multitude of stories that are so sunny and bring and well, dull, the darkest of tales are welcome, especially as they are far more than then their collective name. Each book with an alliteration inspired title, new locations, cleverly worded lines, a narrator who gives clues rather than explanations, the books translate perfectly to screen, especially with such attention to literally everything in the books.

 But this series isn't just for fans of the books. There be quite a bit for the fans to pick up on, inside jokes but the series is for everyone who is looking for something wildly different and fantastic to watch. To those who whine and say 'but its too depressing' obviously know nothing about the show or the books. Ignore these whining fools if you are thinking of watching the show, just dive in.

Half way through the final series, coming up to the new twists and turns in 'The Penultimate Peril', I paused to write this post. The series and story have been about secret organisations and such but really at the heart of the good vs evil, its all about family, in particular its about siblings. Nearly all the major and the minor characters have or alude to having a brother or sister or both. Siblings stick together, save each others' lives, protect them from danger, even to the point of pretending to be dead if it would mean their sibling would be safe. My love for the books as well as the show gave me an idea for a further project exploring this theme. But more on that later.

Going back to the series being a masterclass in how to adapt a book or a series of books, there really is nothing like this show and the fact that it has an ending, a sense of completion on a tale that for me, having read the books and waited so long to see it brought to life, this was an adventure and brilliant storytelling and craftsmanship, a series that is far better than most shows out there. No hesitation here. It's ended well, but I'll still miss it. At least I have tattoo to keep me company after the final credits roll.

The World is Quiet Here.