When You Are Engulfed in Flames & Blindess

The recent trip has been great for my reading! There is not greater place on earth to read than on Ipanema beach. It's true. Anyway.

I finished the latest David Sedaris, When You Are Engulfed in Flames.I enjoyed it although it wasn't anywhere are satisfying as his earlier books. The book lacked continuity and surprisingly seemed to imply a moral self satisfaction which was surprising. But, I'm being harsh, it was a good read.

Then this afternoon CMC and went to the Ciné Recoleta to watch Blindness. I loved the book (José Saramago) and have been looking forward to the film for ages. I wasn't disappointed, the cinematography and setting are stunning, the grading of the film and the sequences of blindness are haunting. The film also certainly didn't shy away from any of the more gruesome parts of the book.

Setting it in a make believe city (filmed in Sao Paulo but with English, American and British, being spoken created a slightly disturbing sense of discomfort and lack of familiarity or the ability to simply assign the new aesthetic to "foreign".

Also, Mark Ruffalo is pretty to look at.

Comments

Justin said…
I postulate that Bondi Beach will be similarly good for reading ... you'll have to come and try it.
6 November 2008 at 20:38
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Two thoughts about capitalism

As I mentioned earlier I am reading as much as I can about Argentina, currently focusing on finding out more about the Kirchners,triggered mainly by what seemed like some negative comments in some of the blogs I've been reading. While digging around I came across this interview that Time did with Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in September 2007, before she was elected. It has some interesting quotes in it, and two in particular caught my attention and gave me pause for thought. You can't be a capitalist only when there are investment profits but then a socialist when you experience losses. and We're not averse to capitalism. But if they used to say, "Workers of the world unite!" then we also say today, "Capitalists of the world, assume your social responsibility!" I'm intrigued by both of these ideas. The former mainly because I it reminds me of the UK government bailing out failing mortgage lender Northern Rock earlier in the year and the recent US
Read more

Ølsen in Buenos Aires

Well Ølsen last night was great. It's in a stunning old warehouse with extremely tall ceilings and Scandinavian simplicity. The garden is a particular treat and a delight to enjoy when arriving. The food was good, although I wouldn't say that best and possibly not worth the price, it's not cheap, but the sharing starters with mini vodka shots were very good. After Ølsen, I came home and watched telly. I seem to becoming nocturnal.
Read more