Mice this way? In Reykjavik?

{A rabbit green bakelite chocolate mould meets on the sill with a luminous bunny.}

{A blue curtain that cuts the breeze just a little.}

{Really? I'll be finding mice this way?}

“Hey there, you. Wanna go on a little holiday? You want to travel a little further afield than you’re doing?” proposed this years international film fest to which I could only reply… YES. Take me with you! I’m in. It didn’t have to prop on a corner and leer in my direction, I accepted readily, and so I have spent many of these past days indoors, in one of several cinemas, and I’ve travelled far indeed. I’ve travelled to Iceland drenched in black and white, and across the border in a large truck with a Kurdish man.

My circuit at this years Melbourne International Film Festival began with an 82 year old Danish man, a bachelor by the name of Mr Vig. With a wish to see his castle in the Danish countryside turned into a Russian orthodox monastery, Friday afternoon found me inspecting leaky roofs, broken tiles and suspect heating with Sister Amvrosija, Mr Vig and a handful of nuns. Pernille Rose Grønkjær’s documentary, which screened at the beautiful Forum theatre, a Greco-Roman statuary inside with its blue-sky entrance, was, for me, the perfect way to commence my global journey. Having now been to Denmark, I want to go back.

I’ve also explored Reykjavik in glorious black and white in Vesturport and Ragnar Bragason’s Children (the second part to this, the film Parents, to follow). Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. One simple colour palette and several intersecting stories… Marino, a forty year old schizophrenic, Karitas, a single Mum of four, and Gardar, a father on the road to reform with a placid dog by the name of Castro. A 5pm screening of Children had me leaving out the exit on the left and heading back around to the front door for DOL: Valley of the Tambourines, a film set in the small Turkish-Kurdish village, Balliova, at the border of Iran and Iraq, all beautiful mountains and conflict between the Turkish military and the Kurdish guerrilla fighters… amidst all this Azad and Nazenin hope to marry.

Now take me to Tibet in the 1940s and 50s and show me rare archival footage, show me a world that no longer exists (The Lost World of Tibet)… all turquoise circular drums and colourful robes. Take me to one of your many festivals on any one of those 68 days in a single calendar year. Take me to Tel Aviv too with Batya and Joy, and show me an apartment flooded and an answering machine submerged (Jellyfish).

Now I look forward to seeing the Soviet block during the final days of Communism, (4 Months, 3 weeks and 2 Days) and for You, the Living, 62342 meters of film, 58450 meters of tape, 227.5 litres of putty… 26200 screws and 103680 hours of work. Five films down, nine to go, including one day where I’m planning to sit through four in a row… back to back. Is it wrong that I am already mourning their passing? I seem to want to spend all my days in the movies, bumping into friends and acquaintances, and marvelling at the curious ceiling at the Capitol.

(I haven’t been around this space much of late. Winter has brought with it, glorious festival indulgences aside, little time to blog. I’m hoping to put that right again, juggle a few things higher in the air, and make a return, a more frequent return to this beloved space of mine. I very much miss it and I miss conversing with you.)

Comments

[louise]

Oh, you have such a way with words. Your last paragraph says everything I've been feeling of late so well.

[shari]

lovely polaroids. the film festival sounds amazing. wish i could join you two. :) i've been indulging in a bit of armchair travel...currently in scotland via frances mayes. hugs to you! xo

[Veronica TM]

what a trip around the world! so inspiring! i would like to spend my days in the movies too, for a while.
enjoy your winter and stay warm, gracia.

[jenny]

i've missed you too. let me know if you want anything to travel your way from the this side of the south, :) xo

[Andrea (Scout)]

tibet, reykjavik, tel aviv, denmark...no it can't be wrong to mourn the passing of what sounds incredible (a vacation without jet lag and a little magic). enjoy your days in the beautiful (and curious) theatres, and eat far too much popcorn. :)

[sophie bond]

I couldn't get to the film fest this year and it sounds fantastic. I love your green polaaroid.

[kate]

I would be mourning their passing too ... I'd want to stay in some of these places for just awhile longer. It must be wonderful to have so many good films to watch in a short span of time. Keep on enjoying the films ... you'll be savouring them for a long time.

[fanja]

Hi Gracia, enjoy your time at the movies, I am very envious.. yes i hope you're indulging in the popcorn too!

[lisa s]

i want to go to tibet in the 40's :)

and we miss you.....

that bunny polaroid is PERFECT! love love

[Brydie]

Oh, like the others i have missed yours and louise's posts.... but it is quite understandable as to why the two of you have been missing on blog-world.... my my my you busy bodies seem to have trouble keeping still. But it's good to be well-occupied, I know myself with my exhibition opening this coming week, AHHH!
It's a shame i never got a chance to go to the filmfest this time around, But you have certainly captured moments very well that i will cement into my head and ultimately convince myself that i infact did attend. Oh well, next year! {thats what i said last year}

[risa]

can i enjoy you on your journey to find the mice?

[A Fanciful Twist]

Oh my goodness!!! It all sounds so wonderful! I am so into movies too.. But you are experiencing them, monasteries away, in magical places!! Have a wonderful time!! xxo

[cd&m]

Love the movies and the images you have chosen for this post are stunning especially like the green rabbits.

[amisha]

love this polaroids gracia. and the film festival... so much fun! you are very dedicated to do 4 in a row :) there is something, though, about a film to banish doldrums. we have been seeing at least one a day lately and sometimes more, the full spectrum from summer blockbuster to old classic.
xo

[maditi]

thanks for the fabulous journey across the world :)

[cruststation]

Oh my goodness, I love your beautiful sentence -'juggle a few things higher in the air, and make a return', I'm putting that one down in my diary :) Thank you as always for taking us round the world with your adventures, the movie theatres are stunning! So nice to spend cold winter days enjoying movies...I love your bunny polaroid too !

[simple me]

this is absolutely fantastic.
I also want to spend my august days inside a cool dark cinema and lost myself in other worlds...travel to other places.

[gracia]

Yes, little time to indulge in blogging... awful, ain't it, LJ?

Hey there, Shari,
Armchair travel (or film seat travel, if I'm lucky)... a necessary and much loved daily requirement of mine. Wishing you & t could be there too. We could meet for a speedily consumed takeaway coffee in the foyer with the bright blue sky ceiling above before travelling to Iceland and beyond. In the meantime, enjoy Scotland, and perhaps I'll bump into you somewhere in the pages.

Thanks, Veronica.
I am, and have been, greatly enjoying allowing myself to fall wholeheartedly into different countries with different characters acting as my guide. Want to see where I went to last night? Come this way: http://european-films.net/component/option,com_jmovies/Itemid,91/task,player/id,277/ (without subtitles sadly)

Ah, thanks, Jenny. A little something from your side of the south sounds just perfect to me (!!!)... I've missed reading your blog, and I'm finally catching up on your Rio de Janeiro photos and words - wonderful!

Hi there, Andrea, Sophie, Kate and Fanja too.
I am loving the film fest this year... loving travelling to parts of the world I've yet to see, loving seeing them through the eyes of the various directors, and loving going into the cinema in the day and leaving in the dark. Each film has flowed onto the next so well... I'll definitely be a little lost when it all comes to a close this Sunday. I'll have to squeeze in another post before then, and take you all with me, eh? Choctops, takeaway coffees? Let me take your order.

Ah, Lisa... you would love the visuals in this film. The colours of Tibet in the 40s and 50s, from robes, drums and festival processions, all against that most beautiful backdrop... so very, very, you.

Next year, next year, Brydie. I have four more films to see before it all draws to a close and I'm going to miss the divine indulgence of slinking into the cinema, parking near to the aisle, slidding my feet free of their shoes, and allowing myself to think of nothing else other than what is occurring on screen. Best of luck with the set up of your work... can't wait to see it. GOOD LUCK!

Yes, please do, Risa! Off we go.

Hi there A Fanciful Twist,
Here's to hoping you managed to head to the movies sometime this week, festival or no festival.

Ah, I'd forgotten that old favourite escape to a cool cinema in the middle of summer... that retreat into a dark cave to escape the glare of the sun outside. Enjoy those ol' classics and new ones too. (Thus far I've only managed two in a row... four shall be a challenge, a happy challenge.)

Thanks, Maditi... more than happy to oblige.

And thanks, Crust Station, too. This week I think my juggling skills abandoned me... work is piling up around my ears... both of 'em. Do you think I could just stay at the movies a little longer and deal with all the pieces later?

Hi there Paula,
Yes, to travel to other places through cinema is so very wonderful. To see whole other worlds... to explore the woods in Denmark or Helsinki at night as a lonely security guard. I don't want it to end. I hope you, too, managed to squeeze in a film this week.

take care,
grache xo