h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've been so busy going to films (and other stuff) this week that I haven't managed to write any journal entries. This will be brief and - I hope - to the point.

Tuesday: 'Goodnight Irene' http://www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk/films/2008/goodnight-irene
I saw this with a couple of people I always meet at the Film Festival, and although they are obviously both regular cinema-goers, I have never seen them at the Picturehouse at any other time. We all enjoyed it, and the Q&A with the young Portuguese director was also very interesting. The interiors were amazing - the people sourcing props must have had a fantastic time. However, I met another friend later in the week who had also seen it, and she felt it was bitty and didn't hang together very well. Oh, and guess what - someone dies in it. This seems to be my theme for the Festival this year.

Wednesday: 'Summer' http://www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk/films/2008/summer-2008
Had to see this as I'm a big fan of Robert Carlyle. It was a bit bleak in the style of Ken Loach. And someone dies.

Thursday: 'Algeria: Unspoken Stories' http://www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk/films/2008/algeria-unspoken-stories
Interesting documentary about four different people living in different parts of Algeria, reminiscing/researching about events that happened around the time of the struggle for independence. I particularly liked the linguistic mixing of Arabic/French/Spanish. Would have benefited from some radical editing - it's 160 minutes long.

Friday: 'How to Lose Friends & Alienate People' http://www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk/films/2008/how-to-lose-friends-and-alienate-people
Saw this with my sister, who was staying for the w/e, as I thought she would like it better than my usual Festival-type films. We both enjoyed it. Toby Young (who wrote the autobiographical book on which the film is based) and Steven Woolley (producer) did a Q&A afterwards. They stressed that it was supposed to be a satire, as well as a rom-com - I don't think the satirical aspect quite came off.

Saturday: 'In the city of Sylvia' http://www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk/films/2008/in-the-city-of-sylvia-en-la-ciudad
Had offered to get my sister a ticket for this too, but she felt that one film in a w/e was enough, and didn't want to see anything with subtitles. I'm glad she didn't come, as it was most definitely not her cup of tea. Might have missed a bit when I dozed off in the middle, but it was basically PFC (pretentious French carp). Chose it because it's filmed in Strasbourg, where I used to live, but even that aspect was not specially interesting, except that a bar where I used to go quite often was a significant place in the film.