Tuesday 8 June 2010

After Life and The Wedding from Japan and Russia

Friday 18th July has been a day of slow and solid working in preparation for the activity over the next fortnight, weather permitting, and then a film a significance and then a failure to progress for several hours. I will talk first of After Life, a film made in Japan

Twenty two people of varying ages have died and find themselves in a decaying and poorly furnished building when they are informed they have three days to select the one memory they would like to remember for eternity at the exclusion of all others. Having selected the memory it is recreated as a film with actors and cinematography effects to ensure it is as they wish to remember. It has to be an authentic memory and the organisers of the situation are able to provide video tapes of all previous experience for anyone who has difficulty in deciding or remembering. On the seventh day the films are shown and then they go to where they may well spend eternity.

Anyone who has read anything of what I have said about my work will understand that this film is at the core of my concept although as with two of the twenty two in the film I baulk at having to select just one memory and I recreate as much as I can, everything both happy and sad, interesting, unique, everyday and boring, while also adding to the total of experience, attempting to outweigh the bad with the good, as I do my overall contribution to humanity. even if I don't write about what I do and think because it is confidential or too painful to attempt to put into words. I am obligated to what I believe to include all experience.

I suppose if one only has a good memory or a memory that is important to you and no others there is no sense of loss, emptiness, guilt, failure, disappointment, fear on pain. It is therefore impossible to make a judgement whether this form of being would be better than my present all embracing experience recreation.

In the film there three souls when they died, one towards the end of World War II who help the new arrivals to select a memory and then ensure that it is recreated as they would wish on film and therefore are crucial facilitators into the passage of the newly dead into a good eternity. It emerges as the film progresses that these three failed to come to a decision, hence their role in this limbo, in which it is evident they continues to remember their lives. It is presumed that those whose life end without redefining qualities have moved straight into a hell where they are locked into a bad memory, where ones sense of justice hopes it will be appropriately horrific and painful according to the weight of their sins.

Only of secondary interest was the moments which individuals selected and which reflected the overall nature of their lives and personalities. I found that the film had a bleak view of life, albeit a realistic one. Although also realistic in its appraisal of individual lives and human behaviour, the Russian film The Wedding was a much more enjoyable affair, confirming my long held view that the communist or any from of ideology is doomed to failure when imposed upon an uneducated and predominantly. peasant population because all they want to do is eat, have sex and make merry and will support any individual or group who promises this in the present or in a future life. Appealing to Christian and socialistic values is something which will only having meaning and significant to a minority.

I continue to marvel at the Royal Albert Hall as a building and as place to celebrate good music. I should must check to see if there is a tour on my next visit to London was well as the promenade concert. My three days where the highlight was to have been the visit to Lords begins to have as good an appeal. The sight of the Royal Albert hall at the first night of the Promenade concert brings back the memory of that first time as a seventeen year old when I purchased a first half seasons season ticket with entry to the first night and where I then went to most concerts arriving home for bed to get up in time for a trip back to London and work for the day. Last night I only caught the second half of the programme which feature music of the musical mind rather than the romantic soul, especially the solo piece on the renovated organ with its thousands of pipes and I was taken back to a church in the South of France on a very hot summer's day where the organist whether intending to do so or not gave a recital to the otherwise deserted building for an hour or so.

After midnight it was a replay of the best of last weekends T in the Park, the Scottish Glastonbury and where it became evident that there are a small group of A list bands who are doing the festivals across Europe, with Amy, The Ting Tings. The Kings of Leon, the Fratellis. The Raconteurs, all appearing this year and with the exception of the Ting Tings listed for next. This appears to be much more of a Rock fest than an environmental harking back to flower power days with approaching 200 bands listed on some nine stages over the three days. Such is the amazing support for this festival and 40000 early bird tickets for the 2009 event were sold out within ten hours of launching yesterday. The style of the fest voted the best of 2008 is on safety and security. Young people aged between five years and sixteen can only attend if they pay the full price and have appropriate guardianship documentation and there is strict regulation designed to ensures that everyone enjoys the music with the minimum of the usual side problems associated with such gatherings. For around £1000 there is a Tip ready erected tent available with car parking and hospitality passes still available for the weekend for two with the option of additional 4 tickets at the rate of £230, so the total cost for a party of six sharing a tent is around £2000, around £340 which is not bad.

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