Import//Export

Following my recent interest into German film, I found another title that I'd like to share with you... Import Export directed by Ulrich Seidl (Granted it's actually an Austrian film, but it is filmed in the German and Ukrainian languages).

The film is an arthouse production that see's two unhappy characters cross between Austria and the Ukraine. Whilst they never meet, you feel a strong empathy for both of them throughout the film.

I have to say that the film is somewhat disturbing and even genuinely frightening in places, particularly where Seidl has filmed elderly patients in hospital at the end of their life. I found this upsetting and even distasteful as they could surely not have been able to give their consent to be filmed in such a way.

Having said this, the film was gripping and I found myself thinking about it for the next few days in much greater detail.

So my verdict is - watch it, but watch it in a good mood - otherwise you might find your mood taking a nose-dive.

Goodbye Lenin!

OK so in my last post I said that the German film Mannerherzen was at the top of my must-see list, but when I was watching the trailer, I stumbled across this. Goodbye Lenin is a moving comedy about a woman who suffers a hear attack just before the fall of the Berlin wall and wakes up from a coma eight months later when her family have to convince her that nothing has happened.

It stars Daniel Bruhl (of Inglorious Basterds fame). You must see this film - its epic!

Marrakech - So Close yet So Far Away...

This is the amazing Moroccan city of Marrakech. The fact that it sits on a budget airlines route map from my local airport is amazing, mainly because culturally, it is miles apart from anywhere else I have travelled in Europe (Yes, I know it's technically North Africa, but you get my point...)

The arabic graffiti on the streets of town is probably the most noticeable difference from the experiences of my other travels. It really makes you recognize the cultural distance better than anything else.

Shoes & Spices in the Souks. Your senses are pulled in every direction and the whole place is like a maze - I got lost in here for about 3 hours and loved every second of it!

This is a small independent Moroccan cinema run by a charity. I spoke to the man who owns it and he showed me around (without speaking a single word of English!) He even showed me how to change the reel on the projector - fascinating!

Moroccan food is the main memory of Marrakech that will stay with me. Eating outside in the central square close to midnight, in shorts and a vest, in January! Tajine and houmous has now taken its place as my favorite food, however it will never taste the same at home! The food market in the picture is so busy all day and is a real stage show of colour and smell.