First Weekend Back in London

On Friday night I attended a BBC Concert Orchestra performance, "Nightmare Romance - Bernard Herrmann & Alfred Hitchcock", at the Barbican Centre. The orchestra played selected pieces of Herrman's soundtrack scores, mostly from his collaborations with Hitchcock. Although I'm familiar with all the pieces that were played, it was still wonderful to hear them live, and especially to see the string section working overtime during the Psycho pieces.

My first Saturday back in London was spent wandering through the West End, visiting the weekly computer fair on Streatham Street, lunch in Soho, followed by an hour at the National Portrait Gallery. The roads leading to Trafalgar Square were backed up for hundreds of metres. I followed the congestion to the square, where an anti-war protest was wrapping up. I have more photos here.

Today I met up with Kurt, Max, and David for lunch, before we all participated in the Kairos Walking Tour of Gay and Lesbian Soho. Home to Poland Street and Greek Street, and adjacent to Chinatown, Soho has a long history of providing safe harbour to minority groups. I've been meaning to do the walk for some time, and it was well worth the time. It was also nice to be oustide on a beautifully sunny day. It's so exciting to know that summer is definitely on the way.

V for Vendetta

This is the Odeon cinema on Leicester Square. The largest cinema in Great Britain, with a capacity of 1700, this is where all UK film premieres, and the BAFTAs, are held. The building, and often the whole square, is redecorated for a major film release. You can still see some V for Vendetta flags still hanging near the tree.

I really enjoyed the film. It's glossy, thought-provoking, and offers a few narrative twists to keep things interesting. It also features several London locations, including the Old Bailey, the BT Tower, and the Houses of Parliament.

Set in a dystopic future vision of London, the film attempts to present the flip-side of terrorism - the notion that terrorists are inherently honourable, and a necessary evil to overpower fascist regimes. Despite the futuristic setting, the city looks very much like today's capital. And as there are several high-profile terrorist events, including one attack on the Underground, this all might ring a little too true for some Londoners. I saw around ten people walk out of the picture, never to return. Then again, maybe I'm reading too much into it. For an action film, it wasn't afraid of miring the action in slow scenes.

Still, unlike many action films, this one does make you think. The film ends (literally) quite explosively, seemingly on a high note, and seemingly in favour of terrorism (at least under certain circumstances). In fact, it teeters on the brink of being irresponsible, and I fear that many viewers will not look past the Hollywood ending, and not see the subtle hint that terrorist events are empty promises, and that nobody really wins.

Remember, remember, the fifth of November...