Flight 714 to Brussels (Vossenplein/Place Du Jeu De Balle)

FLEA MARKET ATTRACTS ALL RANKS OF SOCIETY

Hergé at the flea market in 1968 © Hergé Museum

Okay the Brussels flea market - although officially befriended - is not comparable to the Saint-Ouen marché aux puces in the Parisian suburb. That is a huge one! Not so in the Brussels Marollen quarter where the daily market is held on just one great square and does not consist of many streets like in Paris what makes it more manageable, if you want. Another difference is that the Brussels flea market is very nonchalant. There's lots of enormous rubbish on the carpets covering the cobblestones but if you look well you can find some genuine gems or save some great books from a rainy day.

The sellers - a lot of Arabs - won't mind. That is for the books, a violin for example will not be for free. I even found a beautiful old box and when I opened it there were just pictures and letters from a world war soldier of a village in the greater Brussels region, but I let his heritage rest in peace. Anyway, lots of stuff for collectors to go through at a market that still has that original Brussels' touch which becomes more and more rare as the real 'Marolliens' - who were born in the socially neglected neighbourhood - have almost all disappeared.

A cup of soup

You still have some poor, often elderly people who live there or enter the pubs for a cup of soup each day but almost none had their cradle in the hood. The last few years the place is being modernised which makes it more accessible for tourists as it used to have a more edgy reputation in the past. But you can find crowd from all ranks of society at the square, from young music producers to richer business people.

One of the original Brussels' inhabitants or 'Kets' who found inspiration at the place, originating from 1873, was the inventor of strip hero Kuifje or Tintin, the late world famous Hergé. In 'The Secret Of The Unicorn' album, Tintin gets possession of a three-master scale model at the old market which leads him from one secret to another discovery. There's also Tintin memorabilia or albums to find at the square if you look well. That way you don't necessarily need to be in the Walloon student town of Louvain-La-Neuve for the Hergé-museum where the merchandise obviously is much more expensive.



But all other reasons to go there remain good! Thinking back at my recent visit in L-L-N just one picture stood out for me and that is exactly the one I'm showing here at the start. It puzzled me enough to make it to the Vossenplein or La Place du Jeu de Balle, called that way because of its early recreation function. The giant vertical print in the museum shows Hergé looking like a humorous art dandy clearly enjoying the moment and life in 1968. One thing I might uncover is that the man was a big fan of music band Pink Floyd and other psychedelic brothers or sisters. If you've seen and read the first album of Tintin where he travels to Russia you will understand why. That album is a crazy road 'trip' in all its aspects. I won't suggest anything but it's clear that Tintin was born out of experiment. His figure became a bit less extreme but if you look well there's still a sharp edge to him in some later albums.

The picture at the Vossenplein was taken when Hergé was a bit older, wiser and already a succesful artist and business leader. Showing this pic is not nostalgic driven. 'Le marché aux puces' is still going strong in Brussels despite internet; not far away are the gigantic heads of Tintin and his dog Snowy covering the rooftops of publishing house Le Lombard near the South station and Brussels is still Belgian's (and possibly Europe's or even the world's) comic capital, celebrating this with many of its façades, rear sides or side walls decorated with well known comic figures. 'Comic strip street art', quoi. Originally, since 1991, it was a way of embellishing the city by the local authorities and The Belgian Comic Strip Center. But it evolved into a 'Comic Book Route' with more than fifty mural paintings - from Tintin to Lucky Luke and Gaston Lagaffe over Boule & Bill (see my picture at Rue du Chevreuil/Reebokstraat leading to the market) and The Smurfs - and even involving neighbourhoods as Laken and Oudergem. Yet another touristic asset...

Hidden treasure

It livens up the places just like the Vossenplein lives up out of poverty nowadays.  The Brussels' flea market still keeps its promise of being a tradition which doesn't mean it should be surrounded by unreasonable poverty.

"The flea market still keeps its promise of being a tradition which doesn't mean it should be surrounded by unreasonable poverty"

So take a look there, it's safe, entertaining and you might find a hidden treasure. If you are in the neighbourhood at night and in the weekend you might want to visit legendary discotheque The Fuse in the Blaesstraat/Rue Blaes, a street adjacent to the square. Meanwhile Tintin's fuse is still lighting up Brussels and the world...

02.12.2018

GOLDEN EARRING, THE KIDS Live @ Zulzeekse Feesten, Kluisbergen - Belgium - 28.07.2018

MUSICAL MASTERCLASS IN CYCLING VILLAGE

So yes, I was the whole week at Rockall where they have no internet and that's why this stayed in my shelf for that time. But nevermind here is my review because ZZ was top! The Fest I mean... And for 2019 you'll see these bands around again at the summer festivals in the low lands. Has it ever been different?

It was eighty years ago that the earth trembled in Zulzeke. Maybe that's why the organisation thought at The Kids and in lesser degree at Golden Earring for shaking up their summerfest. Because from The Kids you can expect rattling music while Golden Earring brings a more subtle rock sound. Three thousand spectators was maybe a bit too optimistic for the gigs on saturday but the concerts brought life into a normally only by cycling events moved village. The Kids, one of the longest running Belgian bands, celebrated in 2016 their fortieth anniversary back then with local talents Black Tolex opening up for them.

That's an honour for the troups of Ludo Mariman of course because who says punkrock in Belgium and Flanders can not go passed this Antwerp band. Moreover, you know what you gonna get when you put the Belgian Ramones on your bill. Already early in the set we got to hear that 'There Will Be No Next Time' and that the authorities are 'Fascist Cops' (but luckily they were at the entrance then). And 'If The Kids Are United' that the rich may fear for a 'White Riot'. Bringing lyrically with

"That's my life until I die"

even the ultimate ode to rock'n roll. Respect!

With Golden Earring you bring in experience, performing pleasure, feeling and class on your festival. The four Dutchmen are at seventy years (ssst!) still one by one top musicians and so is their show. In their home country they haven't been equalled until now and their gig simply brings enjoyment, for their sound fitted perfect and didn't automatically require loudness.

Late seventies' & eighties' touch

The folky 'Another 45 Miles' was the perfect example of that. A song that rang in the seventies and has since always been strongly appreciated. 'When The Lady Smiles' was instantly recognised but 'Going To The Run' - a bikers' ode - and 'Johnny Make Believe' - with bass player Gerritsen at the organ - were the sing-a-longs that enchanted the audience. And the living proof that this band had also succesful singles in the eighties and nineties.

The guys from The Hague even brought with them saxophone player Bertus Borgers who looked after that typical late seventies' and eighties' touch. Those that know the Golden Earring shows are aware of the space they allow the solo improvisations during the intervals of their greatest hit 'Radar Love'. At first it was Rinus Gerritsen making his self-made double bass sound like a sax whereafter he relaxedly unleashed a bursting solo on exotic lively vibes.



Then it was time for drummer Cesar Zuiderwijk to show why he's got a double drum mounted behind his head. Show and drumsticks juggling but also intruiging worldly sounds: these are ingredients of a band that's got something extra to offer. Summarized, a masterclass in music on a hot summer night that for many went even into higher gear during the afterparty. Golden Earring was not awaiting a hangover on sunday, but with Aalter their second summerfest of a Belgian weekend!



Setlist: Just Like Vince Taylor/ Identical/ 45 Miles/ Twilight Zone/ The Devil Made Me Do It/ Going To The Run/ When The Lady Smiles/ Long Blond Animal/ Johnny Make Believe/ Radar Love

Bis: She Flies On Strange Wings/ Holy Holy Life



08.08.2018

Bron IIII Makes for a Worthy End

Bron IIII picks well in on one of the hottest themes of modern (Western) society. That was welcome as the previous events came over a bit far sought. Immigration issues tend to attract populistic debate and, with The Bridge, popular detective series which reflect actual tendances. In that option we are captivated once again. 

From the second episode on Saga is being presented a bit like a super heroine after her dismissal out of prison, but okay no series withour her autistic character and super heroes fight back so that's where the viewers like to identify. But our clear-sighted heroine has obviously some traumas and then you need a therapist, so she's human after all. Further on the same ingredients - nordic cool, nice air shots, dark sides and intrigues of course and many story lines - which fans love and expect and that is overall a good thing.

In episode four things get in acceleration but it never gets really cheap. At the right times information is being brought to light and contributors to the story shed their mysterious skins. As said, this series go along with modern times: abortion issues, the come-back of breast-feeding, office flexibility and the usage of drones... It sets the sphere but that's not the most important point for spectators of Bron want to feel the suspense and that's slowly building up. The main story-line even reminds us at the mother of modern crime movies, Seven, with the means of death penalty, a list of seven deaths that the killer seems to go by when choosing his victims.

Like business networks

Bron IIII's also like business networks, family or a little village: in the end everyone's connected and that's on one hand a bit too simplistic, but on the other hand the chess play and unexpected turns can begin, certainly in episode six. That's how detective series often go or speed up because otherwise you have a boring story and The Bridge is no difference: find the connector or connection and you come close to the killer. 

        Øresund Bridge © BBC

But what's special is that another crime story entertwines and also comes to a close here. And that gives it some extra salt and pepper. So all in all the production team keeps the level that is expected from them. When it gets difficult there's always the autistic side that solves things or messes it up which is a useful means for the scenarist. 

"When it gets difficult there's always the autistic side that solves things or messes it up"

Bron IIII is in my opinion a worthy end - better than the third - to a popular series before it becomes a gimmick. And the theme song's main verse "Everything goes back to the beginning" shows that there's always been an underlaying psychological line or motive in Bron which proves this series was not put together at random. That's why the translation of Bron in dutch becomes very appropriate : the source!

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       • Bron | Broen 4 (TV series, 2018, Sweden-Denmark), 8 episodes

☆ Created by Hans Rosenfeldt. Written by Hans Rosenfeldt and Camilla Ahlgren

☆ Starring Sofia Helin and Thure Lindhardt

☆ Sveriges Television (SVT), Danmarks Radio (DR) and the German ZDF are the main financiers and co-producers of the series. ZDF is also the distributor.

☆ Nordic noir is a genre of crime fiction happening in 'dark' Scandinavia, usually seen from police pov. The Nordic has a history of almost two centuries in crime writing. Due to its success, demand for this top export product has overgrown production capacity

28.09.2018

LES NÉGRESSES VERTES Live @ De Casino, Sint-Niklaas - Belgium - 05.05.2018

ARTISTS BY NATURE BACK FOR FESTIVAL SUMMER

This review on the gig of Les Négresses Vertes at De Casino (Sint-Niklaas) appeared on Peek-a-boo (www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be) also and I put it here too. In may 2018 Négresses Vertes visited Belgium and Holland and sold out these gigs. Luckily I was there... Now we're a year later and Les Négresses are still going strong in their neighbouring countries with another hot summer in sight. So my heading remains relevant!

One of the most original, playful and rhythmic bands from France, Europe and even the world has decided to tour again and to visit Flanders and Holland in april and may for that reason. Les Négresses Vertes… weren’t that those punks in costumes with their mix of rock, chanson and world music? Sort of… Because Music rebought their back catalogue and rereleased the four studio albums of the band, also on LP. And the record label wanted to celebrate that in the best way possible. The idea was launched, they talked… et voilà. End of february 2018 their secretly prepared tour began carefully with three shows in Wallonia. In the end there were more than eighty dates fixed and there are still new shows being added to the list. The interest in this band remains big and rightfully so!

That Helno, the poet and parttime clown from the 19th arrondissement of Paris, isn’t present anymore because of death is known. His cheeky lyrics and first fellow bandmembers, for a good part, still are. Those that remember the record sleeve of debut Mlah (1988), where the tour is being dedicated to, know that they were a numerous family. The first two drummers and also the pianist/multi-instrumentalist L'Ami Jo left the band already long ago. Longtime accordeonist Canavese too has been replaced for this tour. That still makes five of the original gang joining in: the Mellino’s, the brothers Paulus (or Paulo and Sirinix) and also film maker Michel Ochowiak aka Twist. Mlah roughly means ‘it’s okay’ in Arabian slang and was a good indication for the musical ode the band brings to the diversity in Paris and suburbs.

An old friend’s visit

Just outgrown the Paris’ subway and the flea market of Saint-Ouen, it went fast upwards for Négresses Vertes. That changed suddenly with the disappearing of their figure-head. The rise has been stopped since then, the pleasure in music and life of the bandmembers didn’t. The ferventness may have gone away or become lesser, but the fire, the accordion melodies, the southern guitar rhythms and the trumpet and trombone blowing – what made them so unique – are still present. However it must be noted that the impressive percussion of the debut is missing. New drummer Rabaté often plays a serious beat and Iza Mellino does her trick but only a tambourine or shakers are not a match for the original hand rhythm section. It might be the reason the pace in their show has weakened a bit.



Besides that is replacing the astute frontman Helno a nearly impossible task. The Négresses solved it again among themselves and that certainly was and is the most integer choice. The loss of inspiration and counter-balance that street rascal Helno gave to the other singer (and also guitarist) Mellino and the members after all caused a creative impoverishment with the band, ultimately performing till begin 2002. Gathered around a common no future-sentiment, the first but also second album stood full of realistic and dark pessimistic songs despite the cheerful folk sounds. A brilliant paradox so to say!

"Their first two albums stood full dark songs despite cheerful folk sounds. A brilliant paradox!"

Maybe therefore that current accordionist Cizzko started their magnificent 'Valse' out of the dark. Following immediately was a line put out to the other tormented by life, the fishermen, with the anthem 'Pas La Mer À Boire'. The song started out a bit slowly but what an ingenious lyrics and accordion melody!

The merry 'Voilà l’Été' gets dug up every year with the first rays of sun and that timing was right on here again. It’s a classic and not only with the lovers of the French chanson. Paolo on vocals and with his little ukulele managed to give the song yet another new life. The first climax also for the fans of trumpet and trombone thanks to Sirinix and Twist. Furthermore, guitar player Mellino has been touring long enough to articulate his dutch words perfectly. Little things maybe but it feeds the good vibes.

The concert needed some time – let’s say as with the visit of an old friend – but once loose it went swinging from 'Orane' with its mysterious arabic (electronic) tones completed by organ over 'Hey Maria', a complaint against suicide, to Mellino’s equally rhythmic 'L’Homme Des Marais' that made the party explode for the first time. An ode to love but surrounded by a swamp, what did you expect? While most of the songs were played on a classic and acoustic guitar the band moulded 'Les Yeux De Ton Père' in a more modern rock jacket with Mellino on electric guitar, Cizzko on portable keyboard and Paulo at vocals. Undoubtedly they know their punk classics – The Clash wasn’t far off – but it was somewhat more upbeat which yielded a lot of applause.

Post-punk manifest

On 'Les Rablablas' Mellino and Cizzko, reunited with his Parisian trademark, threw themselves – not for the last time - enthousiastically on the front of the stage near or under the fans. And during the close of 'Zobi', in fact a genuine post-punk manifest, trombonist Sirinix this time played for living fly that fears to be crushed. You don’t have to sing perfectly if you have a sense for the song but what a vibrating atmosphere! With Mellino driving the rhythm as a worthy gypsy king and finishing it off solo. As for show and artistry he and his ‘copains’ don’t need lessons. While they’re in their fifties they even more resemble a travelling musical street theater group than before.

In the encores that same man soloed in the beautifully shady 'Face À La Mer', after which he picked  the melancholic sounding slow 'Hasta Llegar' on his Spanish guitar, supported by Paulo and his familiar bass. Also 'Les Mégots', another somewhat slow song from the same Trabendo album, showed up. Only for a real festival band to make a ska version of it and that’s when the trombone plays a leading role while Ochowiak took over the bass. And even rapping wasn’t akin to the Parisians. They used it to wrap around the public and their final song 'Soleil De Bodega'. That was the absolute climax of the evening with the whole crowd on fire at the southern flamenco rumba guitar rhythms.

Conclusion: musically maybe a little less perfect and sharp than before, it’s obvious that Les Négresses Vertes remain artists by nature with a big joie-de-vivre, with strong danceable folk songs and with a twist (literally and figuratively 😉). At the same time they’re punks that don’t give a damn about likes on the internet. No, they prefer to play music! Who missed them out in Sint-Niklaas, Rijkevorsel or Leuven: don’t panic... In Belgium you can still see them in august this year on Dranouter, the Brussels Summer Festival and in Namur (Festival Des Solidarités). La fête, mlah!

Setlist: La Valse/ C'est Pas La Mer À Boire/ Voilà l'Été/ La Faim Des Haricots/ Orane/ Hey Maria/ L'Homme Des Marais/ La Danse Des Négresses Vertes/ Il/ Marcelle Ratafia/ Les Yeux De Ton Père/ Les Rablablas Les Roubliblis/ Zobi La Mouche

Encore 1: Face A La Mer/ Hasta Llegar/ Les Mégots

Encore 2: Sous Le Soleil De Bodega

19.05.2018

Another Cold-hot Issue!

END OF THE WORLD MIGHT'VE BEEN NEARER THAN WE THOUGHT

It used to be better! In the days... Okay, this was what I thought at the height of fundamentalism attacks on western society. It wasn't too hard to conclude that. At this moment things have bettered, it seems the safety and peace have returned a bit, and we can only hope this will last. We don't want to live in fear or lose our western values, that's as obvious as it is a truism. But things go fast and guess what, maybe cold war times are coming back or maybe, in the darkest holes, these times never ended. I don't want to make this net op-ed too political, I'm not that man... Just keep in mind that in cold war times, even or especially in the eighties, the end of the world might've been much nearer than we thought.

Pretty tight sphere

Maybe you've seen the documentary The Man Who Saved the World about the Russian colonel Stanislav Petrov who allegedly prevented a nuclear disaster after Soviets panicked when they got a false nuclear alarm call in september 1983. Okay, maybe this incident has been blown up (sorry...) somewhat for filmic reasons. If not we can't ask colonel Petrov anymore because sadly he died in 2017. So we should ask another protagonist when not under wodka. But that's not the point, the documentary captures well the sphere in militaristic circles of that time and that was pretty tight. The end of the world was close but funnily it was as in the movies where they say:

"There's a bomb under the table"

... it never happened and that's why I'm writing about it now. Still, was it that better? Hum... it's not that the Russians were or are such darlings but personally I prefer communists with their psychological warfare over a bunch of fundamentalistic madmen who are shredding themselves and your favourite discotheque (yeah I'm a bit old-fashioned) into pieces just when you think you're a polar bear at the cold North Pole.

        Grauzone - Eisbär (remastered)

And then, obviously, you can not weep anymore... I mean that goes from icecold to burning hot in a few seconds and honestly... no one will benefit from such an act. Some do ages to come to that understanding, others just use their logical natural reasoning. It's true, I oversimplify these things and for many it's not as playful as I want my words to be. Far off in fact, there's a lot of misery, hidden or not, we all know that but that's not what I want to say. I started to say things used to be better. And I wanted to add... 'in espionage times'. Again not everyone will agree to that and maybe on second thought I don't fully agree anymore either.

Espionage never ended

Because what I realise now is: espionage times never ended - it just evolved - and cold war is what we're sitting in right at this moment. It's just that most of us are not being aware of it. I don't know if this will become clearer in future but one can say the dazzling trick of governments worked well because few have noticed what's really going on... Foreign jet fighters still cross other national borders in a provoking game. The teasing continues and there are some new competitors that try to profile themselves in today's cold war. Rockets are back in style. So I ask myself who will become the new Petrov?

   

   Russian colonel Stanislav Petrov in 1999 © Juliet Butler 

In the new documentary he will most probably be an underground internet hero that has prevented a state from undergoing a lethal hacking attack. No need to ask in fact, because such a movie might have already been made and analogous stories will be made in future although they will not be a mainstream succes or else the blinding trick would fail. It's not that sources come out that easily, it's more - like I said - that things go faster now. Anyway still nothing can compare to the dark eighties espionage movies. So yes, to answer my own question, it used to be better now! Enough written, I'll end with something I don't question and that is polar bears DO weep. Yet that's another alarming cold-hot issue...

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       • The Man Who Saved the World (2013, Statement Film, Denmark)

☆ Directed by Peter Anthony. Starring Stanislav Petrov, Kevin Costner, Nataliya Vdovina and Sergey Schnyryov

☆ Awarded eight times and nominated seven times at festivals around the world

www.themanwhosavedtheworldmovie.com

15.02.2018

CGI Does Not Live Up to the 47 Ronin's (Moral) Standard

Just a few words about 47 Ronin, which came out in 2013 and was directed by Carl Rinsch. I saw it on television almost five years later. The movie, a mix between fantasy movies like the obligate Lord of the Rings productions and samurai action movies, undoubtedly aimed at a large public. There's some computer graphics in it which make it more sensational or obviously more fantastic. Not that it's overloaded with cgi but a good movie can do without. This is proven by the last scene, a collective ritual, which is very powerful.

     Hiroyuki Sanada as Ōishi Yoshio, leader of the forty-seven rōnin © Universal Pictures

Besides there's plenty enough action, drama and samurai philosophy in this story to not warrant these artificial film techniques. I prefer movies where the viewer can use his or her own imagination to fill the gap that is now taken by the graphics. At some point it is a bonus like in the Tengu forest when there's a depiction of a psychological test or battle. The shapeshifting witch can do some handy tricks too without not looking grotesque but that's over when becoming a monster. Monsters in this film or even the Tengu priest are a bit too far away from reality and perhaps even from imagination.

Never beyond stereotypes

All in all I didn't mind watching 47 Ronin but it never gets beyond the stereotypical movie be it fantasy, action or both. Hiroyuki Sanada, as the leader of the masterless rōnin, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as the shogun are good casts but in general acting and action scenes are not above average. Neither are the turns nor the plot. Of course this is not abnormal as this is a well known historical story. But the film does not add anything to it and so isn't Keanu Reeves. 

"Keanu is primarily a 'name' on the poster for the public to go and watch this motion picture"

That I almost forgot him says enough I guess: he's primarily a 'name' on the poster and credits for the public to go and watch this motion picture. In the end the high code of honour of these Japanese gentleman-fighters is the most you will remember from this scenographic work. And if you like Japanese culture and fantastic movies there's a reason to watch. But nothing more than that.

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       • 47 Ronin (2013, Universal Pictures, United States) 

☆ Directed by Carl Rinsch. Starring Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Rinko Kikuchi and Ko Shibasaki

☆ The movie is based on Chūshingura, Japanese fictionalized stories involving the forty-seven rōnin and their historic mission to avenge the death of their master

☆ Blade of the 47 Ronin, its sequel, was released on Netflix at the end of october 2022

10.01.2018

The Bridge Season 3, Inventive but Probably Too

I have recently watched the third season of the Swedish-Danish crime drama series The Bridge, which was released in 2015. I can not say that it was a sublime one neither that it was a bad one, the last mainly because of the fast turns in the unrolling of the plot, the many entertaining story lines and the entailing suspense.

But I must emphasize that I found the story at times too unrealistic, especially at the end of the series during episodes 7, 8 and 9. It's quite difficult to imagine that the serial killer did not have an accomplice. If he did all the preparatory work by himself, he then had to be a very technically skilled and probably rather experienced person and I find that hard to believe of a young art museum employee who particularly knows his job subjects in theory. Not even speaking of an overloaded time-schedule, the act of self-torture and as a consequence his calculated capacity for fainting out somewhat later pretty much exactly in front of the accidental passer-by.

Artificial

The scenarists have been very inventive in creating this art murder plot. It chased away the boredom for sure, but to me art can pretty fast result in artificial. Besides there are way too many deaths in much too short time to keep this story credible.

        Sofia Helin as detective Saga Norén and Dag Malmberg as Police Commissioner Hans Petterson © Carolina Romare / SVT

Also the connection between the culprit and the Afghan veteran is not sufficiently explained in my opinion. Did they have the same father or not? The truth about this former soldier's origin has been neglected in the finale and remains hazy as such which is a shortcoming as he was a critical figure for the murder mystery to be revealed.

"Bron III lacked the realism you find in the Swedish  Wallander TV series, not necessarily the slowness"

All in all I did have a good time with Bron III but the whole lacked the realism you find in the Swedish Wallander TV series,  not necessarily the slowness.

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       • Bron | Broen 3 (TV series, 2015, Sweden-Denmark), 10 episodes

☆ Created by Hans Rosenfeldt. Written by Hans Rosenfeldt and Camilla Ahlgren

☆ Starring Sofia Helin and Kim Bodnia

☆ Production companies are Filmlance International for Sweden and Nimbus Film for Denmark

☆ When season two premiered in the UK, it got the highest number of viewers for an international TV series in the history of BBC4

07.09.2016

Circle of Eight, Just a Matter of Understanding

This film which came out in 2009 seems a bit weird but is definitely worth a view. There have been some questions about the understanding of Circle of Eight which have sufficiently been answered on the internet. But I'd like to mention my remark on the core message of the movie, so if you have not watched the movie already stop reading here or it will spoil your watching experience! I get the message of the movie, I think, that humans do not easily learn to do the right thing whether in one life or in many as the movie suggests.

But the situation where the main character does need to learn from is not correct in my view. Who's in a life threatening situation where he/she can save a life but decides not to do therefore is not in fault. Humans are genetically programmed to flea or fight in these situations. 

"Who chooses to flea instead of fight in a life-threatening situation is not wrong in my opinion"

Who chooses to flea is not wrong in my opinion, it's just a perfectly natural reaction on a threat. I don't believe we need to come back to learn to fight, because the spirit would then not be harmonical to nature's capacities.

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       • Circle of Eight (2009, Paramount Pictures, United States) 

       

☆ Directed by Stephen Cragg. Starring John Bishop, Ryan Doom, Austin Highsmith Garces and Kirk Bovill

☆ This movie is labeled horror, mystery and sci-fi by imdb.com

☆ Setting is a L.A. based apartment building called 'The Dante', a strong reference to Italian poet Dante Aligheiri and his seminal work La Divina Commedia

26.08.2016

Egon Schiele Under Attack

As you probably do not know I'm a fan of the work of Egon Schiele. I'm not really an expert into the painting art but for my feeling he is one of the greatest painters that have been. It is said his work is alienating, I would say it is a bit distorted as was his life. Egon lead a rather difficult short life which was filled with scandal and death. He painted expressionist portraits of himself and other people, among which lots of erotic ones, some city views and landscapes all done in a unique, maybe childish style but never simple.

"Egon Schiele lead a rather difficult short life which was filled with scandal and death"

It is also said Schiele was more a drawer than a painter because of the prominent use of lines after which he did the colouring. In a way I can cope with that as I could easily see his works figuring in an experimental comic strip album. Just watch his portrayal of the Port of Triest or his Self-portrait as Saint Sebastian here symbolising the suffering of the artist.

 Self-portrait as Saint Sebastian. Poster, gouache, black crayon and ink on cardboard, 19.6" x 26", 1915 © IMAGNO/Wien Museum

The latter he used for his own exhibition at Galerie Arnot in January 1915. Today his works are shown above all at the Leopold Museum in Vienna. With more than 220 works, they established the world's most comprehensive Schiele collection. I can highly recommend a visit!

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       • Leopold Museum (Collection of Austrian art)

☆ MuseumsQuartier, Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Wien/Vienna

☆ Open daily from 10h till 18h, also on public holidays. Closed on tuesday.

☆ The Leopold collection gathers more than 8.300 Austrian art works from the second half of the nineteenth century and Modernism

☆ Husband-and-wife art collectors Rudolf and Elisabeth Leopold created this collection from the mid-fifties on - when Schiele and Klimt were still considered taboo - during five decades

20.06.2016