Random Thoughts

This is a visually arresting film. Some seemingly very strange choices have been made, but it works. I first thought that the actors (and their line readings) we uncomfortably stiff, but then I realised that that’s what the director was going for (a la Robert Bresson).

Mesmerising.

The Battle of Tabato. João Viana. 2013. Guinea-Bissau.

West African Ginger Drink

• 3 ginger roots
• 6 limes
• 2-3 cups of water
• 1 heaped tbsp peppercorns
• 1 heaped tbsp raw sugar
• rum

Chop ginger and lime into pieces (including skin and rind). Add the water and run through a blender. Strain and squeeze into a bowl. Return to the blender and add the peppercorns and sugar and blend until smooth. Strain and squeeze into a sauce pan and bring the liquid to a boil. Allow to cool, add the rum, and strain into an ice-filled lowball glass.

This post is part of the World of Films and Cocktails series. Explore the map.

Man, modern life is complicated.

I was going to watch this on my big Ipad, but it turns out that you can’t screenshot this film there, even though the previous film let itself be screenshot. So I had to scramble (since the cocktail was already made) and watched the film on my 10″ Android tablet. (Where screenshotting was not a problem.) (Yes, this makes sense.)

I’m not doing that again, so I have to find a way to … er… do something. An external HDMI screenshotting box? A larger android tablet? Android->HDMI? Is that I thing? Research is needed.

DVDs were so much simpler than newfangled media!

And then there’s the film.

Oh, deer.

This turns out to be more of a low-budget American film than an Iraqi film. I mean, aesthetically and actor in the acting dept. (It’s filmed in Iraq and Jordan, allegedly, but it’s difficult to tell one window-less room in Jordan from a window-less room in Miami. And there are so many scenes in window-less rooms.)

For some reason, American lo-bu films are way more amateurish than, well, anything else in the world. I have no idea why: There’s more of a divide between the pros and the ams in the US than in most places?

The dialogue is physically painful in places, in fact. Literally! But it’s not without a certain charm.

Curse of Mesopotamia. Lauand Omar. 2015. Iraq.

Kubbeh Libre

• 2 parts pomelo juice
• 1 part arak

Combine over ice in a highball glass. Garnish with some sprigs of mint.

I used raki instead of arak, because it’s about the same number of characters.

This post is part of the World of Films and Cocktails series. Explore the map.

After a very pleasurable experience watching The Cave of the Yellow Dog, this was a bit of a downer.

It’s all so… paint by numbers. Daddy issues and people talking and talking and talkin to each other about deep, deep stuff. It’s like, zzz.

It’s not offensively bad or anything: It’s competent, which is the worst thing you can say about a film, perhaps. It’s all so tedious.

The Forgotten Kingdom. Andrew Mudge. 2013. Lesotho.

Lesotho Lady

• 1 part gin
• 1 part grapefruit juice
• dash of agave syrup
• 2 parts brut sparkly wine

Shake the first three ingredients with ice. Pour into a serving vessel and top up with the champers. Stir slightly

This post is part of the World of Films and Cocktails series. Explore the map.

The children in this film are wonderful. The adult actors are more variable, but they’re fine.

Lots of beautiful scenery and a very vague storyline makes this a very endearing film. It’s such an unassuming film: Nothing very dramatic happens, but it’s so enjoyable to watch. While it isn’t a masterpiece or anything, it’s kinda perfect the way it is.

(I’m watching the “making of” documentary now that I’m editing the screenshots (YES I DO THAT), and it becomes clear why the film seems so real. Because it kinda is. The director explains that she had a treatment for an outline for a film, but then they filmed a family going about their daily life and kinda wove bits of that treatment into their lives, sort of. So it’s half improvised, half real and half scripted. That’s a lot of halves, but it’s a very good film.)

The Cave of the Yellow Dog. Byambasuren Davaa. 2005. Mongolia.

Mongolian

• 1 part vodka
• 1 part gin
• 1 part rum
• 1 part orange liqueur
• 1 part banana liqueur
• 1 part melon liqueur
• 2 parts orange juice
• 2 parts grapefruit juice
• 2 parts apple juice
• a splash of grenadine syrup

Shake with ice and strain into an ice-filled highball glass.

Man, that’s a lot of ingredients. Totally not worth it.

This post is part of the World of Films and Cocktails series. Explore the map.

I… was not prepared for this film! So many great and weird shots. Coupled with the sheer amateurishness of the acting, the lines and… well, everything, it’s just mind-bogglingly fun to watch. Part of the charm is host the aesthetics resemble 60s no-budget films coupled with a storyline about a gay relationship makes this seem like it’s beamed in from an alternate reality. The great music on the soundtrack doesn’t hurt, either.

Your mileage may vary. Especially by how drunk you are.

Destiny. Muhammad Camara. 1997. Guinea.

Guinea Bissap

• 2 parts juice de bissap
• 2 parts rum
• 1 part simple syrup

Juice de bissap:

• hibiscus flowers
• cloves
• allspice
• cinnamon sticks
• ginger

This post is part of the World of Films and Cocktails series. Explore the map.