It was grey and overcast in London as I walked along Victoria Embankment by the river, dodging the runners and the selfie-taking tourists. At Waterloo Bridge I crossed the Thames and headed to Tate Modern for the Expressionists exhibition, a celebration of Wassily Kandinsky, Gabriele Münter, and The Blue Rider Group which Kandinsky and Münter […]
Archives for June 2024
‘Ryuichi Sakamoto – Opus’, Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA)
The scheduling of this film was poignant, as it was a year to the day that Japanese composer and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto died. ‘Ryuichi Sakamoto – Opus’ is pretty minimalist. There is no orchestra and there are no cuts to interviews with Sakamoto or tributes from friends. It is just an hour and three quarters […]
‘One Summer of Happiness’, Cinemathek, Brussels
Surrealism is characterised by unnatural or irrational juxtapositions that have a jarring or unsettling effect. Whoever programmes cultural events in Brussels seems to have taken this to heart by scheduling two major exhibitions on surrealism to run at the same time, an irrational and unsettling juxtaposition which meant that I had to choose between visiting […]
‘Joan Baez: I Am a Noise’, Cinéma Aventure, Brussels
It’s good to be back in Brussels. Such a great city for cinema, art, and beer. Skipping breakfast, I headed out this Saturday morning to see the James Ensor – Inspired by Brussels exhibition at the 18th century Palace of Charles of Lorraine. The palace is a fabulous opulent setting which would have been worth […]
‘Evil Does Not Exist’, The Garden Cinema London
Just spent a couple of days in Brighton on a rare foray to the south coast of England. It was unusually cold for mid-April and a thick haar hung in the air when I arrived. There was a whiff of faded grandeur about the seafront buildings though the streets were vibrant when the sun finally […]