Hard Road To Travel *

Koktebel, what a superb film. Went to see it tonight with Sister Ann. If I'm not mistaken, it's the first Russian road movie that I've ever seen, believe it or not!
For a couple of reviews that are vastly superior to what you are about to read try this and this.
But I'll give it a go anyway...
...Koktebel is the planned Black Sea coastal destination of a father and son from Moscow, who take road, train, pavement and field to get away from their misery. Mother has died and father is an alcholic who has given up a decent engineering job to take the boy, who dreams of taking to the air like the glider pilots of old in Koktebel, to his aunt's house in the Crimean seaside town.
It's mostly a hellish journey, but, for the viewer of this film, it is extremely scenic, beautifully filmed and excellently acted.
They come across some real tasty characters along the way, with, as the above reviewers suggest, some of the more bitter and twisted among them probably longing for an economic, social and cultural era which was destroyed in 1989.
It's a lovely film - go and see it. But, as I normally say with such things, you're unlikely to see this at your local multiplex.
Apart from going to the cinema, I had a great evening out - gym session, superb noodle dinner and, after film, excellent conversation and glass or two of wine with Sister Ann.
And then it was home to write this rubbish blog, listen to Pavement and drink sauvignon blanc.
A final thought before I log off. I never think in terms of league tables in terms of who or what disaster victims are most in need of our aid our assistance, but...
...before I go on, let me say that I think the tsunami disaster is a 100% valid beneficiary of whatever amount of money people can raise - it's a decent cause, basically.
But there's loads of decent causes, disasters and wars which have been and still are being continually ignored. Nearly a million people died in Rwanda while the colonialists stood by and let the gangs loot and, subsequently, control the diamond mines because that was what the West wanted; Yugoslavia was bombed and split apart because, firstly, a bunch of Croatian fascists wanted it that way and, then, so did the West; Zimbabwe has been isolated because, more than 20 years on, white farmers have decided that they don't like the terms of the independence deal that was struck between the colonial masters (Britain) and Rhodesia to redistribute the land when democracy finally came to that southern African state; the earthquake in Bam, Iran, which, I believe, took the lives of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of lives a few years back; the carpet-bombing, continued occupation and near-total destruction of Afghanistan and Iraq by Britain, the United States and their allies, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. In fact, I may have the reason for all this shit - CAPITALISM.
*I'll sign off by mentioning that I will now end each of my rubbishy bloggy things with the names of the artists that the titles refer to - for instance, tonight's Hard Road To Travel is Jimmy Cliff.
But, finally, Pavement has ended and I put on Pablo Honey by Radiohead. Haven't listened to this for a hellavu long time - it's good, it's very very very good.