By Helvi Oosterman
Whilst you were all waving your flags and having your barbeques, I was running into the Norton Street Cinema in Leichhardt. It was a humid Sydney day, but I did not care: it was my second last chance to see Almovodar’s Broken Embraces; it was going to start at twelve midday, and I was not going to miss it, I was going to run for it.
Most movie lovers were blown away by Pedro’s previous master piece: Hable con ella, ‘Talk to her’, and after seeing something so sublime, I was worried about his latest offering. David Stratton on Movie Show gave him four stars for this one, and explained that even lesser films by Almovodar are heads above the rest.
I wasn’t disappointed. Almovodar is something else, he’s creative, he’s funny and, he’s over-the –top, but it all works. His talent brings to mind another eccentric and brilliant movie maker who also was gay, the German Rainer Fassbinder. Fassbinder had, as his muse, the beautiful Hanna Schygalla; Almovodar’s is the equally stunning Penelope Cruz. Under his guidance Penelope shines; to watch her walk up the stairs in her red peep toe high heeled shoes and wearing a red suit is a scene to remember.
Google the critics if you want to know more about the film, but please go and see it, it’s definitely worth it.
Window Dresser's Arms, Pig & Whistle 
The idea of a large tent or marquee with the effort of raising the big top just in order to dress Vanstonen is too much to contemplate at this pre- shiraz time.
To think how many refugees could have found shelter underneath and between her generous and spacious thighs. On the other hand, life long trauma could also have resulted. Who will ever know!
Here is something that will hopefully calm all the piglets down to a more subdued level.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHUH8cP7p90&feature=related
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What a juxtaposition: Amanda’s thighs and Joe Dassin…!
You are a very naughty boy, Gerard. Thanks for Joe!
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I came for my second helping of Monsieur Dassin…soo romantic!
Gerard, I have to say that I also like the other U-tube sketch you put up here; the American or was it a Canadian boy singing The Spanish Love. It is so funny.
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It was for you. Have as many helpings as you like.
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For Australia Day, Tutu and I went to the Eastend in the city. We had lunch at a pub called the Elephant. Fish and squid and a few pints of cider, well not Tutu of course.
We then went to see “In the Loop”, a British film that was incredibly funny. We recommend you see it and Tutu summed up the film beautifully as Yes Minister 2010 style.
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I read about The Loop, sounds good. I’ll put it on my list: films to see. I love good comedy, and the English do it so well.
Nice lunch for you and Tutu, we only had time for a foccacio and a latte at Bar Italia, both good tho…
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Yes, hable (don’t pronounce the h, is the Imperative mood of the verb. Which means that’s the word you use when you are telling someone to do something. Like “Run, Toeknee run!”
so, hable means, “talk, darling, talk… to her.” (Speak to her, say something to her)
Here’s some forms of the verb:
SINGULAR:
1 2 3 4 5
Yo hablo hablé hablaba hablaré hable
Tú hablas hablaste hablabas hablarás hables
Ella/Él/Usted habla habló hablaba hablará hable
PLURAL
Nosotros hablamos hablamos hablábamos hablaremos hablemos
Vosotros habláis hablasteis hablabais hablaréis habléis
Ellos/Ustedes hablan hablaron hablaban hablarán hablen
1: Present Tense
2: Pretérito (Past momentary)
3: Imperfect (Past Continuous)
4: Futuro (Momentary)
5: Subjuntivo (Subjunctive)
There’s a funny feeling I get when I see Poppy, these days. She’s so typecast that whenever I see her I see a whole well-known formula and cliche moving about. I cannot concentrate on the the story because she takes over. It happens with many type-cast actors. Can you see Vince Colosimo in anything other than a gangster movie, for example? I don’t know if I can see a film with this lady in when I cannot foresee her every move and every look. She played the part of a Greek village girl in “Doctor Manolis’ Mandolin” and though the film was good, it annoyed me that they couldn’t find a good Greek actress to give it that extra bit of authenticity. I rooly, rooly hate it when the directors go for the well known actors and actresses… I mean, commodities!
Spoils the film for me. But all accounts have it that this Almovodar is great. We’ll check it out here in Melbourne.
Judy Davies was my heart throb a couple of decades ago. I saw her on the stage a couple of times. Can’t remember the plays now. Something from Shakespeare though and something Ibsenian.
Good actress. Better than Cate Bland, I reckon.
No idea where she is or what she’s up to these days.
Haven’t seen her hubby around either for a while (Colin Friels) who is also good value.
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That got all squashed up!
Going from left to right, what you see is the pronouns, followed by the tenses which are numbered from 1 to 4.
eg
hablo =Present Tense
hablé =Past Momentary
hablaba=Past Continuous
hablaré=Future Momentary
and
hable= Subjunctive
hable= Imperative
Oh, incidentally, since it is “con” ella, it should be translated as Talk WITH her….
OK, now, I’m out of here!
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The word ‘imperative’ was the one one I was looking for, thanks ato.
Cruz might be type cast in the American movies as a sexy siren but in all Almovodar’s movies I have seen, she’s been good, not even pretty, just an ordinary sensual Spanish woman. In one she was a dreary looking nun, she can act. In American movies you don’t need to act, you just have look like Angelina or Brad…
I totally agree with you about Judy Davies being a better actress than Cate. I don’t really get this adorable Cate thing; I saw her in a play once and I was irritated by her. Come back , Judy! I don’t care for Colin Friels though…
I read in the week-end papers about how all these great BBC dramas are being turned into movies; they don’t make series like the Singing Detective, Edge of Darkness or House of Cards anymore, do they?
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I hope they will never ‘I love Lucy’ turn into a movie. I am still in a trauma.
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…they are going to turn ‘Lucy’ into a movie, there will be lot of shouting going on , you’ll feel right at home, all capital letters like on the on the UL obesity thread.
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Judy davis is OK.
Cate Blanchette transcends her roles. IMV.
The best Australian actress is Amanda Vanstone.
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On-line, not the best, but maybe the biggest. Her shirts have the biggest flowers and polka dots…that reminds me, Dot Polka was one of my pseudonyms, before I deleted them all, useless things…
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Dicky, Vanstone might be good in front of a mike in the Lower House but she’s also totally typecast. I can’t visualise her without the Costello grin and the parliamentary mike in front of her. Mrs Minerva she’ll never be.
Perhaps in a remake of Blondie and Dagwood? (Dagwood’s secret dag?)
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Amanda Vanstone has her shirts made by “Tent City”. They’re the only establishment with fabric cutting tables big enough to accommodate the pattern pieces.
There’s also been some very interesting mytochondrial DNA analysis of the Vanstone line. It appears that she is directly related down the female line to the original model for the Willendorf Venus.
Further; have you noticed that La Vanstone always wears a glove on her right hand these days. Seems she’s a a big Gregory Peck fan and when she was first appointed as chief Australian “suck” to Berlusconi’s mafia government she went to the “Mouth of Truth”, you remember “Roman Holiday” I’m sure, and while she didn’t actually lie at the time, the mouth took her hand off anyway as part of an ongoing long term program to try to redress the global imbalance of truth after all the lies she told as a minister in Tiny Johhny Small, The Turd Long Boy’s premiership.
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Well Warrigal, I suppose that TINY John SMALL’s shirts or trackie pants can be cut on a coffee table… got the giggles badly reading your post, very funny!
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Helvi, First Mate and I loved the film too.
We also went to “It’s Complicated” – a particularly resonant film with two divorces on the agenda.
We’ve been having a Woody Allen (not especially funny) film festival at home. I bought a boxed set – Alice, Another Woman, September, Crimes and Misdemeanours and Fog and Shadows.
Quite a lot of commentary on marital infidelity. Great films – beautifully filmed and remarkably restrained for a usually corny comic.
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I love Woody’s films, even the lesser ones. There was one called ‘Husbands and Wives’, and our Judy Davies was very good in it. What happened to Judy, one doesn’t hear from her anymore…
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A wonderful movie, the photography, the acting. A masterpiece. Almovodar never made a flop yet.
Geez, did I get my fix on cinematography of books and shelves.
I doubt you would ever get a movie from him without those!
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now, now Gerard, can we leave those book cases for a sec…
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I think that he has used Paz Vega in a few….
And…..PHEW!!
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Julian Says:
January 26, 2010 at 9:24 pm | Reply
Mmm Paz Vega was in Talk to her!
That should of been here.
Just doing some housekeeping , excuse me.
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Who is Paz Vega, Julian?
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She is a Spanish actress, who is extremely sey and loves acting in the nude.
Sex and Lucinda is probably her best known (Internationally Known) film.
You would have seen her today. I don’t know what part she plays- as I haven’t seen it.
I googled to get the spelling of her name, and that/s when I saw that Almovador gave her a break in ‘Talk to Her’!
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Julian, I have seen her in one American movie, but she seems really to excel in the Spanish ones under Pedro’s direction. I did not want the movie to end….nor did Gerard.
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I have seen her in many European Movies.
I watch ‘World Movies’ on Foxtel
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Shouldn’t that be habla?
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no, ‘hable’ is correct, it’s telling someone to talk, ‘ordering’ someone to talk…
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Apparently not, a quick google tells me. Oh well, that’s what comes of being a language dilettante!
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Not to worry, Jules, Gez made the same mistake. I did learn some Spanish at some adult education place in Sydney, but if one does not practice one forgets…
Still I was pleased I did not have to read the subtitles all the time, passive knowledge is so much easier…
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I could watch Pen, if she was wearing dungarees.
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Mmm Paz Vega was in Talk to her!
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