A film a day this weekend! This is very unusual for me. The third was Trainspotting 2, which we had started some weeks ago but there was something wrong with the print. I thought it was very good, the best film of the weekend, despite having reservations during the first 20-minute long watch. The callbacks to the first Trainspotting, which I had been sceptical about, were not self-indulgent at all, but an essential part of the film, which was about reaching middle age and looking back at a moment where paths seemed to branch and asking whether things could have been different. My one quibble was with the character of Spud, which I thought was over-played by the actor.
Since I mentioned the Bechdel Test in the last post, I should say that this film also failed it. I didn’t mind much, it was less egregious than in Baby Driver and I liked the film better than Dunkirk so could forgive it. Certainly the only new major character added was a woman, and one who was the most vivid person in the film, but also because the film was about masculinity in a way that the other two weren’t.
The music and sound in all three films of the weekend was superb. This is something that British directors – and all three were British – do especially well.
Another time of travelling is now imminent. First a weekend in Thailand, then ten days in Pakistan (I’m looking forward to a few days in Karachi, especially) and then ten days in Taiwan.