Joining the 21st C

 We finally broke down and got high speed internet.  Our old DSL service with MNSi, a local company that we really like, was supposed to be upgraded early this year.  But now they say that our wait will be indefinite.  So goodbye, MNSi.  We are now hooked up with Virgin, jumping from a download speed of 5-6 mbps to around 30.  Better yet, our woeful upload speed went from 1 mbps to around 10.  Deb's newest film would have taken about 6 hours with the old service; today it took just 23 minutes.  The technician was here for about two hours, having to string a new line from the street to our house.  Then he had to drill a new hole in our wall, pass the cable through, and set up the router/modem, which is all in one unit.  So here we are, faster than ever at last.

We had a nasty snow/rain event overnight, but we made out just fine.  The snow was extremely heavy to move this morning, so I did the minimal amount knowing a technician was coming.  But by late afternoon the melting was well underway.  We are now heading towards a full moon, which means that the new astronomy session is less than a week away (if it's clear).  So there will be one more full moon before we can talk about Easter/Eostre.  But official Spring is just around the corner.  Our poor snowdrops have been through the ringer lately, but are managing to pull through.  Our daffs and crocuses are soaring sunward, too.

Our snowdrops do battle with the elements.

                                                        The sun is out--all is now well.

In movie news, I finished up my end of month festival with another oddball movie. Celine and Julie Go Boating is from 1974, and is directed by Jacques Rivette. It is tied for 78th place in the newest Sight and Sound poll. It is a true epic, lasting for 195 minutes. Though pretty nerve-wracking at times, and despite wanting to slap the two main actresses occasionally, this turned out to be a fun, though highly unusual, film. At its heart it is a ghost story, about a haunted house and the people in it who perpetually reenact a fateful day when a female child was murdered.  Despite the heavy sounding topic, the film is light as air, and often very funny.  The two lead women seem to share one single life, despite one being dark haired and the other an orangey redhead.  They meet in an odd way, have a very odd sort of courtship and relationship, and take turns visiting the haunted house to try and get at the heart of the mystery--who killed the little girl.  There are some very clever uses of repeating certain scenes, with only very slight differences, and of having the two women change places when it comes to a boyfriend of one them, and a possible entertainment tour for the other.  Definitely a recommended film, with many refreshing moments, but with a few reservations, time being one of them.  Should it be in the top 100 of all time?  No.  And if you want to see them literally go boating, viewers will have to wait until the very end of the film.  So it's not a film for boating enthusiasts.

 

Showing on Criterion. 

 

Following my three festival picks, I got to choose my regular film for the week.  I chose a short one, due to the length of the previous choice.  Still/Here is a documentary from 2000, directed by Christopher Harris.  It's a meditative sight and sound glance at the disintegration of older buildings in St. Louis, MO.  It could easily be Detroit, Chicago, or a dozen other rust belt cities.  Parts of the film are like still photos, but with rain falling, distant thunder booming, or wind blowing.  Only 60 minutes long, it provided a welcome relief from the many strange films we have been watching of late.

A still shot from Still/Here, showing on Criterion. 

 

Mapman Mike