While the temps have not been soaring, they have reached 30-32C for the past three days. But the humidity and air pollution have been high enough to make it feel much worse. Aside from finally cutting the grass today, it's been an indoor sort of party here at the Homestead. I had hoped to head over to Detroit for a day of breweries, bookstores, and cafes, it was not to be. For one thing, they predicted violent storms all day, which never happened. Then there was the heat and humidity thing. So, more of our music room flooring got done today. But it is peak season for fireflies, and they are abundant in the evening!
We managed to tear out all the old carpet and under carpet, clean the floor, move out much of the furniture (except for the harpsichord and piano), and Deb began to lay the tile strips. We are about half done, but so far we have only received half of the tiles. The rest are due tomorrow. Once the new flooring is down, then the trim needs to be added, and then the furniture moved back. We have an area carpet that will go down under the new piano, hopefully muffling some of the sound. With no carpet beneath it any longer, the U1 upright sounds mighty loud compared to how it used to sound.
So besides home renovations, reading, and practicing piano, we have watched a few films this past week. Marilyn Monroe teamed up with Jane Russell in a very funny film from 1953 called Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Monroe is the dumb (though not so dumb) blonde who is trying to marry a millionaire, and Russell is her more down to earth wise-cracking sister in crime. It's a Technicolour showpiece, with some very attractive and overly colourful scenes. The most outrageous of them is the final showstopper night club number, with Marilyn wearing a tight pink dress against a brilliant red background. It seems to work fine, but the colours (and Monroe) are both eye popping. Recommended as light entertainment, with some very funny lines.
Next came a small budget British film based on a novel, called The Clothes In The Wardrobe. The novel by Alice Thomas Ellis is part of a trilogy, all three being made into films. We'll be on the lookout for the others. From 1993 it is about a young woman about to be married to a twit, and wanting to back out of it now. Her mother's old school friend comes to visit, and she hits it off with her. She is like a crazy aunt, and is played to the hilt by Jeanne Moreau. "Lily" soon makes friends with the groom's mother, too, and they hit it off well, both being a couple of boozers. It's all quite funny, and again there are some very rich lines. Of course in the end Lily comes to the young woman's rescue, and there will be no marriage. The Egyptian backstory gives the young woman some background, and provides a nice touch of exoticism to the proceedings. A fun little film from the BBC.
Also on Prime was a film version of a book I read not too long ago, Fergus Hume's justly famous murder mystery The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, an Australian TV production from 2012. This is a very good version of the novel, on par with the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes episodes. Sets, lighting, costumes(!), actors and actresses are all top notch. A man is killed in a cab, and the murderer seems obvious. Too obvious. For viewers who have not read the book it will be difficult to guess who the killer was. Great viewing!
Lastly comes an odd little picture from Galicia, called Red Moon Tide. It's from 2020, and features some of the most stunning cinematography I have ever seen. Interior still life and outdoor landscape receive an artistic touch unrivalled in anything we have seen recently. A local fisherman has drowned, and three witches arrive in a small seaside village to try and find his body and return it for burial. Not that the plot matters a whole lot, as the film is just too amazing in its look and sound. The supernatural mixes with the equally strange natural, and people interact with landscapes both natural and man-made that dominate them in size and power. "The Monster" that took the life of the seaman is out there, just out of sight and out of reach, and is bringing bad times to the village. A strange but very original and masterful film. Even Del Toro could take a lesson about telling folk tales from this film.
Leaving Mubi very soon.
Mapman Mike
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