Home a short while ago after seeing Peter Weir’s The Way Back. A good film with a steady pace and matched the mood I was in and in turn gave me a path forward of sorts. A good end to the weekend. I used to watch a lot of film, always at the cinema on a big screen. The last few years that mostly died off but of late I’ve been pushing myself out again and trying to see a film a week. In part a chance to go out, and in part a return to a favoured activity. I realised a few months ago that I had no idea what films were screening, though folk expected me to have opinions based on an older version of me. To be honest, I missed those conversations, and my immersion in film watching.

Sydney filmfest has been my primary film/cinema contact and outside of it, I have missed the continuing film conversation. Within the bubble of fest, I’ve lost a little of the longer view ie a sense of the ongoing conversation that film has with its audience. So of late, at least to Dendy, I’ve been trying to see more films. As a member, it’s relatively cheap and with a glass of wine, it costs about the same as turning up to one of the bigger chains. Even better, for every 4 movies seen I get a free one, which was tonight’s. For a while there, it was taking up to a year to earn my freebie, now I’m achieving it in a month or so. This is a good thing. On the other hand, I am conscious that some films have a shorter cinema release and I have just missed, to my regret, the new Mike Leigh film, Another Year. I was a bit too slow; I need to make more effort to see new films when I want to see them rather than pausing.

Further on the film front, in my mailbox from Friday, which I checked on the way home tonight, was rego details for the next Filmfest. I think prices have gone up slightly, but not badly so. It’s somewhat frustrating that the rego period is so short ie I have to register by Tuesday, 1st Mar aka tomorrow. With that said, it isn’t exactly something I need to think about but still, a bit more notice would have been nice.

In other news, I have started Winton’s Cloudstreet and am about 60 pages in. It’s starting to unfold and developing a rhythm. It has I s’pose, a different cadence…if that’s the right word to the other novel of his I’ve read, Breathe. Breathe was a shorter work, though not lacking in power whatsoever. I’m looking forward to watching the characters of No.1 Cloud Street unfold and develop.