Unmade Beds
I had to cancel one of my classes last week because of the killer cold I got. To make up the missed lesson, we decided to meet for a movie yesterday evening. We decided on London Nights, as the British movie Unmade Beds is called in Germany (Germans often exchange English film titles for another English film title, which I've always found bizarre.) It rained all day yesterday and I had a feeling I might be going to the movies all by myself. But I still pulled out my Union Jack vintage rain boots and headed off to Moviemento near Hermannplatz (apparently the oldest movie theater in Germany, or so I found out when I read the ticket.) One faithful student did turn up, so together we sat on the plush red seats and watched the film.
I don't think I've seen a film that reminded me so much of what it's like to be in your early 20s than this one; all the confusion, the rambling, the intensity. The story follows the naive 20 year old Spanish party boy Axl, who is in London to find his long lost English father, and Vera, a moody French girl who is getting over recent heartbreak. Both of them live in a London warehouse squat where no one pays rent. I definitely related more to Vera than Axl. I never was much of a crazy party girl. I had my adventures, but sometimes I wish I had been more wild. But I was a lot like Vera: serious, intense, broodingly emotional though I didn't often show it on the outside. I remember exactly how it felt to be in love the way she is with her nameless lover and the achingly, mind-blowing emptiness when neither of them can find each other. 
Since the 80s are still so "in", the movie also sometimes felt like deja vu, but more from a time when I was 6 or 10 or 14. The wanna-be Joy Division band made me roll my eyes as did some of the fashions and sunglasses. I still can't wait until the hipsters pick out a less annoying decade to cloth themselves in.....Would I ever want to be 23 again? Hell no. Not in a million years. But I still enjoyed watching a film that reminded me of exactly how it felt to be 23 way back when.
I had to cancel one of my classes last week because of the killer cold I got. To make up the missed lesson, we decided to meet for a movie yesterday evening. We decided on London Nights, as the British movie Unmade Beds is called in Germany (Germans often exchange English film titles for another English film title, which I've always found bizarre.) It rained all day yesterday and I had a feeling I might be going to the movies all by myself. But I still pulled out my Union Jack vintage rain boots and headed off to Moviemento near Hermannplatz (apparently the oldest movie theater in Germany, or so I found out when I read the ticket.) One faithful student did turn up, so together we sat on the plush red seats and watched the film.
I don't think I've seen a film that reminded me so much of what it's like to be in your early 20s than this one; all the confusion, the rambling, the intensity. The story follows the naive 20 year old Spanish party boy Axl, who is in London to find his long lost English father, and Vera, a moody French girl who is getting over recent heartbreak. Both of them live in a London warehouse squat where no one pays rent. I definitely related more to Vera than Axl. I never was much of a crazy party girl. I had my adventures, but sometimes I wish I had been more wild. But I was a lot like Vera: serious, intense, broodingly emotional though I didn't often show it on the outside. I remember exactly how it felt to be in love the way she is with her nameless lover and the achingly, mind-blowing emptiness when neither of them can find each other. 
Since the 80s are still so "in", the movie also sometimes felt like deja vu, but more from a time when I was 6 or 10 or 14. The wanna-be Joy Division band made me roll my eyes as did some of the fashions and sunglasses. I still can't wait until the hipsters pick out a less annoying decade to cloth themselves in.....Would I ever want to be 23 again? Hell no. Not in a million years. But I still enjoyed watching a film that reminded me of exactly how it felt to be 23 way back when.
2 comments:
i don't remember 23. i remember occasional moments throughout my timeline, but arranging them into correct years doesn't always work well...glad you enjoyed the movie. do german theatres sell artificially flavored popcorn to the extent american theatres do?
I'm not sure I remember anything super specific from 23, but the age seems to be a perfect description of anytime between 21 and 26. What other artificial flavored popcorn do they have now? When I lived in the U.S. it was only that gross, greasy butter flavoring. Definitely not something they would have in Germany. Only sugar and sometimes salt. The prices for food at movie theaters is also not crazy expensive. Oh, and you can also buy a beer and drink it during the film. So many differences!
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