Bare faced cheek

For some time I have been in the market for a manual beard trimming type device. On Jermyn Street this week, after a certain amount of traipsing around, I procured one of those old fashioned clipper/scissor hybrid things that used to be evident in barber shops when I was young. I was concerned that they wouldn't work well when the operator was trying to cut his own hairs but that concern proved to be unfounded. This morning, Gemma commented that my facial hair appeared to be much longer than yesterday, (when I had used the machine that looks a bit like a prop from a film about Victorian surgery, for the first time). "Yes,I think it's stubbled in length", I replied. Sharp would seem to be the word of the moment.

Manon des Sources *****

Doctor: So how have you been feeling?

Patient: Well, to be honest I do seem to be under pressure a lot, my job is hard work, I think I am stressed, not sleeping well, I'm bloated all the time, even though I take Yakult.

Doctor: Mm.....I'm going to recommend that you look at this DVD. It is available without prescription but I will warn you, it is nevertheless, very powerful. Don't expect there to be much reaction at first but after a while you will start to feel the effects; you might feel a little unsettled but it should help you to see things in a clearer perspective.

Patient: Are there any side effects?

Doctor: You may feel quite sick and emotional for a while, you would be best to avoid taking any other drugs at the same time.

A week later.

Doctor: So how did you get on with the medication?

Patient: It was quite difficult to swallow, but I can see now that my condition is self inflicted and that the consequences of going along with things that I don't believe in could be be tragic and permanent, what should I do?

Doctor: Good question.

Jean de Florette *****

I had a vague memory of seeing this film in the 80's but sitting down to watch it again this weekend I didn't recall anything about it, which made it all the more enjoyable. Set in a poor part of Provence it describes how people can behave when they want something badly and how they can readily lose sight of what is important; you might call that greed but it could just as well be a metaphor for the world in general.

You want to hug Gerard Depardieu who plays the ex tax collector who inherits a farm with no water supply and brings his young family to the country, committed to enjoying an idyllic pastoral existence. Daniel Auteuil is brilliantly abhorent in this film as the flawed young peasant, Ugolin. With his uncle "Papet", Yves Montand, the brains behind the scheme, he conspires to get hold of the land that Jean de Florette has inherited. He has conceiled the source, the spring which is the one thing that will make the land viable; which for Ugolin, unlike Jean, is not necessary for his survival. Every time that Ugolin thinks that Jean has given up the ghost because of some new obstacle or other, his opportunity to snatch the land is taken away by a new idea or the renewed enthusiasm of Jean.

This film is a work of art, the visual beauty, the build up of tension, the reality created by the the film makers and the performances of the actors, particularly Daniel Auteuil.

The climax sets up the sequel Manon des Source in a compelling way; I can't wait for it to arrive from Love Film.