Our Carnival weekend on the couch

The last weekend of February just finished. The island was poured with rain. It was raining and raining and then on Sunday a strong wind arrived too. Not a good weather for a nice walk in the harbor. My Saturday’s jogging ended up with me being soak and wet and a painful cramp in my back  (those are the consequences of me being unable to sit on my ass!). 

Due to the weather, it was a slow weekend. The Carnival is on, but I guess we are not the Carnival people – masquerades and pirate outfits just don’t work for us, especially when it is cold and miserable outside. And it was chilly with a lot of humidity in the air. 8 Celsius degrees and Cretan humidity can really get into your poor bones. And don’t tell me that I’m Polish so I should be used to the cold weather because I’m not anymore! Yes, I became Greek in this case…and you will too as soon as you spend some time on the island. February on Crete is definitely not a season for your flip-flop sandals. I wouldn’t go for a hat and scarf as this is an exaggeration, but a heavy jacket and nice boots do really work in winter here.  

So we stayed inside, watching some movies. Here is my private list of 2 categories: RECOMMENDED & DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME

RECOMMENDED:

“The fox and the child” -   beautiful movie with amazing pictures of foxes and woods (something that I’m missing here on Crete, I mean woods, not foxes). The film just touches your heart. It is a simple story with a moral that “loves is not about possession”. Simple but we keep on forgetting about it. Don’t count on too much action. There is a girl, there is a fox  and a soothing narration by Kate Winslet if you watch the English version. Check:

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fox_and_the_Child

“You will meet a tall dark stranger”  -  Woodie Allen never disappoints us with his movies (I’m so grateful for the husband who has the same sense of humor as I do! Otherwise, there would be a “Woodie Allen issue” in the house). The way he shows his characters and combines their story into one plot, it is always a piece of art for me.  Witty and intelligent! The cast is always a surprise to me, but all those people just perfectly suit their roles. Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas, you may wonder what the heck they’re doing here!  There is a fortune teller, men and women having affairs, people who don’t suit each other suddenly fall into relationships. I didn’t get bored for a single second. Some more info on:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Will_Meet_a_Tall_Dark_Stranger

Mother and Child – I poured a lot of tears during this movie! What is it about??? Can’t tell you more that it touches a difficult subject of adoption and loneliness. It’s good to become emotional and clear your eyes and soul from time to time. Call me oversensitive but this movie really made an enormous impression on both of us!Read if you are still not convinced:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_and_Child_%28film%29

“Dogtooth “ – it didn’t win an Oscar, but after watching who really won it, I will leave the whole “Oscar institution” without a comment! After this movie, I finally believed in the future of Greek cinematography (after all the crap they show on Greek TV and poor cinema productions that are simply unwatchable!) It’s weird, shocking, with primitive sex and primitive behaviors, but it makes you think, think, think! We got lucky last night when they unblocked some cinema channels on our satellite and right after the cinema and “Black Swan”, we watched the story of a family life evolving around their house, big garden, swimming pool and really tall fence!  The question is: what is the price of keeping things secret?Check the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogtooth_%28film%29

 

DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME ….and money

“Black Swan” – feels like a waste of time and money to me! And those movie breaks that they have in the cinemas here just made it worse! (yes, Greeks have, that’s what I call it, “a cigarette break” in the middle of the movie. In the cinemas, they just simply cut the movie in half so you could go to the loo, get some extra popcorn or inhale a cigarette). It’s a mockery but whenever we choose to go to the cinema, it turns out to be a very bad idea! I have no idea who this movie is supposed to appeal to? ..and what is it all about? Is it about how to become a bad person and injure yourself in order to feel freedom in a mean time scratching yourself to blood? I don’t know if this is a good thing, but as the reaction to the whole “Black Crap”, I developed a bad rash on my arm! No kidding! On the bright side, if you like her, Natalie Portman looks beautiful as whoever she plays: extremely photogenic and fragile!