The Voice of London Episode VII

Last night (Sunday) I went to see Red Road at the local cinema. The film itself is about a woman who works for the city of Glasgow monitoring the many CCTV cameras. One day she sees a man who she thought was in jail after being responsible for the deaths of her husband and daughter (although this doesn't become apparent until later). She becomes a bit obsessed and starts following him. What I find more interesting than the story, though, is the background behind the film itself. Apparently it's part of a project proposed by Lars von Trier and some others involved in the Dogme 9 film movement where three different directors are given a group of characters, to be played by the same actors in each of their films, and each develop a different film around them. While Red Road was certainly well acted and skillfully directed, I felt as though the story was a bit familiar. I've heard comparisons to Read Window, but other than the voyeuristic aspect I didn't find that to be a particularly accurate comparison. I'd be interested to see the other two films that result from this experiment. Comparisons to them would be much more intriguing.
On Monday I had some difficulty reaching anyone to inquire about rental prospects. Not wanting to just sit around the hostel I decided to pass some time waiting for new postings on Gumtree and people's availability by taking a trip to the Tate to look into some updates to the information I provided in Episode III about pieces I found interesting. I was unable to find the photograph that I really liked so another trip will be warranted. Plus, I haven't gone down the slides yet (look it up, it's a piece by Höller). The video I mentioned with the little girl reading Wittgenstein is apparently untitled, but I found it was done by photographer Gary Hill. The four screen musical video piece is called, appropriately, Video Quartet and is by Christian Marclay. Of the photographs that I did find that I liked, I can name the following: Balconies by Alexander Rodchenko, Siena (2) and Siena (3) by Olivo Barbieri, Man with Objects, Wall by Erwin Wurm, and Untitled Film Still #27 by Cindy Sherman. A couple of the (many) paintings I liked include Portrait of a Young Woman by Meredith Frampton and Man with a Newspaper by Rene Magritte. The latter makes me wonder if it would qualify as belonging to the medium of comics as well as painting.
Speaking of painting, today I discovered the identity of the Lac du Bonnet thrift store mystery portrait. It seems the man who has graced the walls of three CUIF member residences is the subject of a very popular painting entitled The Laughing Cavalier by Frans Hals. I had the privilege of seeing the original which is part of the Wallace Collection here in London and is much more colourful than the reproduction that hung for so long in the kitchen of the Warsaw House.
In less art-related news, I am now officially a resident of the City of London. I paid my deposit and first month's rent for a bed in a room with two other guys (one from France, one from Poland) in a flat with a couple of girls that is about a five minute walk from King's Cross Station. Rent is £260 per month, bills inclusive. Anyone wanting to write me letters or mail me money can send them to
9a Wicklow Street
London
WC1X 9HL
I recommend not sending anything right away though, as I'll be traveling much of this month and won't be there regularly. So hold off until Christmas or something.
I learned today (or was reminded) that Yo La Tengo is playing in London on the eleventh of November, which will mean I am going to miss the show as a result of being in Amsterdam. Fortunately I got an opportunity to see them tonight instead. Granted, they weren't playing music but I'll take what I can get. What they were doing was speaking about their work in film (the event was part of the BFI London Film Festival). I only learned a few hours beforehand that the event was taking place but when I got down to the National Film Theatre there were still tickets available, so it's turned out to be a pretty good day for me. Now if I can just get Cat Power tickets for tomorrow...
And I did! I'm going to see Cat Power tonight. Tomorrow I'm going to try to get The Like tickets at the door, so my attendance at that show is less certain but if I can get in there and then into Gnarls Barkley on Sunday this'll be like the best week ever.
Finally, I'd like to ask my readership to reply with their mailing addresses. Since I've given you mine it seems only fair. But more specifically it's because I found some postcards that I think would be appropriate for a few particular people. I'm not going to reveal who these people are but I'm confident they will reply. If anyone else sends their address I'll find something for them too.

Parsimoniously yours,
Matthew Hawkins