[multiple activities] - Ljubljana, Metz, Mulhouse

[theatre/opera] Peter Brook and W. A. Mozart - The Magic Flute (Cankarjev dom, Linhart Hall)
Performed in Ljubljana by a France-based smaller opera company, it was my first live insight into a part of theatre history, represented by the name and the opus of Peter Brook. And it was more or less what I had expected, partially following the tradition of ancient aoidos (ἀοιδός) or rhapsodos (ῥαψῳδός), simplifying some parts and making a very natural, non-abundant communication with the audience work; on the other hand there was made visible the usage of "empty space" directing, as described in Brook's most epochal works and as performed in most of his creations. A very interesting performance, if indeed somewhat rigid and dull at certain times - yet concisely following its own logic at all times.

[theatre] Oedipe Tyran - Opera Theatre Metz
An epical theatre work of mostly anachronistic visual and acting poetry, directed by a French director working with the actors from Saratov, Russia. A very unsatisfying and vague performance alltogether, quite remarkably bad casting of certain roles, yet some very small eye-candies or well spoken monologues and especially a very intriguing (if it would not have the whole performance as its predecessor) last scene, in which some kids are representing an allegory of irrationality and chaos still made it at least a little worth the time.

[restaurant] Le Touareg - Mulhouse
A new and probably never again used cathegory - this restaurant in this small town in Alsace (France) was a very special treat. The elderly man was a the same time the waiter and the only cook and cashier and everything in the restaurant, yet he managed to cook very delicious Moroccan food for six people (who did not eat small amounts of food) in a very manageable time and be very witty at the same time. My sincere virtual thanks to him for a surprisingly refreshing evening.

[movie] Leos Carax - Holy Motors (Kinodvor)
An inspiring movie which has a strong potential of elegantly detaching yourself from the real world, yet not in a completely abstract, but schizophrenic and softly daunting, even pensative mood, however intense the scenes may be, they are never befallen by the rash tempo of cheap surprise or shock. Denis Lavant is a master of invisible transitions between different characters, yet the movie's biggest forte is probably the intelligent comedy it brings to its otherwise unconventional short cuts, scenes, flashes and twists in perception. It is a joyous cinephile movie with an interesting and philosophical contact to our global reality - not in a proclamatory way.

[movie] Valérie Donzelli - La guerre est déclarée (Kinodvor)

It is a life-powers replenishing insight into a story of two young parents, confronted with the reality of their newborn son having a complex and persistent brain-tumor. A story that could not be told with so much vigour, wit or humorous shifts of moods, probably, if it had not been also partially a true story of the main two characters. While she (playing Juliette) is also the director and co-screenwright of the movie, he (playing Romeo) is a soundtrack selection assistant, the young boy Gabriel (the two actors' real son) is the inspiration for this movie, shown in the movie as Adam at 8 years of age (before that there is another child, aged around 2-3). But the real power of this movie sticks more in the fact that Weltvertrauen (as some holocaust survivors would have said), the strength of trust, belief, vital forces and, above all, taking things with a piece of joyful irony and distance, can solve even such an improbable and tragic fate. Being young, powerful and absolutely in love and then giving birth to a "defect" child could mean that god has played his worst cards, yet we are still playing. As for the philosophical point of view - kids like Gabriel would simply die in a few short years after birth without modern medicine, so all the struggles would have actually not been there, the story would not be plausible by any chance; and the music, of course, is another of the worse points of the movie, being too abundant in filling the scenes, but also being too illustrative or hyper-emotional-classic. Apart from that, the story bears enough metaphorical diversions to make you wonder some basic questions of family life or relationships between human beings completely anew - and not merely painfully, I must add.