To see or not to see? That is the cuestion...

Insert favourite 'review' synonym here

Filmic thoughts this weekend continue to arrive from Spain and Poland, where Pride and Glory opened on January 1 and 9 respectively.

First up is La Opinion de Granada which (according to Babelfish) says:

''The secondary stories like the part dedicated to the disease of Abby provides some of the sequences with more force of a film that surpasses the two hours of length."

A plus, do we think?

Marginally more decipherable to fellow unfit linguists is a piece from La Republica Cultural - which usefully sums up its stance with the phrase 'Interesante filme'. (To work out the rest, dust off that Spanish dictionary or try Babelfish's web page translation for an amusing gist). Meanwhile, any native translations/amateur decodings of Poland's Kino Domowe piece will be gratefully received.

Representing the Anglosphere, Video Business are not overflowing with enthusiasm, considering the film 'adequate' and 'palatable' and predicting (derogatively it seems) that 'fans of such raw, gutsy fare will be suitably entertained'. South Africa's The Witness left the film more satisfied, summing up with 'good cop, bad cop...good film'. Criticisms are aired but counterbalanced with mentions of realism-enhancing filming techniques and 'exemplary' acting.

Upcoming dates

Of course you are all extremely organised and not in need of another reminder, but just to occupy blogly space:

• Rosemary Harris' NYC run of Oscar and the Pink Lady starts on Friday January 16 at Florence Gould Hall. Tickets can be booked via the above link. The FIAF also draws our attention to a platform with writer Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt which is taking place at Le Skyroom on January 22.
• In the realm of DVDs, Pride and Glory is released in Region 1 on January 27 and Region 2 on March 2.
• Before the Rains is welcomed in Region 2 on March 9 and is already spreading joy in Region 1.

AOB

• The oldie on the right (seemingly from the Daily Mail in 1999/2000) is included for no other reason than it was absent from our photo albums and has not previously been posted as a visual (although chances are it is archived somewhere in the glorious depths!)
  
• Finally, further to the ex-Utopian newslies from the last post, Martha Plimpton is the subject of Robert Kahn's fast chat at PopMatters, while the WSJ's article on the Bridge Project includes some philosophical wisdom from Ethan Hawke:

[...] Mr. Hawke recently completed a year-long commitment to Mr. Stoppard's 'Coast of Utopia' trilogy on Broadway, and was so satisfied with the experience that he thought he was done with the stage for a while. But he decided that working in Chekhovian naturalism and Shakespearean style back to back was too intriguing to pass up. "Theater's my first love," says Mr. Hawke. "This was an opportunity that offered me the possibility of learning. I try to commit to things based on an imagined obituary. If I were dead, this would sound like an incredibly cool thing to have done." [...]