Metropolis

Metropolis at Place Des Arts's Wilfred Pelletier theatre, part of the Fantasia 2010 Film Festival... the original silent sci-fi of 1927, with never before seen footage that was discovered in Buenos Aires... The movie itself was so so, but still refreshing to see non-beat-up-hollywood-present style. It was fun to see all the exaggerated facial expressions that was necessary at that time of silent movies.

But what really moved me was Montreal's very own Gabriel Thibaudeau and his 13 piece ensemble. He was just such a genius conductor, apart from using regular conductor moves he also used a whole bunch of other normal human reactions to provoke intensity and emotion of the music; I particularly liked the time, when the striking workers went to attack the heart machine, Thibaudeau put his two hands with outstretched fingers parallel and next to his ears and vibrated them in the air as if in fear and his ensemble responded with eerie music that built in intensity and climaxed with the city flooding. Amazing... it was the first time I saw live music in an orchestra pit, to a silent movie and it sort of gave me an appreciation for the synchronization of the two, live - you can not but help think, ok he's gonna miss this one, he is, he is....

My friend raised the very valid question as to if the movie questioned the validity of unionization and striking in general... Did it? May be...

Sometimes when I go to movies, I cry because the movie itself moved me. Sometimes though it is because I wanted to let it out for something else, but just could not... and yet other times it is just a combination of both...

But way back where I come from
We never mean to bother
We don't like to make our passions other people's concern
And we walk in the world of safe people
And at night we walk in to our houses and burn!
- Dar Williams in Iowa