Beauty with Balls; an appreciation of Ingrid Bergman
I think I was in love with her from the start as she gazed steadily at me with moist lips and knowing eyes from the flickering monochrome screens of such classics as Casablanca, Notorious, Spellbound, The Bells of St Mary’s, and For whom the bell tolls. Her face expressed vulnerability and innocence, yet also courage; a lonely, shy girl next door trying to survive in a dangerous world. That was her appeal. Clearly, she needed me and only me to love and look after her. Aa-ah! But that was before the brisker... Read more »
It’s a Dog’s Life!
‘A dog is a man’s best friend’, so they say. They are our companions. They are, like us, social carnivores that hunt in the daylight. We were made to collaborate. How much more effective we would have been as hunters with dogs to detect and chase our prey. And dogs... Read more »
Cries and Whispers
I first experienced Cries and Whispers in 1973. I was, even then, drawn to the deeper, darker aspects of human psychology. It was no wonder, therefore, that I was into Bergman. I rated the Seventh Seal and Persona as the greatest films I had seen. Then came Cries and Whispers. And now,... Read more »
Of families, fathers and forgiveness in the whimsical world of Wes
What kind of person are you? Since when have you been so perfect? When did you last fuck up? What are you going to do about it? Royale Tennenbaum has been evicted from his family by his wife, Etheline, for playing around. He is casual, careless even as he explains it... Read more »
Of daughters, damage and destruction; is that the legacy of Mrs Klein?
Melanie Klein might be said to have founded the British School of Psychoanalysis, though it was never as formal as that. There was a never a ‘concrete school’ more a movement dominated by the ideas and interpretations of Mrs Klein. Psychoanalysis was (and still is) very incestuous. There were not many... Read more »
Towards the vanishing point.
I had some pizza that I made the previous night and thought to share that and the remains of a bottle of claret with her. But she is not right. Julie has told me that she gets very emotional at the prospect of me coming round. I have recently begun... Read more »
Doing things by the book; the flawed excellence of the new NHS.
I should have listened to her dentist. She cared enough to call me in London and tell me that the Xray had shown a small translucency around the root of the bottom right canine and there was a sinus pointing to the gum. 'Your mum will need that tooth out,'... Read more »
