The Week in Entertainment

Film: The Band's Visit. What a shame the Oscar committee decided this had too much English in it, it's a wonderful little film that could have used the boost. The English is no one's native tongue, and half of the film's meaning comes from watching people who are so fluent in their own language seach to find words in the one they share, if only partially, with those they're trying to talk with. When Itzik and Simon talk about the end of Simon's concerto - the end of Itzik's marriage - Itzik's struggles to find the words to express himself, and his embarrassed laughter at that struggle, are as important as what he finally says (maybe this is how it ends, not showy with trumpet and violins, but quiet. Sudden. Not sad, not happy, a small room, a lamp, a bed, a child sleeping... and tons of loneliness.) No violence, no hatreds, no war - just lost people and the search for connections. "What do the police need with" classical Arabic music, asks the restaurant owner. "This is like asking why does a man need a soul," replies the colonel. Do yourself a favor and see this one.

DVD: I somehow forgot to mention that I watched the first two of those Tom Selleck Jesse Stone movies a couple of weeks back. I watched the other two this week. They were wise to make Night Passage third. Not many actors nowadays come with the built-in likability and we're-on-his-side of Tom Selleck, but even he would have had a hard time making us like Stone based on that first story. Already invested in him, we do pull for him to make it to the surface in that moody, gloomy back-story. But definitely watch them in the order they made them. Also acquired Blake's 7 (which I haven't seen most of) and started going through it. Nice.

TV: Nova - I liked this show about the flying microraptor, though I admit I don't quite see why powered flight could only be invented once, nor why dinosaurs couldn't have climbed trees. But the models and the wind tunnel were definitely cool. And Torchwood - though either my DVR or BBC America betrayed me; it cut off before the end credits. Owen was shot! - and I have to assume he died, since I have now looked at TV Guide (I really don't like spoilers), which has cryptic comments about tragedy, loss, and 'what's left of his team'... Wow. I totally did not expect that. (And what is with weird British pronunciations? When Ianto called Jack "innovative" - stressing the NOV, making the word iNOVuhtiv - I think I only got the word because he followed up with "avant-garde".)

Read: Busy week, but I did get most of the way through Liz Williams' wonderful Nine Layers of Sky.