10 April 2011

a spot of culture...going underground



i went to the pictures yesterday late afternoon, fancy that, venturing into the dark while the sun shined so brightly outside!

me and my friend went to see cave of forgotten dreams, the new werner herzog film in 3d, about the chauvet caves in france, which contain the oldest known paintings, painted around 32,000 years ago. 



the 3d was fantastic, the detail of blades of grass in a vineyard, gravel, branches almost close enough to touch, sparkly stalactites and stalagmites and straws looking ghostly white in the darkness and that's even before getting to the incredible, beautiful paintings in amazing detail with clear lines, shading and a sense of movement all from early (hu)mans, our first artists.

the timescales are difficult to comprehend and with the beauty of the paintings it made for an intense emotional awe inspiring film.

who would have thought that a film about caves could be so fascinating.

the 3d was not without bother though - the glasses ended up being very uncomfortable, we were sat too close really which gave me neck ache (it happens now i'm getting on a teeny bit) and some bits made me feel a bit sick, swooping around ravines. all sounds a bit churlish though after such a great film...

and this was all topped off with a visit to reza, on westgate road for a spot of persian food - roast aubergine dip with flat bread (with holes just like perforations, perfect for easy sharing), ghormeh sabzi (lamb stew with tons of herbs and kidney beans, very fresh tasting), fesenjan (chicken in a rich sauce of ground walnuts, pomegranate and onions) and saffron rice.  yum yum.
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