birthday cake, three SIFF press screenings, errands
Today was my actual birthday, and so I had a nibble of birthday cake with breakfast.
We got going early, but couldn't figure out a way to get "T" to school, get the flat tire fixed (or replaced), and still make it to the 10 am press screening. We deferred the tire until afternoon.
After letting "J" out, I descended deep into the same parking dungeon as last Tuesday, but the place I had two days in a row was occupied, and the space next to it had a different car. I had to go another level deeper this time.
The 10 am film, A Moment in the Reeds was described as a Finnish gay romantic comedy. It was Finnish, and the two main characters were gay and attracted to each other, but it wasn't much of a comedy. A Finnish student visited his father's summer cabin to help fix it up, but wasn't very handy, so the father hired a guy from an agency. To the somewhat racist father's annoyance, the agency sent an immigrant who spoke very little Finnish. To the son's delight, the immigrant was was gay and into art, poetry, and theater just like the son. Stereotype much? At least he knew which end of a hammer pounds nails. Sex scenes were abundant; laughs were sparse.
The noon film, The Long Dumb Road, was a step up. At times it was very good comedy featuring a 35 year old loser and a 19 year old college student, and the people they met on the road. Other times the gags fell flat.
The 2 pm film, The Reports on Sarah and Saleem, was the best. It was a drama about an adulterous affair that gets complicated by both the Palestinian secret police and the Israeli military.
After the films, J and I finally remembered to return a library book, picked up on a few groceries, and dropped off an item at Goodwill.
We arrived home very hungry, and feasted on salmon burgers. I was about to head out on the deferred tire errand, but J looked up the tire store hours. The place closed that same minute. Oops.
We consoled ourselves with a few more nibbles of birthday cake. (Actually, I nibbled on the cake. J resisted.)