Week 52, Midweek

There was a TV program in the 80's presented, I think by Michael deMorgan...was it...called Midweek.

Anyway, today was really enjoyable. Since I gave Corneli whatever nasty affliction I had (and seeing it in her I can retrospectively empathise with myself...) she has been coughing the moment she lies down to sleep. I went to bed at about 11pm last night and the strangled cat noises squeaked upstairs and woke me up at 1am. Only managed to give myself over to sleep at 6am. (Corneli says ALL the teachers at her school are sick, so looks like I was the forward scout in that department.)

I must have a good job because the day went by quickly and effortlessly anyway. I ran a tight ship, and the toughest class went by really well, except that I made a boy cry. Not Jack, another boy. I felt bad, but had to pretend it was all part of a strict approach (you have to start off pretty strict, otherwise you become buddies and by the second week they walk all over you and won't give an inch). So I used the crying boy as an example of what happens when you don't listen. He tried to sulk but a bit of motivation fortunately got him participating again.

Time went by really quickly.
3 days and I've already earned R1500.

After work I ate some Tandoori chicken at Delhi, then went to watch Millions. Very enjoyable, whimsical film by Danny Boyle. Exactly what I needed: lighthearted, innocent and altruistic, with the importance of family sown in to the soul of the flick. I have to be careful I don't become too money hungry, and money centred, even given the fact that that largely defines my existence, why, I am here. Still, I'd like to live whimsically and happily here if at all possible.

Had an interesting idea, on the way home, to actively buy expats stuff who are leaving, and sell them at a profit on eBay. Must investigate that some more....

Here are some more reviews of the movie. Catch it, if you can...

Millions Movie Review:


If you’ve ever dreamed of finding a duffle bag containing a million dollars or called upon an imaginary being to lend a hand, then you’ll enjoy Millions. It’s a story about two little boys facing life after the death of their mother who find an extraordinary gift that sends their imagination to the ends of the world.

Not quite grasping that his mother is gone, seven -year-old Damian (Alex Etel) fills his world with flights of imagination. He knows all the saints, what each is noted for and the year he/she was around. He even has regular conversations with them. So he’s not too surprised when he’s playing in his cardboard fort near the train tracks and a bag of money falls on top of the fort. It must have come from Francis of Assisi (1181-1226), the patron saint of families.

Damian is so excited he can’t wait to tell 9-year-old brother, Anthony (Lewis McGibbon), who decides they shouldn’t inform their dad. While Damian is a softie who wants to give the money away to those less fortunate than his family, Anthony is prudent and wants to invest the money. At one point, he even tries to buy a condo, but ultimately realizes at some point in the deal an adult will have to show up.

When news gets out that a bag of recovered money from a robbery is missing, the boys realize it’s the bag they now have. Because Damian is such a believer in the good of mankind, even when he’s followed and threatened by the robber who stole the money in the first place, he’s unfazed. (Warning note: the robber may seem a tad frightening to younger children.)

Unaware that his sons have millions, dad Ronnie (James Nesbitt) continues to work hard. He’s proud when he can move the boys to a bigger house in a neighborhood where things like Christmas decorations are a big thing.

After Damian meets Dorothy (Daisy Donovan), a charity worker at his school, he slips a wad of cash into her collection barrel. When she comes to their home to sniff out the source of the money, Ronnie likes her quirky ways and spontaneous energy. Soon she’s a regular presence in the house.

Writer Frank Cottrell Boyce (24 Hour Party People) came up with the idea for Millions, and the script eventually landed in the hands of director Danny Boyle (28 Days Later, Trainspotting). Casting the boys was pivotal to the film’s believability, especially in light of Damian’s imaginative illusions. Etel and McGibbon, who make their film debuts here, do a splendid job of filling the roles. “We went into a process of what casting directors call ‘kissing frogs’,” said Boyle, “where you have to see thousands of kids before somebody emerges who you hope will be your prince.”

McGibbon had his own ideas about the value of money and what the boys could buy with it. “He had timing, knew what acting was and had crossed the barrier from total innocence to knowing what it was about. I thought that was a great attribute for that particular character because Anthony is someone who has one foot in childhood and the other foot in the modern world,” said Boyle.

Finding a boy to capture Damian’s innocence and naiveté, Boyle discovered, was more difficult. “None of the boys we saw of that age are truly actors yet,” he said. “I remember when he (Etel) walked into the room, even before he opened his mouth. I had to stop myself from thinking, ‘That’s him.’ But he was the one I wanted from the beginning, and I stuck with that.”

In a sweet and funny way, Millions strives to explore what money is really all about -- that it usually can’t buy the one thing we want most. Watching Damian and Anthony come to understand this important lesson is an enjoyable journey that warms the heart, and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle’s brilliant color scheme adds to the magic of the story.



Diana Saenger

What would happen if innocence of a child was all of sudden faced with the responsibility and corruption of more money than he could possibly imagine?

Director Danny Boyle, who also brought us “Trainspotting” and “28 Days Later”, asks that very question when a two young brothers, Anthony and Damian, come across a duffel-bag full of British pounds. Initially the brothers decide to seek out poor people and share their good fortunes. But who is more deserving?

Their good fortunes get more complicated when the nation begins its countdown to switch over to the incoming Euro and it is discovered that the money was stolen in an elaborate railway heist. What is to be done with all that loot?

Danny Boyle is one of those directors that keeps shocking me with every film he makes. Sure he has also had his share of failures like “The Beach” and “A Life Less Ordinary” but even in his failures he still asks questions and challenges the viewer. But then if you look at how different his successes are like the fore-mentioned “Trainspotting” and “28 Days Later” than you can see that he is becoming an adaptive director who takes challenges head on. It is because of this boldness and unflinching exploration that I think Danny Boyle could become one of the greatest directors working today.

In “Millions”, Boyle is able to restrain his dark intentions and focus on the innocence of the film’s central character Damian (Alexander Nathan Etel). Through that focus we begin to see Damian’s world and that is accented with his fascination with Catholic Saints. It truly is amazing how Boyle is able balance the light and the dark throughout the film. A lot of filmmakers usually forgo the balance in a film’s third act to bring clarification, tension or joy for the conclusion. Boyle finds a new way to maintain the balance.

I really enjoyed the wide-eyed innocence of Alexander Nathan Etel. This little guy is an absolute treasure to watch and has such undying magnetism on screen. He is brilliant.

I also really enjoyed the performance of James Nesbitt, who plays the father of the brothers, Anthony and Damian. Nesbitt is the central adult figure in the picture that eventually has to be told about the fortune. Then you get to see the difference between how an adult sees the money and a child.

“Millions” is told as a fable and the film accents a lot of these aspects through its magical telling. From the brightness of colors to the appearances of the saints, “Millions” also builds on the magical aspect of what a fable really is.

“Millions” is one of the best family films to come out in a very long time. It is truly the first great film of 2005.


So Says the Soothsayer

Dean Kish