European Odesseys

I had two of these. Some pics-

 The Eiffel Tower, and the Eurail Pass that got us there-

 Tintin country. And fooling around at a sandy beach in Europe (below).

 Gondola=Venice and on a train.

 Marseilles- that Bond-ish feeling! Heidelberg, below.

 Rome, and Chateau D' If, above and below.

 Leaning at Pisa, and straightened at Mt. St. Michael, France.

 The Roman fountain, and postcards..

 Mostly Greek, with mythology as the central theme. picture perfect, below.

Sport, TV and Roman Gladiators

The more I see the games being played, I am reminded of the Roman gladiators fighting. 'What's the connection?' you may ask.

To my mind, a sport is played foremost for enjoyment without hurting another (or even intending to?). I can also vouch for the fact that some sports used to be that way. Competitiveness was there, but muted and mostly, 'the bat did the talking', to use cricket terminology. Now, cricket resembles the gladiatorial contests more than anything else I can think of. Kill, or be killed, seems the philosophy, the body language and the associated corruption.

Maybe there are sports like Billiards, Chess or Badminton that are not yet at that level of crassness, but you don't see them reported about as much, so I really can't say.

By the way, it's not only cricket which is that way. I find some TV shows actually so rude that I cannot bear watching them. It's another thing to create a badly scripted story, but to build shows on people ratting on each other, or the anchor abusing the participants is a bit hard to digest. Having a celebrity is no excuse for any of this.

Anyway, I also find that companies are eagerly sponsoring a lot of these. Good luck to them, and their consumers.

The Bicycle Thief - Review

A student of cinema has his own bucket list, apparently, and this one figures on most. I can see why after seeing the film...whew, made it, finally. It is a stark, simple tale of unemployment, and the struggle to survive in Rome circa 1948. Post World War 2.

The unemployed young man gets an offer to work (and eat) but he needs a bicycle to get the job-that of putting up posters around the city. With great difficulty, he manages a bicycle, but it gets stolen while he is at his job, right under his nose. His travails with the cops, helpful friends helping to trace the bike, and the impact on his life due to this incident alternately getting him down and upbeat, form the rest of the narration.

Vittorio De Sica keeps it simple, focused, and from the gut. Riveting fare, showing anyone who cares to learn, that you don't need item numbers or gross dialogue to keep the viewer's attention. The consequences of stealing (the hero attempts to steal a bike unsuccessfully in a final scene) are also subtly brought in. Reminded me of another film, Cinema Paradiso, for its setting (Italy) and style of narration. Some of Kurosawa's films are also similar in style. Good viewing! Put it in your bucket!