Vintage

... with apologies for the dirty windscreen. Hopefully if someone is going to the expense of transporting it, it is going to get some TLC. One of those classic French vans that used to trundle around being mobile shops or carrying tools of a trade.

We were following it down the road on our way to see Lucas Belvaux's new film, Chez Nous. This caused a bit of a furore a couple of months back, before it was even released, as without seeing it, the leaders of the Front National declared that it was a hit job on them and hence illegal propaganda during an election campaign, paid for by French taxpayers' money to boot! (nb: Belvaux is Belgian, as is the film).

Belvaux is not a big name, but I've liked all of his films. The first one I saw was a comedy; he's also done thrillers, but they all have in common a minute examination of human relationships. It's not a Ken Loach-style polemic: he presents the characters and their relationships and leaves you to make up your mind. That said, it's very clearly based on Marine le Pen and her party, even to the charismatic blonde leader expressing her solidarity with the "left-behind" in the industrial wastelands of northern France. 

The main character is nice-but-dim nurse Pauline who is somehow persuaded to lead the party's list in the local elections (that she is persuaded at all is the flimsiest part of the plot). At the same time she takes up with a former boyfriend who turns out to be not quite what he seems. Plenty of twists and tensions as you see naive Pauline being taken for a ride and getting more than she bargained for. In English it's called This is our Land. Due to the political context, it may get wider distribution than his films usually do, and if it comes your way I recommend it.

On the political theme I've had to stop looking at the news from the US: it's bonkers. On the other hand, at home it's quite entertaining watching pure-as-the-driven-snow François Fillon twisting in the wind as his team abandons him.

It poured with rain last night, and there was briefly snow on Alaric this morning. Hence it seemed a good idea to go to the cinema in the afternoon. By the time we came out the sky was blue, but as we headed home the storm clouds rolled in. It's definitely winter.