I gathered in a little of the lavender last night. It's now drying by the back door. Smells wonderful.

A mixed bag for the Wednesday weekly movie list:

Manufactured Landscapes (2006), documentary
The Great Happiness Space (2006), documentary
Unknown White Male (2005), documentary
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, et al.


Manufactured Landscapes follows the photographer Ed Burtynsky and his work in recording landscapes drastically altered (mutilated, ravaged) by man. The film focuses almost entirely on China, the opening scenes in a Chinese factory were hypnotic, the overwhelming scale of the place was hard to absorb. The images of the mountain range sized piles of coal were equally staggering, this cole directly affects us here on the West Coast. The downside to the documentary was the music which was a distracting cacophony.

The Great Happiness Space was about the cultural phenomenon of host clubs in Japan; male hosts catering to female customers. The film focused on the most successful bar/club of this kind in Osaka. The hosts and clients were incredibly open in discussing the business which made for an engrossing but unhappy documentary.

Unknown White Male was the second documentary I’ve watched recently that deals with memory loss. The subject in this film is a young man in New York who wakes up on a subway train en route to Coney Island with no idea of where he is or who he is. This man has yet to regain his memory and is considered a medical anomaly. There have been some questions raised as to the film's authenticity, that perhaps it's all a hoax. Nevertheless, it’s a gripping story and I've found my thoughts turning to how we’re shaped by our memories and experiences.

Last, but definitely least, is The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Cliché. What a cast! What a disappointment! The best part of watching this movie was sitting still time with the cats for company.