Holidays Can be Murder!

There is almost nothing better in this world than finding yourself alone at home on a Sunday afternoon, with nothing to do, warm food in your gut, a mug of tea on the coffee table, and an Agatha Christie film about to begin. And, if the film in question happens to be Evil Under the Sun, even better!

I was around 10 years old when I first saw this movie. My friend Egon invited me to his apartment on a Sunday afternoon, where all of his family had gathered to watch the movie on video. I sat on the floor, with my back to the couch. Everyone cracked up when we found out that two of the characters shared a surname with me (this was amusing because we were in Brasil, where nobody's surname ever appeared on a British/American movie.)

At the time, I thought the girl who played Linda was much older than me. I've carried in my mind since then the image of a young woman, with short black hair, swimming in a blue sea with a bathing cap, all alone and angry with the adults around her. Today, it was slightly shocking to see how young the character was; it put into perspective how young I must have been when I first saw the movie, how much time has gone by since then, how distant I am from my obsession with Agatha Christie (which lasted from 2nd grade to 8th grade.)

Was also interesting to discover that one of the characters is played by Jane Birkin and another by Maggie Smith (she of Harry Potter fame).

There's absolutely nothing wrong with this movie; all the clues are there, even in the way the camera stares at the sea, and all the necessary backstory is given without confusion (which I think tends to happen with some Christie adaptations.) Plus, I'm now old enough to appreciate the character Patrick running around in his black swimming trunks, as well as the shots of cats dozing around the sleepy hotel, the cliffs, the costumes from the 30s.

I would love it if one day somebody filmed The Secret of Chimneys, the first Christie novel I read (Portuguese translation.) If somebody would like to throw money my way, I'd be willing to get behind the camera...

FUCKABOUT!

Kevin and I heard a loud bang this morning; Kevin was startled enough to ask me what it was, but my first thought was that a loud wind had hit our windows (!?) so I convinced him to go back to bed.

But apparently, some massive explosion happened not too far away. Nobody died, and it's not a chemical unit, but when the newscast woman mentioned that we'd get black rain, I couldn't help thinking of a certain movie...