remiss?
distracted?
aloof?
this weekend...long, lovely, hint of autumn,
brown leaves scratching the sidewalk...
i saw two movies.
the first, ostensibly science fiction
the second documentary.

these posters began showing up months ago.
just gorgeous graphically. and, of course, intriguing.
i walked out of 'District 9' on monday
unsteady on my feet. it's extraordinary
on many levels. a familiar tale told
with conscience and soul, the sense of reality
heightened by the judicious use of documentary
technique: news broadcasts,
interviews, surveillance camera images...
none of it new
but used expertly.
i read later that much of the dialog was
improvised and that sharlto copley
who plays wikus van de merwe
is not an actor. amazing.
the allegorical aspect -
man's inhumanity to alien standing in for
man's inhumanity to man
is not overwrought
but it gets you in the solar plexus,
not least because it was filmed in
johannesburg by south african director,
neill blomkamp.
no spoilers here - just see it.
i also saw "the september issue"
the documentary about the creating of
vogue magazine's september 2007 issue -
the largest in it's history.
fun to watch, of course.
but after seeing these two films back to back
i couldn't help being struck by how the former
seemed real and the latter fantastical fiction.

seriously. who's the alien?