So that was Christmas.  Since then – films seen have included – Paddington, Birdman, Seraphine, The Keeper of Lost Causes.  On a scale of 1 -10 with 10 being very good and 1 being not so hot, Seraphine [2008] comes out at 9 and Keeper of Lost Causes (Danish thriller) at 4, Birdman 6 and Paddington 7.

Seraphine is the painter Seraphine Louis known as Seraphine de Senlis, after the small town, north of Paris, where she was working as a maid, in 1912 when discovered by a German art critic and dealer.  Being discovered by a German art dealer just before WWI was not the luckiest of happenings, but he returns after the war and makes good on his earlier comments and promises.  The stillness and silence of life before radio and TV is beautifully portrayed as well as the magic of Seraphine’s painting methods.  What stands out is how harsh life was for the poor and the working class.  If you weren’t well or you grew old you lost your job and probably died – of starvation if not ill health.  And this is why they fought for and we keep fighting for a proper welfare state and National Health Service.

The Keeper of Lost Causes, set in the present day, is more of a TV film, in the style of but not as good as The Killing and the Bridge.  It is an unlikely but simple story of a policeman with two expressions, irritated and possibly not so irritated.  This is his character.  He has an almost ex-wife and a stepson.  This is his back story.  He is assigned a rather nice partner played by the admirable Fares Fares.  They investigate an old, cold case, which they shouldn’t.  It’s not clear why Nikolaj Lie Kaas wants to pursue this case but he does, frowning and smoking, and the villain is soon discovered.  It was easy to watch and the time flew but it wasn’t a true cinematic experience.

Paddington – we laughed, we cried, there was marmalade.  Yes, it was enjoyable.

Birdman – I entered the cinema with such high expectations.  The film has had great reviews, people wishing they’d seen it a week ago, in 2014, so they could say it was the best film of the year, descriptions of a roaring come back for Michael Keaton, references to Robert Downey Jr.  What could go wrong?  It was slow.  It was magical realism (not my favourite genre) – there was a talking bird, Michael Keaton levitated, he moved things just by thinking about them, a bespectacled critic referred to Roland Barthe and there was a self conscious play based on a Raymond Carver short story.  So far so tricky.  Edward Norton was very good, as indeed was Michael Keaton.  There were one or two nice ideas and a good line or three.  The film-maker was obviously trying to do something different, something not Hollywood, looking at despair, and identity, and self-worth.  I would not call it a brutal brilliant satire of celebrity.  But somebody did, so perhaps it’s a question of taste.