Day of the Flowers (2013)

Touches You

To me, this movie is perfection.

A Masterpiece!

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I didn't know what to expect of this film, but having visited Cuba and having an interest to see Carlos Acosta, I went out of curiosity. It turned out to be my best night out in ages. The film has so much to interest you at so many different levels. Firstly, it's a decent storyline. Secondly, the characterisation is excellent. I loved the way the balance of power shifts between the "headstrong" sister to the seemingly "superficial" one. It was very easy for me to empathise. The characters actually develop over the course of the film, just as, in real life, we change as a result of what we experience. This change was really credible and quite different from other films.Thirdly, the film setting in Cuba was vibrant and exciting.Fourthly Carlos Acosta's dancing (say no more) and also his acting (for the first time) was great.Fourthly, there were tense and scary bits in the film, which I'd liken to some of those in Slumdog Millionnaire. Fifth, there was an unexpected twist.All in all a superb, 10 out of 10 film! I do so wish it could go on general release. I've recommended it to all my friends but don't know how they'll ever get to see it.

Being an independent filmmaker is a tough life – armed with a screenplay that can't be filed under blockbuster, edgy hipster fodder or wacky comedy how do you get the commercials right so you can make it? Fortunately everything worked beautifully in this case and Day of the Flowers is that rare thing that British filmmakers often do best - it's a finely-crafted film about people. Set in Glasgow and Cuba the film examines the relationship between two sisters and their dead parents as they travel to Cuba to scatter their father's ashes. The unfolding story is a road movie, a drama and a gentle comedy of manners all rolled into one and is utterly engaging. The interplay between Rosa (Eva Birthistle) and Ailie (Charity Wakefield) is beautifully written and acted. If it's the well-judged pace and dialogue that keep the audience engaged the Cuban scenery and music play a big part too and any political analysis quickly gives way to the far more important consideration of the human condition.

From Glasgow to Havana via Bafta: I am writing my second review, after 'Fifty Kisses', not as a filmmaker, but as a fan. When Jean Luc Godard was first interested in film, he wrote in 'Cahiers DE Cinema', creating film dialogue of auteur, so in this vein, I hope to create a thoughtful level of critique rather than playing the line of industry games. Note that Kermode also described the film as 'thoughtful', as though in surprise, and having 'a plethora of themes'. What he doesn't point out though is what a daring feat it is to take a departure from formulaic movies to film that has no rigid genre. In the after discussion at the Vue, Piccadilly the Glaswegian writer, Eirene Houston, sits with producer Jonathan Rae and director John Roberts, to make clear that they fought over every scene. "It was like a family made film then?" Chris delightedly asks, while Judy Goldberg takes photos.The following Friday we are going to see a screening and reception for 'Fifty Kisses' at Bafta, also produced by Judy and Chris, celebrating its Guinness Record Status, for the number of people to work on a film. This will be a light relief after the highly emotional days of listening to extremely brave and moving women, like Judy Goldberg talk of overcoming painful, personal experience; or the focused Catherine Artin sharing her compassion; as well as seeing Malala Yousafzai just a few weeks ago in conversation at 'Women of the World' at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, eerily overwhelming, cheering and miraculous after her near death experience. There is positive explosion of women actors, writers, thinkers at 'Day of the Flowers' revelling in tales of their differences, but ultimately making a low budget film on two million pounds, in Cuba itself. I am all for that family feel having started with Kafkaesque Frank Castorf, at Berlin People's Stage, who has had a Turk with little language ability at the stage door and a young man running the box office with a hunchback for over fifteen years, both happy and unemployable elsewhere. Airbrushed cosmetic theatres of Western Europe are put to shame simply by this alone. After we put the homeless and gypsies on stage, Frank wanting to keep pace allowed the most gifted to join the ensemble and tour Europe. To return to 'Day of the Flowers', shot in Cuba, Vernon Layton and director John Roberts point out what a big star impressive ballet ace, Carlos Acosta is, himself from poverty-stricken origins, which informed Eirene's writing of those heartening kinds who are not broken, but raised up to immense courage when under pressure. The film seamlessly melds alluring landscapes, filmed on 35mm by Vernon Layton, with the story of mismatched sisters Rosa and Ailie whose tense relationship overlaps with the relationship of their parents, supporters of the Cuban revolution. There is something in the air with Judy Goldberg starting a campaign for 'Be Heard', a short film competition for victims of abuse, which I take interest in supporting as most homeless are on the street to avoid abuse, from family. Like her, Eirene Houston, Cathy Arton, on IMDb: also Jonathan Rae, John Roberts, Vernon Layton and Chris Jones. 'Day of the Flowers' is as fragile and vibrant as real life, flowing scenes integrated at the last minute, admit writer Eirene, director John and producer Jonathan. John adds the flexibility ' keeps the acting fresh'.Eva Birtwhistle and Charity Wakefield bristle as wayward sisters, the former Rosa, genuinely named after tragic revolutionary Rosa Luxembourg. She is willing to fore-go all private pleasure touchingly in a quest to save the planet; idolising her father while the younger Ailie is freer, willing to take what life throws at her whether good or bad. I am staying silent as to all unexpected and outrageous twists that bring script alive as I don't wish to spoil.. Another humorous aspect to the film is the fact that director of photography Vernon Layton wanted to do some producing, in a minor capacity for a change, when their Director of Photography pulled out, as it clashed with other work, so Vernon had to step in as DOP! He explains how he preferred shooting on 35 mm film as it lends 'the film the look of a tapestry'; 'beautiful old crumbling buildings make a great setting.' He also mentions later to me how he 'did the 'Rock Circus' of the Stones'. I perceive him in my mind's eye, walking around the Cuban cities where they shoot, finding interesting angles of exotic buildings to make the decaying grandeur of an ex-colony reflect the heightened mental states of the two young women. The actors mix the aesthetically pleasing with dramatic interludes of them finding new inner dimensions in the hypnotic landscapes they encounter; dancing late nights for the love of beautiful local men, including the star Carlos Acosta who is a member if the Royal Ballet although Cuban. His zest for life and screen presence adds a dimension that dramatically alters any false view of Cuban people as lost souls in need of a Western injection: he refreshingly lives for dance. We see how relative poverty neither enables or detracts from the ability of individuals to stand out from others if they chose better lives as he teaches others dance. He is in stark contrast to the villainous family in the Cuban countryside trying to exploit innocent foreigners. Rosa retrieves her father's ashes from their fate as a tragic golfing prize and flees to deliver them to a river in Cuba. I am delighted that the writer and partner Laura have an hour long chat about character writing in the pub afterwards, with Eirene dropping hints about character scripting. Remember to vote on IMDb so it becomes a cult classic.

One of the selections from the Edinburgh Film Festival's 'best of the fest' which you hope was based on initial ticket sales & not critical response - otherwise you would worry about the quality of this years output. Whilst it's nice to see a Cuban backdrop in a narrative drama, it doesn't really compensate for some shockingly bad writing & uninspired direction - which is particularly evident in having all the characters constantly think out loud (the first 10 minutes in this regard are absolutely appalling). The performances too are largely unconvincing, with Eva Birthistle (very good in Loach's 'Ae Fond Kiss') struggling immensely with a hugely unsympathetic idiot of a protagonist, whose every solution to a problem seems to solely involve walking out of a scene that lapses more than 2 minutes. Still, her turn is award-worthy compared to the amateurish showings by her supposed sister & her constant kilt-wearing cypher of a friend. Well intended it might be, but it can thank the Cuban cast & the work done by the unit directors to lift it above the tragic threshold.