"Crash" by Paul Haggis (2004)

A single event in somebody's life can have repercussions in many others. That is the point of departure of this post-modern holistic view of human interrelations in a modern multicultural multiracial Los Angeles.

Crash is a choral film in which each character's mini-story links to the others in an organic way. This is not a film with good and bad people despite the initial appearances. As the film progresses, we see that all the characters are deeply human, and they are depicted in both their splendour and misery - sometimes they are disgusting, reproachable, racist, angry and violent; other times they are heroic, tender, kind and good. The characters are not good or bad, are good and bad depending on the circumstances. As any human being in any country in the world. Humans are never a behavioural block of concrete, and there is more to any person than it catches the eye, as the eye is always biased. The movie also succeeds at offering a raw unadorned honest and empathetic image of American society and its social and multicultural issues wounds, and most importantly, of the depths and multifaceted nature of the human spirit.

Paul Haggis does a great job at creating unity and giving harmonic pace and sense to the emotional physical and cultural chaos in which most characters live. The story has action and introspection, and the main characters are wonderfully drawn and played by all actors. All the cast members are great in their roles, but Matt Dillon (as officer Ryan) really stands out in his performance.  

The film makes you think, but it is entertaining and approachable, sweet and harsh. A great film, with surprising twists. 

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Perth Revelation International Film Festival (Perth WA)

Revelation Perth International Film Festival
Astor Cinema
659 Beaufort St
Mt Lawley Western Australia 6050
(08) 9238 1358
Website
Facebook 

The Revelation Film Festival takes places in Perth WA mid July every year since 1997. This is one of those events that happen in Perth that is really world class. One of those events that you should not miss if you like movies, for several reasons:
- The event is hosted by the Astor Cinema, a beautiful old-style cinema that is perfect for this sort of events.
- You will watch International independent and limited-release movies. The kind of movies that are difficult to see in mainstream movie theatres in general, and that we would rarely get to see in Perth otherwise.
- The festival does show movies, documentaries, short films, and multimedia shows with live music, and has academic and non academic discussion panels on different subjects. There is always a well-known independent cult movie star or director to whom the festival pays tribute (Crispin Clover was here last year), and around whom some special events are organised. There are so many cool things going on that, even if you wanted to attend everything, you wouldn't be able to do so.  
- Prices for individual movies are the standard in Perth, except for opening and closing nights, and the special events. However, these are not your average movies or shows, so the money you pay is worth it.  
- You will see and/or interact with Perth cultural elite, and with some of the national and international stars attending the festival.

Although I have attended the Revelation other years to watch individual movies, it just in 2012 when I took the plunge and devoted a good deal of my time and money to immerse myself in the Revelation. Some of the most fascinating films I watched last year were the ones I watched at the Revelation, and this is a lot to say.

Some of the screenings were really intimate, as they took place in the small theatre rooms; they were very especial because of their experimental nature, and/or because some of the film stars/directors were there to discuss the film with the public. That was the case of Mongolian Blink, Vigilante Vigilante, or Jeff Keen Retrospective, the latter with the presence of Keen's daughter after the recent death of Keen. Other screenings were a hit with the public and were massively attended, like the Georges Melies Project with a group of American Jazz musicians playing live. 

The organisation was great and everybody working at the event was terrific, friendly and cool: security people, volunteers at the doors, tickets sellers, bartenders - everybody. The movies started, almost martially, at the time they were scheduled.

OTHER GOOD THINGS ABOUT REVELATION
- They always have an awesome poster! Seriously, this is truly important for a Film Festival.
- The organisation has  the Revelation on the Road, a program devoted to showing films and organising film workshops in isolated parts of the Western Australia (Albany, Esperance, Port Headland and Broome).
- The Revelation website is good looking, very well organised, and truly informative. The Revelation newsletter will keep you updated all the year around.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
- Although there are different sort of passes (Gold Pass for the whole thing, The Minipass for six films, and Connect4 for four films), I missed an intermediate pass for people who do not want to attend everything, but will be attending more than six shows. Moreover, there were not specific passes for students; "Revelators" be generous, don't you remember your days of poor student, when you were really... poor?  

-  It would be great having a courtesy of five-minute wait for any film. I know the program is fully packed, and punctuality it is a great virtue. However, being o'clock is not always good, because you get people arriving a bit "late" and having to find their way to a free seat in the darkness, stumbling across other people's feet and distracting those already seated.

The Perth Film Festival is the best cultural event I attended last year, and I attended quite a few. I cannot wait for Revelation 2013.

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The Watch Spot (Perth WA)

Shop 12, Plaza Arcade
Hay Street Mall
Perth Western Australia 6000
(08) 9421 1093
Website
Hours:
  Mo-Thu 9.00-17.30
  Fri 9.00-21.00
  Sat 10.00-17.00
  Sun 12.00-17.00

Watch Spot is an hybrid watch shop selling watches, alarm watches, wall clocks and stop watches, and offering repairs and replacements service. They are located in the Plaza Arcade, next to Infusions Café.

Regarding repairs and replacements, they offer similar services and prices to other shops around. However, I like them best because of the following reasons:

1/ The staff's sincere friendliness and great service.
2/ The lack of BS when dealing with you. Sort of, we cannot provide you with a band for your designer watch unless it is official. What what what! Yes, it has been told to me at my face. Almost fainted. However, they do not do that at Watch Spot.
3/ They have a larger, fancier and more colourful range of watch bands and straps than in other places. Coloured good quality French ones! Not just the usual boring black, white and brown.
4/ They have a great selection of watches of low, mid and mid-high range at good prices, including brands like Casio, Citizen, Seiko, Lorus, Emporio Armani, Calvin Klein, and Timex among others.
5/ The shop, despite its small size, is tidy, clean, polished, well illuminated, and good looking.

They open every day.

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"Mr. Nobody" by Jaco Van Darmael (2009)

** Warning - This review may contain spoilers. I recommend watching the movie and then coming here, especially if the ending intrigues you, and it will **


Mr Nobody is the story of Nemo, whose possible two life lines and three love stories are alternatively presented.


The movie is well shot and the cast members convincing, especially Jared Leto (as adult Nemo), who is always perfect in this sort of odd films and roles. Also excellent are Toby Regbo (15y.o. Nemo), Juno Temple (15y.o. Anna) and Sarah Polley (depressive adult Elise). Diana Kruger (as adult Anna), Rhys Ifans (Nemo's father, Natasha Little (Nemo's mother), among many others, are OK in their respective roles.

The visual effects are wonderfully understated, very well blended with and at the service of the story. The theatrical movie sets, the rich colours, the different hues attached to each different life path, the wardrobe, and the lovely music -which mixes some old classic tunes with pieces specifically composed for the movie- create an ensemble that is very easy on the eye.

However, Mr Nobody is a great movie mostly because of its subtle but profound  reflection on Human Nature, Human behaviour, Free Will and the meaning of life. The movie reflects on questions like - what makes us what we are? Why we act the way we do? Is free choice a key element to happiness? How does other people's choices affect our choices? The philosophical, psychological, and metaphysical questions posed are sometimes explicitly mentioned, while others are hinted and expressed through the story as a whole, each different life line story in particular, and through Nemo and the other characters' behaviour. Among others, some of the concepts presented here are:
 1. Butterfly effect. 
2. Principle of Entropy.
3. Schrodinger's Cat Paradox
4. String Theory
5. The Pigeon's Superstition experiment
6. The Nature of the true self.
7. Free will and fate.
8. The linearity of (or multidimensional nature of) Time.
9. Quantum Physics and parallel universes.

Do not worry if some of these things sound alien to you. They were also alien to me. However, they were intriguing enough for me to get more information, and try to understand what I have seen better. In fact, they are a reason to watch the movie again. However, you can watch it without even bothering, and you will find that the movie still speaks to you. 

Jaco Van Darmael himself commented on the script and on his initial intentions in an interview. However, the story  has taken a life of his own, way beyond the initial intention of the director. 

***

THE ENDING OF THE MOVIE - MY INTERPRETATION
The film ends in a way that is open to interpretation. Movie forums are full of comments on the ending, and on Nemo's different lives, actions and reactions. To, me, however, they miss a few important things that are pivotal to understand the way the movie ends. Or, at least, the way I understand it:
1/ The Lyrics of the song Mr Sandman, which is repeatedly played thorough the whole movie, especially the main verses. Are we watching something real or is it just a dream? A lucid dream?
2/ The beginning of the film, with the different possible endings, which all end with Nemo dead, lost in a rhomboidal aseptic nightmarish dream-like world. The narrator is Nemo himself.
3/ The scene where Nemo tells how he was born, which goes from minutes 12.20 to 15 approximately. Here my transcription of what Nemo's off voice says:

"I can remember a long time ago, long before my birth, in the squeezing with those not yet born. When we aren't born yet, you know everything. Everything that's going to happen. When it's your time, the angels of the living put their finger on your mouth and leave a mark on the upper lip. It means that you've forgotten everything.

But the angels missed me.

[Nemo immerses himself in a white milk-like liquid, as he is ready to being born]

Then you have to find a daddy and mammy, and that's not easy to choose.

[Different couples speak about their wishes to have a baby, until Nemo's parents appear]

In the end, I chose them because the lady smells nice, and the man said 'Well, I can tell you how we met. It meant to be. Have you heard of the butterfly effect?' ".  

4/ The title of the movie is "Mr Nobody". Shouldn't this, per se, be an indication of something? Anything? Any bell ringing in your ears, yet?

Many of the interpretations about the meaning of the movie focus on the event that is photographed in the poster of the movie, but we need to remember that unborn Nemo chose his parents. Therefore, the moment of decisive choice is not the one in the poster, but the one of choosing his parents.

We are told, explicitly, that Nemo can see the future, any possibility in the future, every possible action and reaction in his life because the angels missed him. Therefore, all the couples that appear at the beginning are a possibility. Nemo chooses one. The more you think about it, the clearer you come to the conclusion that unborn Nemo is seeing his possible life IF he selected this couple as his parents, NOT after selecting them as his parents. Not convinced?

Now, we have the part of the movie in which we see centenary Nemo telling his life story/ies to a journalist. At a certain point, the world in which they are living starts to fade out and disintegrate, as it was a projection or a dream. And that is what it is. Something that is not real at all. All this world is white in colour, the same limbo and space of possibility in which Nemo immerses himself before being born. Old Nemo is not real, it is the way unborn Nemo sees himself if he chooses the parents shown at the beginning. If that wasn't true, how do you explain the fact that Nemo is the narrator of the three possible endings that we see at the beginning of the movie?  

***

There are other movies that reflect on the effect that personal choice and randomness, free will, determination, fate, and the butterfly effect have in our lives. Just to mention three, just remember Sliding Doors, Run Lola Run, and Cloud Atlas. However, they do not have the clarity and depth that Mr Nobody has. 

Mr Nobody is a very complex film, which, however, is very entertaining and easy on the eye. After all, it is a possible multiple love story. You can see it in many different ways and give it the interpretation you want. However, this is a film that needs of certain frame of mind to watch it, as this is not your usual fantasy or science-fiction movie.

Mr. Nobody is one of the most interesting and thought-provoking film I have watched in a long time. Perfect for Philosophy classes, and for oiling the creases of your brain in those days in which you feel them a bit rusty. Mr. Nobody is one of those movies that linger in the back seat of you mind for days, long after you have watched it. "No choice is still a choice" is one of the statements presented in the movie on which I have been pondering for days. Would knowing your fate help you to make a choice? Is one of those questions that did the same to me. The film is full of statements and questions that will keep you thinking, for good. 
 
A cult film already.

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Sayers Sister (Perth WA)

236 Lake St
Northbridge Western Australia 6000
(08) 9227 0429
Hours  
    Tue - Sun: 07:00 - 17:00
Website
Facebook

THE PLACE

A bit hidden in Lake St, a few metres away from Hyde Perth, in the outer skirts of Northbridge, Sayers Sister is a replica of the menu of the mother house, but delivered in a funkier and smaller setting.

The place has a beautiful rustic romantic vintage decoration. Everywhere you look, you see something beautiful and special: From the little flower arrangements to the chandeliers and brass lamps, from the cute mugs to the colourful water glasses, from the artistically designed sweets and lollies containers to the old-fashioned sugar bowls. Everything, even the toilets. The ambience music is great, too.

The place receives patrons of all ages and conditions. From tradies to business people and everybody in between, but it is especially popular with young people and professionals.

 

FOOD AND COFFEE

They have Mediterranean inspired dishes in simple but winning recipes. Their food is well prepared, portions are generous, flavours fantastic, and the plating beautiful. Their tagine, croquettes, and full breakfasts are yummy and man-sized! The Ploughman's board is also huge, and has a nice mice of flavours and textures. Everything I have tried is great.

Their sweets are great, too. The gluten free chocolate and strawberry mini-cakes are one of those things that you think about often after trying one. Their pineapple muffins are delicious.

Coffee is good, smooth and not strong. They use a mix of the house from Five Sense. They do mugs. I repeat, they do mugs!

SERVICE

All the waitresses have been delightful, smiley, polite and willing to serve every time I have visited. Service is laid back, but they do their best to accommodate and please patrons, especially at peak times.

 

PRICING

At Sayers Sister, you pay more or less as you would pay at any other café for your breakfast, lunch, coffee or cake. However, the food you get is way bigger, better, fresher, tastier and prettier. 

I always wonder why Sayers and Sayers Sister can be successful businesses without ripping us off, while other renowned cafés in Perth need to overcharge us and treat us as morons with the excuse of them using fresh seasonal produce. I think the answer relies on the fact that the Sayers do not want to make money out of hype and laziness, despite the fact that they use local fresh produce too. They respect their patrons, the same that cue at their doors every weekend.   

DOWNSIDES

- It is almost impossible to get a seat at Sayers Sister during the weekends, and cues are common at peak eating hours. Weekdays are way better, still, if you go at certain times, it will be difficult to find a table. 

- As a consequence, the place can be a bit hectic and crowded at times.
- The cashier counter is a bit high, or better said, the place from where the staff stands. That always puts customers in a position of "looked down", unless, of course, you are 6 feet tall. 
- At times, their poached eggs are a bit overdone, and the muffins left too much time in the microwave.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

- Let's face it. Most people do not want to seat at the communal counter. However, there are not enough individual or two-people tables on one of the sides of the café, and some of the four-people tables are used by two people. Therefore, patrons arriving are turned down, or do not stay, or the staff have to ask people to move around. They should replace the four-people tables with two-people ones, so they can be joined or separated on demand. I do not need to say that a few more tables outside would be welcomed.
- It would be great having a few extra more magazines available for patrons.
- It would be great if they had their Sayers Sister-only dishes and specialities.

***

The Sayers have done it again! Sayers Sister shares the brilliant menu with the mother café, but I feel they are a bit behind regarding excellence. However, their food is still great, their service is very good, and this a funkier, more modern and stylish café than the original one. 

Location: 7.5/10
Layout: 6.5/10
Ambience: 9/10
Service: 8/10
Food: 8.7/10
Sweets: 8.5/10
Coffee: 7.5/10
Pricing: 8/10

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Moana Coffee (Perth WA)

Shop 1F/ 618 Hay St
Perth Western Australia 6000
Moana's Website
Facebook
Hours:
    Mon-Fri 7:00 - 15:00





Note: Yes, I have eaten at Moana and visited repeatedly...

Moana is the beautiful Samoan name for "deep sea", and also the name of a documentary of the 1920s. However, Moana Café takes its name from the Moana Chambers Building where it is located - An example of the glamour and charm of the 1920s' Perth that, despite all odds, is still alive and thriving. The space has recently been refurbished and reinvented by Architects Nic Brunsdon and Beth George, and turned into a triptych space: business offices, a newly built womb-like jarrah exhibition area, and the café. 

Moana Café encapsulates the spirit of a Colonial-European café of the 1920s but it has been revamped for the needs of a modern weekday café. Old architecture, cozy cute decoration details, nice simple fresh food, welcoming quiet space, and great service. This elegant café is in the heart of Hay St Mall, but, at least at present, it is like an oasis of peace. It has a relaxed atmosphere -in part due to the smallness of the place-, which allows you to have a meal, chat with your companion or just relax on your own while seeing the world pass by from the balcony.

The food offer is small at present. The chicken and vegetarian quesadillas are simply delicious (with or without sour cream), full of fresh ingredients - A perfect light lunch. Their three salads on offer are simple but very tasty, and you can have them on their own or as a side dish with any other thing. Their wraps are terrible. Sorry, my opinion. They have a lovely good-looking home-made selection of cookies and muffins.

Moana' s coffee is good. They use Bonissimo beans; hit! They have mugs; hit! And their coffee tastes great and is well prepared; hit! 

Service is terrific, and the young ladies behind the counter are very welcoming,  friendly, and eager to please.

The place is taking off by worth of mouth, and it is becoming quite popular despite the fact that it has just opened. Great news for such a lovely humble café.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

• I would like their list of hot dishes and sweets enlarged, with more cooked options available.
• I would like those terrible wraps replaced with others that have something tasty inside.
• They can easily add some more individual tables in the balcony and in the indoor area. 
• I know I should not be saying this, but the jarrah exhibition space would make a very trendy restaurant dining room, if it was incorporated into the café. There are gazillion better spaces for an exhibition area around the city, but this would be perfect to turn the café into a restaurant. My opinion. 

Location: 9/10
Ambience: 8/10
Layout: 7/10
Coffee: 7.5/10 
Food: 6.5/10 
Service: 9/10
Pricing: 7.5/10

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Salsa's Fresh Mexican Grill (Mt Lawley, Perth WA) (Closed down)

568 Beaufort St
Mount Lawley Western Australia 6050
(08) 2289 627
Hours:
Website
Facebook

Recently open, Salsa's Mt Lawley is another addition to the Fast Food Mexican Wave spreading around Perth. Salsa's is a fast food franchise owned by the same company as owns Boost Juice, and they have an emphasis on fresh fast Mexican food. Salsa's  offers a selection of Tacos, Burritos, Quesadillas, nachos, snacks and Mexican bowls.

The best thing I have tried there is their street tacos (carnitas, chicken chipotle, and Habanero steak) with soft flour tortillas, and they are way better, bigger, tastier and fresher than those prepared in other similar places in Perth. To my surprise, they were beyond average, truly tasty and delicious.

 

Other things like the supposed fajitas (which are burritos) or the fries are completely forgettable, tasteless, and not worth the money. Burritos are better at Zambreros, really.

Portions are decent, and prices are terrific.

The have a selection of soft drinks, including Mexican "Jarritas" (sugary soft drinks). No alcoholic drinks yet. BYO.

The place is functional and spacious, pleasant and well ventilated.

The staff are really friendly and welcoming. I have visited several times, and they have been consistently nice.

They are still waiting for the alcohol license and for the Town of Vincent permit to enlarge their seating area, which is small.

MIND
They have Tuesday Tacos (soft or hard) at 1.95 bucks. However, they are smaller and less well prepared than the ones I tried the first day I visited.

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