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November 22, 2020:

THE RETURN OF L’APPARTEMENT

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to the soundtrack to L’Appartement by Peter Chase.  I happened to watch the film again last night and I just love the movie and I love the score.  I don’t think I’d run it since 2007, which is surprising.  Well, I was taken in by it all over again.  It’s a Hitchcockian tale in a way – the director clearly reveres Mr. Hitchcock and even has a fun little Strangers on a Train moment, but unlike Mr. De Palma, he’s never obvious or over the top about it.  The story comes in fragments after its initial scenes – we come to learn things via flashbacks – it’s very clever and keeps you glued to the screen (no mean feat), and everything pays off in the end in maybe not the satisfying way you’d expect, but since the leading man of the film seems to not be able to make up his mind, it’s perfectly in keeping with his character.  The cast is superb – Vincent Cassell, Monica Bellucci, but most especially Romane Bohringer, who actually walks away with the film.  I first saw it after reading about it back in 2004 and have seen it three times between then and 2007.  The director/writer, Gilles Mimouni, whose first film this was, does a crackerjack job, so here’s the shocker: It’s not only his first film, it’s his ONLY film.  I’m not sure how you deliver a film like this and then never make another.  I think he may have made a short film since, but that’s it.  I just looked him up and in 2011 he made a TV movie called Bandits, which I’ll go research.  And of course, there was a crass and terrible remake in the US called Wicker Park, where everything that worked in the original is either missing in action or subverted.  I think DVDs are pretty cheap (never out on Blu-ray), but the one you do NOT want is the American Lionsgate release, as the subtitles are terrible (for the deaf), so seek out one of the imports.  And I have to say, the score, which has its Herrmann like moments, is just wonderful.  Other than that, I just had the second frozen dinner of the evening – first time I’ve eaten three meals in one day in decades, but these frozen dinners aren’t huge – I’m sure I ate way over my 1000 calories, probably closer to 1600, but I think I need to do that once a week now – no higher than that, though.

Yesterday was a perfectly okay day.  I was up at eight-thirty after six hours of sleep, then took a chance on nearby Jinky’s Café – I really thought there’d be no chance of a table, but I got one immediately, so that was great.  I had eggs benedict, which they do wonderfully, and some home fries – not a huge amount – and I was able to kill two hours there.  Then I went to the mail place and picked up a couple of things, then came home and she of the Evil Eye was already gone.  I went to use the computer and realized instantly that my trackpad wasn’t there.  It was nowhere to be seen and I began to freak out as one can’t use the computer without such a thing.  I couldn’t believe it. I looked in every drawer, in her cleaning stuff, nothing.  So, I texted her.  In the meantime, I have an extra trackpad and I plugged it in, but it wouldn’t work.  Much later, I realized I hadn’t turned it on.  Go know.  I kept looking on the table the computer sits on.  I have a few CDRs and envelopes at the very back behind the right speaker and my eye caught sight of a white thing beneath the pile and there it was.  I’m not sure why anyone would put something under a pile.  She called a few minutes later, and I reiterated to her that while she’s welcome to clean the table, she can’t touch or move anything that’s on it.  Hopefully, that won’t happen again.

After that, I answered e-mails, did stuff that needed doing, wrote about a third of the commentary for the December Kritzerland show, made a few more notes for project two – now that I finally know how the mechanics of it will work, I’m just noting little ideas that pop into my head so that on Monday I can really get back to work on it in a serious way.  Then I shaved and showered, after which the visitor showed up for a visit and a lovely visit it was for about ninety minutes or so.

After that, I did some work at the piano, then listened to three marvelous string quartets by William Alwyn, as I went through Doug’s playlet in preparation for tomorrow’s rehearsal.  I had the first frozen dinner (both were Marie Callender’s) – a teriyaki chicken and rice thing that was low in calories.  Then I finally sat on my couch like so much fish and watched L’Appartement.  After that, I had the second frozen dinner, a cheesy shepherd’s pie thing that was actually pretty good.  The rest you know.

Today, I’ll be up by eleven, I’ll do whatever needs doing, and then I’ll mosey on over to the Group Rep and block the playlet – what fun it will be to be in the same room with the cast.  I’m hoping that goes smoothly and quickly.  After that, I’ll have to think about food, and I’ll also stop at the mail place as I think some stuff is arriving.  I must be a good boy, food-wise.  Then I’ll watch, listen, and relax.

Tomorrow, I’m doing an interview thing with our very own Donald Felthm for The Broadway Radio Show right here on this sit, and then I have a production meeting in the evening via Zoom.  That won’t last too long, at least for me it won’t. The rest of the week is working on project two and getting charts done on project one – thankfully, we’re getting some help in terms of getting half the songs’ lead sheets done by someone else, so that will take some pressure off Richard Allen.  I’ll probably do one more Zoom rehearsal for the Kritzerland show, I’ll have some kind of turkey and stuffing thing on Thanksgiving, we may have a couple of rehearsals for the playlet, and then the following week we’ll shoot it.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by eleven, do whatever needs doing, have a rehearsal, hopefully pick up packages, eat, and then watch, listen, and relax.  Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them.  So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have had the return of L’Appartement.

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