Le Weekend is about the marriage relationship between Nick and Meg who celebrate their 30th anniversary in Paris, the city of romance. Nick hoped to please his wife and recapture at least a little of their former passion, but Meg, who teased and baited him, was ready to discard him like an old down-at-heel shoe, and there was a lot of bitching between the two. In the discussion group we asked what the film was trying to tell us and I, for one, could not find an answer. However, the filming, music and in particular the acting was of the very best, and we really believed we were in Paris, so there was much to enjoy. The wonderful first short film, in complete contrast to Le Weekend, was about the contentment of an extremely old married couple, who had come to Bradford many years ago to work hard in a textile mill. They had brought up eight children and from the family group picture we could see they had started a highly respected dynasty. The second short followed the evening's trend of relationships in a session of speed dating. We soon realised that this method of finding the right partner is about as successful as winning the National Lottery. Nine of us enjoyed the discussion at the end of the evening. Some thought Meg was entirely egotistic and had little or no love for her husband, whilst we all agreed Nick wanted only to have a close bond with his wife. The ageing process and lost opportunities were propelling Meg into a single life now that she felt she had no further responsibility towards her sons. Sonia
I watched this (our 50th !) film and right up to the end asked myself 'what is this film's plot'. I know of two people who did not watch it a second time - not so much because there is no happy ending (a debatable point in itself) but perhaps because the constant bickering is just too oppressive; neither documentary nor transportational.
Anyway, the short films were, as far as I heard, universally appreciated. The first: Elders by Glen Milner, allows us to see what can be achieved if the bickering of Le Week-End is dispensed with. Then Speed Dating by Isaac Feder takes us to the beginning of potential relationships and highlights were we all went wrong all those years ago. Some of us are fortunate to have got past the failures highlighted in the film - perhaps it's referred to as 'growing up'.
Had I been asked on the night, I would have estimated an audience maybe 20 larger than the 57 recorded as passing through the doors. Perhaps the wet evening caused people to dress larger than otherwise. I was happy to collect a further £50 to go towards our season charity: Holding Hands Pre-School Nursery - let's hope they can find a way to avoid closure.
Eugene.