Francis Mantel – Ganduri si Cantece de Ziua Ierusalimului

Posted on May 13, 2010 by admin

Ieri a fost sarbatorita in Israel Ziua Ierusalimului – aniversarea a 43 de ani de la eliberarea Orasului Vechi in timpul razboiului de sase zile, ziua reunificarii Ierusalimului. Prietenul meu prof. dr. Francis Mantel a avut bunavointa sa accepte preluarea pe blog a gandurilor sale legate de Ierusalim si de atasamentul evreilor fata de Ierusalim, asa cum este exprimat in rugaciuni si in muzica evreiasca.

Cand ma gandesc la Ierushalaiim, eu nu ma refer la soldati. Ci la evrei in general. Si la centrul spiritual pe care Ierushalaiimul il reprezinta pentru evreul constient ca e evreu.

Se spune ca in anul al saptelea al domniei sale (din totalul de 30 de ani cat a domnit), regele David si-a mutat capitala de la Shhem (Nablus) la Ierushalaiim. Acest lucru s-a intamplat cu peste trei mii de ani in urma!

In urma lui, fiul sau, regele Solomon a cladit primul Templu din Ierushalaiim.

De atunci, fara intrerupere, Ierushalaiimul, in timpuri grele si in timpuri bune, acest oras a marcat focarul atentiei si simbolul centrului spiritualitatii evreiesti.

Evreii sunt atasati de Ierushalaiim de peste trei mii de ani.

Bunicul meu matern, in Ardealul din Galut, obisnuia sa cante in fiecare vineri seara, printre “zmirot”-urile de Shabat, la cina festiva in cinstea Shabatului, la “seuda rishona” din cele trei mese de Shabat, un cantec hasidic extraordinar de frumos, in limba maghiara. Cu multi ani mai tarziu am aflat ca acest cantec este considerat de unii ca fiind “imnul” evreilor maghiari. Cantecul este plin de dragoste si dor, nostalgie si patos, dupa centrul spiritual evreiesc din Ierushalaiim. Poate sunt eu sentimental, dar de fiecare data cand ascult, sau cant, acest “zemer” cu acest “nigun”, … ma trec fiori, si plang de emotii ca un copil, caci ma copleseste textul liric si spiritual al cantecului acesta. Imi amintesc de Shabatul din copilaria mea, impreuna cu bunicii mei materni, cu parintii mei prezenti, si ma gandesc la legatura sufleteasca extraordinara a evreului cu Ierushalaiim-ul. Este o legatura spirituala care l-a ajutat pe evreu de-a lungul secolelor de exil, de calvar, de necazuri si de obidire, i-a dat evreului curajul sa se ridice dupa orice lovitura si orice cadere, si sa porneasca in continuare neabatut pe drumul sau evreiesc, cu spiritualitatea intensa evreiasca iudaica, catre spiritualitatea iudaica intensa din “Ierushalaiim shel Maala”, catre Ierushalaiimul spiritual celest, catre speranta reinnoirii vietii spirituale evreiesti intr-o tara evreiasca suverana si libera. Nu este vorba aici de nationalism sovin de tip legionar, nu este vorba nici de xenofobie, nu este deloc vorba de o ura fata de arabi, ci este o tendinta pura de a re-conecta cu o viata spirituala evreiasca elevata si sustinuta, in care evreul s-a simtit acasa si in vremuri de oprelisti.

Iata textul cantecului, urmat de cateva variatiuni de auzit si de vazut:

(Scuze celor ce sunt straini de limba maghiara.)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Szól a kakas már

( The rooster is already crowing )

(irta: horav Taub Izsák nagykállói cádik (Csoda-rabbi)

Nagy-Kálló /Hungary      The Kalever Rebbe       1780 (mit 230 yohr zurik)


Szól a kakas már.                  The rooster is already crowing.
Majd megvirrad már.                It will soon be dawn.
Zöld erdĹ ben, sík mezĹ ben       In the green forest, in the open field
Sétál egy madár.                   A bird is walking.
 
Micsoda madár!                     But what a bird!
Ay, de micsoda madár?             Oy, but what a bird (it is)?
Kék a lába, zöld a szárnya,       With yellow legs and wings of blue,
Engem oda vár.                     It is waiting for me there.
 
Várj madár, várj.                  Wait, my rose, wait.
Te csak mindig várj.               You just always wait.
Ha az isten nekem rendelt,        If G-d willed me for you,
Tied leszek már.                   I shall be yours.
 
Mikor lesz az már                  When will this come to pass?
Ay, de mikor lesz az már?         Oy, but when will this come to pass?
Jiboné hamikdos,                   Yiboneh ha-Mikdosh
Ir cion tömálé,                    Yir Tziyoin temalleh

Akkor – lesz az már.                                          Then – it will come to pass.

..                             ..

De miért nincs az már?                                    Why does it not happen?
De miért nincs az már!                                     Why does it not happen?
Y’Mipney Chatoenu Golinu MeArtzenu,     Because of our sins were we
 exiled from our homeland.
Azért nincs az már.                                              That’s why doesn’t it happen.

Ascultati, daca doriti, cateva versiuni (diferite) ale cantecului:

– cantat de Kalever rebbe hasidic de azi, urmas al autorului Kalever rebbe, horav Itzhak Taub, z”tz”l:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuTuKufvgO4

– cu text tiparit, cantat de un succesor al rabinului hasidic Taub, der Kalever rebbe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjwKuYmzWYg&feature=related

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

– cantat de un cor de “hazanim” din Israel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcuWnIviYJ0&NR=1

– cantat in idish de rabinul hasidic: der Nikolsburger rebbe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqO6t-aRBmY&feature=related

– cantat de Marta Sebestyen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaEL4tidJQk&feature=related

– la vioara, de Orsolya Korcsolán:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTE7P6z_hRU&feature=related

– cantat de klezmer-i din Argentina:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6LRYtMsjpA&feature=related

– cantat de tineri evrei din Ungaria:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e9DVCm14k4&feature=related

– cantat de Eszter:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qprouUu3VzY&feature=related

– Michael Alpert canta in idish si maghiara, in SUA, la vioara si tzambal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fZ9OaezMZg&feature=related


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The Maltese Week / 6 – Good Friday in Mosta

Posted on May 12, 2010 by admin

In the car that took us from the airport to our hotel at the arrival in Malta we saw from the highway a huge structure that was visible from distance and dominated the landscape. Mr. David, the driver explained that this is the third dome in dimensions in Europe.  Frommer’s guide says it’s the fourth in the word. The information was not confirmed from other sources, and I actually heard a similar claim about another church in the island of Gozo, but later in the afternoon, when we arrived in the city of Mosta to watch the Good Friday procession as recommended by Mr. Albert the knowledgeable receptionist at the resort, we all agreed it is BIG.

on the streets of Mosta

As we were warned the city was closed to cars for the event and we had to walk about two kilometers from the margin of the town to the church in the center. We encountered for the first time the feeling of familiarity we then experienced for the rest of the trip. The landscape and the style of building is very similar to the one in the Arab towns and villages in Israel, spoken Maltese sounds close to Arab, and with the silhouette of the church in the sky the city looked like a flat replica of Nazareth.

Mosta Dome or Rotunda of St Marija Assunta

The impressive church dedicated to St. Mary – Rotunda of St Marija Assunta in Maltese – was built between 1833 and 1860, and the plans were based on the model of the Pantheon in Rome. On April 9, 1942 a German bomb fell inside the dome but never exploded, event which is remembered as the April 9 Miracle.

the Dome

The Dome is impressive also in the interior. The ceiling is painted in an abstract patter, and enhances the feelings of dimension. The internal diameter is 37.1 meters, and the walls are 9.1 meters thick.

inside the church

The church was overcrowded, as it was the time of the Good Friday liturgy before the procession started to parade in the streets. We could not move freely in the church and admired the art, but we could see the allegoric cars, the statues and the relics that were prepared to participate in the event. It was quite obvious that in this deeply religious country many people had worked for days and weeks in preparation.

preparing the chains

When we exit we saw another kind of preparation on the stairs of the church. Heavy metal chains were waiting for people to carry them on their legs during the procession, as a symbol of the suffering of Christ. The folks who were to carry the chains had their feet protected with bandages.

waiting for the procession

It was already late afternoon and the streets began to fill with people waiting for the procession to start. The path of the walk in the streets was well marked, it started from the church and ended at the edge of one of the main streets in the city. Some chairs were sold for a few Euros, other people gathered in the balconies in expectation. We were inspired and lucky to find a coffee shop (with a cinema theme – more about this in the next episode!) at the second floor of a building in the corner of the square near the church. We took some beers and waited for the event that started around 5PM.

dignitiaries and local band

The first to walk in the procession were the dignitaries of the city followed by the local band. All seemed to walk on slow motion, and stopped several times so there was plenty of time to take photos from all angles.

Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane

Statues, paintings, icons from the church followed carried on allegoric cars. The logic became evident, as each one of the cars and groups of people were described and the story of Christ’s Passion told on loudspeakers first in Maltese and then in English.

carrying the chains

Our friends carrying the chains followed. They were in full costume – looking a little bit like Ku-Klux-Klan, but we were not that shcked as we have already seen these costumes at a similar procession in the South of Spain a few years ago. Some of them were barefoot, some were wearing sneakers, all carried the real and heavy metal chains. Slow motion was fully justified for them.

Jewish and Roman characters

Costumes reflecting the local vision of how the Bible drama characters looked like were carried by participants in the parade, as in a grave carnival. The comment advanced slowly through the Bible story. It was already 7PM, we were watching the procession for a couple of hours and it became evident that it will last until late in the evening or even in the night. When the commentary reached the episode in which Barabbas was pardoned by the Jews instead of the innocent Christ we decided that we watched enough and started to head back to our place.

the food booth

On the way back we could not miss the food booths with magnificent cakes and pastries. Easter follows a period of feasting for Christians, and this was probably only one of the elements of diet-breaking of the holiday.

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amazing documentary on Einstein

Posted on May 11, 2010 by admin

I am not a great fan of the documentary series on History Channel, but the one I have seen today was really much above the average. It focused on Albert Einstein, maybe the greatest scientific mind that ever lived, and on the crucial years between the writing of his basic works describing the theory of relativity and nature of light in 1905, until the experimental proof that confirmed the theory of generalized relativity and the nature of gravity in 1922 followed by the receiving of the Nobel prize (but not for the theory of gravity but rather for the description of photons and structure of light.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC7Sg41Bp-U

(video source g33kqu33n)

These were years in which Einstein turned upside down all the science in place for more than two centuries based on the classical physics founded by Newton. These were years where the whole world turned upside down, empires in place in Europe for many years tumbled down under revolutions and new orders emerged predicting peace and welfare but bringing the seeds of more and atrocious human suffering. In the middle of all these storms Einstein succeeded to not only to create some of the most magnificent pieces of work that human mind ever conceived, but also kept a straight moral position, opposing war and nationalist fantasies.

source: www.haverford.edu

Whenever I look at his photos I cannot escape the feeling that I am looking at the images of a man who is still alive. His eyes are so deep and his stare is so intense and so human, that I almost expect him to talk to me. The fact that I know about the deep connection and support he felt to Israel only enhances my feelings.

The documentary at History Channel was smartly made. It brought on screen a battery of biographers, scientists and historians (Walter Isaacson, his most famous biographer among them) who talked about Einstein and his times, and succeeded to link their commentaries into a logical thread that built a story line that fascinated and kept me watching like at the best thriller dramas. All was explained clearly – the historic background, the biographic details, the science and the family life (yes, Einstein was no saint or family values model) and the reconstitution of the experiments that eventually proved his theories looked like a good and real Indiana Jones film. The ‘Einstein’ documentary set for me a model of what biography movies should look like.

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Film: De battre mon coeur s’est arrêté (Jacques Audiard – 2005)

Posted on May 10, 2010 by admin

I did not see yet the last film of Jacques Audiard Un Prophete which enjoyed great success in Europe and was brought to Israel a few weeks ago. I did however have the opportunity to see now (from the ARTE TV channel) this previous film that he directed in 2005 and my feeling is that I have met the work of one of the most interesting and complete directors in the French cinema today.

source www.imdb.com

It is usually the European cinema that comes with the original ideas and the American Hollywood industry that creates the remake, with lesser or greater success. Here the path is reversed. A film with a very similar theme about the son of a Mafia head trying to break with the family and with the life of crime in order to get back to the classical music making that was his childhood passion was Fingers made in 1978 by James Toback with Harvey Keitel (one of my prefered actors) making one of his finest roles ever. Here with the action is transferred in the Paris of today, the main role is being taken over by Romain Duris, a fine actor who succeeds to make us believe in his character fighting an almost impossible fight for redemption and evasion from his milieu, and especially makes us care about him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtKZso_wFZ4

(video source fransefilm)

Duris is supported by a team of actors which is best selected and do a great job – especially Niles Arestrup as the young man’s father for whom he cares, and from whom he must escape in order to have any chance to find a new path in life, and Linh Dan Pham as the Chinese pianist who teaches the hero lessons to help him get back on the track of art, without knowing any French. The scenes between the two, one speaking French , the other Chinese (with no subtitles) and communicating only by mimic and especially by music are both dramatic and moving. It’s a solid drama and a complex film, but never a complicated one, so it’s a real thrilling cinema experience to watch it.

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Moscow’s Stanislavski Opera with Prokofiev’s ‘Betrothal in a Monastery’ in Tel Aviv

Posted on May 9, 2010 by admin

Last night’s performance at the New Israeli Opera was one of the first in the series of performances that brings here the Stanislavski Opera from Moscow. It was a fine performance in my opinion, although quite a different one than the usual kind of operas the Israeli audience is accustomed with.

source http://www.israel-opera.co.il/

This is one of the operas written by Prokofiev after his return to the Soviet Union in 1935, and the only one that does not have a Russian and patriotic theme. Actually the subject resembles more the operas that Propkofiev composed earlier abroad. The libretto written by the composer and his wife Mira Mendelson is based on an 18th century play by Sheridan that inspired several operas, kind of a comedy of errors and situations, with comedia dell’arte morals and frenzy, very much in the spirit of Goldoni and Beaumarchais. The music on the other hand belongs much more to the more mature and settled period of the late Prokofiev creation – it lacks the surprises and experiments of the earlier works, but has maturity and dramatic continuity, is full and interesting all over. If the  subject is rather minor, the music is one of the best in the late operas of Prokofiev.

source http://www.israel-opera.co.il/

The performance brought to Tel Aviv (directed by Alexander Ttiel and Ludmila Naletova) takes the action almost completely out of the historical context. If there is one such context, it is rather the one of the era and place where the composer lived and created. The freedom was certainly limited for Prokofiev at that time when he found himself under the scrutiny of censorship, but the use of comedia dell’arte clowns  for all the background characters gave him the opportunity to make in movement and mime what he could not express in words. I am not sure how much of the irony about the demagogic propaganda and pseudo-heroes of the communist regime made it to the Israeli public, but at least the scene movement was expressive, and the costumes expressive and colourful. The set designed by Valentin Arefiev with bars of huge ventilators moving around the scenic space gave a feeling of openness and the occasion for a few gags, but failed to connect to the music. The singers were good almost without exception, I had the feeling that if I knew Russian I could understand any word (so stop blaming the acoustics when the singers are un-intelligible!),  they acted like a team in an opera that includes a lot of interaction, duets and multiple dialogs rather than spectacular areas, and the orchestra directed Wolf Gorelik sounded much better than usually.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts5aLeRXrcA

(video source carissia1910)

I have found a couple of clips from two different performances of the opera – one is the overture directed by Valery Gergiev, and the second catches the fabulous Anna Netrebko in one of the duets in the first act of the opera.

(video source Eduardo2335165)

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Carla Cook in Tel Aviv

Posted on May 9, 2010 by admin

You may have not heard about Eddie Jefferson. He was a idol in the 60s and 70s, an exquisite vocalist, but is almost forgotten nowadays. A moving in-between songs story told by Carla Cook during her concert in Tel Aviv brought him to my attention. A story about a teenager girl in Detroit, listening to a jazz radio station where Eddie, one of these musicians who could play the rich and solid classic jazz repertoire was a star, hearing that he comes in town and begging her parents to allow her to go and listen to him in a club, getting permission and getting little sleep for the night because of the emotion, waking up at morning with the news that Jefferson was killed that night and she will never listen to him live. That event happened exactly 31 years ago day by day. Now, Carla Cook tells this story at many concerts, and Jefferson lives in memory and gets to be known to people around the world because of her.

(video source routzi)

The direct style and the sincere interaction with the audience are the principal qualities of Carla Cook. Born in Detroit, she is a friend and sometimes works with violinist Regina Carter with whom she shared the dream to become a jazz musician since childhood. Nowadays beyond being a performer she also teaches jazz, and one of the funniest and nicest moments of the evening was the rendition of a standard in the style of her seven years old pupils (‘they really swing!’). Maybe she has not a great voice or the allure of a diva, but her sincerity, her joy in singing and sharing the emotions conquers the audience. The name of her last album (from 2002!) ‘Simply Natural’ describe quite well what she is about.

(video source deecharming)

The program on Friday night (part of the Tel Aviv Museum Hot Jazz series) was mostly based on standards, and on lesser known songs of well known musicians that Carla loves to discover and bring back to the attention of the public. An old and little known Duke Ellington song was maybe the best of the evening. Out of the Israeli band pianist Nitai Herkowitz was the best, close to the singer, attentive and sensitive to her parts, with refined and interesting solos. Saxophonist Erez Bar-Noy had a few moments of quality, but his style closer to free jazz is not that fit with what Carla Cook does. Asaf Hachimi at bass was correct, and Shy Zalman, as many times could not refrain from being too loud and too extrovert, which sometimes is good, not always is needed.

(video source buddhaboogie)

Carla Cook’s website is http://www.carlacook.com/

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A Walk Through the Real Ajami

Posted on May 7, 2010 by admin

Jaffa - the Jephet Street

A company cultural activity took us today through the district of Ajami, the Southern area of Jaffo made known recently by the movie that was a candidate to the Oscar prize for the Best Foreign Language Film.  Located one and the other side of the Jephet street, the area offers and interesting perspective of the history of the area, and the origins of its inhabitants.

sheikh Ali's house

We started the (guided) walk near one of the older houses of the area that belonged to an Arab sheik, descendant of the Egyptian settlers brought here by the sultan Muhamad Ali in the period between 1831 and 1840 that Jaffa was under Egyptian rule. About 12000 workers came here to build the area which was until then a dormant harbor, known to connect Jerusalem to the Mediterranean sea. When the Egyptians left the area most of the settlers stayed here, and many of the Palestinians today – Muslims and Christians – are their descendants.

windows

We spent much of the time walking the smaller streets, and admiring the mix of architectural elements – Arabic and European – from different period that gives charm and personality to the city. Many windows have arcades, and they are doubled by circular openings at the top of the rooms that enable the circulation of the air and cool the houses during hot summers.

house gate

Some of the house gates are pretty sophisticated, with sculptured columns and decorative elements.

door

Some other are simpler, and hide the interior of the houses, but they almost never are banal or lack some decorative element.

Terra Santa elementary school

The name of the area means in Arabic – ‘the Persian’ and refers to one of the followers of the prophet. Muslims almost exclusively ruled on the Holy Land between the end of the crusades until 1831, and only with the coming of the Egyptians Christians were allowed to return and practice their faith here. The only exception were the Catholics from the Franciscan order, who kept guard to the Holy places. Their institutions can be seen in Ajami as well – for example the Terra Santa elementary school and high school …

stepdoor of the Franciscan church

… and the beautiful Franciscan school.

1+1+1=1

Ajami is today a mixed area, inhabitted by Jews, Muslims, and Christians. Some of the public schools are mixed, and graffitis like the one above witness that  some of the inhabitants still hold hope that the co-existence will last and turn eventually into real peace.

Garden of the Two

Yet, this is not an easy process. Many places remind a painful recent history, like the Garden of the Two, commemorating the event in 1992 when a terrorist from Gaza stabbed to death a Jewish girl, and then an Arab man who came to her rescue.

Roth's Mansion

One of the former residential areas located on a hill is the Ziona Tagger street (the painter never lived here, though) which was once, in the 19th century the place of many gatherings of the local high society, of social and entertainment events.

house of the Bolivian consul

Houses here are in very various states, some very well maintained, other badly requiring intervention (like the centenary building that once belong to the consul of Bolivia, in a period when many countries tried to set foot in the still Turkish-dominated area), or other simply abandoned.

the Coptic Church and Monastery

The relative liberal policy of the Egyptians and then of the Turks allowed for the settling in Ajami in the 19th century of inhabitants belonging to various Christian denominations, some of them specific to other areas of the Middle East. One example are the Coptic Christians from Egypt settled here by Muhamad Ali, their descendants built the interesting church and the neighboring monastery.

the Maronite church

Maronites came in a few years later, from Lebanon. They built their houses in the north of Ajami, adding the Lebanese style of building to the architectural melting pot of Ajami and Jaffa.

little Beirut - house in Lebanese style

Our tour ended at the outskirts of the Old City of Jaffo. We had made a walk of about two kilometers, parallel to the sea. Little of the beach of Ajami is left, the area is being transformed today as part of a project that will unite all the beaches and from Reading in the North of Tel Aviv to the city Bat Yam in the South into one riviera for the tourists and seal lovers to enjoy.The renewed harbor of Jaffa, and the Andromeda building project are already there, at the point where the history and the present, traditional and modern architecture and ways of life meet.

Jaffa harbor and beach of Ajami

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The Maltese Week / 5 – On the Streets of Valletta

Posted on May 6, 2010 by admin

city walls

The first thing that strikes the visitor after walking away from the central bus station towards the city are the walls. Valletta is located on a rocky peninsula and is protected by maybe the most impressive fortified walls that I have ever seen. Built by the Knights of St. John after the Great Siege by the Turks in 1565, the city actually never fell to a foreign invader in war. The only conqueror of the island was Napoleon, but the knights had fled to Russia abandoning the city, by the time the future emperor entered here.

Valletta Map

The city is the principal tourist attraction on the island and a mandatory stop for any trip here. It succeeds to be crowded it any season, and for us, who visited out of season it was almost the sole crowded place we have encountered during the vacation.

city gate

The land access to the city is through the city gate, which looks like a triumphal arch whose days of glory are well passed. It is actually pretty new, built in the 1970s, but not that well maintained. As in other places on the island we saw here as well signs about something new to be build soon instead – it looks like Malta is a place where the European money comes slowly, or when it comes it is not immediately used for the targeted purposes.

the bombed theatre

Right after the gate the visitor can see the ruins of the old and imposing building that stood here until the second world war and was destroyed in the savage bombing that the German aviation subjected the city to in 1942. Malta was the only country who had the entire population decorated by the British king during the war for the steadiness and will to resist the enemy under fire.

Auberge de Castille

Valletta is a beautiful city, and it’s beauty comes from the combination of refined architecture mixing palaces, churches, and sloppy streets and the spectacular setting of the peninsula surrounded by the blue of the the sea. Many of the beautiful places in the city come directly from history – for example the Auberges (Inns) which look to the contemporary eyes as real palaces where the knights were hosting the guests from various places in Europe. The buildings perform various functions nowadays, among other Auberge de Castille is one of the most imposing, hosting the office of the Maltese Prime Minister.

view from the Upper Barrakka Gardens

One place to watch the landscape of the city are the Upper Barrakka Gardens. Across the bay one can see the Three Cities, and down the slopes the bastions, wharfs, and especially the esplanades of the lower gardens, with the canons that once defended the city.

cafe Gordina

All streets in Malta streets have two names – one in Maltese and the other in English. For example the principal street in Valletta is Triq Ir-Repubblika, or the Road of the Republic, which crosses the peninsula and the city from South to North, and divides the city into a West side and a East side, as in Manhattan, all proportions kept, of course. The street looks very much like a tourist spot as in many other places in the world, but some special buildings remind you that you are in a special place. For example Cafe Gordina has a definite European flavor, with a superb chocolates and cakes assortment.

the Manoel Theatre

Just down the street from Cafe Gordina you will find the almost only open plaza area in the city. The Manoel Theatre – the most famous theater and opera place on the island stands across the road from the Grand Master’s Palace and State Building, where the parliament and the president of the Republic have their residences.

flags and balconies

Visitors to Valletta and to Malta in general will find out soon after visiting the first city or village that balconies are kind of the local passion, the preferred architectural ornament and a reflection of the social status of the owner of the apartment or of the house.

saints behind the corner

Valletta is also a city of churches, and there are many from the imposing St. John’s Co-Cathedral which will be the subject of a dedicated episode to small churches on the side streets. The religious fervor of the inhabitants is reflected not only in the multitude of churches however, religious art seems to have freely escaped from the perimeter of the walls of the churches in the streets of the city. It looks like at every street corner at least one saint carved in stone or painted on the walls is extending his blessing to the travelers.

San Francisco on the Mediterranean

The most beautiful places in the city demand however some efforts to explore and walk. If you step aside from the main road you find yourself soon on quite streets on slopes, which seem all to descend to the sea, whatever direction you take. The comparison with San Francisco immediately comes to mind, but the tram is missing. One just needs to remember that anything that goes down will inevitably go up as well, as the only point to exit the city is the entrance gate. The slopes back can really be brutal, at the end of a day of walking the city.

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The Maltese Week / 4 – Roads and Buses

Posted on May 6, 2010 by admin

deserted train station in Medina

Somebody should write once a history of the railroads in the British Empire. All were ambitious projects, designed as a replica of the network that was built as the infrastructure of the industrial revolution in the British islands. The stations were built as a carbon copy of the old country stations, the locomotives and wagons were destined to run on four continents, all driven by the coal extracted in the pits of Wales and Scotland. Yet reality was stronger than the imperial designs, and as in Palestine, or even worse, the train in Malta never became an economic reality. Due to short distances within the island and long delivery distances for equipment, parts, and especially for coal the train service was interrupted in Malta by 1935. It is only the old, abandoned trains stations like the one in the city of Medina that stay witness of the history of railroad transport in the heart of the Mediterranean. Demolitions are not a Maltese skill, did I say it already?

on the roads

So the tourists and the locals are left with the roads network. They are driving on the correct side of the road, so my only day of car rental was the usual challenge which I overcame heroically. No real highways on the island, and the state of the road was fair, some place between Israel and Romania. Road signs are poor, no signs with road numbers, you never know when you exit a village or city and enter the next one, but distances are small, so you cannot really get lost.

central bus station in Valletta

The principal mean of transportation used by locals and tourists as well are the buses. They are quite inexpensive, no ticket exceeds too much one Euro, most are less. The central bus station in Valletta connects to any point on the main island, and being situated just out of the city gates is the starting point for exploring the city.

the yellow bus

Much can be written about the buses in Malta. The common thing is that they are all yellow – the yellow of the cabs in NYC or Bucharest. Under the paint you can find any model the British bus industry produces in the last half of century, from smoky and noisy Leyland buses similar to the ones once manufactured in Israel and exported to Romania among other in the 60s, to the modern air-conditioned ones. You buy tickets from the driver and better have change with you, or not too big notes fit to the value of the tickets.

in the bus - the full experience

Do not be in a hurry and do not rely to get to the minute to your destination. Buses, as life in general go at slow pace in Malta. Sometimes a 20 kilometers trip can take one hour, in some cases the bus has problems with changing gears, or climbing hills, and the timetable on the station panels is just for orientation, provided that you understand it. All these happened to us, but eventually we always made it at the destination, and the good-humored indifference of the drivers did not allow us to get too angry. Bus traveling is certainly one part of the Malta experience not to be missed.

waiting on the dock of the bay

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Film: L’ete meurtrier (Isabelle Adjani – 1983)

Posted on May 4, 2010 by admin

source www.imdb.com

The source of this film is a book of Sebastien Japrisot – a thriller author and script-writer who also directed a a few films by himself. After having seen the film directed by Jean Becker in 1983 I start to wonder whether it would not have been better in this case if Japrisot brought to screen his own novel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmlD08WlO2U

(video source etik42)

The whole film turns around Isabelle Adjani, By the time she made L’ete meurtrier Adjani was already at her 20th film or such and Truffault’s L’Histoire d’Adele H., or Polanski’s Le locataire were already behind her. Yet, she has in this film the freshness of a debutante and a sex-appeal that equals few films I have seen (Tornatore’s Malena with Monica Belucci comes to my mind). Adjani plays here the role of the victim and of the avenger, her beauty, changes of mood, suffering and mistakes make and destroy everything in the story and in the film itself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z-VEavOs8I

(video source etik42)

Seen through the perspective of almost three decades the story of the young girl seeking revenge for the rape of her mother may seem conventional and melodramatic. It is however very much into the style and approach not only of the classic French cinema but also of the literature – the characters seem to descend to us from the world of an Emile Zola, with their predestination of giving up to passion and with the tendency of making fatal, destinies breaking mistakes for the seek of love.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii-vtINLE7Y

(video source etik42)

If there is anything or anybody to blame for this film not really aging well despite Adjani’s fabulous performance (seconded by Alan Souchon, an actor who seems to have all but disappeared after having made this film, and I have a hard time understanding why) I think it’s the direction and the director. Similar material has created masterpieces if I am to think about films like La mariee etait en noir – Jean Becker seems to have lacked the daring of taking a ‘classical’ story and using lesser conventional cinematographic means in order to make the story more credible. And yet, the film is worth seeing, even just for the pleasure of seeing Isabelle Adjani at her best.

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