Tonight, I saw my 28th and last movie of the festival, down from 30 in 2015, but I think it still gives me some authority to make a few comments… The tactful trailer The trailer to Ma Ma suggested it was a heartwarming film about a woman (played by Penélope Cruz) dying of cancer, unexpectedly pregnant, with the…
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May
This is the terrace of a beachfront room at Turtle Cove resort, between Cairns and Port Douglas. Kelvin, the co-owner, calls it the best office in Australia. Hard to disagree. On this trip, I was editing a tasteful novel. Every time I cut out 500 words I had a swim. An attraction or downside (attraction…
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May
Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world. If a city needs at least 50,000 people. If the minimum is 100,000 people, it’s Punta Arenas: Reduce it to 1,000, and Puerto Williams wins. It might depend on your nationality. Punta Arenas and Puerto Williams are in Chile. Ushuaia is in Argentina. I went overland…
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May
We were at Cinema Paradiso as part of the Spanish Film Festival. YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED Was that a record for you? It equalled my previous best, that I achieved twice at last year’s festival, but Garry has now joined the cult. Didn’t you get hungry? No. There was time to pop out between movies, though we missed some…
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May
Everyone on my Antarctic trip thought cute things about penguins. Except for me. One of Western Australia’s main attractions is Monkey Mia, where dolphins come almost to the shore and entertain the tourists. I went there as part of a trip from Perth to Broome. I asked Pete, our (suffering) driver and guide: ‘What does…
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May
Do not adjust your computer! I thought these images looked better in black and white, or, as the Argentines say, white and black (or, in one case, more of a yellow). I’ve explained before about the unwritten law: that great waterfalls must be on the border of two countries. Most of what you see in…
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May
In 2011, my friend Joanna and I took the Prospector train to the gold mining city of Kalgoorlie, and drove a hire car 174 kilometres north to the sculptures at Lake Ballard. We didn’t stay as long as we wanted. A thunderstorm was approaching, and being in an open space with metal objects didn’t seem…
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Apr
I didn’t just see sunsets in Chilean Patagonia. Animal life in Puerto Natales Animal death in Puerto Natales Gertrude was one reason for the end of my Wonder Woman obsession. I met her on Brunswick Street in Fitzroy, Melbourne. We locked eyes on opposite sides of a shop window. When I tried her on, her…
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Apr
