The Song of Lunch

Tienda Turning a piece of literature into a film isn't easy, and while the task is even more daunting when the literature in question is a poem, director-screenwriter Niall MacCormick has done a worthy job of it with The Song of Lunch, a brief and earnest meditation about the reunion of two lovers at a London restaurant. In adapting Christopher Reid's 2009 work, MacCormick appears to have hewed to the format of the original, with the majority of the story (such as it is) told by the male of the couple (Alan Rickman); indeed, there's a good deal more voice-over than dialogue, and his former lover (Emma Thompson), whom he meets for lunch 15 years after their breakup at what was once their favorite Italian eatery, has very little of the latter. Nonetheless, their dynamic is established quickly and indelibly: he's a frustrated poet, a fellow who describes himself as "not nice" and "a figure of folly and pathos" and hates his book-editing job, while she's living happily in Paris with her husband (a successful novelist with "a wintry smirk") and kids. Only one of these people is sorry their love affair ended, and the meeting does not go well. She's straightforward, sharp, and honest; he's a self-absorbed, self-pitying drunk who's defensive about the failure of the one book of poems he managed to get published, and his demonstrable unlikability makes it difficult to care about him, to say the least. All of this is a bit stilted, not to mention laborious (even at a slight 50 minutes), but MacCormick livens things up by effectively applying cinematic touches like flashbacks to the lovers' earlier days; long, lingering shots (some in slow motion); and close-ups that highlight every detail of this unhappy event. The Song of Lunch isn't a lot of fun, but the mere fact that it's trying to do something a little different is commendable. --Sam Graham

Detalles del producto Relación de aspecto : 1.77:1 Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No Clasificación de MPAA : Unrated (Not Rated) Dimensiones del producto : 7.5 x 0.7 x 5.4 pulgadas; 2.4 Onzas Número de modelo del producto : BBCW1000253470DVD Director : Various Formato multimedia : Formatos múltiples, Color, NTSC, Subtitulado, De pantalla ancha Tiempo de ejecución : 50 minutos Fecha de lanzamiento : Febrero 7, 2012 Actores : Various Subtítulos: : Inglés Estudio : BBC Home Entertainment ASIN : B00664AM02 Número de discos : 1 Clasificación en los más vendidos de Amazon: nº22,097 en Películas y TV (Ver el Top 100 en Películas y TV) nº4,191 en Drama (Películas y TV) Opiniones de clientes: 4.2 de 5 estrellas 93 calificaciones Relación de aspecto : 1.77:1 Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No Clasificación de MPAA : Unrated (Not Rated) Dimensiones del producto : 7.5 x 0.7 x 5.4 pulgadas; 2.4 Onzas Número de modelo del producto : BBCW1000253470DVD Director : Various Formato multimedia : Formatos múltiples, Color, NTSC, Subtitulado, De pantalla ancha Tiempo de ejecución : 50 minutos Fecha de lanzamiento : Febrero 7, 2012 Actores : Various Subtítulos: : Inglés Estudio : BBC Home Entertainment ASIN : B00664AM02 Número de discos : 1