The first Crystal Palace Pictures meeting of 2011, included not just a great film but also a great Q & A session.
The guest of honour was Derek Malcolm, renowned film critic, who now works for The Observer and The Evening Standard. His Q & A session preceded the film, The White Ribbon, and it was a delight. It was a shame that he had to stop as most of us could have listened all night. He had great stories to tell and fascinating background information and what the requirements are to be a film critic. He has an obvious enthusiasm for film, but listening to him speak, I appreciated just how huge his knowledge is of films and arts in general. He seemed to enjoy the occasion as well and I hope he makes another trip to the club.
The film itself was fantastic. At approximately 2 hours 20 mins, you certainly have time to get engrossed in it. It’s set in pre-First World War Germany, and it keeps you guessing as to what happens all the way through. I won’t give a full review of it here, as you will be able to read much better reviews of it elsewhere on the internet. But I would recommend you go watch it.
