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Film Review: Klaus

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Screening of ‘Klaus’ in the Soho House in London

I was invited to a screening of Klaus by the Writers’ Guild on a wet and windy election night in London.

The evening began with an introduction by director, Sergio Pablos. He praised the talents of the animators from around the world who worked on the film; he spoke of the skill of the stars who brought the characters to life – J K Simmons, Jason Schwarzman, and Rashida Jones; and he mentioned in particular the innovative way light had been painted into each scene.

Then we were whisked away to Smeerensburg to meet Mr Klaus and his neighbours, all in magical 2D animation.

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Film Review: The Boy who Harnessed the Wind

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The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

This is the story of a young Malawian boy, William Kamkwamba, who makes a windmill out of scraps to bring water to his father’s fields. William is at the heart of the film, surrounded by family, in a country approaching chaos.

The cast is excellent … and so is the windmill.

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Chasing Laces – Voices from the Running Scene – Epilogue

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“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” Haruki Murakami

Epilogue
By Arthur Knaggs

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. (Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running)

“You don’t get anywhere by magic, but only by putting in the required number of steps, one at a time and in the correct sequence. You can’t run the last lap of a mile until you’ve run the first three. There is a truth, a beauty and a symmetry in this that is inviolate. Every step counts.” (Bernd Heinrich, Why We Run)

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London. An athletics track. Evening. Clouds hang fat and heavy in the sky above Parliament Hill. There is a low-key festival atmosphere that grows as the light fades.

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