The Party by Sally Potter: writer and director

The Party by Sally Potter: writer and director

-          The Party is not really a sparkling shindig

-          It is a very good film, with a resplendent cast and very good story

-          But it gets really depressing…for a Party

Janet aka Kristin Scott Thomas has been appointed minister.

Or perhaps, Prime Minister- I am not really sure on this one, for one of her friends talks about Janet ruling the country- it might be in the future…

For this special opportunity, a victory for women as some of the guests put it; there is a celebration, a party.

It could be a reference to the Prime Minister that Great Britain has in reality.

Although by the time I finish this note she might be history.

Because her position is very weak, with coughing fits, internal fighting within the conservative party itself.

And the incredible- in my view abominable- popularity of the guy on the left who sympathizes with all kinds of villains.

Jeremy Corbin appears to be not just a Marxist sympathizer, but a real believer in communism and almost all it entails.

Let us hope this is a wrong image and once in power, which seems quite likely to happen soon, given the circumstances, he would be reasonable.

Insha’Allah!

Janet has invited friends to come to her house to celebrate.

There is April played by Patricia Clarkson, with her husband and foe, Gottfried aka Bruno Ganz, the latter being a sort of healer.

Martha arrives with Jinny, and the latter is expecting not one, but three children, all boys to be born to the couple…

Martha and Jinny are lesbian.

Tom is also present at this gathering.

Although Tom is not really too aware of what is going on, given that he is using drugs in the bathroom or lavatory as they call it.

He is expecting for his wife that we will never see.

There is humor of a rather caustic kind:

-          “April: You're a first class lesbian and a second rate thinker. Must be all those women's studies.”

Politics are criticized or satirized and the plot is rather complicated, for a film that ends after only about one hour and ten minutes.

There are shocks aftershocks:

-          First we learn that Bill, portrayed by the phenomenal Timothy Spall, has a terminal illness and will die any moment

-          He is Janet’s husband and she immediately states that she would resign, she will take care of him

-          It is an occasion to find that actually Janet is the minister of health in waiting and there is criticism for the fact that Bill had to wait for weeks, even in his condition, because that is the way the NHS works…or doesn’t

Oh, before that, we could hear Janet talking secretly with a lover, on the mobile phone.

-          Which made it if not absurd, at least intriguing to see her outrage and violence when we get another blow:

-          Bill would not let his wife resign and take care of him and not because he is unselfish and thinks of her

-          No!

-          He wants to…spend his last days on earth with…someone else!

-          What a twist!

-          Timothy Spall has lost a lot of weight…I hope he is not ill in real life…

When she learns about this strange situation, Janet goes ballistic, which was more than odd, given her conversations with her lover…

-          I mean, ok, be mad when you learn your spouse is cheating, but not when you just came from the kitchen, where you were just talking emotions and miss you and see you soon and all that!!

-          She even slaps her husband twice and so hard that he starts bleeding…

-          Why is that?!

-          Well, it all becomes clear at the very end, in the last scene of this challenging film.