When: May 2012
Where: Imli (SoHo) and Empire Leicester Square
Imli
It seems these days every Tim Burton film is the same with Johnny Depp playing some kind of ageless monster trying to claw back a life that cannot be lived anymore. Sometimes you have to grow up and move on, Scorsese manages this in Hugo, albeit leaving America to do so as we watch someone who has hit rock bottom get built up and given one last day of glory, rather than be spat out by the American Dream gone bad. Anyway, getting back to Burton, at his best his creepy Depp led films are fantastic pieces of fantasy with amazing performances and a believable world portrayed well enough for you to completely suspend your disbelief. At worst there's Alice in Wonderland, worse than that is Alice in Wonderland in 3D...
Dark Shadows is a simple love story with a nice contrast in the narrative. The Collins family escape Victorian England for a better life in the new world where they see their fishing business go from strength to strength. The young Barnabas will one day inherit the family fortune which is not only the business but the town where they landed which is named Collinstown in their honour and the large family house filled with wealth and secret passages. However, life is not so easy as Barnabas has an affair with Angelique who's family are servants to the Collins family. Barnabas likes her body but doesn't love her as a person and in a fit of jealousy she turns to magic forcing Josette, his wife to be to commit suicide and turns him into a vampire who is locked away in a coffin as a freak of nature.
Time passes and Barnabas is dug up and is very much alive but he does not fit well with the modern world. He fights to restore his family to their former glory but finds Angelique through various guises has made sure to do everything in her power to thwart the Collins family and their business out of revenge. The two battle it out as Barnabas wants to move on in his personal life whilst rebuilding his family to what it used to be and find true love again and Angelique who whilst moving on professionally has not moved on personally and is still, 200 years later unable to accept that Barnabas might want to have sex with her but doesn't love her.
History repeats itself but this time Barnabas is ready and although he doesn't manage to stop his new love plunging off the cliff, she becomes a vampire and they live quirkily ever after whilst Angelique ends up a broken woman (literally). Although it may not be the greatest story of all time the acting and casting in Dark Shadows is fantastic and for me made it all worth while. It was nice for the day to finish on a high. An enjoyable night at the movies followed by a Champions League victory on my phone to read about on the journey home, whilst my ears rung from a THX induced evening.
Arriving after dark at the hotel we were greeted with flower garlands, a warm welcome and after a quick check in we were shown to our rooms. Wow, what a difference a day (and a decent hotel) makes. We were staying at the Bundelkhand Riverside and whilst it cost five times more than Hotel Sheela it felt like it was worth 100 times more! This hotel is a heritage hotel owned by the government and was a former Maharaja's retreat. We had a big bedroom with a small seating area to the side, a giant bathroom which was clean and hardly a hint of damp or rust to be found. There was also plenty of space to place all our things as well as a tray of complementary tea/coffee, fruit, drinks and biscuits. I could get used to this! After a short rest we headed for dinner. Again a marked improvement from anything we'd eaten so far. Unfortunately I cannot remember exactly what I ate but I do remember having my first taste of butter chicken washed down with a huge bottle of Kingfisher beer... in all it was like eating at your favourite local Indian restaurant both nights we were there.
Anyway, enough about the food and the hotel for now, the reason we came to Orchha was to see the beautiful old palaces and temples there and to see something a little less Mogul influenced. After an interesting breakfast in the morning we met our guide and visited the first set of temples which were actually royal residences one of which was only used for one night! The steep steps and hot sun made for a tiring start to the day but our guide was good. We also saw some of the active temples (you can tell by the flag) and some historic ones including a fascinating fresco of the locals fighting off the British. In the afternoon we saw the royal tombs which were quite interesting also.
The rest of our time in Orchha was spent at a leisurely pace, enjoying the good weather and walking along by the riverside where the locals wash their clothes out. it really was a beautiful place. Early evenings were spent on the hotel's roof terrace watching the world go by and talking to other guests at the hotel (who were ironically enough on the package tour we nearly booked). Suitably recharged after our stay it was time to take the car along the narrow bumpy roads to Khajuraho and its special temples. We left with many fond memories.