23 October | nighttime movie at Trafalgar Square

The London Film Festival is going on right now. There are films being screened all over the city and lots of red-carpet events, but I was more interested in something more my speed and more in line with my wallet: a free movie on a huge screen set up in the middle of Trafalgar Square, just opposite the National Gallery. I got there a little late and the square was dark and already pretty crowded, but I found a spot on top of a concrete post and could just see over the heads of the crowd to watch the film, London Moves Me. This film is a compilation of footage shot in London over the last 100 years, and focuses on transportation, but with a twist. Part of the footage is from the deck of a barge passing through the locks and canals of north London; another is of a giant zeppelin floating high above the smokestacks; and the film ends with a skateboard ride through the contemporary city. There was also the expected footage of the Tube (scenes from the thirties—so many bowler hats!), a campy 1960s film involving a yellow bicycle, the buses, and the notorious traffic. The majority of the film was accompanied live by a pianist, and the music floated over the chilly night air and, together with the film, seemed to embody something magical, and proud, about this city.