What a mess-up. My attempted coverage of London's Pan-Asia film festival turned into something of a farce.
I had intended to give at least a flavour of the festival which ran last week but, despite people trying to help me out, it all went a bit awry.
Firstly, the festival PR guys sent me screeners for the movies but they still haven't arrived.
I have to say my experience of the Royal Mail is becoming worse and worse. These aren't the first DVDs not to turn up. It makes me wonder what happens to them.
Separately, Charlotte Saluard of Cine Lumiere, who has become a real help in my organisation of everyfilm, sent me 11 Flowers.
Stupidly, I didn't pay attention to its screening date and now realise it was last weekend. Really sorry, Charlotte.
So, retrospectively, I will say that this movie, set shortly before the end of the Cultural Revolution in China, opened my eyes in a couple of ways.
Firstly, and most obviously, it shows better than any movie I have seen, what life was like under Chairman Mao out in the sticks.
The marching music of the communist regime seems to be forever on loudspeaker, the smallest items are rationed and neighbours live cheek by jowl....and people are executed if they don't agree with the system.
Everyone works for the state, so has no choice about the jobs they do.
And yet, children play in exactly the same way as in the west.
Xiaoshuai Wang's story is seen through the eyes of an 11-year-old Wang Han (Liu Wenqing) whose father has to work in the city during the week and whose mother scraps around to make ends meet.
Meanwhile, he and his friends play games which are startling reminiscent of the ones we played in the UK in the mid-70s.
Then, of course, there were no computers and we had enormous fun from basic games like hide and seek.
All of this is disturbed by an event which rocks the village like and earthquake and in which Wang becomes unwittingly involved.
11 Flowers meanders a bit but has much to say about the China of its day and how children grew up at the time.
Mrs W and I enjoyed it but it would have benefited from a 20-minute cut.
Sorry again to Charlotte for not reviewing it sooner.
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 6.5