Twelve hours from San Francisco to Seoul and I haven't slept a wink. Ok, so I slept for about an hour, but I'll explain later. Calling Singapore Airlines the best international flight may be a bit of a stretch. In my books, it will forever be the airline that made me want to stay awake. They wine (not so much dine) you and entertain. They being Krisworld, their in-flight entertainment system. Now, I come from a house with no high speed internet or cable, so the act of such "surfing" doesn't quite apply. It's more like limited channel selection or checking my email in haste before someone might make a phone call. Singapore Air's Krisworld lives true to its name; it really is ON-DEMAND. This is one hyphenated word that I thought reserved for Business or First Class on my previous Korean Air and American Air flights. A vast array of movies, television programs, and countless FULL-LENGTH albums, all at the demand and command of my index finger and thumb.
Start off the evening with an episode of 30 Rock, followed by 2 more of Sex and the City, a throwback to an episode of Arrested Development, an even further throwback to a frustrating match of Tetris, and finally an embarrassing bout of trivia that scores and lists your name in a database on the flight. Yes, Paul in 33C got 0/10 correct.
Now to settle in for a movie. Or two. Or three, if time permits!
This year's Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film. I love me a good reading of subtitles so I had pretty high expectations for the one deemed the best of the past year by the Academy. Maybe it was the fatigue, maybe it was occasional interruption by the flight crew to announce meals or alert passengers of turbulence, but I was a disappointed. It could also have been the fact that Holocaust movies don't usually sit so well in my stomach, or heart. I couldn't even get through The Pianist. I couldn't take the heaviness at the wee hours of the night, in bed, with the laptop so close to my eyes. It could have been the same with this one. An interesting story, an interesting protagonist (Schindler doesn't have to be the only hero!) but I was eager to get on with the next film in Krisworld's library.
The Counterfeiters: ***1/2
Remember that one hour of sleep I got? Purely the result of a computer freeze. The music stayed on so I settled nicely into Janet Jackson's Design of a Decade, but then the music stopped. After a quick nap, I ring up the flight attendant and he brings me back to life. Krisworld is back! And I'm not taking any more chances. Onto the next movie...
Following a somewhat disappointing run at my first foreign film, I decide to give this French one a shot. Another release that slipped out of my grasp due to my stay in Korea, this one had been on my mind for a while. This one got the Golden Globe, but quite frankly, who cares about the GG. Eddie Murphy sure didn't when he was snubbed of his Oscar. Oscar, or no Oscar, this film was incredible. I won't go on a long tirade of why I thought the artistry worked and how incredible the story is. You must see it.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: *****
Thank you Singapore Airlines for making my recovery from jet lag that much harder. It was well worth it. And while I must say I felt a bit perverse kicking back red wine to unabashed European nudity and condom etiquette on Da Ali G Show next to a young child, I look forward to the programming that awaits in July.
