Londres- London, the title seems to be taken off a tourist brochure that probably carries translations. A testament that London is a city for all. Or so you think, until the opening shots of the 7th July London bomds hit you. Then we are intriduced to Lisa, an Asian who can only speak French who seems to be in an emotional knot over something.I am certain it is not emotions of sympathy for the London bomb incident for she herself is not rooted here quite obviously. But I guessed her feelings must be of a parallel nature to the incident. As the film progresses, fragments of her broken (or unfulfilled) relationship are slowly revealed. She has a London girlfriend. They once had a good time. But promises were broken over time, and sacrifices weighed out. I particularly liked the part about how her gf promised to learn French but did not even do so and she does not even know her own mother tongue (Korean apparently).
On a deeper level, I was enlghtened on the film's backstory and undertones during the Q & A. Eva Tang's piece drawn a very powerful link between a relationship and a location of sentimental significance. Though I personally felt the full extent of the underlying message was not so apparent watching it in Singapore and having lost touch with London (where I stayed for 3 yrs). I was quite intrigued by her mention of the word betrayal, as in how London betrayed its residents, which I managed to clarify with Eva after the Q & A. I do think you have to till be in London (as a foreigner) at the time of the bombing to understand this feeling of betryal.
Londres- London has toured 20 film festivals and won a few prizes. It truly proves the point that being an alien in foreign country, sometimes not fully understanding the language (just like the unpsoken barrier inherent in the title), you can still create an award winner.