The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The end of our independent work is coming closer and it made me realise I haven't reflected on audio and video as much as I have done with texts. Truth is that I watch so many films (lets say the average number of films I watch during the week is from three to five) that I mostly forget to write about them here. Another reason for my forgetfulness is that watching films (mostly in English) is for me a way to relax after studying. If you write a lot every day it's hard to remember to write even about the things you do just for fun. (I also feel embarrassed to write about some not-so-intelligent films I watch. Even if these kind of films could also be seen as a way to learn the language!) Anyway, I decided to write about the latest film I watched, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  

Since almost everyone knows Douglas Adams' book already I won't write a long description about the storyline. In short, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1978-1980) is a story about Arthur Dent, an unlucky Englishman who gets kidnapped to the space (by his best friend, Ford Prefect) on the day that his house and the Earth is destroyed by aliens. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction parody but also a lovestory: Arthur's crush from Earth, Tricia (or Trillian) has also escaped the destruction of their home planet and is now hunting for an answer to the existence of the Universe. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the title, refers to an electrical travel guide Arthur gets to guide him across the adventure. The book's guidelines are quite hilarious and the whole opus is known for it's witty language. 

Like most film versions of great books, this film doesn't beat the original but it's still very entertaining. I loved the voice of the narrator and Martin Freeman is a great choice for playing Arthur's role. He succeeds in giving a face to his cowardly brave character. I liked the film even if it felt pretty short compared to the book, of course.

Another thing I haven't been reflecting on too much during the autumn is my news reading (and listening) hobby. When you live somewhere far for sometime, that place becomes like your second home and then when you leave your second home you also start to worry about that home and all the people you know there. Most Portuguese are quite calm and even quiet compared to their Spanish neighbours but that attitude might be changing based on what I've seen in the news during this autumn. When reading news about the climate change and the economical crisis in Europe, I sometimes hope that mice would be the ones to rule the Earth...


If you want to know more about the current situation in Lisbon check out this link for example