We've both been cold ridden. I guessing that's marginally better than being flea-ridden, but just as annoying. Fortunately we'd seen the back of our lurgies in time for the cinéplus showing of Philomena in Chinon. I took several packets of tissues with me - just in case. Having the propensity to blub, it seemed a sensible precaution.
As it turned out, I was mainly tearless until towards the very end. I don't want to give the impression that I wasn't engaged with the film. I was. But somehow, whilst the wonderful performances and compelling story completely sucked me in, at the same time I had space to observe all the complicated issues and nuances in a dispassionate way. That was a quite an achievement, given how close certain aspects of the film resonated with my own life.
Cruelty can take so many forms. In Philomena's story we're faced with the psychological kind as well as physical cruelty. It was bad enough that the young girls were so mistreated, but the viscious punishment for their 'sin' - separation with a hefty dose of lying - was also served on their babies.
I'm just hoping that everyone reading this has seen the film. If not . . . spoiler alert . . .
There was such irony towards the end. Now a fully grown young man, Philomena's son Michael with a successful political career - a world where economy with the truth is an accepted part of the brief - is systematically lied to by representatives of the Catholic Church. He remains unsuspecting of their treachery, accepting everything he is told, and takes with him to his grave, the belief that his mother has abandoned him. It takes your breathe away, that such a notion could be regarded as the best option for the Church's notion of unacceptable pregnancy. But at the time, it was.
Michael's life it seems has been a cycle of lies - those he was born into and those he has created. As a grown man and a gay man, working for Reagan and the Republican party, Michael's lifestyle is directly at odds with the party line, so another lie is born and perpetuated.
The film seems to reinforce the idea that once set in motion, it is impossible to break the cycle. However Philomena's determination to find her son and to extract the truth, was an attempt to do just that. She succeeded and in some ways, has helped free us all.
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