We had movie club on Friday night and showed The Girl in the Cafe–which Dan and I had seen before and loved.

If you’ve ever seen Bill Nighy in anything (Love Actually is one of Dan’s and my favorites), or Kelly MacDonald in anything (she was Josh Brolin’s wife in No Country for Old Men), you’ll know you’re in good hands.

Set against the backdrop of a fictional G8 Summit in Reykjavik (where politicians are setting programs in place to end poverty), it’s a love story, comedy, and political plea.  Lawrence (Nighy) works for the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer; he’s lonely and disappointed in relinquishing the dreams of the man he wanted to be when he was young.  Gina (MacDonald) is the mysterious beautiful woman he’s met.  They hit it off in a sweet bumbling way, and he asks if she will accompany him on his business trip to the Icelandic conference.  She accepts, but once there, she becomes increasingly outspoken–frighteningly so–and Lawrence wonders if he’s been duped.  After all, the conference has its share of political hecklers outside the hotel; they don’t need another one inside.  As their romance intensifies, Gina makes a decision to stand up for what she believes, and Lawrence has to make a choice.

Oh, I make it sound boring and not-at-all-fun-to-see, but it’s one of my top five, I would say, and it never loses its charm and poignancy and inspiring significance.

Written by Richard Curtis and directed by David Yates (the same two who did Love Actually), it’s unique and lovely and brilliant.  In an interview that’s no longer available online, Curtis says, “I would love people to think, ‘I’m just an ordinary person like the girl in the film. Is there anything I can do?'”  OR, if you want no spoilers, order the film on Netflix, and save the interview until afterward.  You won’t be disappointed.

The movie ends with a wonderful quote by Nelson Mandela: “Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation.”

I want to be part of that great generation.

[Post image: Bill Nighy and Kelly MacDonald in The Girl in the Cafe]