early morning ghosts

Although it is still days away, the crew and cast of Roxana are already anticipating the end of 13 long, gruelling and exhilirating days. Entering the beautiful Liuna train station in Hamilton on Tuesday morning as the first light crept over its iron-work roof, the beautiful art deco accents of the interior issued a welcome sense of quiet. The crew moved around in almost a hush, or sleepiness, I wasn't sure which. The airstar balloon light had been inflated and risen to its post above the central waiting area and discreet filtered lights were focussed on the paintings of the walls. The paintings themselves were rich with details: offering nostalgic glimpses at the lives of transportation workers of the past.

This is the setting of the finale of the film and the sequence which I saw being rehearsed a few weeks ago (see "duets and trios" below). At the train station, Roxana must choose between the life she has been leading and sharing with friend Amy and the romantic interest of the Pawnbroker. Although I was not able to stay long enough to see the final trio, I was happy to observe the part of the scene I had not seen rehearsed, in which the Pawnbroker surprises Roxana at the station and duets with her to convince her to stay. The lost sadness of Roxana is mirrored in her movement - sometimes sliding away from him, or appearing to fall away, reluctant but submitted to her fate.

I was particularly struck this time by the importance of background extras. The thankless work that these people do is often inspired by a sheer love of movies. Throughout the movie they have worked long hours to provide sometimes just a very brief moment of colour in a scene. In this case, the presence of a man on a bench reading a paper offered a sense of the unstoppable nature of time - while he is engaged in something routine, behind him a woman considers the ultimate decisions of her life. Sadly, I had to run off to Toronto to teach. But as I left the station in the full sunny morning, my breath making fog, I wondered how many times every day scenes like this play out in other lives. Scenes unassisted by dance to show outward expression of feeling. The old station seemed alive with the echoes of such moments.