A Film with My Favorite Actor (Male): Penelope

I didn’t have the heart to choose between Claude Rains and Jimmy Stewart, so I chose an actor of today. 

James McAvoy’s generosity is instantly recognizable on screen. His complete sincerity to the story and to the audience is shown by every expression, breath and movement. The art of selflessness is almost impossible to marry with stardom, Yet McAvoy chooses to continue giving his all. 

Penelope is a great example of this. He somehow disappears into his character and lives that life authentically. I’m grateful for that gift and will happily take it every time.

The Film I Can Quote Best: Singin’ in the Rain

My niece is a genius when it comes to quoting movies. It’s uncanny really. 

Me? Not so much. 

There is one big exception though and that is Singin’ in the Rain! It was the first movie I ever owned; a gift of a beautiful, shiny, VHS tape. Hey, it was a big deal at the time. I thoroughly wore it out, all the while wishing I could dance like Gene Kelly so I could dance with GeneKelly. 

One side effect of this obsession was that phrases started creeping into my vocabulary: 

“What dope’d wear a thing like this?”, 

“You and who else, you big lummox?”, 

“Well, at least you’re taking it lying down.” and 

“How did you come, by way of Australia?”


 It’s embarrassing really, but there you have it.

The Film That Reminds Me of My Past: Ella Enchanted

I’ve only seen this movie once, and it was pretty forgettable, except I could not forget it. 

The premise kept me up nights and revealed to me that I possessed the same cursed gift. (Ella, in the film is given at birth the "gift of obedience", which turns out to actually be a curse)  How did I get to be this person? Understandably, being a mother is a slippery slope of perpetual acquiescence, but I had somehow been reprogrammed and became the Accommodator! 

So I decided to reverse engineer this creation and find out how it had gone so wrong. I picked my battles carefully and re-positioned my boundaries until I was Ella no more and had morphed into Norma Rae! 

A Film That Reminds Me of Somewhere: Roman Holiday

Many years ago my husband and I traveled unexpectedly to Rome for his work. 

Since we hadn’t had time to prepare for the trip, we really weren’t ready for the city. Coming out of the subway, the Coliseum towered above us and there began our whirlwind tour. 

Immediately I thought of Roman Holiday and cried out, “Where’s my Vespa?” 

Because of that movie, I had prepared! So with travel guide in hand we re-explored the city; where ancient and modern coincide.

A Film That Reminds Me of Someone: Field of Dreams

I love watching movies that are important to others. First, it helps me understand them better and second, whenever I watch the film, it is as if he/she is watching with me saying, “See! Isn’t that part great?” And I nod and say, “Yes. Yes it is.” 

It would be more helpful to have the friend who loves this movie, write here why he does, but suffice it to say, it probably has something to do with the audacity of the premise, the determination of following promptings and the complex issues of fathers and sons. 

Had I not known of the importance of the film to him, I might not have taken the time to really look at it and try to understand why. And, I would have missed out on something truly great.

The Film I Watch To Feel Down: The Entertainer

This movie is the poster child for the plight of mediocrity. 

Archie Rice is a man of very little talent and even less conscience. As the world is falling apart around him, he chooses not to acknowledge his dire circumstances. 

The whole story reminds me of the grey town in C.S. Lewis’ “The Great Divorce” where there is no joy, no meaning, and a persistent state of self-deception. It leaves me as empty as Olivier’s face as he sags against the life preserver. 

While the credits roll, I can almost hear Amadeus’ Salieri blessing the asylum inmates as he’s wheeled down the hallway, “Mediocrities everywhere, I absolve you.”

A Film I Watch to Feel Good: Sense and Sensibility

This film was my favorite for a solid decade until Pride and Prejudice came along and knocked it off its pedestal…
No, that’s not right. It was gently removed and lovingly placed on alower tier. 

I love the idea of a Chinese director tackling a beloved English story and then giving it the attention and care that it deserves. I’ve been known to turn it on just to have it playing in the background as I go about my work. Like an old friend, it instantly cheers me up and “troubles melt like lemon drops.” 

The pull between sense and sensibility is alive and well in me daily as I try and come to terms with both traits—restraint or exuberance, passion or patience. That dance plays out on screen, exploring the conflict, reaching resolution and in the process restoring me.

My Least Favorite Film: The Gods Must Be Crazy

I tried to watch this entire movie, really I did. 

Actually that is a complete lie. 

I have such a knee-jerk nauseous reaction to this movie that if I walk into the room and hear the condescending narration, I do an about face and march in the opposite direction. It starts out as a self important documentary with cloying music, much like an episode of Knight Rider. Then it points to itself and says “Oh the cleverness of me!” 

But wait, there’s more. Just in case the viewer might miss the cleverness, the narrator describes it in complete detail while it is happening. The film is insulting to the viewer and to the participants and makes me want to go on a long journey to throw it over a precipice.

My Favorite Film: Pride and Prejudice (2005)

I love costume dramas in general because the beautifully spoken dialogue is delicious and I can't get enough of it. My favorite movie provides this and oh so much more. 

Every scene is a painting. The tracking shots are moving landscapes bathed in light and color. Each tree and vista is carefully chosen and then captured at the ideal moment. My breath still catches even after repeated viewings. 

But, back to the dialogue--can anything be more perfect than Brenda Blethyn and Tom Hollander quietly conspiring about the future of Keira Knightly’s Elizabeth? Actually the answer is yes, when she so painfully and sublimely rebukes that plan. 

The crowning glory of this feast for eyes and ears is Darcy. Here is no peacock, but a socially-uncomfortableman. Matthew Macfadyen brings a new and fresh take on an iconic character.

"You still love us so, Sandy?"

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

A movie that was shelved for 25 years; part life imitating art, part Sinatra buying up the rights because of profit disputes. In spite of that, he said it was one of his finest experiences in film making. It’s interesting that it continued a feeling of noir (so glad it’s in black and white) and added the obsession with psychology and the red scare themes of the day--incorporating fearful frenzy with real global power shifting.

In the real world, the creepy kiss would not be so strange. After all, Angela Lansbury is only 3 year older than Laurence Harvey, but in the context of the film, it is earth shattering—a declaration of just how convoluted and disturbing their relationship is. Lansbury makes a formidable femme fatale with a nauseating twist.

I was confused by Janet Leigh. Was she the red herring, or just redemption? I was glad she was there for Bennett Marco’s sake though. (nice side note--little did I know, but I named one of my sons Bennett!) Also, the garden club meeting astounded me

The Passion of Joan of Arc

There is an interesting phenomenon that happens when I watch silent films. The pacing and lack of verbal stimuli create a lot of space in my mind to wander. And wander it does. In the case of The Passion of Joan of Arc, I jotted down a small sampling of my meanderings:

*The cameraman is having a good time; over the shoulder, extreme close-ups, quirky angles, upside down!

*Maria Falconetti is a good crier. Are the tears real or glycerin? They must be real. They develop and drop right on cue. From what depths is she conjuring them? Over and over they fall. She must be emotionally exhausted.

*1431/1928/2011 Does it really matter? All of the elements are the same: fear, power, brutality, resignation. To consider the past as passé, is to not understand that what was, is.

*The movie is going to show me everything. I’m sick and sad, but just as with Night and Fog, I tell myself to not look away. There is something here to learn and never forget.

Thank you Clovis8, the viewing was long overdue.

Jane Eyre (2011)

Jane Eyre 2011, you won me over. I tried to ignore you and pretend you weren’t there, but you kept beckoning and I was weak.

You accordioned down, leaving behind the superfluous and farfetched (i.e. St. John’s familial connection). Because you combined scenes so seamlessly, it left time for lingering on the sublime. 

Your Mr. Fassbender is a magician—probably the first Rochester to let the audience in on his true feelings while still keeping Jane in the dark. 

And Jane! Never play poker Ms. Wasikowski, for your internal workings play clearly across your face. Bad for cards, but perfect for an actor—especially for a character whose story is mainly told through her thoughts. 

It’s also about time we got Dame Dench’s take on Mrs. Fairfax.

So JE 2011, you brought me something new even though you are the umpteenth rendition. I’m sorry to have doubted you.

"Of course we forgive you, Sandy.  In the saddest way possible."

Princess Mononoke

A more apt title would be Ashitaka the Liaison. And, it's a thankless job. All he wants is for everyone to get along. Is that too much to ask? The humans are acting beastly and the animal gods are acting all too human. To top it off, Ashitaka is having troubles of his own. His cursed arm keeps getting in the way of his negotiation skills and the girl he is falling for thinks she's a wolf.

Thanks Ideathy for a super recommendation! I'm still visualizing the costumes and creatures.

All in all, this reminds me of the complexity of our journey and the people we come in contact with. Are we treading lightly and taking the time to comprehend others' perspectives? 

I Wish, I Wish... Hanna and Certified Copy

Why is it so difficult for me to just enjoy what a movie has to offer instead of wishing for what it could have been?

Case in point #1:  Hanna

If there wasn't my revered Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice) and Saoirse Ronan--who owned the film, I would have walked out of the theater and said, "Okay, whatever." But they were there and I walked away vexed. Instead of living, by proxy, Hanna's experience, I was continually sidestepping the plot holes, pretending not to see them (Hint: spoiler Homing beacon? Huh? end spoiler). I wanted more Ursula Le Guin's character Tenar from The Tombs of Atuan. "It was very strange. Living, being in the world, was a much greater and stranger thing than she had ever dreamed." I have to admit that I am not an action film aficionado--no crossing the t's or dotting the i's here. Bring on the handheld!

#2 Certified Copy

I rarely get to go to a bona fide art house cinema and was thrilled to be there. I watched and waited and wished to love it. I must have fallen asleep for a while because when I opened my eyes, they had shifted in their chairs and were now discussing how he snores when he sleeps. I was mortified to think that I might have just foreshadowed to the audience around me that piece of dialogue. Here I had beautiful actors, beautiful scenery, beautiful languages, but the self absorbed dialogue was no more interesting than what I hear around me on a typical day. The film left me as cold and detached as William Shimell's character. 

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

Yowza Bill! I just got a great big dose of film history today. Thanks for sending me to Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. 

At first, I thought, “This is crazy town!” And then I remembered it was a Murnau film. As soon as I realized I was looking through the lens of Expressionism, I was able to really appreciate what I was watching. The angles and shadows were terrific. The “in the camera” work of superimposing provided some of the best scenes. The minimal use of inter title cards was perfect and I absolutely was in awe of the Movietones soundtrack. Unfortunately, the film was a product of bad timing. Because it opened a month after The Jazz Singer, its groundbreaking system was overshadowed by the first talkie.

Would ya look at this:

and this:

and THIS:

Just look at it!   I mean, really, go see the movie!

Water

The loving care put into this hard fought for-film is apparent with the detail of color, texture and framing. It is presented like a gift. Another gift is Seema Biswas, who plays Shakuntula. I was mesmerized by her as she quietly presented her story. 

Through the film, writer and director, Deepa Mehta, asks, “What is the role of faith in our lives?” These are some of the faces of faith that I identified with:

Repose

Revolt

Resign

Rejoice

Realize

Resolve