I'm supposed to come up with words about this
thing?!
Well, ...it's modern Job lite, where physics are thwarted by fate and
all the "experts" aren't going to give Larry straight answers, so he
might as well make up his own mind about his problems and get on with it,
otherwise others will continue to make it for him. Being nice is nice, but
being perpetually acquiescent is not. It's hard enough with the things we have
no control over, but to hand over control when we don't have to, is basically
handing over life. hmm. I think I just gave myself a pep talk. :)
Sometimes the
answer really does come from oneself! Oh, and Minda is right. The answer also
comes from the members of the Airplane... "you better find somebody to
love."
Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to start with Ponyo. The universe looked
like mine for a while, then all heck broke loose and I’m left watching a world
I don’t understand. The reality shifts like sand as new and confusing
characters take the stage. Why is there a long nosed wizard living under the
ocean and why do his children look nothing like him? I was wowed and impressed,
but consternated as well. Were there any consequences at all or would the
artist just paint in a new creature to save the day?
When My Neighbor
Totoro came along, I was a little more prepared. But, Miyazaki played with
my mind again as Totoro’s little mouth widened into an unsustainable gaposis.
By the time the cat rolled around, I said, “Why not. Nothing surprises me
anymore.”
Next it was time for Princess Mononoke and by this
time Miyazaki had worn me down. I kept telling my brain to just stop it and
behave. There was something wonderful going on on screen and I didn’t want to
miss it.
Now Spirited Away; this was important. So I sat myself down
and had a little conversation. It went something like this,
“Listen, just
because your puny little brain cannot comprehend the magnitude of the genius
that is Miyazaki, doesn’t mean you’re going to waste time questioning
everything. Just go with it. If a man-sized duck spirit wants to sit in a bathhouse
with his friends, you’re going to accept it no questions asked.”
Well, that
little talking to worked, because it was a fantastic ride! I watched creatures
that lived and breathed and smelled. I saw the evolution of Chihiro unfold
before me; culminating in her courageous sacrifice to save Haku. It was a
completely surprising and satisfying story.
This movie asks me to explore the capacity of
the human heart. There are no directions or explanations, just the camera
following closely, frenetically, almost afraid to miss something. I'm
carried alongside, observing.
In the end, without knowing the how, I am
satisfied with what can be. It such a simply told story, but then again, not at
all. I don't know anything about Olivier Gourmet (I do like his name!), but I'm
not sure how many other actors could believably pull this off.
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.
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!
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 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:
_Bennet_sisters_screenshot.jpg)
