Master And Commander

Another sleepover, and another double feature. This time we watched two very good movies: The Norwegian/Sami Pathfinder and then Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. There's actually some similarities between the two; both tell a story about how man can find inner strength and beat the enemy by using his brain, and not by raw power.

Having a fairly developed aesthetic mind made me appreciate these films on another level as well, the colors and sceneries are definitely stimulating. They are also very well cut, these films; rich in contrasts which make them very intriguing. And what about the Commander himself? Russel Crowe, I mean. Well, hmm, hubba, hubba...

Boy Meets Girl...

...they spend a few magical days and fall in love, then summer ends and with it the adventure. Or so they think, "Summer dreams ripped at the seams, bu-ut oh, those su-ummer nights...." until they meet again... Then follows mistrust, misunderstandings and poor communication. Who are they? What do they want? Can it work? In the end though everything turn out just fine for our heroes and they sing "you're the one that I want, o,o, oo, honey..."

This is the basic plot for Grease as you probably guessed already. It's one of the classics, and also one of the favorites. At least to my daughter that is, and we watched it yesterday when there was nothing on TV. When you see it, it's actually so simple and stupid that it's almost ridiculous. But there is something that yet makes this film so great. (Besides Travolta and his dimple.) I guess it must be the music. So the sure way to pure happiness in life must be a personal soundtrack then!

When we watched this one we talked about other movies we wanted to add to our library, and it took me about 3 minutes to order Rocky Horror Picture Show from play.com, and it'll hopfully arrive next week. There too the music is vital to its success, 'cause even that film is kinda silly when you think about it. Like life in general. So maybe the clue to making a blockbuster is a stupidly "lifelike" storyline and a catchy tune or two?

"Remember forever, as shoowop, shoowally, wally, yippity, boom-de-boom
Chang-chang, changadee-chang-chibop, that's the way it should be, wahoo,yeah"

Movie Night At Home

A couple of days ago I watched a rather nice movie, a television film adaption of Mitch Albom's novel The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Eddie (played by Jon Voigt) is a maintenance man at an amusement park, and we meet him there on his 83rd birthday, and he's also killed there that day, in an attempt to save a little girl who's sitting under a falling ride. When he dies he goes to heaven, and there he meets five people who all have been significant in his life, whether he was aware of it or not. The point is that he has something important to learn from each of them in order to understand the purpose of his own life. I'm not going to say that much more about the film, but it got me thinking. If it was me, which five people would I meet in heaven? Well, if it was like in the film I wouldn't be able to guess them all now, 'cause there are people and incidents that'll have an impact on your life even if you don't realize it at the time.

There are a few I want to meet, and who I feel have been very special to me, but that's obviously not how it works (according to the novel/film). Still, I wouldn't be surprised if I met Ellen there. She's not family, although to me she's always been like an extra grandmother. I tell you a little bit about her.

After the WWII times were tough for the people of Germany, and many had to leave the country to make a living. Some came to Sweden, and in 1950 my father got acquainted with Ellen and the others. They only stayed for two years, but Ellen (and the man she married later) picked up on the language, and to this day she still speaks Swedish. After they moved back they kept contact with my father, and he traveled down to Germany on several occasions. Later with his family, and I remember going there almost every year when I was a kid. Ellen and her husband called me "little princess" and spoiled me like one too, but I have also learned some very important things from them. I worked at their inn one summer, serving beer and schnapps to the locals, and I still have vivid memories of the time. Very educational, it was.

But time goes and things change, and as an adult haven't seen them too often. We've talked about it so many times, me and my father, to go see her (she's a widow now) together, but when I go to Sweden for holidays I always seem to run out of time. This year though, I decided to do things a little differently, so off we went - my father, me and my daughter. 14 years since the last time I met Ellen! That's too long...

At first she didn't look the same, even a feisty woman like her can't hide the fact she's 83, but it didn't take long to recognize her as she's always been. She told us she got a compliment that morning, and she'd answered: "Well, of course, I have to look nice, my old lover is coming to visit me!" Na, that's something isn't it? You see, Ellen and my father used to date, back then in the fifties. This I didn't know until I was grown up, but it sort of fits with everything else I believe in. Relations and perceptions like this have shaped me in a way I can understand better now. Nothing is black and white, there are all kinds of shades in between. And that friendship is the base of any lasting relationship.

In the mentioned film one of the points is that everything is connected, and that's what I always been saying too. This quote from the novel itself: "But all endings are also beginnings. We just don't know it at the time...", I also like. Without any particular reference besides, just in general.

I have the film, you're welcome to borrow it!

It's A Jungle Out There

Once I thought we had almost every Disney movie there was, but boy am I gettin' outdated! There's not much use for old VHS now, is it? So today I ordered one from Play.com that I truly believe is a "Bear Necessity"...

Review:

One of the most popular Disney films ever, The Jungle Book is a song-filled celebration of friendship, fun and adventure set in a lush and colourful world. Inspired by Rudyard Kipling's"Mowgli" stories, Disney's 19th animated masterpiece was the last animated feature that had Walt Disney's personal touch.

The jubilant adventure begins when Mowgli, a little boy raised by wolves, is urged by his friend Bagheera, a wise old panther, to seek safety in the man-village. Feeling very much at home in the jungle, Mowgli resists and runs off. Much to Bagherra's dismay, Mowgli meets a new friend with a happy-go-lucky- philosophy of life- Baloo the bear, a lovable " jungle bum." Together, the three buddies find the journey back to civilization anything but civilized! They encounter a crazy orangutan, the hypnotic and sly snake Kaa and the menacing Shere Khan!

In Space No One Can Hear You Scream

In 1979 I was 13, and not the least bit interested in horror movies. But I was interested in a boy, and when he suggested we'd go see Alien I "happily" followed along. I didn't see much of the movie though; after that first jump in the chair when the "egg" cracked and that crablike creature threw itself at Kane's face, I pretty much buried my head in my boyfriends sweater. Tried a few glimpses now and then, but when that slimy eel-creature chewed his way through Kane's stomach from within, I don't think I saw one bit more. Have a very vague memory of the actual full grown alien, black and shiny, with its hideous extending mouth, but that's it. From back then though. As you might understand I have watched the movie more closely later. I still can't say I like horror movies, but I can appreciate the art behind a film like Alien.

Ridley Scott is a very thorough director and producer, and maybe that's why movies like Blade runner, Thelma & Louise and Gladiator, besides Alien, have so many fans. And in this thoroughness he obviously employs highly qualified professionals at all levels, such as the Swiss artist H. R. Giger for creating the monster.

But how can this almost 30 year old Hollywood movie have anything to do with my temporary trainee position at the Institute of Marine Research where I am now? A lot actually. Browsing through last month's news articles I came across this one. The very source of inspiration for that terrifying Xenomorph. Maybe not so scary though, only 30 mm long...

Travellers & Magicians

Once again my beliefs are confirmed that the World could be a beautiful place to live in, if we only learned to look for the right things. This time it was the magnificent Bhutanese movie Travellers & Magicians that convinced me, and the story told us in an excellent way that we most of the time hurry too much for something unknown, which we think will make us happier. I couldn't agree more, and I know exactly what I need to be happy. Not much.



"There's always a story, stop and listen..."

Mind Challenging

I delivered one of my essays today, and took the rest of the day off, just spending time with my oldest daughter. To make the day even better I rounded it off with a dinner and a movie in the evening. (Not with my daughter, though.)

My friend and me really couldn't make our minds up, there were a few films we wanted to see but we were too late for them. The decision fell upon Tsui Harks Seven Swords, and I'm glad for that. It's quite remarkable how violence can be so esthetically appealing, and I find that a bit disturbing for my peace of mind. We agreed upon that this movie wouldn't have worked if it had been produced through the Hollywood machinery. The colours, the language, the faces, all of that were so much more interesting than had it been american. Also, as americans tend to be quite hypocritical when it comes to love and sex, they seldom now how to portray that in a believable way. Usually too much of everything. This director was so confident and sure, that he could make the tension almost force itself right out of the screen without any need for overexplicit details.

Absolutely not a film for everyone, but I enjoyed it, and I believe all that violence contrasted the subtlety of the love and hope so well, that I think I will rember the good feelings in the movie rather than the bad. As in real life.

Beyond the Supernova

Life is a movie, but I sure as hell didn't write the script for this one! This flick is turning out to be a really tiresome melodrama, filled with lot of bad acting and even sloppier directing. Oh, how I wish I could sack that guy! You know, I have all these beautyful scenes in my head, which I'd love to see come alive, but all I can do now is simply just to follow the other actors the best I can. Not at all that easy, considering that that stupid incompetent director keep changing the lines all the time. In my movie though, I always say the right thing, to the right people, at the right time. Always. And more important; everyone respond the way I want as well. My life could be Oscar-material instead of a boring TV-drama.

But a truly good film needs a star, and I feel all I am now is a collapsed one, a black hole dense with undefined matter. Eating up the light, sucking everything that's to close, into its dark misery... If only I could find a revolutionary way to reverse the process and let all that repressed energy out! On the other hand some believe that black holes evaporate, radiating more intensly the more the mass decreases, until it's vanished. Just leaving a tiny stable remnant behind.