a movie and some comics
Today I saw a wonderful Canadian movie called Away From Her, which I recommend highly. It stars Gordon Pinsent (aka Fraser's dad from due South) as a man whose wife (Julie Christie) has Alzheimer's and goes to live in a nursing home. As her memory of her marriage deteriorates, she begins to fall in love with another man.
The film, which is based on a short story by Alice Munro, is absolutely impeccable--no melodrama, no false sentimentality, no easy solutions, no "life lessons" of the sort that a Hollywood version of this scenario would have written in. All the performances are rich and moving, even the minor characters. Kristen Thomson, as nurse Kristy, was a real stand-out.
If there were justice in the world the movie industry, this film would win Oscars. It won't, of course. But you should go and see it if you can. Be warned, though: I started to get teary-eyed about ten minutes into the film, was crying by the half-hour mark, and cried more or less constantly until the end. You may not cry as much as that (the story hit some major personal buttons for me) but if you can get through it without a tear, you're a tough cookie. So it's probably not a date movie, or a "fun, relaxing evening" movie. But I don't feel depressed, now, by the story. There are moments of joy, of hope, of hilarity--and all very well done, without that dreadful "and now we'll have a life-affirming moment" feeling that lesser movies create.
Before I went to see Away From Her, I bought some comics. I sat in Starbucks and happily read through X-Factor, the X-Men First Class Special, and New Universal. Then I started on the new Hellblazer. On the second page, there's a small panel showing John Constantine's naked behind. Okay, no big deal, I position my thumb strategically over the spot and read on. On turning the page, I find a much larger panel of a topless woman all sprawled out on a bed. At which point I quickly shut the comic, looked around furtively to see if anybody had noticed and thought I was reading porn in public, and re-read X-Factor while I finished my frappuccino.
I think the moral of this story is, wait until you're home before reading the grown-up comics.
I may talk more about the actual content of the comics tomorrow, but I wanted to share the story of my embarrassment.
*****
The film, which is based on a short story by Alice Munro, is absolutely impeccable--no melodrama, no false sentimentality, no easy solutions, no "life lessons" of the sort that a Hollywood version of this scenario would have written in. All the performances are rich and moving, even the minor characters. Kristen Thomson, as nurse Kristy, was a real stand-out.
If there were justice in the world the movie industry, this film would win Oscars. It won't, of course. But you should go and see it if you can. Be warned, though: I started to get teary-eyed about ten minutes into the film, was crying by the half-hour mark, and cried more or less constantly until the end. You may not cry as much as that (the story hit some major personal buttons for me) but if you can get through it without a tear, you're a tough cookie. So it's probably not a date movie, or a "fun, relaxing evening" movie. But I don't feel depressed, now, by the story. There are moments of joy, of hope, of hilarity--and all very well done, without that dreadful "and now we'll have a life-affirming moment" feeling that lesser movies create.
Before I went to see Away From Her, I bought some comics. I sat in Starbucks and happily read through X-Factor, the X-Men First Class Special, and New Universal. Then I started on the new Hellblazer. On the second page, there's a small panel showing John Constantine's naked behind. Okay, no big deal, I position my thumb strategically over the spot and read on. On turning the page, I find a much larger panel of a topless woman all sprawled out on a bed. At which point I quickly shut the comic, looked around furtively to see if anybody had noticed and thought I was reading porn in public, and re-read X-Factor while I finished my frappuccino.
I think the moral of this story is, wait until you're home before reading the grown-up comics.
I may talk more about the actual content of the comics tomorrow, but I wanted to share the story of my embarrassment.
*****