(no subject)
So I got up at 9 am this morning, which makes by far the earliest Sunday morning for me in three years, just to watch Poland battle China volleyball-wise. I make a generous gesture to show my support and loyalty and those cheeky buggers have the gall to lose two first sets. Yes, they did win in the end - barely, I might add - but that's not the point. I have a veritably gruesome week ahead of me (two exams, three tests, plus one paper and one giant project to turn in). I don't need this kind of stress.
Now, I need to cool down. Reviewing movies is as good a way as any other.
Nicholas Hytner's 'The History Boys'
I've always respected history a lot. The knowledge about the past can exceptionally enrich our lives and it's so vast a territory that it's possibly the most daunting academic subject from them all. And I've always greatly admired the people who are able to move through this gargantuan academic field with genuine ease. I never could, not even close - despite, oh wow, nine years of obligatory history classes - mostly because I'm a lazy ass and the perspective that I have to dig my way through a mountain of information to even start thinking about being conversant on the subject left me somehow disheartened. So I just learned enough to glide my way around the edges, which, naturally, seemed like a perfectly good idea at the time. Well, a lot of things do when you're a teenager. It's funny how they don't anymore when you're a bit older.
Anyway, the characters in 'The History Boys' approach the subject not only much more seriously that my younger self did, but also with real passion. That, combined with the ardent love for poetry (another thing that I managed to evade through my many many years of education), created some truly exquisite dialogs. So exquisite, in fact, that they miss 'believable' by a long shot but they are surely a delight to listen to. It's pretty much like the characters themselves. The titular boys are so smart, so charming, so witty and so unpretentious that they lose all vestiges of credibility about ten minutes into the movie. Well, but they are also so smart, so charming, so witty and so unpretentious that they are great fun anyway.
'The History Boys' shows my dream school life. Engaging, ingenious teachers, great friends you have an almost telepathic rapport with and, what's perhaps most important and most rare, an authentic passion for knowledge. A combination, I'm pretty sure, only attainable in fiction. Ok, I am a bit bitter, but not to the point that seeing it all onscreen doesn't make me smile. 'The History Boys' certainly make me smile.
Ok, seriously, it's great that they won, especially that it's the 6th win in a row. And it wasn't even an important game, it would have been ok if they lost, they can afford to lose. I just wasn't mentally prepared for all that frantic drama. It's freaking Sunday.
.
Now, I need to cool down. Reviewing movies is as good a way as any other.
Nicholas Hytner's 'The History Boys'
I've always respected history a lot. The knowledge about the past can exceptionally enrich our lives and it's so vast a territory that it's possibly the most daunting academic subject from them all. And I've always greatly admired the people who are able to move through this gargantuan academic field with genuine ease. I never could, not even close - despite, oh wow, nine years of obligatory history classes - mostly because I'm a lazy ass and the perspective that I have to dig my way through a mountain of information to even start thinking about being conversant on the subject left me somehow disheartened. So I just learned enough to glide my way around the edges, which, naturally, seemed like a perfectly good idea at the time. Well, a lot of things do when you're a teenager. It's funny how they don't anymore when you're a bit older.
Anyway, the characters in 'The History Boys' approach the subject not only much more seriously that my younger self did, but also with real passion. That, combined with the ardent love for poetry (another thing that I managed to evade through my many many years of education), created some truly exquisite dialogs. So exquisite, in fact, that they miss 'believable' by a long shot but they are surely a delight to listen to. It's pretty much like the characters themselves. The titular boys are so smart, so charming, so witty and so unpretentious that they lose all vestiges of credibility about ten minutes into the movie. Well, but they are also so smart, so charming, so witty and so unpretentious that they are great fun anyway.
'The History Boys' shows my dream school life. Engaging, ingenious teachers, great friends you have an almost telepathic rapport with and, what's perhaps most important and most rare, an authentic passion for knowledge. A combination, I'm pretty sure, only attainable in fiction. Ok, I am a bit bitter, but not to the point that seeing it all onscreen doesn't make me smile. 'The History Boys' certainly make me smile.
Ok, seriously, it's great that they won, especially that it's the 6th win in a row. And it wasn't even an important game, it would have been ok if they lost, they can afford to lose. I just wasn't mentally prepared for all that frantic drama. It's freaking Sunday.
.