By the shores of Gitche Gumee...

[old_cutter_john]

_wind_spirit_ and I saw a movie yesterday evening - a movie I'd recommend to all my friends, especially those who haven't yet spent any time with me in the real world but would like to risk it. Indeed I left a voicemal message for _wind_spirit_'s twin sister this morning, telling her she must see that movie. She and her husband stay with us fairly often, and it's always

Comments

[anais_pf]

The film looks good. I'd never heard of it. As if your recommendation wasn't enough (and of course it is), I see that Alan Rickman is in it. :)

Now I'm thinking about why I have no difficulty at all spending time with you in person. I never thought I would, and I didn't, though I'm glad I got to know you long distance first. I only regret that I can't see you more often. I really enjoy spending time with you.

[old_cutter_john]

Why, thankee! It might be fun for you and roniliny and your menfolk to see it all together. It'll probably embellish your husband's impression of the Internet lowlifes with whom you associate.

[roniliny]

I also enjoyed the time we all spent together, finding OCJ both charming and easy to be with. Of course I feel the same about wind spirit.

Sounds like a very interesting movie; I look forward to seeing it.

[adi_adi]

Ohh what is it about? I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[old_cutter_john]

Englishman just got done serving three years in a Canadian prison for killing someone. He's a really decent sort, actually, and he's on his way to Winnipeg to see someone. He picks up a young woman headed home to Wawa (hence the title of my post). Along the way, she buys some sparklies to give her mother. He stops in Wawa to let her out, but while she's still in the car it's totaled by a tractor-trailer gone wild, killing her. The Englishman tracks down the victim's mother, who tells him that the police already informed her of the accident two hours earlier and that she needs her garbage put out Tuesday - something her daughter had always done for her. She plays with the sparklies delightedly. It goes on from there.

[nickykaa]

I love that movie. I frequently recommend it when I give presentations on Autism. Perhaps if I eventually get around to getting in romantic relationships with women again, I'll invite prospective partners to watch it with me, as a useful conversation-starter and perhaps a litmus test of sorts (I guess if it were a prospective romantic partner, I'd want her to watch Mozart and the Whale with me, too).

It's a sad indicator of mainstream prejudices that Snow Cake isn't more widely known - that it got very little promotion and very little distribution to first-run theaters, even despite Alan Rickman's huge cult following.

The most interesting thing that Snow Cake got me thinking about is this: as strange as it seems to us Autistic people, neurotypical babies and children are born wired with the need for social interaction, and they very quickly learn to cultivate behaviors that will generate more experiences of interaction with their parents. This is actually the central factor in the early development of a neurotypical child's

[anais_pf]

Oh, from everything I've seen, River is going to grow up to be triply as delightful as the already wonderful daughter in Snow Cake.

[old_cutter_john]

You could probably meet her at the traditional birthday dinner in Berkeley on July third, then take a circuitous route home, stopping in New Orleans and Atlanta.

[nickykaa]

That is the most wonderful idea for an itinerary ever! It's really tempting to make it happen. I actually have that weekend free of any obligations.

[mysticsong]

I ADORE Snow Cake. I own it and have seen it many times. I love Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, and Carrie Anne Moss, and thought they came together marvelously for their roles.

Now I want to go watch it again!

Given the beginning is quite sad, but it doesn't cast a pall of despair at all, in my opinion, over the rest of film. It's a very moving picture and I like showing it to everyone I can.

I ran across a video on YouTube where someone had set scenes from Snow Cake to Dido's song "This Land is Mine," which works very well with Sigourney's character.

Edit: I'd definitely still like to meet you in person some day.

[anais_pf]

I got Snow Cake out of the public library and watched it with my husband last night. I really liked it. I also laughed in more than a few places, probably not nearly as much as you did. I think Alan Rickman's character should have stayed at the end!

[old_cutter_john]

Next time we meet up, you can invite your husband along, totally confident that he'll decline.

[anais_pf]

I'm not as sure as you are of that. But no, he doesn't seem eager to meet you. He slept through portions of the film (though it was late and his sleeping wasn't necessarily a reflection on the film).