Movies: The Holiday, and Volver
Yesterday, I sorted through my books to see what I could sell online. It's always interesting to see at what price one is ready to part with these objects. I'm parting with about three boxes of books and may list the few that aren't worth much, I'll let you know if there's anything I can't sell, but am ready to donate to a good home.
I'm still playing movie maven. This week I watched The Holiday, which despite the presence of the luminous Kate Winslet, was ::worse:: than I had imagined. (June told me I needed to see it.) I'm very resistant to romantic comedies, not because I don't like romance (the contrary, really,) but because their relationship models are so warped. That being said, the Kate Winslet character was very sympathetic. She trades houses with a woman in Hollywood and ends up taking care of an elderly neighbor who tells her she needs to act more like a leading lady in her own life. Good advice, that.
However, the presence of the elderly giving soppy advice about love is one of those hallmarks of romantic comedy I can't stand. There's this assumption that old people who are still married, or who still miss their first partner, are this example of perfect love. Maybe this ideal exists. With the exception of perhaps Linnet's grandparents, I've never encountered it. My family is filled with these horrible, traumatic, relationships. My maternal grandparents stayed married, but I swear gma died first just to spite gpa. My paternal grandma decided to leave my grandfather because he was an abusive alcoholic. She is Catholic, her separation from her husband meant she was never able to participate in communion. She has lived her entire life alone. Even in my own parents I've seen the damange that staying together for the kids, the commitment, or god can do. My opinion that the rising divorce rate is a product of the demand for more respect and equality in relationships is not popular, but the assumption that divorce is fundamentally bad is an inappropriate response when one sees the situations from which people are escaping. Even in this movie, one of the characters is widowed instead of divorced to help lighten the stigma of a single parent and make him seem more desirable.
So, I also rented Pedro Almodovar's Volver this week, which features women living in a world almost completely devoid of men. (Is this because he grew up in Franco's Spain and all the men disappeared into 'Pan's Labyrinth'?) Volver is an absolutely fantastic film, even though listed on paper it might not sound like something one wants to watch. It deals with typical Almodovar material: sexual abuse, family secrets, female communities, in a surprisingly comedic manner. Which isn't to say this is the movie you watch if you're in the mood for a comedy, just that it had a surprisingly light touch for a film about care for the dying.
He deals almost perfectly with a character who has returned from the dead to continue caring for her family and neighbors. As always, there are fantastic performances from amazing actresses in meaty roles. One of the things that always strikes me about his films is that we think of most of the Spanish speaking world as being incredibly macho, but you don't see these kinds of women in American films. I was so touched by the domestic aspects of the films. These women solve their problems by reverting to their domestic skill sets, and with the support of the rest of the female community.
The theme song for the film, performed by rising flamenco star Estrella Morente, is incredibly touching. I feel like I'm finally old enough to appreciate these things. The bittersweet nature of the passing of time. The title of the film (taken from the song, which I believe is a sort of flamenco standard) means 'return' or 'coming back.' The movie features the return, but also the resolution, of a lot of things causing tension in these people's lives. And it reminded me of the experience of returning to oneself after one's soul has been on a long wander.
All the extras on the disk featured people talking about the film, but also the Spanish landscape. La Mancha is featured prominently in this film and each of the actors interviewed are asked if Almodovar (having been raised in the region) is a Man of La Mancha, a dreamer. They all said that La Mancha, as a windy and very flat place, creates people who dream for the lack of anything else.
Ebert's review comments that the actors and director seem comfortable in their natural landscape. "...'Volver' is like a homecoming," he writes. "Whenever we are most at ease, we fall most easily and gracefully into our native idioms." For some reason that statement really rang true for me. I thought about some of my experiences over the past few weeks, how comfortable many of them have been for me, and wondered, "What is my natural idiom?" Because I'm not sure it's what I always assumed it was. Part of me feels that I've tried to shoehorn myself into a particular role or way of relating, and maybe that's one of the reasons things have not worked well for me for so long. Perhaps the things that have potential to make us (me) happy are simpler than I ever thought: good food, good company, time to appreciate all the things one loves.
For some reason, I always end up seeing Almodovar's films alone, despite attempts to involve other people. One time I made an enormous amount of paella and everyone cancelled. Perhaps it's just as well, the films deal with a lot of things people might not want to discuss with newly acquired acquaintances; but at the same time they are films that are meant to be shared in the warm glow of company.
If you've never seen an Almodovar film before, I can't say if Volver is the place to start, but it's as good as any in giving an idea of what many of his films are about. Invite some friends over, make some food, open a bottle of wine, and watch his films for a first or second time.
I'm still playing movie maven. This week I watched The Holiday, which despite the presence of the luminous Kate Winslet, was ::worse:: than I had imagined. (June told me I needed to see it.) I'm very resistant to romantic comedies, not because I don't like romance (the contrary, really,) but because their relationship models are so warped. That being said, the Kate Winslet character was very sympathetic. She trades houses with a woman in Hollywood and ends up taking care of an elderly neighbor who tells her she needs to act more like a leading lady in her own life. Good advice, that.
However, the presence of the elderly giving soppy advice about love is one of those hallmarks of romantic comedy I can't stand. There's this assumption that old people who are still married, or who still miss their first partner, are this example of perfect love. Maybe this ideal exists. With the exception of perhaps Linnet's grandparents, I've never encountered it. My family is filled with these horrible, traumatic, relationships. My maternal grandparents stayed married, but I swear gma died first just to spite gpa. My paternal grandma decided to leave my grandfather because he was an abusive alcoholic. She is Catholic, her separation from her husband meant she was never able to participate in communion. She has lived her entire life alone. Even in my own parents I've seen the damange that staying together for the kids, the commitment, or god can do. My opinion that the rising divorce rate is a product of the demand for more respect and equality in relationships is not popular, but the assumption that divorce is fundamentally bad is an inappropriate response when one sees the situations from which people are escaping. Even in this movie, one of the characters is widowed instead of divorced to help lighten the stigma of a single parent and make him seem more desirable.
So, I also rented Pedro Almodovar's Volver this week, which features women living in a world almost completely devoid of men. (Is this because he grew up in Franco's Spain and all the men disappeared into 'Pan's Labyrinth'?) Volver is an absolutely fantastic film, even though listed on paper it might not sound like something one wants to watch. It deals with typical Almodovar material: sexual abuse, family secrets, female communities, in a surprisingly comedic manner. Which isn't to say this is the movie you watch if you're in the mood for a comedy, just that it had a surprisingly light touch for a film about care for the dying.
He deals almost perfectly with a character who has returned from the dead to continue caring for her family and neighbors. As always, there are fantastic performances from amazing actresses in meaty roles. One of the things that always strikes me about his films is that we think of most of the Spanish speaking world as being incredibly macho, but you don't see these kinds of women in American films. I was so touched by the domestic aspects of the films. These women solve their problems by reverting to their domestic skill sets, and with the support of the rest of the female community.
The theme song for the film, performed by rising flamenco star Estrella Morente, is incredibly touching. I feel like I'm finally old enough to appreciate these things. The bittersweet nature of the passing of time. The title of the film (taken from the song, which I believe is a sort of flamenco standard) means 'return' or 'coming back.' The movie features the return, but also the resolution, of a lot of things causing tension in these people's lives. And it reminded me of the experience of returning to oneself after one's soul has been on a long wander.
All the extras on the disk featured people talking about the film, but also the Spanish landscape. La Mancha is featured prominently in this film and each of the actors interviewed are asked if Almodovar (having been raised in the region) is a Man of La Mancha, a dreamer. They all said that La Mancha, as a windy and very flat place, creates people who dream for the lack of anything else.
Ebert's review comments that the actors and director seem comfortable in their natural landscape. "...'Volver' is like a homecoming," he writes. "Whenever we are most at ease, we fall most easily and gracefully into our native idioms." For some reason that statement really rang true for me. I thought about some of my experiences over the past few weeks, how comfortable many of them have been for me, and wondered, "What is my natural idiom?" Because I'm not sure it's what I always assumed it was. Part of me feels that I've tried to shoehorn myself into a particular role or way of relating, and maybe that's one of the reasons things have not worked well for me for so long. Perhaps the things that have potential to make us (me) happy are simpler than I ever thought: good food, good company, time to appreciate all the things one loves.
For some reason, I always end up seeing Almodovar's films alone, despite attempts to involve other people. One time I made an enormous amount of paella and everyone cancelled. Perhaps it's just as well, the films deal with a lot of things people might not want to discuss with newly acquired acquaintances; but at the same time they are films that are meant to be shared in the warm glow of company.
If you've never seen an Almodovar film before, I can't say if Volver is the place to start, but it's as good as any in giving an idea of what many of his films are about. Invite some friends over, make some food, open a bottle of wine, and watch his films for a first or second time.