How to begin…talking about Beginners!

UPDATE: I found this in my Saved drafts and since I never published it and I’m already a post behind. I thought I could throw it in here and hope that you could forgive the very, very late and short review.

Beginners (2011): is a wonderfully gloomy yet hopeful film that deals with everything from love, death, nostalgia, angst, loneliness, homosexuality, old age, and laryngitis.  The notion of grief for a relationship that never really truly matured especially a parental one is a unique topic. Death is never dealt with realistically in films, at least not in the way that I’ve experienced it :,( But Beginners did just that, it conveyed grief in human colors without the shroud of Hollywood glamour. It was so true, so human and beautiful (in terms of plot and cinematography). Catharsis comes to mind when describing the  film’s emotional impact.  And who doesn’t love “Uggi” (the Oscar nominated dog)!

My husband just asked me “what’s so good about it?”

My only response: “it gives you the feels.”

Prepare for a good cry but more than anything savor it.

A Girl Walks Home ALONE at Night

Just saw A Girl Walk Home Alone at Night  last night at the cult indie cinema Filmkunst 66. Dubbed in German but still hauntingly beautiful. Any freeze-frame would yield a beautiful, masterfully composed still. It’s a bit of Nosferatu meets The Outsiders. The plot is spiraling but in no particular direction. Linear at times and then completely chaotic and terrifying. There are some seriously scary moments and then some really goofy Hammer Film style gore.

I enjoyed the film immensely, but the ending felt rushed and halfhearted. My biggest disappointment was the lack of any deep and meaningful Persian connection. I don’t know much about Iran but I did watch Persepolis and going into this movie, I expected a similar yet gothic take on the persian diaspora. Alas, aside from the spoken Farsi, which was completely lost in translation (since the film was sadly dubbed into german) AGWHAAN hardly dealt with any deeply persian issues. Yes, there were the beautiful Farsi tattoos and the girl with the nose job — but aside from that I didn’t see anything that would make it uniquely Iranian. I haven’t watched/read any of the interviews with the director so I can’t be sure about the motives/ intentions behind making this movie; it should be noted that it’s quiet a remarkable feat for a a debut film. What I can say however is that it was artsy and referential (in a good way)–postmodern to the core.

The story could be applicable to any dystopian city around the world. I just expected it to be more telling about middle eastern societies outlook on girls who “walk home alone at night.”

So all in all, a big bravo to the casting director because those actors were not only incredibly talented but also ridiculously photogenic. Let me leave you with this eye candy.

“grrrrrrr”

Magnolia…the film

I watched Magnolia for the first time “ever” last night, while chilling in Berlin on a cold and potentially snowy night.

Still full from the 4 hour brunch that i had earlier, I found myself curled up on a screenwriting-major’s sofa rummaging through her awesome DVD collection. I found Magnolia, a movie I’ve heard much about but never actually watched…until yesterday!

The movie was insane and that’s by 2012s standards, let alone 1999 (the year it was released). The sound-track put you at the edge of your seat, literally. I didn’t know how to relax while watching it…i just didn’t. The whole time i felt like impending doom was at my doorstep just waiting for the last note to strike before barging into the living room. And boy did I have to pee, but I didn’t dare to or rather couldn’t leave my seat. I felt like pausing the film, for even a 30 second break, would somehow ruin the magic, break the moment, for you see, we were having a moment, what kinda of moment? I’m still not sure.

“it is in the humble opinion of this narrator that strange things happen all the time.”

The actors did a fine job, a great job. Tom Cruise, in particular, wowed. I couldn’t help but think that “this is what he must be like in real life” because his performance was flawless…every twitch was like a new note, amplifying the film’s silent melody.

Was it a sad film?…Yes, No, I don’t know. I just know that it was an idea well executed. And that I without a doubt went to bed thinking about all the different signs and symbols that I must’ve missed.

My friend/sister-in-law tells me that the director/screenwriter Paul Thomas Anderson had the film title all figured about before even having a script idea. for you see, Magnolia is a flower with unique undefined petals.The petals are connected to one another at more than one point….or something of the sort, and that’s sort of the underlying structure of the film…or something like that.

Now, frogs raining from the sky….that I knew about, but it still didn’t fail to amaze me. Was that a biblical reference?

For now I still feel somewhat taken aback. almost silenced by the awe-inspiring film. As a matter of fact, I think that I should write a second post about the film. That is, after my head is done processing it and maybe with the added benefit of a second viewing or maybe,  just maybe,  I should ” just give up” or better yet “wise up”.