We finally went to see Lost in Translation last night. (I realise that it’s probably out on video in the States, but it’s still in theatres here.) It was a wonderful, subtle movie with an absolutely perfect ending.
Yesterday, as we went to Safeway for groceries, I said to Phil that he made me feel like my mother. At times my father would refuse to talk to her; over the years they had less and less in common, I suppose, or less and less that hadn’t already been said. She would try to keep lines of communication open, but against the granite of his silence she would natter on about trivialities, nervously trying to fill the void of his disregard. She wasn’t an unintelligent woman, but she was seemingly made so by his refusal to communicate with her. I feel like that sometimes.
Lost in Translation is about miscommunication, about being a stranger even in your own life. (“This is not my house. This is not my beautiful wife.”) We misunderstand what other people, even people that we love, are trying to say to us, and we feel alone even in the midst of our friends and family.
My theory about soulmates was that yes, there conceivably might be someone out there in the world who would be perfect for you. The probably live in India and you will never meet, or they will be impossibly old and you impossibly young, or whatever. But perhaps that’s just my negative attitude toward love, I don’t know.
These two people in the movie connect. And they communicate. They form a warm center together to the coldness and loneliness of their lives. And yet it doesn’t descend to the stereotypical middle-age-man pulls young girl story. It was perfect.
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Happy belated birthday to Mark – I forgot!!! I’m sorry. :(
I went out to the stable today to ride, but Kip was very nervous about a bulldozer that was moving earth right outside the arena, so I finally gave up. I did ride him a bit around the stableyard, for the first time…with the help of TWO other people, one to lead him and one to lead another horse along to give him someone to follow. He was scared stiff, and planted in place. *sigh* Babies, I swear.
And it’s snowing.
The Passion of The Christ is in theaters soon – this week on Wednesday.. what do you think about this movie? I’m going to see it for sure – the trailers were enough to convince me. I read somewhere that it’s the widest opening ever for a subtitled movie; I have a feeling subtitles won’t detract from the full effect of this movie though. After looking at the trailers which have no subtitles or english at all, it was reinforced for me that lack of spoken english in this film won’t hurt one bit. To sum up my impression of The Passion: it’s a work of art.
Good Website
Another fascinating aspect to this movie is all the controversy that has been generated about it.
Some people, not really representative of Jewish people, but rather self appointed Jewish spokespeople, such as Abraham Foxman from the Anti-Defamation League, seem to have been attempting to denounce this film for months as being anti-Semitic. The news reported that they even stole the script last year! But here’s what some Jews say (Jews who don’t make it their job to tear apart other people): Protesting Gibson’s Passion Lacks Moral Legitimacy by Rabbi Daniel Lapin.
Nice to see some people speaking rationally.
So what do you think of all this?
*** Kyle
On the basis of your post,I am tempeted to see this movie this very night.
Still,I’m sorry you feel estranged Ravven, a stranger in a strange land-it can be said that we blokes from England don’t always feel comfortable communicating our inner selves, and sometimes its no more complicated than that we don’t have very much interesting to say. That said, I do hope that you work things through, and that you don’t merely relive your Mom and Dads relationship.
I’ve been leary about seeing Lost in Translation specifically because of the really-old-male and not-even-18-female relationship. (same sentiments about Girl With Pearl Earring, and I think it’s that same annoying ‘precocious’ girl actor from Lost in Translation).
However your comments give me hope for the movie.