Last night my daughter, a friend and I headed to the last film of the season at the outdoor Somerville theatre. All I knew was that is was Russian. It opened with the longest single shot of any movie I've ever seen - so long that we wondered if the film had stalled! That set the tone. I loathed all the characters, although I felt midly sympathetic towards the lead, but the mostly they were revolting and sad. The theme of parental love/obligation is interesting. Overall it was dark and sad with good music. Much like a Russian opera!
I've seen several movies of late: The Hunger Games - not bad. Went with a bunch of teenagers to a cinema filled with teenagers unable to quietly watch a movie. Lots of people hissing "Be quiet, "Shut up" and humphing at said noisemakers in the back row! Funny. I found the books fascinating with a modern, reworked 1984 theme. Quite scary if you think about where society is heading though, so much violence.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (for the elderly and beautiful). Loved it. Not quite as funny as I expected - a bit more real I suppose with its themes, but set against the craziness of modern India. I was happy to be watching a film packed with English actors I adore.
And then Moneyball on dvd. A good 'ol American baseball flick. I should have been eating pumpkin pie and drinking budweiser as I watched, but I didn't want to be distracted from Brad Pitt! Good eye candy as the saying goes.
I also read The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman. A great read about the seige of Masada in Israel by the Romans, told from the perspective of 4 Jewish women. Now I've started The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. The story of Ernest Hemingway's first wife.
I feel as though I've journeyed around the world without the jet lag!
Lately one particular line from a movie keeps playing over and over in my brain. It's said by Shirley MacLaine's character Ouiser Boudreaux in Steel Magnolias and goes like this....
'I'm not crazy. I've just been in a very bad mood for 40 years!"
Sometimes lines just pop into my head like that randomly and I can't think for what reason. It's so weird, because I can go and see a movie and walk right out of it and not be able to recall a single line at the time, perhaps ever. And then 20 years later they come back to me. (I've told my kids to enjoy me NOW, because Alzheimer's is gonna get me, but I don't know if my teenagers are listening)
This particular line is how I feel lately. I've been sick since the 22nd of Jan. Been to the doctor 4 times, Emergency twice, had X-rays and CT scans, been put on a drug regime, referrred to a specialist, seen a specialist, going back to the specialist. I am so OVER it.
But I am getting better!
But my sense of humour well and truly deserted me in my hour of need on certain days. Please come back to me - you make life bearable. And never, ever leave me again.
And because I really like a picture with each post -
Í'm gonna grab a copy from the video store and watch it this weekend with my mum who arrives tonight for a visit. I doubt she's ever seen it and I think she'll relate to lots of the lines in it.
Incidentally, here's a link to quotes from the movie - Steel Magnolia quotes. Google is amazing isn't it!
Ciao for now x
January is close to being over. I confess to all you amazingly productive creative peeps, I haven't spent any time on any creative projects, but immersed myself in summer pursuits instead. Lots of swimming at the beach and in the pool at our villa in Bali (yes we had a luxurious week in Seminyak) - so soul renewing it was fabulous. I indulged in massages, manis and pedis, sundowner drinks by the ocean or pool, great food, snoozing, day spa-ing, some shopping, some tailor-made cowboy boot shopping, people watching. Absolutely divine. I feel like a thouroughly pampered pooch! I would head back to Bali any time. I now understand why people love it and go there over and over again. It was hot, really, really humid hot, with lots of drenching downpours that simply soothed away the heat with their noise and smell.
The heat back here in Perth has been absolutely stiffling, without the relief of rain, so lots of flopping watch movies over the weekends has happened! I'm sure I've watched more in this last month than I have in the entire past 2 years. Evenings at Somerville, the outdoor movie theatre that shows foreign films from December to April. A different one every week. It's a highlight of summer in Perth, sitting in deck chairs under the stars and rustling pines, soaking up foreign films, preceded by a picnic if you choose. DVD's etc on the couch at home
I became engrossed in a TV series called "True Blood" about mainstreaming vampires living in Louisiana. It is hilarious. Not usually my style at all. It's great watching an entire series at your leisure, without ads and episode after episode so it really flows. I don't watch commercial television, apart from cricket and tennis occasionally.
Anyway the real reason I was inspired to post was the movie "Coco Chanel" with Shirley Maclaine and Barbara Bobulova. I saw it for the first time on the weekend and loved it. Watching her creative journey was really heart-warming and if you haven't seen it and if you're a fashion history fan, I thoroughly recommend the movie. There are scenes where she is working on hats and then putting herself on the line, right out there with her creations and believing in herself. In another scene she is asked "why hats".....I can hear people thinking out loud when they see my bags..."? why bags" ...who knows why we're drawn to specific mediums, we just are us creative peeps. And we can jump from one to another to keep exploring and learning and buzzing!
I love hearing, watching other people's creative journeys as I just so get it. Fame follows some like Coco, however, fame didn't drive her, her creative passion did. Fame and fortune don't drive any creative people I know, their passion does. And I love that at that base level we're all the same.
