Monday, June 8, 2009

More lessons in cinema

I noticed that I had commented on the movie Lars and the Real Girl at the start of this blog journey, but have yet to comment on (m)any movies since. In part, not watching movies very often is due to a miniscule budget, but also because I haven't quite been moved by a movie in awhile. No, that is not completely true. There was Changeling, and (despite the many criticisms I might receive) Star Trek.

Without further ado..

The first comment will be on an oldie, but a goodie. The Sandlot was on tv this Sunday, but I only watched one scene. The part where Benny teaches Smalls how to catch and throw; the part where no one else on the already-formed team of eight wants Smalls to complete the picture, but Benny argues for his sake. He comments on the weaknesses of all the players, but how they're still,

"Part of the team, right? Then how come he don't get to be?"

I recently listened to a Mosaic sermon about the Beatitudes. Erwin McManus says something along the lines of not necessarily picking the best people for your team, but seeking the best in people. I felt like this scene illustrates that best. And I'm in the midst of reading James where it basically says (aka Sharayah translation), "Wait a minute, isn't it the rich who are exploiting you? They are the ones dragging you to court! God doesn't want favoritism toward the rich in the church--He picks the down and out for a reason!"

He sees the best in people, just like He sees the best in us and wants to use us!

Movie 2:

I finally saw Motorcycle Diaries tonight with my foreign flick friend, Lexie. The movie is based on the two journals kept by Ernesto "Che" Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado as they journey throughout Latin America. Obviously, we recognize ole Che on the many tshirts and window decals throughout the world (I refer to a cheap knockoff I saw in Russia where a tshirt had a picture of one of Russia's famous cartoon wearing the beret decorated with the star. Underneath was "Che-boorashka," the name of the cartoon character.)

My boyfriend told me about another shirt that had Che's face on it, with the line, "Capitalism paid for this shirt" below. I also just Google searched and found one with, "Communism killed 100 million people and all I got was this lousy tshirt."

All this to say, if what is depicted in the movie is accurate (is it ever? can we even trust wikipedia these days??), maybe there's a little bit of sympathy on Fuser's part. He saw people losing their homes, jobs and ultimately lives because of capitalism. Who wouldn't want to fight against that?

I'm not saying communism is the answer.

I just remember the many other Latin American films I watched last year in a college course, and I realized that North America often takes advantage of South American workers. See Love, Women and Flowers. The article about the Colombian film, ironically, written by my professor.

It was also moving to see this young man serve in the leper colony. Perhaps the best moments of the film.

And finally...Atonement. I appreciated this one more this time, because I noticed those little film nuances that pull the whole story together. Silly things like the score's abruptness within scenes, the use of light and the clicking of the typewriter. Nonsense to most people.

But I'm a sucker for a good story, and I love the way this one pulls you in from the beginning. I love the way it destroys your heart at the end--a true testament to how works can never give us clean hands (remembering the moment where Briney viciously scrubs away).

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