Husbands and Wives

 

A 1992 film by Woody Allen.

Now I've read all the bad press. Woody Allen gets a bad wrap for starting (and continuing I believe) a relationship with his adopted-24 years his junior-daughter Soon-Yi, and to be honest, yes it is a little weird. But without delving into the 'Love comes in many forms' debate, let me just say one thing. The man is a film-making genius. I've liked his films for many years now, Annie Hall, Manhattan, Scenes from A Mall and Vicky Cristina Barcelona (absolute Allen gold) being among my favourites. I guess I love his passion for New York, and to show it from all angles, in all shades of grey and in all shades of colour. So, I like the guy. I like his films. I like his work. And you can guarantee I'll watch any film he puts his name to.

In saying all this (and I guess you've gathered I'm a fan), this film - Husbands and Wives, didn't do it for. Yes it had all the Allen elements you'd come to expect, the deep insights into quirky relationships and intimate coversations, but I just couldn't get into the story line. The movie follows two married couples as they endure changes in their relationships. I thoguht the storyline was a little predictable, and some of the acting a little over the top. As wonderful as they are, I felt like Davis and Farrow were either whining or yelling. It was nice to see a young Neeson though.

So, despite my unenthusiasm for this film, I will tick it off my 'Woody Allen Films to Watch' list. Didn't love it, but don't think I'm ever going to stop watching, Mr. Allen.

The Diving Bell and Butterfly

So, yesterday I watched an amazing film called The Diving Bell and Butterfly (in French: Le Scaphandre et Le Papillon). It blew me away. What a journey.

Based on true events, it tells the story of Jean Dominique Bauby, the editor of French Elle magazine who at 42, suffers a massive stroke and leaves him with 'Locked In Syndrome'. Bauby, fondly known as Jean-Do to those around him has a mind and memory perfectly in tact, yet is paralysed from head to toe. He communicates via via a complicated but effective system - someone reads out the alphabet (letters are read in the order of most to least frequently used) and Bauby blinks his left eye when the right letter is reached.

So, despite such a tragedy, Bauby decides to write a memoir via this communication system. He dicates his words to Claude Mendbill who meticulously puts his words and sentences to paper. Sadly Bauby died from Pneumonia a mere ten days after the book was published.

This film was recommended to me by several trustworthy sources, yet I had no idea how much it would not only move me, but draw me into Bauby's world. You get a real sense of the raw horror and disbelief you would feel if your world was turned upside down so completely. This is instantly identifiable from the first few scenes.

The film itself it beautiful, emotive and intelligently creative on a level that is rarely reached. The direction by Julian Schnabel and cast of Mathieu Almaric and Emmanuelle Seiger is stellar. I'm not surprised it won so many awards and has turned up on 'top ten' lists all over the world.

The Diving Bell and Butterfly makes you contemplate your morality. It makes you grateful for your health, and the health and vitality of those around you. It makes you realise that the life you have is probably not so bad. But most of all, I feel grateful for Bauby's spirit and determination in such devastating circumstances, to write his memior, and leave something to share with us all.

If you haven't seen this movie, you must. You really must. It will change the way you think, live and love. I'm off to buy Bauby's memoir as we speak.

For more info:
http://video.movies.go.com/thedivingbellandthebutterfly/main.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diving_Bell_and_the_Butterfly_%28film%29

fig nation is...

Fig Nation emerges...

So, I love starting sentences with 'so'.

I have recently finished a degree and am currently looking for work in a tough industry to gain employment in. I have some work booked in for the end of May...but nothing until then....so I thought I would start a blog to keep me busy, to keep my mind from turning into mush, and because I enjoy writing but have never really given it any real time. So, there you go.

But I figured I needed to write about something, a purpose for this blog, otherwise I will forget it before I even try and remember the password I have set. So, with a cable TV subscription in hand and very little coins in my pocket (mostly of the silver variety unfortunately) I thought I would make use of the twelve movie channels that I have access to. Each day I'll watch a movie....and write any musing about the film here. Something to keep me sane.

So, I'll start the day before today. Monday.