Whether I resonate with a character like Amelie, or become immersed in a true tale like "Mad Hot Ballroom" or "Dear Zachary," there are some movies that affect the way I forever view the world and the people in it.
When Meg Ryan typed, "Goodnight, dear void," it was like she was speaking aloud something I had thought a million times.
When I watched the character of Frances Mayes go on her solo trip to Italy, I longed to do something that independent (and eventually went on a not-as-distant-but-still-thrilling solo trip myself).
I love how Julia Ormond, in "Sabrina," says "Everytime I look through a camera I'm surprised by what I see." I was there with Novalee when she told Moses, "You want to hear something funny? I'd like to be a photographer." in "Where the Heart Is".
After I watched "Enough" I decided I was never going to get married, ever. Yet my girlish heart still melts, ever so slightly, when Mr. Thornton says, "You're coming home with me?" in "North & South".
I think I watched "Murphy's Romance" eight times in one week, and I still have no idea why. Though I suspect I must be a little in love with James Garner. :oP
I get ridiculously depressed if I watch "Legends of the Fall," though I keep thinking it must not be as bad as I remember it, and give it another chance every half a dozen years or so.
Movies like "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Memento" make me excited about the possibilities in filmmaking.
Some films give me a greater understanding of various cultures, others make me wish I remembered more of my high school French.
Tonight I watched a movie called "Then She Found Me." Maybe you've heard of it, maybe you haven't. It's not the kind of movie that everyone will love, and it probably will get lost in the myriad of forgotten films. I saw it because it was only $3.99 at Blockbuster (well, and I had been kind of curious about it).
It's basically a film of betrayal, and yet it's overflowing with hope. Despite Bette Midler's over-the-top-ness (I can't think of any other way to describe it) and the fact that I generally can't stand Matthew Broderick, this movie seemed as real to me as many of the documentaries I've seen. Perhaps because it deals with real emotions in almost a comic way. It was very unique.
And, I really think this was the most romantic character I've ever seen Colin Firth play. And I've seen the 1994 Pride & Prejudice DOZENS of times. He had a couple of flowery lines, sure, but the relationship that his character and Helen Hunt's character had was so fraught with problems, and so awkward but...precious, that the emotion behind everything was so much stronger than the lines they said.
I'll admit that not much that I "learned" in college stuck, but certain things do stick with me. One of my professors, I remember, spoke about the importance of stories in our lives. We're drawn to stories. We live stories. We tell stories. Facebook statuses and twitter updates are mini-stories. Talks with friends over coffee are stories. Memories are stories. Pictures are stories.
Jesus spoke in parables because he knew that we as humans are drawn to these stories. Any form of entertainment - movies, plays, drama, art galleries, sports events, concerts, amusement rides - tells a story. Our emotions are moved by the lilt of a flute, the raise of an eyebrow, the stroke of a brush, the swing of a baseball bat.
Well, I don't really have a point...or a conclusion to all of this, so I'll end with some lines that a writer much more brilliant than myself have wrote:
"Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life. Well, not small, but valuable. And sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven't been brave? So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around? I don't really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. So good night, dear void." -Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan), "You've Got Mail"
