sister_luck: (rain)
sister_luck ([personal profile] sister_luck) wrote2008-10-02 06:40 pm

Hiding in plain sight.

Last night's visit to the cinema was enjoyable - we saw Burn After Reading. Lots of flawed human beings, lots of over-the-top plot developments, lots of laughs. Overall it worked for me, but I'm wondering whether Brad Pitt overdid the brainless fitness freak though I suspect a person just like that exists somewhere.

Tina Fey's Sarah Palin is so convincing that it fooled someone working for Swiss television - I saw a trailer for a news magazine today and it featured a short clip of Tina Fey's version of the Katie Couric interview - and the voice-over implied that we were seeing the real deal.

On a Sunday walk through the park I spotted this creature.





Prior to some educational visits to wikipedia I thought that it was probably the last of its kind and didn't survive the night. It's still dragonfly season. This one is very different to the blue show-offs we also get. The brown colouring and the background of reddish stone and lichen made it nearly invisible. Insects are much more fun in digital photography because in the blown up version you can see an incredible amount of detail - like the see-through wings, the compound eyes and so on. I might fiddle around with the pic some more and post the details if they come out right.

[identity profile] frenchani.livejournal.com 2008-10-02 05:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Speaking of movies...you're going to think that I secretly work for ARTE but you should watch it tonight! They are playing that beautiful Fatih Akin's film whose German title I don't remember but its international title is "Head-on".

It isn't light entertainment but it's a terrific film and such a beautiful love story.
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[identity profile] sister-luck.livejournal.com 2008-10-02 06:03 pm (UTC)(link)

It's Gegen die Wand and it's one of the few dvds that I own but haven't watched yet. I'm a little scared of seeing it, because I'll cry. Silly, right?

[identity profile] frenchani.livejournal.com 2008-10-02 06:11 pm (UTC)(link)
You may cry but it will be good tears.
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[identity profile] sister-luck.livejournal.com 2008-10-02 06:24 pm (UTC)(link)

Really? All that I've read about the film seemed to suggest that it ends tragically.

I mean I don't have to have a conventional happy ending, but I can't deal with hopelessness. I've been burnt befored and yes, that was stupid - it was quite clear that Dancer in the Dark would end the way it did....

[identity profile] frenchani.livejournal.com 2008-10-02 06:50 pm (UTC)(link)
There's definitely some tragedy (and very violent and hard scenes)going on and yes it's sometimes painful and it's definitely touching but it doesn't end tragically and even though I wouldn't call say that there's a happy ending(and it's much better that way), there's no hopelessness eventually. Bitterness maybe.

I didn't like Dancer in the Dark which I found melodramatic but it isn't the case here. Fatih Akin knows better, he's a classy filmmaker. It isn't easy to film love story but he did it and very well.

I wrote a review a long time ago that you may want to reread:

http://frenchani.livejournal.com/4266.html#cutid1

[identity profile] frenchani.livejournal.com 2008-10-02 06:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Can you tell I typed in a hurry ?

Sowwy
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[identity profile] sister-luck.livejournal.com 2008-10-02 07:06 pm (UTC)(link)

No worries.

I remember your review! It was one of the reasons I bought the film.

And yes, melodramatic is the right word - and that gets to me sometimes and I don't like that. It feels like manipulation, like crying at The Circle of Life in the Lion King. (I did that, too.)

Have you seen Fatih Akin's early work Kurz und schmerzlos? I liked that a lot and there's also a great documentary he did about his parents but I haven't seen any of his other films.

[identity profile] frenchani.livejournal.com 2008-10-02 07:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Nope. I have only seen Gegen die Wand and his last film (the one that was released about a year ago), Auf der anderen Seite. I have heard about the documentary though.

PS: I cry all the time while watching movies, especially when it's about kids or animals. I remember that I cried a river watching Benji or The Unbearable Lightness of the Being.
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[identity profile] sister-luck.livejournal.com 2008-10-04 12:06 pm (UTC)(link)

But like you said earlier, there are good tears and bad tears - and I only want to cry the good tears, not the bad tears. For example, Whale Rider made me cry, too, but that was okay.