My Thoughts on: 2 Days in Paris

2 Days In Paris
2007
Julie Delpy

I love Julie Delpy. I have honestly not seen her in enough things although I know her to be in some great films by legendary directors Goddard and Krysztof Kieslowski (hardest name to spell ever) but I've only seen her in the two 'Before' films and now this and she has already convinced me to sell my soul to her. She had contributed with screenwriting in the two 'Before' films (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset) and this is reflected in the keen conversational dialogue, and very short time span of this film (the movie is in the span of two days as the name suggests).

2 Days in Paris I loved, initially, I thought it was too similar to Before Sunrise - it opened with a train sequence, the very familiar setting, and the very casual and natural style. It diverged into something that was more intoxicating to watch - it was hilarious, it was cringe worthy and it was sometimes, pretty scary.

To break it down: 2 Days in Paris is about a couple that has been traveling around Europe, but they are not a Hollywood storybook couple, they're a real couple who are very aware of their ups and their downs. Julie Delpy is Marion, a French Photographer who has an apartment in very close proximity of her parents (upstairs to be exact) and Adam Goldberg (the creepy flatmate from 'Friends', Dazed and Confused) is her boyfriend of two years, Jack. Jack who is not a French native become entrapped in the swirl of the confusing language as well as the intimidating town, and the omniscience presence of Marion's ex-boyfriends. Consequently, he gets more and more paranoid about the goings-ons of his girlfriend.

Although described so uneloquently and very one dimensionally Delpy creates a complex and sweet and comedic film that is one parts Annie Hall and one part Before Sunrise. The humor is mostly derived from the banter of the couple 'Do I smell like cancer? Do I smell like a tumor?' as well as the awkward moments with the overly comfortable family including some very brash naked photos of Jack. The Anne Hall influence is prominent stylistically in the voice overs, the very obvious setting of the love of one town and the charming out-of-place sun soaked scenes of childhood to fill in the gaps.

Throughout the film it has a slight undertone of  Paris as this foreign and scary place - almost all men objectify and belittle women - a wife beater taxi diver, a racist, an overly forward one that suggests they make babies to Marion, and a man on the subway that would stand unreasonably and disturbingly close to Marion was especially uncomfortable to watch. Paris seemed ridiculously scary, the strangers rude, the culture unable to be translated into something we would understand. It created this really unnerving culture shock of a place that was so intimidating; the food on the table resembled too much of the pet rabbits that you used to have as a child, and the artists created strange sex obsessed works of art. It captured Paris in a light that i had never seen portrayed before, but one that made me so fearful that I did not want to visit it. I think Julie Delpy did this as a creative decision to avoid the cliches and to provide a form of a culture shock to us too, which were all very distinctly French - and I guess the only 'touristy' thing we saw physically was Jim Morrison's grave (not a view of the Louvre or Eiffel tower anywhere to be seen) although this seediness was too much for me to handle at times, although it did accurately represent, or allowed us to also feel the insecurity and understanding of Jack's mind.

Finally, there is an amazing incredible operatic finale to this film. There is a voice over of Marion talking about the nature of relationships (and there is so much real-ness to this little heartfelt speech I can not help but adore this film). She talks about how we deceive each other into thinking the person we are with is 'the one' although when you break up, you will slowly drift apart and they will not mean anything to you anymore, and you to them. How love can dissipate so quickly, from loving one moment to nothing. It concluded the entire film beautifully and explained and justified everything that had happened previously. It was wonderful. It captured the overwhelming complexities and the multifaceted nature of relationships, the good parts, the bad, the naked pictures, the paranoia, the annoyances, (well I guess in this case a lot of annoyances) but also the ex-boyfriends and the public outbursts and the little tongue and cheek banter.

All in all, two days in Paris is a great, unconventional and unexpectedly enjoyable film. It avoids tropes and the way that it tell its story with such raw emotion is beautiful. And P.S. I love you Julie Delpy.

My Thoughts on: (500) Days of Summer

(500) Days of Summer
2009
Marc Webb

It's so intimate it hurts.

(500) Days of Summer is about the relationship between a young card-writing architect Tom (Joseph Gordon Levitt) and secretary/drifter Summer (Zooey Deschanel) and the turbulent up and downs that we may encounter in a relationship. It is shown from the perspective of Tom, and his idealized relationship, consisting with many quirky montages and narrations awash with dreamy songs that play in our heads in our own soft montages.

I was once in the same shoes as Summer herself (relating to the 'supposed' antagonist) where I wanted a relationship that was just (and this term is tossed around so often) - casual. I felt like I was young and free, but also wanted to experience a constant connection with someone, an experience. Albeit this wasn't without consequences (that felt like it was entirely my fault), in various summers, I had broken the hearts of a couple of boys, because I was selfish with my heart and I didn't want my emotions to be controlled by another person. Little had I known they I too had control over theirs (and I'm truly sorry for that). In another sense I wanted to be the fun-loving, bubbly and quirky manic pixie dream girl that I had partially idolized and envisioned in many movies. An unabashedly girly and gorgeous being who swoops into young men's lives and shows them an otherworldly time. I was unintentionally molding myself into a characteristic that in reality, is unrealistic and was just a fantasy. (500) Days of Summer hit the nail on the head for me, bringing me back to these deplorable and cobwebbed feelings of the past, but from Summer's perspective.

(500) Days of Summer is told in a non-linear narrative utilizing in the sense (as many critics have already pointed out) of the way we recall significant memories; sitting on the park bench sharing ambitious hopes, lying on the bed recalling surreal dreams and fears, even quietly heated and flirty debates about musical differences. It's so intimate, and so real, that it hurts. These situations happen, these are the little things that are the fabric of a relationship  We see the foundations that have built up and it also effectively presents the dynamic of the couple. We see how smitten Tom is over Summer, the way he notices and likes 'her heart shaped birthmark on her neck' or 'how she licks her lips before she talks' as well as his insecurities of this unequal relationship.

By inequality I mean the inequality that truly stems from their differences in the intentions of the relationship even though they had been established from the start (by Summer). Summer wanted a casual relationship, but Tom (despite the obvious disappointment that stirs up in his face and idealistic fantasies) seems to want something more but bends to the tone set by Summer. Tom, viewed Summer as the aforementioned Manic Pixie Dream Girl, this rifted upon stock character of many charming movies. Tom blindly placed this unrealistic character in his real situation.

Tom, with his extremely boyish charm, strives to have this ultimate relationship, and put pressure upon Summer. This is easily identified from this beginning when Tom is introduced from the beginning saying (he) 'grew up believing that he'd never truly be happy until the day he met the one. This belief stemmed from early exposure to sad British pop music and a total misreading of the movie, 'The Graduate''. Tom like me, grew up on films, and they placed heavy weight unto our experiences that did not play on a screen (wow this is getting weirdly paradoxical) and onto Summer. This movie motif is applied in some scenes of Summer, one of which there are dreamy sun-soaked extreme closeups of Summer laughing as they make animated conversation on a train but we can not hear them.

Ultimately, for no specified reason, Summer breaks up with Tom. There is a very poignant and heart wrenching montage where the moments that Tom constantly referred to and played back, also had bad moments. The moments in life, that are quietly brooding, and yet we deny ourselves from. We've seen them in these situations played on screen but we too, chose to neglect them a little. Tom had placed his fantasy relationship onto Summer, who wasn't the once to reciprocate it. Tom had seen Summer as the Manic Pixie Dream girl, of which she didn't want to deliver. She left. She moved on. And just like she justified the parting of her previous relationships, it explains this one too, 'What always happens. Life.'

(500) Days of Summer in a weird way shattered my constant idealization of life (which isn't really a bad thing always) by comparing it to films, but also my expectations of other from this too, and of myself. Things won't always play out like a movie and in reality other people contribute to my own story line and sometimes life isn't a fantasy. I shouldn't set myself up to set footprints upon other peoples hearts if I don't feel I can deliver, and I shouldn't neglect the problems or the bad things that I may encounter, but, to also love the magic of coincidence in reality - The unexpected and serendipitous, for one of these experiences, may work out right.

'Coincidence, that's all anything ever is, nothing more than coincidence .. Tom had finally learned there are not miracles. There's no such thing as fate, nothing is meant to be. He knew, he was sure of it now. Tom was... pretty sure'

(Side note: late post so I'm super tired and not going to proof-read/edit this tonight)

My Thoughts on: Friends

Friends
1994-2004
David Crane, Marta Kauffman

These summer holidays I decided to finish all 10 seasons of Friends, the famous sitcom to rule them all. It obviously was a moderately sad and depressing goal considering I was sitting around in my dark room with food curled up in blankets while the rest of society was frolicking in the sun. But seriously I love this show. It captures the human experience and nothing seems to come close to capturing the beauty of the day-to-day.

It captures the joy and the sorrow, the love and the heartbreak in 6 distinct and individual characters that grow with you when you watch it. It always doesn't seem like you're watching characters on a screen. I think that is what makes 'Friends' so special; how genuine the characters are. Each of the 'Friends' seem to have their flaws and their strengths. Ross has his divorces yet has an deep and ever enduring love. Phoebe has a stubbornness but also a deep sense of care. Monica has her compulsive cleaning but a strong work ethic etc. etc. You can't help but laugh in their moments of happiness, feeling genuine love - such as the moment where Chandler and Monica got married, the time where Ross was telling people of the beautiful way he would have proposed to Rachel, but also the genuine sorrow and pangs of sympathy. A particular example of this was Ross's kindhearted willingness to go to the high school prom with Rachel when her date didn't show up, yet after getting ready, Rachel and Monica are exiting the house in glee as said date, arrived. Ross's indirect rejection from kindness is brutal to watch and plays a large emotional role, without needing gags of complexities.

The gang has a great sense of energy and chemistry, although there is only a strong stable main cast of six, they never get tiresome to watch. The script is always hilarious and zany and the acting is almost as if the actors are the characters themselves. It has an extremely great sense of consistency as it celebrates the necessity and the beauty that friends can do to enrich one's life. As Time magazine articulately put it 'the well-hidden secret of this show was that it called itself Friends, and was really about family'

The friend's gang slowly develops habit and tics that we begin to realize and become comfortable with as we watch. Monica's loud 'I KNOW!!!' is characteristic as well as Chandler's strange enunciation is picked up by the gang where they produce constant jests towards it. This further develops to a sense of continuation as well as deepening our relationship with these characters. After 10 season admittedly I got extremely emotional as I watch the perfect ending to the perfect sitcom. It came to the realization that people have to move on, but that's not necessarily bad. It's inevitable but it's poignantly beautiful; starting a new chapter in their lives, a new adventure. As I watched this I realized how much I had to apply this to my own life, and to celebrate and embrace the change rather than to shy away.

My Thoughts on: Frankenweenie

Frankenweenie

2012

Tim Burton

Sprinkles of the macabre are usually absent in an animated film. A ghastly or ghoulish atmosphere is usually avoided to not influence their sugar coated perspective of the world that children harbor. Yet in a Tim Burton film it's commonplace and familiar. And thank goodness. Frankenweenie brings Tim Burton back to his roots and has many familiar elements of Burton's earlier films that have been gravely missed. It brings back the originality, the magic, and the human elements (all of which missed me completely in Alice in Wonderland).

Victor Frankenstein likes to be alone, alone in the sense he's completely absorbed in his own world, a world that meets all his human requirements - he finds companionship in his dog, Sparky, and has a passion for making films (that star Sparky) and science. It worries his parents, but precocious Victor just seems to want to exercise his curiosity and indulge in his own thoughts. I think it's safe to say without spoiling it that the general premise of the film is about how after an unfortunate accident Victor brings his dog back to life.

Firstly the visuals of the film are very beautiful, in classic black and white, the various shades of monochrome reminiscent of classic horror films perfectly sets up the gothic atmosphere. The characters are designed with the typical Burton quirk, some large and waddling, some very thin and spindly, with their own distinctive personalities. The movements of the characters is truely a marvel. The fluid kinetics of the ways the characters are very humanistic and delightful. The way Sparky bounces around with vigor and energy is full of life, with a distinctive moment where Sparky keeps bouncing and chasing the water that he drank which escapes through the seams of his patches.

I think the film did a great job in capturing the charm of Sparky and Victor. Their companionship seemed very strong as well as his sorrow. My favourite scene is a short montage of the day that Victor spends without Sparky (gif above). It's got accompanied by an enchanting yet morose composition by Danny Elflman (whom I love and is making a big streak in my Spotify playlist) and it very simply captures the way there may be a lack of life and passion when feeling sad. The way we slowly sink into a slump that we can't control. The face of Victor stays the same, yet his surroundings change, but his face slowly drops during the day. I guess everyone feels this way at some point in their life, I have been fortunate enough to not lose a pet yet that I cared about dearly, but this film made the possibility of the occurrence seemed all too possible and painful without making the feeling forced. The subtleties of sadness.

The film is rooted in love and passion. Victor simply wants to get back his friend even if it means going through any type of scientific necromancy, and the problems arise when good intentions turn sour. It also seems to have an overarching point about the responsibility of power. To have the chance to change or create must be done with good intentions (as his science teacher Mr. Rzykruski says, one of my favourite characters) creating a golden fable for children to achieve only things out of love and goodness, not for their own personal gain. It also makes a point about the fear the resides in the unknown - a primary trait for the classic Frankenstein story. The townsfolk don't understand the resurrection of Sparky as well as the science that Mr. Rzykruski teaches. It emphasized the primal fear of the unknown and the sad truth that we don't try to understand that that we don't, and try to destroy instead. Overall Frankenweenie embodies all the beauty of childhood in the somberly graceful Burton aesthetic. A story of love, curiosity, discovery and overall, friendship.

(Also, as a Winona Ryder devout it was great to see her back for a small voice role as Elsa Van Helsing (!!!))