It is very hot in Sydney and it makes my days lazy
and no eventful. My little computer, after a water damage, is being repaired
and I am left with the old one that does not function well. It is difficult to
sign in and when I manage to do it, the internet connection is spurious. It
takes a while to get to it and I manage to achieve a doubtful success only by repeating the same
process over and over. This is just like per the definition of insanity, so no
wonder I feel a bit strange. The cool
change is coming though, so maybe things will look up soon. I will perhaps need
to buy a new computer, but this is an achievable task. So with a hope for a
positive change I gathered enough energy to start a new post. I have a bit of a
backlog in my movie reviews, so I will start with the Moonlight, the film that
made the biggest impression on me and is the second on my Oscar list after La
La Land. I have not seen the Manchester by the Sea yet and this film may change
my personal hierarchy.
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| Three stages of Chiron's face and life |
About the Moonlight then. This is for me a film
based on impressions as I hardly understood the dialogue. African-American slang, used by uneducated
people from the circles of drug dealing and using, is difficult to understand. I did understand the story though and the
moods the film took me through. Beautiful film, showing idealistic emotions and
generous actions of people from the society margins. The film is about Chiron and his life as a child, teenager and
then a young man. Beautiful love story shown and experienced by the movie
characters as tender and delicate. For me there was more tenderness and respect
in the relationship of the two boys and
then men than there is in most of so
called “civilised” heterosexual relationships. No wam bam about it.
The film made me think about that so often we
categorise people and situations without knowing much about it. I am guilty of it quite often, I can see
it now. Dirty, potentially, drug addicts
are people I want to isolate myself from. I am afraid of them, judge them as
dropouts and move on to my secure, clean, civilised corner, often feeling
superior. The film shows us all another
side of the coin. This coin, in fact, has more than two sides, so this may not
be the best metaphor. What I want to say is that life is complex for all of us
and there are many facets to a person,
good and bad. I know it sound like an obvious truism, but this film helped me see another dimension of it. Drug dealers may
have warmth in themselves and a need to
help others. They may hurt profoundly as well, in fact they do as a part of
their dealings, but the film shows that they can do a lot of good on the side
as well. This calls for respect.
The
film shows a desperate yearning to love and be loved. Again an universal truth, beautifully and piercingly shown.
All together a very moving film which made me to reflect on some life issues
and made my understanding of them deeper.
I warmly recommend the film.
