Recently in film Category
Last night I went to a screening of the new Charlie Kaufman film, Synecdoche, New York
Like his prior work, its a bit strange, but also amusing. Originally conceived as a "horror film" for Sony, this is what Kaufman came up with. A story about a theater director so afraid of death that he is misses life and the good parts of it. I thought it was a fascinating film, and fit perfectly alongside the rest of Kaufman's work.
My friend went with me said "near the end, I just wanted it to be over already." Not because it wasn't an enjoyable movie, but just because it was getting long. What I just realized though, is perhaps this was a good thing. This is a film about living and dying after all. For some people at the end of life, you wish for it just to be over, the suffering of pain, loneliness, whatever. But for whatever reason they linger on, in pain, alone until finally the warm light embraces them.
My friend went with me said "near the end, I just wanted it to be over already." Not because it wasn't an enjoyable movie, but just because it was getting long. What I just realized though, is perhaps this was a good thing. This is a film about living and dying after all. For some people at the end of life, you wish for it just to be over, the suffering of pain, loneliness, whatever. But for whatever reason they linger on, in pain, alone until finally the warm light embraces them.
Last night I went to an advance screening of the movie Towelhead. The movie is directed and adapted by Alan Ball from the novel by Alicia Erian. The story is about a young Arab-American girl, coming of age during the time of the first Gulf War, in Texas.
The movie was pretty amazing. It was uncomfortable, funny, hopeful and disturbing at various times. I guess I shouldn't be that surprised coming from Alan Ball, who didn't shy away with uncomfortable topics in American Beauty or Six Feet Under. I was actually kinda bummed that I wasn't able to stick around for the Q & A session after the screening (it was late).
Its going to be interesting when this film is actually released. From looking at the official website for the movie, it looks like they are going to be doing a bunch of screenings around the country before its wider release. Of course the title of the movie is going to be controversial. The film makers (and original author) address this a bit on the website, which I quote beneath the cut. I encourage ya'll to see this movie when you can, its the best movie I've seen all summer.
