Film: When Harry Met Sally

The costumes

Most every scene everyone was very well dressed.  They didn't ham it up too much with the four seasons.  Billy looked great a number of times, particularly while eating hotodgs.  But Really Meg Showed a great number in almost every single scene.  She always had a different hat or bag, or her hair done just slightly differently, and it was just the kind of look that entertains without dialog or music, just long enough to keep you focused without getting you too far away from the story.  I think all of her looks could still work today, and that goes for other characters, too.  I've never been a huge fan of the blazer and blue jeans look, though.  Also, it was 103F here today, something like 39.5C, pretty much all of their clothes look like they inhabit a different planet than this one. 


The script

Well god damn if there weren't 30 scenes they just fucking nailed.  Watching TV together on the phone? Nice.  How about Their Friends Packing into a cab after a Double Date? Yes.  I can't remember how many times I chuckled, chortled.  They almost lost control of things with the montages and time jumps near the final third.  But they were just saving time for the dramatic conclusion, which played out perfectly, just enough drama and emotion.  Maybe the climax was a bit anticlimactic, actually, but maybe I've just seen those lines copied too many times. It is hard to tell, but it was good either way.

The acting

There were so many lines followed by cuts or moods.  The only one I can remember falling a bit short was the scene with Meg and her two friends at lunch when she tells them she broke up with long-term boyfriend.  She seemed so composed, and then completely lost.  It did not seem plausible, and furthermore it did not match her character, which is always held together. But that is really the only moment in 100 some minutes.  Occasionally Billy was shaky, but it wasn't at critical junctures.  In the store checking out the karaoke machine, he does this "froze" routine.  Shows up a bit later in a dramatic bedroom moment.  Seems a bit heavy handed to have him go blank like that and then have his best friend have trouble noticing.  Maybe that isn't an acting problem, but it was a small bump in an otherwise solid delivery.

The cinematography

Well shit if things weren't pretty fucking amazing all the time.  A few standouts:  Every scene with Meg, in Billy's apartment rolling out a carpet, the phone time movie watching scene, the part where Meg buys a Christmas Tree By Herself.  Seriously I think the film crew was in love with Meg.  They seemed to take extra care for shots of her.  Was she the only one in the film with Green Eyes?  Seemed like it to me. 


The test of time

Well fuck, if this isn't a cis gender heterosexual parade.  Monogamous, too.  Seems pretty compelling, but I dunno, I think things have changed a bit in terms of what poeple expect out of relatonships.  Partnerships?  I mean, I hope people aren't feeling too pressured to get married and have kids, just because? Clearly the people in this film have no money problems at all.  They seem very, very well to do.  I think most people have a lot less time and headspace to contemplate romance.  They don't ever talk about their other family members, for example.  No sick relatives, no need to visit distant places, no need to keep track of random people.  But yeah, these are all pretty minor things compared to Billy repeatedly calling Meg.  I'd just call that harrassment.  If she doesn't answer then he shouldn't keep calling.  It is a bit of a montage so it can be bit hard to tell the timespan.  Like, are all these calls in just a week, or are they spread out over time? It made me uncomfortable, and they treated it as romantic and that made me more uncomfortable.  Despite that, I still feel like they have a really good thing going.  Lots of understanding, history, ups and downs.  It is sugary and artificial, but it is the love version of that.  What a watch.

YT: Data Science in 6 Hours

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua-CiDNNj30

This one was long, and so I had difficulty finishing it.  It took me over a month to get to the end, and I watched the last third of it at 2x speed.

Well what did I learn?

There's too much to recap, and like I said I started so long ago, so I've forgotten plenty.

Maybe the most interesting tidbit was about a conference for telling stories with data.  I just wonder what the stories are.  Maybe I should look them up on youtube?

But hey, there were so many things in here that I had already heard of and some things I already have familiarity with.  I find that encouraging.

News: Russian Nuclear Explosion

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49432681

I guess something exploded and it was radioactive and people got injured and irradiated.  The injured were sent to a normal hospital, and nobody told the staff about the radioactive nature of the injured people.

Cool.

Film: Phantom Thread

Lot's of spoilers!

I must say that the premise of this movie is a bit thin, but that the impact of the story is not -- more on that later.  There seem to be really only two or three sets.  They are beautiful, and there is a sense of closeness, yet there is a sense that this story is closed and to be only understood by a few.  I think in that last part in particular the film struggles, the story is approachable by anyone, and is not as posh as it presents itself.  I don't know that I am totally convinced in the vanity of the leading man, the eternal bachelor -- this is what I mean about the premise being a bit thin.  He seems like any pompous character ever, successful and cocky, but that doesn't mean he isn't capable of love.  The female lead captivated me much more, or was I just a sucker like him?

But yes, the spoilers, the woman poisons the man so that she can take care of him.  The man seems to be aware! At least the second time she poisons him, he seems to know.  This part seems a bit fantastic to me.  Why would he allow himself to be poisoned?  Is it all a game, and one that he enjoys?  I can't quite decide if this is hacky film making, or actually thought provoking.  Certainly I'm not considering poisoning anyone, or gas lighting anyone.  That's what makes the poison so ridiculous... is that really what love needs?  I might accidentally gas-light someone in haste or in a state of mania, but, to do it because I think it will work... I find that a deeply uncomfortable proposition. 

YT: Does a language teacher need to be a language learner

https://youtu.be/3eeY__FqB2Q

classroom learners and polyglots are very different, so a classroom teacher doesn't need to be an avid language learner themself

YT: You don't have to be fluent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrYK6GmWL6g

a few thoughts thrown about:


each CEFR level takes twice as long to accomplish than the last

to get there you have to radically change your life circumstances to achieve those goals


language is a home

Film: Desert Hearts

Donna Deitch made this movie about two women falling in love.

I read just about that much before seeing this movie.  The theater was full of lesbians, which surprised me but shouldn't have.  A program was handed out before the screening.  I try not to read these kind of things, they build expectations or spoil key elements, or just color things in a way that makes the film less enjoyable.  But I did catch the phrase "pioneer of queer film." 

Well, the movie stands on its own as a love story.  The emotions and passion are raw and real and compelling, but the scenes themselves were a bit heavy handed.  It seemed to be ten minutes of lip smacking and nipples when they finally made love.

There were lots of one-liners and cuts.  The story struggled to fit into the time and the characters seemed to be interesting but left out.  The book felt loved at the expense of the show, but only at certain moments.  One of the best parts is that there were no asshole characters.  Nevada really looked like a place that anyone could escape to and find themselves.  There was a lot of real love among many other characters.  The environment was positive.

I enjoyed myself.

Film: Namesake

I watched this as part of a classic film series at the Paramount.

I had never heard of this director, Mira Nair, nor had I heard of this film.  I think I have fallen in love

Some of the most beautiful scenes came early in the film, as two soon-to-be immigrants to the USA get married in India. The dyed soles of their feet, the food, the decorations that continue on to their faces, they made me wonder if the black and white aesthetic of the weddings I have seen is not just austere garbaj.

It is an arranged wedding, and this comes up several times throughout the movie as the characters negotiate their new identities in a society that does not look kindly on arranged marriages.  They show great understanding in their lives as their children grow up in a different culture, as their ideas of selves change, and as death surprises everyone.  This wasn't another hacky reductive flag waver.

I'd like to watch more of these films, and perhaps read the book this was based on.