Monday, November 26, 2012

Movie Weekend

The holidays have begun.  Still no sign of  my favorite seasonal movies, "Christmas in Connecticut" and "The Bells of St. Mary's" on cable, so I opted for a trio of intensely provocative titles instead.  Perhaps I'll appreciate the fluffy stuff even deeper into the season.

"In a Better World" a Swedish film- yes with subtitles - stars one of the best young actors I have seen in a long, long time.  His convincing performance of a teen whose grief turns to anger with potentially fatal results is no less than riveting.  Not that bullying is ever excusable, but seeing it from this perspective helped me to understand why there is so much antagonism among kids today.  This poor guy was dealing with complex emotions brought on by circumstances he could not control.  His rage is understandable.

I followed that with an equally well done, albeit disturbing, version of "Lord of the Flies" the survival/dystopian democracy story.  Not much to say there since you all know the story.  Reading it is one thing, but it's tough to watch the fear and frustration of the boys swell into senseless quest for power.  For these boys, this isn't a game of "Survivor" but rather a fight for survival.

Sunday ended with a viewing of "The Passion of Ayn Rand."  Rand, of course if that enigmatic author of "The Fountainhead," and bearer of the name nobody  quite knows how to pronounce.  According to the film, I-An is correct.  Rand believed that the world should be experienced objectively leaving emotion, spiritually, and to a degree ethics, at the door.  When an objective decision turns emotional for Rand, and she fails to maintain a hold on her philosophy, life get real messy for her.  She falls in love with a man 25 years her junior; what started as a diversion supposedly to spark her creative juices, led a full our challenge to her core beliefs. 

That completed my weekend of anger and angst.  Now on to more cheerful endeavors!

What am I reading?  A fun play called Here We Sit.  It's all about theatre audiences.