Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (film)

The Fellowship of the Ring is the first film of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I saw it once in theater after I have read the book but it didn't leave much trace. And now that I was compelled by some undefined urge to listen to the novels in audiobook format. I have decided to purchase the films to re-watch after reading the novels. Well first off, for some reason the films have stopped being available either on line or at the shops. This was puzzling but I didn't give up trying and they came back just as mysteriously after some weeks. I'm still listening to the first novel (They have just arrived to Loth Lorien) but after the Balrog scene I caved and decided to watch the film.

I liked it (and shed many tears at unexpected moments) and respect the adaptation but it is nowhere near as good as the book. Also the liberties it took somehow changed Frodo's character. I remember being really into Frodo the first time I read the books and then not so later on in the film. A colleague who loves the novels told me that people who read the book love Frodo best and the people who watch the film love Aragorn best. Now don't get me wrong, Aragorn is an important character and a very good one in the novel too but the film somehow managed to put him in the centre. In the book Frodo, despite being tempted a few times, mostly keep a clear mind and also is very brave, attacking the Chief Nazgul and getting wounded in the process. And he manages to ward off the ill effects of the would bravely until they reach Rivendell. In the film he gets hurt while shying away from the Nazgul and is saved by the nick of time. Also in the book he speak more intelligently and seems less helpless. I feel for Frodo who sacrifices all he has to save everyone. Aragorn is cool too but not as cool as the director makes him in the film. Now that I have watched after the mines of Moria, I'm very eager for the original versions.

P.S: I can't believe I have cried at Boromir's death scene. He is one of my least faves in the novels. 

Star Wars (6 Films)

STAR WARS is only included here since I want to remind myself that the "project" is still on going. I have firmly decided not to purchase any films or novels until I have watched / read at least half of what I already have. It is Tuesday and I still haven't purchased anything yet, so I'm still scoring.

Just for keeping it on somewhere my favorite is still The Empire Strikes back. And I definitely like the old films better. Least favorite is still The Phantom Menace (brrr,  I actually fell asleep during some of it this viewing and knowing what I have missed, didn't even think of rewinding). 

Secrets of a Summer Night

Secrets of a Summer Night is the first of Wallflowers series by Lisa Kleypas. I liked The Devil in Winter and this one was alright. I didn't like the intimate scenes though. Contrary to my usual reading behaviour I just wanted to skip them. I don't know why since I liked them well enough in Devil in Winter. Anyway it is maybe because the hero Mr. Simon Hunt was not my type. All in all I enjoyed this one and will seek the remaining two of Wallflower novels out. 

Black House

Photo credit: http://www.hancinema.net

Black House is a S.Korean horror film recommended to me by my Sister. Unfortunately I didn't like it as much as she did. I saw the twist right at the beginning and the actions of the main character made no sense to me. All the time I was yelling at him for being truly stupid. The script was not very good either. Many lines were cliché and boring. Not recommended. 

Black Book

Black Book yes the film viewing project is still going on. Despite numerous films from my sister and Star Wars week at Digiturk. I fully intend to watch all these dvds (some I have no idea what was thinking when buying them).

This one is a Dutch film from Paul Verhoeven, a director whose Hollywood films are usually interesting to me and whose aesthetics I tend to like.

This one tells the story of Rachel a Jewish girl living in Holland at the very end of the Second World War. First off we see her in the future alive and well at Israel teaching little children (married with two of her own). The film is a huge flashback. So throughout the adventures we know that she'll survive and to give the director due credit, it doesn't affect the suspense one bit. I was still captivated with the turns of events and appalled by the things our heroine needed to get through.

The first scenes of the flashback tells us that she was separated from her family due to safety reasons and is hiding with a religious family who wanted her to memorise the Bible in order to be able to eat at the table. When she was taking time off by the river she meets a guy on a boat and then planes bomb her house (not the Nazi planes but the Allies who try to fight the Nazis, although why would they want to bomb a farmhouse in the middle of wide fields I have no idea, I know though many stupid things were done on both sides during WWII). So she goes with that guy and hides in their farm. Then a plain clothes police officer comes there and tells them that they need to hide further since Germans investigated the bomb site and found Rachel's passport among the items and identified the boat of the young man there at the time of the bombing. He promises them safe passage to independent zones where many Jewish people meet. But she would need to take all her valuables with her. So she goes to the Notary and withdraws all her money and diamonds left there by her parents. Following the instructins they reach the meeting place with the young men and to her delighted surprise her parents and her brother (who had a surgery of appendicis) are there with all their valuables along with many other wealthy Jewish people. They put them all in a boat and then in the middle of the night the boat is attacked and everyone on it are killed. Rachel dives in the river and hides helplessly watching all her family and fellow pasengers are being murdered. But it was not enough, when she reached the shore she sees to her horror that the Nazi officer had ordered his men to take the bodies and remove all their valuables. He is very happy with tonight's work and is smoking contendedly. This actor was very successful. He was truly disgusting.

The next we see Rachel is when she is being smuggled inside a coffin acting as a corpse to a resistance center. There she is given a new name, Ellis, and is told to die her hair. She does and when asked how far she is willing to go to help the resistance she is willing to go all the way.

Well even the entry section of the film took this long to describe. You'll need to watch and see how Rachel survived many dangers. There is a whodunnit in the film too and I never saw the villain I admit. It was truly the last person I expected.

What I liked best about this film is that it didn't show as all Nazis as evil. And not all the resistance men were noble either. There was good action, lots of suspense, a great female lead and some nudity and violence. I recommend this one if you are interested in that historical period and/or into suspense films. 

Mavi Karanlık

Mavi Karanlık okuduğum üçüncü Vedat Türkali romanı (diğer ikisi Bir Gün Tek Başına ve Kayıp Romanlar). Bunu Kayıp Romanlar'dan daha çok sevdim. Bir Gün Tek Başına zaten en sevdiğim romanlardan biridir. Mavi Karanlık ona yakın bir roman. Bazı karakterler bana Bir Gün Tek Başına'dakileri anımsattı.

Mavi Karanlık Bodrum'da geçiyor. 80 ihtilalinin hemen öncesinde Psikoloji mezunu Nergis ve Fizikçi sevgilisi Korhan kente geliyorlar zira Korhan ölüm tehditleri almaktadır. Ancak Bodrum her ne kadar Ankara ve/veya İstanbul kadar tehlikeli olmasa da farklı tehditler vardır orada. Nergis'in anne ve babası boşanmış ve her ikisi de ayrı ayrı Bodrum'a gelmiştir. Annesi genç sevgilisi ile Babası ise fırsatını bulduğu kadınlarla birlikte olmaktadır. Baba Muhtar bana Kenan'ı anımsattı. Hayat gaileleri ve zevkleri (Muhtar bir tekne yaptırmakta ve finansal sıkıntılar çekmekte) inanışlarının ve vicdanının önüne geçmekte ve her ne kadar bu onu rahatsız etse de, herşeye rest çekmesine sebep olacak kadar olmamaktadır bir türlü.

Bu arada Bodrum'da Nergis'in eski sevgilisi (ilk aşkı) Özgür vardır. Maddi sıkıntısı olmayan bu genç adam resim, heykel yapmakta ancak daha çok kendi küçük teknesi ile zıpkın ile balık avlama, yüzme vs. gibi şeylerle gününü gün etmektedir.

Romanda Korhan çok zeki, bilgili ve düşüncelerini ve inanışlarını içselleştirmeyi başarmış bir karakter. Nergis'i çok seviyor ancak bu sevgiyi kendisi için önemli diğer şeylerin önüne geçirmiyor.

Özgür o şeytan tüyü var dediğimiz tiplerden. Hayatta amacı keyif ve macera olan, yakışıklı ve hayvansal bir çekiciliği olan bir adam.

Nergis çok karmaşık ve sorunlu bir karakter. Ailesi tarafından çok sevilmiş ancak üzerine düşülmemiş, genç yaşta olgunlaşmış ve bağımsız bir kadın. Ancak çelişkiler içerisinde. Sadece Korhan ve Özgür ve onların temsil ettikleri arasında değil, kendi istekleri ve beklentileri içerisinde de gelgitler yaşıyor.

Bayılıyorum Vedat Türkali'nin karakterlerinin içsel düşünce akışlarını okumaya. Zaten o yüzden bu romanları sinemaya aktarmak mümkün olamıyor. Bu romanın sonu uçuk bitti ama ben çok keyif aldım okurken. Tavsiye ederim. 

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a novel I wouldn't have chosen. It was there available on loan from my colleague, it was short and it was read by Stephen Fry. So I gave it a try. The setting was just not for me. Not really into futuristic galactic settings unless they are StarWars. The Brithis humour as usual suited me and the reading was very good, made me laugh out loud more than once. But although good (and it doesn't need my approval) this one is just not for me. 

Happiness for Sale

Photo credit:http://pride-of-korea.de

Happiness for Sale is the fourth film I chose over my sister's stash this weekend and once again I thought it was going to be slapstick comedy but no, once again I was crying rivers and worrying myself over the amount of fluids I have lost.

This one is the worst of the weekend bunch. But it was so melodramatic with all the cute kids and their problems and the silly teacher and the belligerent & reluctant shop owner all worked for me and tears tears tears later I have found myself that I enjoyed it (to my surprise). But I'll not recommend. 

Secretly, Greatly

Photo credit: https://jediprincess.wordpress.com

Secretly Greatly is not the type of film I go for. It is all good looking young actors and it didn't get very good reviews. But still under the spell of Gaksital I decided to check Park Ki Wong (Shunji in Gaksital) out in this film. Unfortunately his part was very small but he made the best out of it.

The story is that a North Korean super spy (Kim Su Hyun) works undercover in South Korea as the local idiot. He is suffering through everything for more than a year now since his mother is looked after by North Korean Government. Anyway as the power struggle continue in North Korea (upon the death of Kim Jong Il) two other spies from his division is sent to his area. And towards the film's end, their lives are in danger.

Ok first off this is not a very good film. But I liked it a lot since I'm a sucker for that type of S.Korean ombre going from slapstick comedy to heavy melodrama as the film progresses. I don't get Kim Su Hyun's popularity but he did fine with the role and I was crying rivers by the end (Yeah this weekend ended up being a crying weekend)

Late Blossom

Photo credit: http://www.travelonshoestring.com

Late Blossom yeah after I have tired myself out from all the crying over Architecture 101, I decided to give this one a try without knowing anything about it. To be honest I thought it was going to be an ero comedy or something. Oh I was wrong. This one is a romantic melodrama but with senior citiziens. It produced even more tears and by the time it was finished (even I was not naive enough to expect a happy ending) I was dehydrated. This one is an out and out melo and the Korean actors are all so good and everything was so sad. Approach only if you like melodramas otherwise it is not for you. 

Architecture 101

Photo credit: https://noisesfromthecloset.wordpress.com

Spoilers! 

Architecture 101 is a South Korean romantic drama. I have first watched it on a flight and this weekend watched it again and I liked it even better this second viewing. It tells the story of a love that stayed mutually one sided due to destiny working against them I guess. They met at the university both taking Architecture 101 he because he is going to be an achitect and she because she needs to fill her credit (she is a music student). They both live in the same area and he falls immediately for her but she takes her time and loves him as she gets to know him better. They both cannot admit their feelings out loud. He is too shy and insecure and she is a complicated person. And when she is ready to spill the beans it is too late.

This story is intermingled with their next meeting as adults. She recently divorced and he is engaged to be married. She wanted to renovate her house in Jeju island to take her father from the hospital back there to convalesence. And she wants him to do it.

I shed tears and tears and tears. In fact I started crying right at the beginning now that I know what will happen in the end. It is not a happy ending but a bitter sweet one and I loved this couple and wanted them to end up together but it didn't happen. But still I love this film to bits.  Highly recommended regardless of genre preferences.

London Boulevard

London Boulevard is one film that made a victim of the bargain bin. I don't like Colin Farrel (he is a good actor, I just don't like him) and I don't like Keira Knightley. I love Ray Winstone but his part in this is one he can do in his sleep. Same goes for David Thewlis and Anna Friel. The one who surprised me was Ben Chaplin. He was so good in it. Anyway the director is William Monahan who apparently wrote The Departed (more like adapted it from the original script). The film is not bad but a bit bland and the editing didn't suit whatever he was trying to say. I liked the ending (not a happy one) but all in all this one is not recommended unless you like the leads.

The Goldfinch

The Goldfinch deserves all the accolades and the Pulitzer it got. Fantastic read and to me a masterpiece.

A nice thing for me as a reader was that I have been to three of three cities in the novel and this allowed me, I think to get absorbed in it even deeper. Thank God for literature.

Ip Man

Ip Man is Bruce Lee's wushu teacher and for some reason people wanted to make film about him at some point at the same time. One such film is The Grand Master directed by my all time fave Wong Kar Wai and I loved it to bits. It was every bit as emotional as his previous films but there was good action in it too. This one is the "other one". I have stayed away from this one for a long time since I don't care for Donnie Yen.
The whole dislike started when I watched an interview of him being all cocky and implying that Jet Li was reluctant to fight with him (apparently there were two sets of fight props one light one heavy and when asked to choose Jet Li chose the light-easy- ones.) because Donnie is all that. Anyway this dislike was not helped that the man neither has charisma nor acting skill (as opposed to Jet who has both - heh can you tell I love Jet Li?). And despite the fact that he is a good martial actor and an even better action coreographer, I avoided the films he starred in (a mercifully short list).  Ip Man also was away because I wanted to watch WKW version first and then even after I have read all the praises heaped on it, I stayed away, disliking Donnie.

Now that my tastes are changing again (yeah I even like Scarlett Johanson and Christian Bale now) I wanted to give this one a try and I'm so glad that I did.

First off this one is directed by Wilson Yip, a competent HK director whose films I usually like. Next, the action choreographer is Sammo Hung (yet another guy I like better behind the camera than in the front of) whose close up fight scene choreographies are very very good.

This film is not an exception. I loved the fight scenes which looked real and only minimally wired. I took great pleasure watching almost all of them. My favorite being the northern martial art practitioner wanting to beat Ip Man and getting his lesson by being beaten with a feather duster in the end of the fight.

Donnie is not a good actor in this film but at least he could emote some parts and this performance is the best I have seen him since OUATIC 2 where he was the villain.

Ip Man was a rich guy until the Japanese Invasion (so soon after Gaksital, I'm reminded Japanese imperialist crimes once again, I know that not all the Japanese were evil at that time but I don't blame the film makers showing them as such) where the Japanese army confiscated his mansion and goods. He didn't think making a profit from martial arts and did menial work to support his family (these were the same in WKW's film too so I assume most factual parts of Mr.Ip's life story on film).

And there was a certain kind of gravitas in the fights that usually lacks in Hong Kong films which are quick and frenetic. I loved it and will probably watch it again despite Donnie.

The Cabin In The Woods

The Cabin in the Woods is a horror film with a twist. I have waited too long to watch it to leave some sort of impression on me but at least I have not fallen asleep. And I liked the kids in this one. No one was annoying or stupid (and when they were there was a good explanation on why they acted this way) Recommended I suppose but not a must see or anything.

The Stand

The Stand is one of the most well liked novels of Stephen King. I read it in Turkish ages ago and the only thing I properly remembered from it were Mother Abigail and her house.

It ended to be a good ride and it was properly exciting, scary, horrible and sad. It is a good novel and probably one of the few, horrible sickness, everyone dies and the remaining survivors try to go on type of book that I actually enjoyed. Good vs. evil always works for me regardless of the setting. 

Gaksital

Gaksital is a South Korean TV drama series I have been wanting to watch (because it seemed so full of angst) for a long time but couldn't find a dvd for purchase. And now that I have watched all 28 glorious episodes of it I can say that I was right. It was full of angst, melodrama, bromance, romance and action and intrigue. And a bit of a comedy (but as S.Korean tradition not towards the end). So everything but the kitchen sink and I loved it. This time I'll try to write about it in the way of characters. Lots and lots of spoilers ahead.

Photo credit: http://kdramapedia.blogspot.com.tr

This is our hero wearing the Gaksital (Korean bridal mask) acted by Joo Won, and he is also called Gaksital when wearing the mask. This hero has many identities and names so normally

Photo credit: http://dramahaven.com/

He looks like this and is called Lee Kang to. His father has passed away when he was young and he worked hard as a rickshaw puller to put his elder brother through University. Also he works for the Japanese Police during Japanese occupied Korea.

Photo credit: http://www.ohkpop.com

He doesn't have any emotional or ideological values. He took a shot in being the best he can, earn money, do a job he likes and does well and is loyal to the Japanese who feed him. Partly because in his pragmatic view there is not a better life for a Korean at the time and maybe he wanted to help out to his mother and brother who acts like he is mentally challenged (after torture at the hands of Japanese police) but is actually Gaksital who helps out opressed Korean citiziens but has the ultimate agenda to kill the men who betrayed their father (who was given the task to take King and Queen out of the country but the royals were killed and he had to escape to China and on the road he was assasinated by a secret organisation who he has refuses to be a part of). This hyung, while being sad that his kid brother is pro Japanese and actually catches freedom fighters and hunts down Gaksital, does not share him his burdens and one day gets killed by Kang to who only knows him as Gaksital. And he was trying to avenge the murder of their mother at the time too. Anyway Kang to is actually Lee Young and at his childhood he has met and a loved a young girl called Pun Yi who mother has died and she was looking for her father in China so joined their family who was running away from Korea to China at the time.

Of course it was not easy for Kang to to become a policeman while being a Korean. His best friend and helper is a Japanese man who is pro Korean and a very nice guy who is called Kimura Shunji acted very nicely by Park Ki Woong,

Who was like this at the beginning

Photo credit: http://usansori1015.blogspot.com.tr/

And slowly turned psycho as the show progressed and turned into this

Photo credit: http://forums.soompi.com/

Kimura Shunji is the other side of the coin. Our villain of Greek tragedy proportions.

One of the things I like best in a story is the choices the characters make and how they end up based on these choices.

Kang to had a hard life. He not only had to perform hard physical labour at a young age but also the brother he invested in turned out to be mentally challenged and his mother who of course loves Kang to but nevertheless is not happy with his pro Japanese actions. He had no peace at home. And he finds out on the same day that the criminal he finally caught and shot is his own brother who was only faking stupidity and was actually after revenge, and he dies in his arms and right after this major tragedy he finds out his mother's corpse and deducts that he killed his own brother while his own brother was trying to avenge their mother's murder.

Anyway at first he goes berserk and kills his mother's murderer (who happens to be Shunji's elder brother) and then takes on the task of revenge. But along the way he finds out that the Korean independence has a valid claim and starts to work for the resistance, defending the ones who cannot defend themselves, trying to protect people from Japanese agression.

Shunji also was not a happy child. His father distant, his brother a facist psychopath he felt lonely and unloved. Nobody actually paid much attention to him. He is a gentle soul who liked to teach and put his rather remarkable intelligence for the benefit of children and people close to him. However when his brother is killed in front of him (by Gaksital) the weakness in his character emerged. He turned to the dark side torturing and killing people, alianeting the friends who once loved and respected him.

While Kang to's sufferings turned him good, Shunji's sufferings turned him bad. They both love the same woman who also has more than one name Pun Yi and Mok Dan and Esther

 Photo credit: http://adooramaqueen.tumblr.com

She actually is the daughter of a famous resistance fighter and she is also a valuable member of the resistance. She is Kang to's first love but neither recognise each other as grown ups (there is a dagger which Kang to gave to Pun Yi and that is how they knew who is who). Shunji knew her as Esther (her catholic name) when she worked as a nurse and helped his nanny get treated.
Of course Esther loves her first love and Gaksital (who she thinks is her first love) and hates Kang to in the first episodes but loves him fiercely and with a good brain in her head after he finds out everything about him. Mok Dan's mother died while they are trying to escape from Korea to find Dad in China (since he is a resistance fighter Mok Dan saw her mother often tortured by the Japanese police to try to learn his whereabouts), the only time she was a little bit happy with Kang to ended up they being attacked and torn apart (Kang to separated from her in order to divert the soldiers' attention away from her and save her). Later her father and she were always apart and she is officially and emotionally adopted by incognito resistance figthters. Growing up here and there hiding away and in fear. And then her dad dies running away from Japanese (it was a very touching scene and I got most of my cries from Damsari, Mok Dan's dad) and still she didn't turn evil. And then the poor thing died on her wedding day. I'm still tearful about it.

We have another lady called Ueno Rie

Photo credit: http://sweetmissfifi.blogspot.com.tr

Her family died when she was 9 years old and she had to be a Gisaeng (a high level prostitute) and then later when she refused to serve an old Japanese man since it was the her father's death day, she was almost killed. She is first saved by Kang to (then working for Japanese police in earnest) and then the Japanese man took her with him to Japan and adopted her. This part is very creepy since I think there was a sexual relation between them but she called her father and he introduced her to everyone as his daughter. Anyway she is in love with Kang to but alas that could never be for a lot of reasons. She is a survivor this one, a logical, calculating woman who likes power above anything else but in the end just when I thought she was going to die (in the hands of either Shunji or the old man) she actually managed to get out of that life and had a chance to build a new life for herself. She also released the poor bodyguard who was in love with her and wanted to come with her but she said it is not very nice to love and constantly be with someone who doesn't and will not love him back. I thought that was a good unselfish start to her new life. 

In the end Shunji committed suicide and Kang to continued to be an active part of resistance movement. 

Now this show was a nationalistic show. All the Japanese were either bad or stupid or both. The not so nationalist Koreans either saw the light in the end or died horrible deaths. I'm not nationalistic but I hate facsism and am a child of a country who actually fought and won against invaders. So it was not possible for me not to feel sympathetic towards our resistance fighters. 

All in all this show is gold and I am very glad I watched it. 

Edit : And I loved the soundtrack and listened to it while writing this post. 

Jupiter Ascending

Jupiter Ascending I wanted to watch this one because I like Mila Kunis and Chaning Tatum (oddly he is not sexually hot to me but more like a guy I want to hang out with and chat over a beer) and well, it was not a good film at all. There was not enough world building, not enough character building, not enough story to make one feel (I have shed a couple of tears towards the end to the horror of my sister who hated the film) but I was entertained. I wouldn't want to watch it again though. 

The Kid With A Bike

The Kid With a Bike is something I chose on a whim. I have only heard good things about films of  Fréres Dardenne and I wanted to give one a try. This was on the discounted dvds and it looked nice but for some reason I kept pushing it aside on the to be watched shelf in favor for romantic, horror or action films. I only gave it a try yesterday because I was tired from my urban hike (unfortunately it is the only option for me) and wanted something short.

And a good thing I did since this film turned out to be a gem. Great story telling, acting (I have watched the female lead before in other films though I don't remember which ones and I know she is good but the kid probably is either an anomaly (such as Dakota Fanning) or the directors are just this good. Anyway the story is of Cyrill, whose father has put him at a children's home and told him he'll take him a month later. But he doesn't and he can't reach him. He also wants his bike which he left to his father's care in their flat. He tries to find his father and also get his bike back.

Cyrill is a good kid. Smart, brave and resourceful but shit happens and he finds out that his father has left with no forwarding address and his bike is also gone. Tyring to escape from his caretakers he latches on to a random woman but they pry him away. Later this kind lady locates his bike and brings it to him to the orphanage. He doesn't believe that his father has sold it when she told him she had to buy it back. But he asks the woman to take him out on the weekends and she agrees. So his quest to locate his father begins but to a bitter end because he doesn't want him and has already started a new life in another town.

The story is told in a matter of fact way that brought tears to my eyes. I felt for Cyrill and liked the lady who sees him for what he is and tries to prevent him from going bad. And in the end just when I thought SPOILER everything would be awful, we get to see a happy ending, as much as it can be happy for the little guy.

All in all this was yet another good one in the viewing project and I'll try to watch more films from these directors.

To The Wonder

To The Wonder dvd was chosen because I like Ben Affleck, I like Rachel McAdams and I like romantic films. This is the first Terence Malick film I have seen and now I understand what the big deal about this guy is.

First off this is a different film. A different type of storytelling that worked for me. Now there are films where everything is a bit music video with lots of visuals showing the leads (especially the female lead) doing cute and fun stuff.
This film is like that but in the best way possible. Now there are hardly any dialogues, probably less than ten, there is some multi language voice over and some music too but as you watch the film you realise that all one does not really need that much dialogue (and this is coming from someone who loves talky films), or music or voice over to tell a story. If one is good that is and Mr.Malick is good.

The cast was also very very good but then again I realise that a good director usually knows how to make his actors look as if they are great actors.

The leads of the story are a woman and a man. They meet in Paris and travel a bit (beautiful shots of a castle or probably a monastery since there was a cloister) most definitely in love. Some of the shots are taken from the man's camera but mostly we witness their happines. Then we see that the woman has a daughter from her first husband and the child lives with her. The man likes the kid and asks them both to move to USA with him. He is doing some kind of environmental related work (I think he assesses projects, acts as experts on environmental law suits, taking samples from polluted areas). Now mid USA is not Paris and despite loving each other and being generally happy the women and the child are clearly having adjustment problems. The man is also not as enamoured as them as the first. The film was so good in depicting especially this part in a relationship, where that magical shine wears off and the person next to you becomes somehow annoying from time to time. Also the woman is catholic and there is a priest and we get to see him doing his job.

Anyway the woman and the girl goes back to their own country when the woman's visa expires and the man starts a relationship with another woman. This time an American in the same area who owns a ranch with horses. They have a good time but suddenly he hears from his old lover and it appears she is in a bad situation in Paris. Her daughter is now living with her dad, she doesn't have a job and wants to come back to USA (even considering fake marriage to get a green card). And the man dumps the current one and agrees to a fake marriage with his first girlfriend. They get married but do not sleep together but of course then they start to sleep together and also get married for real at a church.

But the original problems were not limited to the existence of a child from another man. Mid USA is still boring. And the woman has a friend who advises her to dump the man and move on to a more free place (and she is trying to be a nice friend and I have been there and gave not so good advice to friends with good intentions) but the woman for some reason, chooses to fuck another guy instead. She regrets her decision and comes clean with her husband who reacts badly at first, dumping her at the side of the road. But there was a problem with her productive organs due to what she used for birth control (a spiral I think) and they take it out and she was a ill for a little while but will be able to have kids again.
And this part was not really clear to me since there was a kid all of a sudden (I'm guessing she got pregnant from her having sex with the other guy) and the man was having troubles accepting all this. The main thing was that he was not able to understand how she doesn't seem to want him as much as before. How she can love him so little as to have sex with another man? He discusses this with the priest (we only see him utter a sentence) and then we see the woman leaving at the airport saying goodbye to the man and it is not an angry goodbye for either of them.

God I really had a lot to say about this one. I liked it that it was vague at places and completely clear on the important parts. I loved the visuals, and not only they looked beautiful (this is one of those films where you can pretty much freeze any second of it and hang in on your wall) but also filled with emotions. At least I was as I watched them. It reminded me a bit of Wong Kar Wai's films.

I don't understand why no one likes Ben Affleck. He is a good actor, also a good looking man. I loved him in this. Olga Kuryenko suprised me with an amazing performance since I like her a lot but never thought of her as a good actress. And Rached McAdams was really good too at a smaller part. Javier Bardem as the priest, once again gave a top notch performance but I can't seem to like this man. Don't know why but I can't.

This film is one of those that is not for everyone. It is a different way of story telling but now I think I'll check more films from this director out.

True Blood Season 6

True Blood Season 6 didn't start well. In fact I was feeling pretty fed up towards the end but Episode 8 and 9 both grabbed my heart and for some reason, just as I was on the verge of giving these up, I started to get excited for each episode again.

As usual the season ended in the middle of an exciting scene and I now feel like watching season 7 (the final season) as soon as possible which will probably be months away.

I just can't imagine beautiful Eric burned to a char.