Anticipation

I just picked up Anne Rice's Christ the Lord: Road to Cana. Her first book on the life of Christ (Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt) caught me up: the story, set in Jesus' childhood, tells of Jesus' dawning awareness that he is God and that he has a mission. Excellent story, wonderfully told, amazingly, in the first person. This second volume imagines the last year of Jesus' "private" life including his baptism and ending with his miracle at the wedding in Cana. At least that's what the cover says - I'm not able to start into it just yet.

Checking out her website today, she says she is toying with the idea of returning to her vampire character Lestat and writing a story where he finds the savior he's always been looking for. My own sense in reading Interview with the Vampire was that Lestat is plainly looking for Jesus Christ - and that it makes perfect sense for Rice to have ultimately found Christ as the fruit of her search and the promise of all her longing. It's interesting to imagine what it might be like for her vampire "hero" to stumble across the transforming love of Christ as she's done such excellent and influential work in the vampire genre. But for now Rice works on her third volume in the Christ the Lord series, Christ the Lord: The Kingdom of Heaven", the focal point of which is apparently the raising of Lazarus.

All in good time.

Once

This is the kind of movie you never hear of until a friend comes up and asks if you've seen it. Then you find it, watch it, love it and pass the word yourself.

Once is an unconventional musical that chronicles a transformational week in the life of an angry, Dublin busker (Glenn Hansard of the Irish band Frames). He's a nameless Guy singing the pain of a relationship broken by betrayal and in the off hours fixing vacuums in his father's shop. His life opens up when a recently immigrated nameless Girl (Marketa Iglova) takes an interest in him, his music, and his vacuum fixing skills.

I am not a musician but I have always found musicians, especially singer-songwriters, fascinating. The brilliance of Once is in its understatement. What a treat to watch this story unfold through the intimate portrayal of musicians writing and singing together. The technique enables the characters to express their deepest feelings (as embodied in the sung lyrics and the playing of the music) without emoting or otherwise playing up the feeling of the song. They just play and realise they're a perfect fit for each other. The result is a growing ambiguity - though the songs were written about someone else, are they becoming an expression of their own developing relationship? It would be easy to believe so; the tagline of the film asks, "How often do you meet the right person?" The answer, of course, is the title of the film.

Guy and Girl make a great pair. Not only do they have onscreen chemistry, they recognise one anothers gifts and bring out the best in each other. Knowing their past heartbreak we yearn for their happiness but the film is not about a quick fix of happiness. Writer-director John Carney knows the human heart is not a vacuum cleaner. He wants to acknowledge all the realities of loneliness, hurt, hope and attraction, and privilege the long view to the temptation of the moment. Maybe we do only meet the right person once - but are we able to discern when that is? By what criteria can we? When Guy and Girl play in the closed music store, her on the borrowed piano, he on his guitar, and lift their voices to sing in perfect harmony, "Take this sinking boat and point it home, We've still got time," my spirit soars with theirs and I recognise two things: it'd be easy for them to find new love in the moment with each other and they're singing about something far different. They're singing the prodigal son, rising from his despair and imagining a return to a relationship once broken. That struck me as a wildly unique dramatic situation for a modern romantic musical and the film holds the tension throughout.

We may find great movies more than once each year, but they're rare enough that I'm confident this will stay on my top five films of 2008 list and you can bet I'll serve it up in a L'Abri film night slot. By the way, nameless Guy and Girl swear like Irish buskers (which is two grades below drunken sailor); even so there's so much truth, heart and beauty in this film, that we'd be cool to watch it with our kids. You can find this Irish import on DVD.

Elmore Leonard's Recipe for Royalties

1 New York Times Article
10 Rules of Writing
add
90 pages cardstock
Season with illustrations
Bind as a 1" thick hardcover
Sell as new

***

While the rules contained in Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing, are helpful they are also concise. They are so concise that at about five minutes in (or as I like to call it - the half way point) the reader must ask oneself, "Why have these few words been published in this massive tome?" The answers are themselves questions: Does someone hate trees? Does someone want to combat the ways of the sedentary writer with an unexpected opportunity to excercise their upper body? Is there some mystical message hidden in the white space of the pages? It is impossible to know precisely why. But I suspect a money grab. Because the book has the substance of a wikipedia article, which can be helpful and concise.

Second reason I think it's a money grab is, you know the blurb of copyright info that is usually right at the beginning of the book that tells you who published it where and when? That's not at the beginning of the book. It's hidden on one of the last pages. It hides the fact that this "book" was originally published as a single newspaper article. The title of the book is different than the title of the article and there's no mention on the covers of the book, or in the front of the book to let you know you might have already read it, or bought it for the price of a paper.

But, you might say, "Even if I already bought and read the newspaper article, that's not equal to buying a nice, hefty book that I can hold in my hands. "In fact, look here," you might say, as you point at the back cover of the book. "This is "THE INDISPENSIBLE GUIDE (AND GIFT) FOR EVERY READER AND WRITER". And who doesn't read and write?" you might conclude as you place the attractive tome where it can catch the eye of house guests.

To each his own, I say. Elmore Leonard writes with snap. His rules themselves are helpful and concise. If you are a reader or writer with an indispensible guide (or gift) shaped hole in your life, you may want to read the July 16, 2001 New York Times article available online here. Or, if you have $20 dollars and half as many minutes, you might want to read the book.

Once Upon a Time in India

Pop quiz. You have a stomach full of korma, a hankering for film and four hours in your hand. What do you do?

You watch Lagaan; a gem of a Bollywood film nominated for, and subsequently robbed of, the 2001 Oscar for best foreign film. It has won over 40 other international awards.

Imagine: It's 1893 in India. Last year there was no rain and the British ruled Provinces allowed their subjects to pay only half their tax. This year there is no rain yet, and the British demand double tax to make up for last year's shortfall. Doomed by the unpayable tax, the villagers face starvation. When Bhuvan (Amir Khan), our charming young hero leads his village to complain, the power mad British Captain (Paul Blackthrone) offers to forgive the tax on one condition - that Bhuvan field a team and beat the British army in a cricket match. Ignorant of how to play, and with none to play with him, Bhuvan cannot accept the offer - so the Captain sweetens it until it's not just an offer, but an irresistible, life changing dream. The final stakes: If Bhuvan wins, not just his village, but the whole province will be given three years without tax - enough grace to not only survive, but to throw off the yoke and flourish. But if Bhuvan loses, the province will suffer the devastation of triple tax. Reviled by his village and his countrymen, bouyed only by the faith of his mother and the admiration of Gauri (Gracie Singh), Bhuvan begins his three month journey to field and train a cricket team that can shatter the oppressive British rule. Along the way, he discovers that to be free of the British, his people must first be freed from the petty grievances, fears and caste taboos that have separated and marginalized his own people. As Bhuvan's hope, dream and courage spread, people find the conviction to look past their differences and take a stand on their common ground. Adding tension to the whole piece is the love triangle that develops as Bhuvan is drawn to the Englishwoman who has come to teach them the game.

Frankly - this is probably the most enjoyable film I have ever seen. It's an incredible story, with superb music (the lyrics translate into beautiful English poetry), excellent casting, direction, cinematography and with truly enchanting performances from Amir Khan and Gracie Singh as Bhuvan and Gauri; one of the most engaging screen couples I've ever rooted for.

So get thee some some korma (or whatever Indian cuisine you prefer) and four hours of couch time and watch this movie.

Yes, this movie is the better part of four hours long. But it doesn't feel like it.

Persepolis

I finally got around to reading Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel/coming of age memoir about growing up in Iran, Austria and back in Iran. With the film version coming soon (it took the Jury Prize at Cannes), a new version that collects both parts in one volume has been released. First off I enjoyed the comic, but it certainly didn't enthrall me. The honours given the film make me wonder if the story works better as an animated film than as a comic.

Why didn't I love it? On the large scale I don't think it ever became more than a personal memoir. Marjane recounts her life from age 10 to 14, when her parents, concerned for her safety in Iran, send her to Austria. After about four years in Austria she returns to Iran and the narrative continues for several more years. Obviously one gets an eye-opening look at what it was like to live in Iran in the 1980s and 1990s. It was terrible, both in terms of interior suppression and exterior warfare. It's interesting as far as following her around and hearing about her experiences and environments goes, but a number of her experiences are glossed over very quickly, too quickly for me to feel they'd been treated satisfactorily. Other scenes receive more detail but perhaps don't add enough to the story as a whole. Ultimately the story didn't coalesce into a great revelation, or moral truth beyond the rather lame and overused notion that one can only learn from their own mistakes. This personal lesson comes off rather trite considering the backdrop.

It can be difficult to identify with characters who make decisions we wouldn't. This was occasionally a struggle for me. I felt too much time was spent on the Austrian years; they have their moments, but I thought her experience of alienation could have been done more concisely and powerfully. And perhaps this is why it might work better as a film - there's certainly a good story here, but it's very episodic, unfolding in small bit after small bit. Many of these individual scenes work well but the whole might be better structured.

I like the art, which is simple and bold in black and white. I'm glad to have had some glimpse into a nation that is run by an Islamic regime. And I'm interested to see what they did with the movie.

Angel

Angel has invaded L'Abri. It began when Mark and Terri brought home copies of Season 1 and 2, found for only $15 at Walmart. We watched a couple episodes with them and it triggered Michelle and I to retrieve our Angel season 1 from storage so we could watch again. By the time we finished season 1 Mark was done with the first disk of season 2, so we began it and passed on our season 1 to Clarke and Julia.

Angel is a great show. Very thoughtful and at the same time very funny. The characters, who range from a vampire cursed with a soul that fills him with remorse for his past evils, to a once shallow rich girl who fled her small town when her parents lost everything, to an accident prone "rogue demon hunter" who failed his father and the council that trained him, and a street fighting vampire hunter whose mistakes led to his sister's death, all struggle to redeem themselves by doing what's right, here defined as "helping the helpless", no matter the personal cost. The conflict between the characters is great, as is the uber-enemy, Wolfram and Hart, a powerful law firm allied with Hell.

Even more drama arises from the fact that our heroes, so obviously flawed, sometimes let their weaknesses get the better of them. And more, the lawyers at the secretive Wolfram and Hart, experience doubt as new revelations of the companied evil become clear to them and they must decide if they want to move up the food chain or try and escape.

Angel is a "grown-up" spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The acting is strong, the scripts are superb and Angel as a character offers much more variety than Buffy. While Buffy is about a normal girl struggling to accept super-responsibility in the present, Angel is about trying to atone for past mistakes. While the Buffy writers make her struggles easy to identify with, I think it is even easier to identity with Angel, because responsibility has not been thrust upon him - he has chosen it in response to his remorse and regret. And since Angel is over two hundred years old we can be taken to story lines anywhere in the world during that time frame, which I kind of like. In both series, I am more interested in the supporting cast, the "normal" people who join the supernatural mission, daily risking their lives to help others come free of the darkness.

Six from the Circus

Once there was a circus that traveled from town to town putting on shows. They did not put on a show every night. Some nights it got dark while they were traveling and they would have to set up a camp in the middle of the countryside. This was not a problem because they had lots of tents. One night, as they were camped in the middle of a particularly dry and dusty desert, the Ringmaster spoke to them.

“I am going away,” he said, “by a road you cannot follow.”

“But who will tell us where to go?” said the Strongman.

“And lead us there?” said the Juggler.

“Who will take care of us?” said the Horseback Rider.

“And keep us together.” said the Knife Thrower.

The Mime was speechless.

“Who will finish training me?” said the guy who pretended to be a gorilla. He didn’t like pretending to be a gorilla. He wasn’t very good it at either. He was new and he hadn’t learned a real circus job yet so he would dress up in a gorilla suit and jump around while people booed for the next act to come on.

“You have many gifts,” said the Ringmaster. “They are not the same gifts, but they all are from me. After I am gone my Spirit will remain with you and you will learn more than I can teach you were I to stay behind.”

The circus performers were very sad. When they woke up the next morning the Ringmaster was gone. His tent was gone and where it had been was a brown box. Inside the box was a note and a jar.

The Strongman read the note aloud:

“It is a long journey to the next city and you will need to use your special gifts to make it there. Inside the jar are six pieces of paper. The names of your special gifts are written on the papers. Use your gifts wisely and for the good of all and together, you will be well.”

The Strongman reached into the jar and pulled out a piece of paper. He looked at it and it was blank. “Does this mean I have no special gift?” he thought to himself. He laid the paper face down and said, “My special gift is … Strength!” And everyone believed him because he was strong.

The Horseback Rider took a piece of paper. It was blank too. She didn’t want the others to think she had no special gift so she said, “My Special gift is Horseback Riding”.

The Juggler looked at his paper (also blank) and said “My special gift is juggling.” The Knife Thrower said her special gift was Throwing Knives, the Mime said nothing, but everyone knew his gift was Mime. They all set their papers face down. The guy who had to wear a gorilla suit took the last piece of paper from the jar.

“Great,” he said. “My paper’s blank.”

He put his paper down, face up. And everyone saw it was blank. And everyone felt bad.

“Wait,” said the Knife Thrower. “It’s not quite blank. There’s a very faint line.”

And there was. It went right across the piece of paper. She turned her own paper over and said, “Mine’s not quite blank either.” And it wasn’t. She had been too afraid that it was blank to notice the faint lines on her paper. She set it beside the other paper and the lines fit together. Emboldened by the honesty of the Knife Thrower, the other performers turned their papers over and when they fit them together, discovered that the faint lines made a picture.

“What is it?” said the Juggler. The Mime scratched his head.

“It’s a map to the next town,” said the Knife Thrower, for she could recognize the shape of the path they had taken in some of the lines of the picture. She pointed the direction they must go.

The Mime was overjoyed. He smiled and clapped the Knife Thrower on the back and hugged the guy who had to wear the gorilla suit. After the Strongman cooked a big breakfast for them and made sure their shoes were in good repair, they packed up their tents and continued the journey.

They came to a river. It wide and the water was very fast. Half of the group wanted to go upstream and look for a way to cross. Half of them wanted to go downstream and look for a way to cross. “No,” said the guy who had to wear a gorilla suit. “We need to cross here.” The others grumbled, but the Horseback Rider said “If we stay together we can make it across.” They all took hands and made a circle. And together, as they faced the water they watched it grow small and dry up. They walked through the mud to the other side.

The Mime was delighted and clapped everyone on the back. They could see the next town on the horizon, but it was late. They set up their tents to camp, and as they sat around the fire they practiced their acts. But when the guy got out his gorilla suit, the Juggler threw it in the fire. “I need a partner,” said the Juggler. And he began to teach him the way of the trade.

Each of the circus performers kept the piece of paper they had pulled from the jar. The next time they looked at it they were surprised to see that it wasn’t blank at all.

copyright Andre Harden 2007