La de da 'tis always better late than never...

My Woody Allen experience has always been kinda wishy-washy. I was fascinated by him but never dug deep; saw him cracking hilarious jokes on TV, loved his movies without being alarmed that he Created them or just go mad with joy when he opened his mouth. All because I could not fathom a 53 year old man with a 17 year old daughter of his lover of 12 years. That was in the late 90s.

Today, I saw Woody Allen's Annie Hall and wanted to tear myself apart piece by piece for depriving myself of one of the best movies by perhaps one of the world's greatest director and actor living, dead or soon to be dead. He made this movie more than 30 years ago and it is as ground-breaking for me today as I am sure it was those times. I have never felt the most used and boring phrase 'tis better late than never as I felt today. Touche, touche, touche :)

The first 2 minutes of the movie - how can anyone not be fascinated?

Boy oh boy! This Is Planet B-Boy

(B-boying/breakdancing is a form of hip-hop dancing. It is also a term used for a B-boy or a B-girl who is devoted to hip-hop culture.)

What an amazing documentary about how people from different parts of the world can come together in one platform and communicate with what they know best - B-boying. Since it is a little over an hour long, the doc. focuses on five teams who ultimately are the finalists at the Battle of the Year 2005 in Germany.

(Source: IMDB)

Most of the teams do not even interact with each other till the final day. There is always high tension as the competition is stiff but as you see each other dance in the end they cannot help but respect each other's craft and style.
Along with the scenes of awe inspiring body movements, the doc. also weaves in personal stories of some of the dancers from all the five teams. So, as you get to know the personal lives of some of the dancers, you actually feel the emotions of the dancers as they give in all their passion and dreams to their movements. While most of them are poor, shunned by "society" or a failure by most "standards", I think all of them have lived their dreams - of doing what means most to them. They may not be b-boying forever but I cannot help but be sure of the fact that this art they imbibed have made them a better human being. To dance like they do, you need dedication, commitment and love and in the process they learn just that; to be dedicated, to be committed, and to love.

A joke: How would a b-boy react if I wished him "Break a leg!"? I know it's lame! :D

Surfwise - Not Your Average Surf Movie

I made a Big cup of hot piping tea to relieve my sore throat and jumped on the bed to watch Surfwise. Listed as one of the best movies of 2008, I thought wow, another surf movie/documentary, let's watch the waves! I was very gladly wrong. What I discovered is this beautiful flawed family that Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz, an MD from Stanford University engineered. He left the normal "comfortable" life and hit the road with his wife and had 8 sons and 1 daughter on the way to the beach. None of them attended school but grew up surfing and moving about in their 25 feet camper/home with a strict diet - no fat or sugar.

It is not a rosy picture that filmmaker Doug Pray paints. It is real emotions. The children are angry at their father for not giving them the "tools" and "skills" to thrive in the modern society. Their father agrees. The mid-80 year old father regrets that he did not give his children the choice that he had; a) leading a "decent" and "normal" life or b) leave the material world behind and go be one with the world/ocean - he chose b, his kids had no choice.
Irony is that they still wish that they had a choice but none of them would change a thing.

(Picture Source: Magpictures)
"Even a flawed family that sticks together is better than no family at all." - Joshua Paskowitz


This movie is thought-provoking and it moved me. Please watch - it is not just my obsessive love for the beach or surfing :)

Surfing

Surfing is ridiculous. Ridiculously wonderful! It is being one with the ocean - literally.

I saw The September Sessions - a 2002 surf movie/documentary-like featuring the world famous Kelly Slater and other surfers with Kelly and Rob Machado doing the voice overs. This was my second surf movie so I could pretty much follow what they were saying and in what context. Thicker Than Water, another film by Jack Johnson was my first surf movie. I'd really wished Thicker Than Water had subtitles with the names and background every time they showed the surfers riding the waves or at least periodically. However, I think what worked me was that both the movies were raw, confusing, original and awe-inspiring! It was non-commercial.

Look at Kelly go for the big one! (print screen picture from the movie :)

In the movie, the surfers talk about how sometimes we get a chance of being alone but don't really enjoy the solitude. We don't even realise that we are addicted to living with people around us. I could really relate to what they said next about being able to enjoy moments of solitude especially when you are in the water, enjoying the surrounding, the temperature of the water, the birds flying by, and just looking around and all these things coming together which refreshes you. These moments are priceless - calms everything.

Surfing takes my breath away. It is beyond my comprehension as to what the surfers must be feeling at that moment when they are just On the tide or when they go Through them. The closest I could get to surfing was body boarding at Palolem - and I still cannot forget the feeling of "riding" the waves. I cannot imagine what you'd really feel when you actually surf. It makes my heart skip.

I am a total ocean babe and cannot wait to experience the waves again :)

Not a fan of surfing? Click here. This which will change your mind.

A Little Waltz

This is a sequel to Claytonia Vices' Before Sunrise. Thank you for empowering me :D

Maybe he has 1000 Questions he wants to ask. She just had to know one Question: Did he show up in Vienna that December?

He in a way immortalized her in his book and the book IS about her. She still falters to accept openly that the book is about her.

It’s been 9 years since they last met. Their lives way battered. Well, not like they were living in the streets or caught in a battlefield. But yeah, their lives have been through reality; a far cry from the magical space they created in the beautiful streets of Vienna.

Before Sunset is the most romantically realistic, witty, and personal movie I have seen. Life does not often roll out as we plan or we simply hurt at times. Celine and Jesse has gone through these moments and I 'd like to believe in my own world that both of them always came back to this moment in time that they had in Vienna. It's the past that is secured with all their wishful thinking, youth and imaginations.
It is funny but sometimes memories are so strong that you actually feel you have cheated time.
You want to seize that.

Celine: So, I want to try something.
Jesse: What?
Celine: [Hugs him] I want to see if you stay together or if you dissolve into molecules.
Jesse: How am I doing?
Celine: Still here
Jesse: Good. I like being here.

The movie could have gone really, really bad if they'd kissed in the boat or simply showed how their differences suddenly melts away since they are "together". They have enormous baggage of their own; both of them are fighting their own demons. They talk and talk, pronounces philospohical stands but really never solve or repair any damage. They can at most think that as they have matured, they are better "equipped", not to repair the damage, but to accept it.

Jesse loves his wife but feels that he is actually running a nursery. Celine is involved with a war photographer who she meets occasionally. I'd like to think again that Celine is happy with him, but she's never been able to connect with anyone as much as she did with Jessie at that moment in time. Each time a relationship failed or felt something was amiss, both of them always used their moment in time as the yardstick.

Maybe it is a mirage. It was a day of wonder in Vienna and they didn't have to deal with the fights and misunderstanding that comes along with every relationship. It was the perfect day.
Lucky for them; they just had one day.

I hope Jesse catches his flight and not stay back for the little party at Celine's courtyard....not eat the delicious Garbanzo Bean Pasta that the woman is going to prepare...not dance with Celine among the lantern lit courtyard...not laugh at the French people making fun of him in French...I hope he does catch his flight!

But you know what, the heart wants him to stay.
:)