The Reader
Directed by Stephen Daldry (who also directed Billy Elliot, The Hours)
Within the Oscar Nominated Best Films this year, THIS ONE should be the winner. I still don't understand the hype of Slumdog Millionaire, perhaps it will test positive for generating a stimulus to the economy (Thats what everything is about nowadays..right??) Anyway back to the point, the protagonist Micah(Ralph Fiennes) had an affair with an illiterate older womenHannah (Kate Winslet) when he was younger and she disappeared. Later during his study to become a young law student, he saw her agian in the courtroom where she was prosecuted for war crimes. Micah was ashamed of her and didn't even approached her during the trial, later he had the oppotunity to shine light on her trial but he chose not to because he was too cowardly to meet her again. Both their lives are intertwined and later micah the only one knowing her secret decided to sent tapes to prision to read to her. (Knowing that is her love is to read stories) Hannah has extreme hardship and basically she was sent to life imprisionment and had everything taken from her, due to her character's non-filtered simplicity, I believe tha and t she genuinely did not feel about the war crimes which she was responsible for as she believed in her convictions in completing the job task in which she was ordered to do. Eventho she was imprisioned , but she was not emotionally scarred. Whereas Micah ironically becoming a judge is deeply scarred from this incident, he could not commit to a realationship. While preached from his law school teacher, Micah still fails to do the right then and inevitibly suffers. I believe that Micah's love for Hannah is based on his guilt, he did love her deeply then but its his pride which causes him to make the mistake which irrevocably unables him to have emotional closure with their relationship.
Honestly I did not feel too bad for Hannah , as far as I was concerned she lived and was happy to have learnt to read, I did feel that Micah was such a weak individual eventhough his exterior was hard as metal. Some may find his love for Hannah very romantic but I just wonder if its actual love or is it just the idea of making amends and pityness. Perhaps that is the definition for some at times... And perhaps tragedy is the antidote to love..better than sex...
Favorite Quotation:
"What we feel isn't important. It's utterly unimportant. The only question is what we do."
Let the right one in
Directed by Tomas Alfredson
Another romance tragedy? I certainly think so... eventho the protagonist Oskar and Eli do end up together at the end. But it just feeeeeeeeeeeels sooooooooooooo wrong. These two protagonist end up giving up on humanity in the end and now THAT is creepy. I saw a one liner review on the DVD box saying best vampire movie this year! And I being a HUGE vampire style was thinking about gore underworld slash twilight type but boy was I wrong. The images were non violent not a lot of gore at all, probably only less than 3 minutes of gore scene all together in the movie but i was soooooooo scared that I forced myself to watch another movie before I went to bed. And what scared me the most was the characters themselves and their forbidden love. Did I mention that Oskar is the beat up whimp loner in school that has murder fascinations and ELI even more messed up is a casterated boy vampire? The pedafileness ,gay, violence of the movie is so disturbing it made me feel like the characters in "the reader" had a cruise. This movie is simply a must see, directed wonderfully, beautiful cinemaography, the fact that this movie made me get over the fact that the english was weirdly dubbed over, and people was wearing really tacky 80's eastern europe clothing throught it and I not only managed to sit through it but LOVED it says a whole lot. But trust me I won't be able to stomach a rewatch of this anytime soon (Its THAT F^%*&ed up and Disturbing) ..Perhaps after a year.
Eli: [standing outside the door] You have to invite me in. Oskar: What happens if I don't?
Oskar: What happens if you walk in anyway?
Oskar: [feels the air between himself and Eli] Is there something in the way?
Note to self: If have raising suspiscion that person is vampire...under no circumstance invite them in... phew...
Where's my bobopang to protect me when I need her..damn..
