Getting an 'F' in the effin' subject called liFe

From a personal standpoint, our life, whether it is well-lived or not, is measured by how complicated it is. A simple one might be good as it gives you no worries, no stress. But a complicated one might be too burdensome to carry yet presents you with more opportunities for learning and growth. With that said, I think it’s clear that life being complicated is a good thing.

Yes. That’s what I have thought of after watching the film It’s Complicated. This movie starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Carrel chronicles the story of a divorced couple who have been leading separate lives for 10 years. The guy is married to a woman 25 years younger than he is while the woman stays single and happy with their 3 children.

But things change when their son graduates from the university. They are trapped in a situation where their love – physical…later emotional – for each other is rekindled. The whole thing is kept as a secret to their children, except for their son-in-law who has seen them checking at a hotel and kissing in the elevator. It gets complicated when the woman finds another man who happens to be her architect and when the man left his second wife for his first.

In the end, nobody ends up with anybody. The woman refuses to get back with her ex-husband while the man she has met also refuses to give his relationship with her a go because he thinks her marital affair with her husband is not really over.
Enough with the story… what I personally love about this film is its realistic attack. I mean it’s more possible for a couple to end up not being together. They may enjoy each other’s company for some time, but time will come that they say it’s quite impossible to bring back the old times. Most films would tackle this kind of story with a much happier ending like they start to be together again or something. For that, I love it because it deviates from what’s common.

Another thing that I want to commend is the fact that older actors such as the three main characters are able to pull off a good production about a theme that is so young and teeny in nature. I watch, though not often, romantic films, but when I saw this film this afternoon, I had the same feeling as when I watch a love story.

Going back to life’s complicated-ness. I always admire those who have the most intricate situations but still come out happy and content. They are the manifestations of faith and strength, to the very sense of these words. They might have given up, but they choose to continue and learn from the marks of their hardship.

At times, I can’t help but think whether I should be thankful or not for having a simple life. I always tell my friends and my students how boring my life is. Yes! If complications are to be our gauge, then I’m surely getting an F in the effin’ subject called LIFE… 

Inglourious Basterds

Ever since I watched the Hilary Swank starrer ‘Freedom Writers,’ I have started to like Holocaust movies. This was followed by ‘Life is Beautiful,’ ‘The Boy in Striped Pajamas,’ and other related films. Two days ago, I happened to watch a 2009 independent film ‘Inglourious Basterds.’ It’s not a Holocaust film, but I must say that the film hit me for because its like a reversed Holocaust.

This movie chronicles the story of Shosanna Dreyfus, a Jewish refugee who escaped death after she saw her family brutally killed by a Colonel. Years go by after her family’s demise, she appears as the owner of a theater where she meets a war hero whose life story is soon to come out in a movie. The young soldier becomes smitten by her beauty that he decides to show the premiere of his film at her cinema. Shosanna agrees to use her place as the venue not for the sake of the war hero but for the fatal plan she has conceived.

In the course of the story, the existence of a group of Jewish-American soldiers in the Nazi-occupied France who were notoriously feared for scalping and brutally killing Nazis is revealed. This group, led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), connives with Shosanna in plotting their massive attack against the Nazis. The plot is to wait for the Nazis to gather at the movie and lock them up at the latter part of the film showing. Then, burn them alive – a replica of what they have done to the Jews.

In the end, Shosanna dies with the Nazis in her cinema, but knowing that her plan of vengeance is carried out, she’s a victor.

The film is well-crafted; it’s divided into five chapters showing different but related scenes. The war scenes are not many, yet it appears awful when the scalping done by the Basterds is shown.

What I like about it is the development of the story… it is shown in an orderly fashion yet with a good twist… something that keeps you thinking what’s gonna happen next. And of course, knowing that this is a Quentin Tarantino film, who would never like it?