this week so far

[floatingleaf]

Once again, my cinematic intuition has been proven infallible. I picked a movie almost at random, and it turned out mind-blowing. I was actually on the verge of skipping it altogether, since it was raining when I went out to the grocery store this morning, and the prospect of traipsing around downtown in cold, wet weather didn't sound too appealing. But I already had the ticket, so I decided to brave the elements.;) Btw, the rain soon dwindled down to a mild drizzle, and by the time I walked out of the theater, the skies had cleared and it got a bit warmer, too. So not a bad outing at all.

It's Hungarian (original title A Nagy Fuzet), and the blurb in the festival program calls it an "atmospheric WWII thriller". Well, it certainly IS atmospheric. Very dark and disturbing, too, though not so much in imagery; the interesting thing about it is that it's very beautifully filmed, and a lot of the images are actually quite captivating; the dark & twisted stuff happens mostly "between the lines", through implication. Which is what I absolutely love; I think it's more powerful, more effective that way than having all the blood and gore splattered in your face all the time. Besides, there are hundreds of films that show the horrors of war in graphic detail. This one shows the subtle and chilling psychological metamorphosis of two young boys (13-year-old twins) learning to survive on their own in a war-torn countryside. Dumped by their parents at the doorstep of a bitter, harsh grandmother whom they'd never met, they are very much left to figure things out by themselves - with astonishing results. I am always fascinated by the process of growing up, by how children learn "the ways of the world" from observing the adults around them. How the adults in question are often unaware of the profound impact of their own actions upon young, impressionable minds. I am also fascinated by twins; the almost uncanny similarity between two people, the unquestionable and unbreakable bond they always seem to share. It's like living with your own mirror image... a constant source of comfort, but also a weakness, because the threat of separation outweighs all other conceivable dangers posed by the outside world. Anyway... the boys in the film are unforgettable; they're beautiful and withdrawn and very unsettling with their smooth poker faces and brooding dark eyes. They do some amazing acting with very little dialog, and you get the distinct feeling of still waters running way too deep... You want to know what sort of men they're going to become when they grow up... and yet you don't. Because if they learned anything, it's that nobody cares, and they have no-one to trust except each other. And that sometimes to survive is to let go of everything that matters, or makes life worth living. Yet survive you must. It is the ultimate imperative. Feelings and emotions are a burden if they get in the way. A truly chilling masterpiece, that one.

In other news, I am happy to report that the heating in my building was FINALLY turned on at around 6 a.m. this morning. I'd been having a bit of a crisis for the past few days, because I really, REALLY detest feeling cold all the time. Last night was particularly bad. I don't know why they always wait for the outside temperature to drop down to 50F before they deign to turn on the heat... but anyway. It's on now, and it's doing a hell of a lot to improve my mood.:) Oh, and my period is over already. It did start on Monday night, so I went to bed early - and I did feel crappy on Tuesday morning, but somehow I dragged myself to work. It could have been worse, I guess...

Another thing that improved my mood last night was a phone call from a Very Cool Person. The same cool person, in fact, with whom I've been exchanging awesome fandom-related emails for the past few months. It's always a Big Event in my little world when an online friend becomes a "real life" friend who actually calls you on the phone. It's happened a few times so far... but it's never lost the air of slightly incredulous wonder, LOL. See, I don't connect with people that easily, and in many cases, I actually prefer to keep the acquaintance "virtual", even if the person doesn't live across the ocean. Anyway, I'm hardly ever the first one to suggest exchanging phone numbers - but this time I've been kind of wondering if perhaps I should... and then - lo and behold - she beat me to it.;) I have to say that discussing fanfic over the phone still feels sort of unreal; but it's awesome nonetheless.:) Those 45 minutes certainly went by very quickly...:D

And now, I need to catch up on sleep. I was either too excited or too cold last night to manage more than about 5 hours, and as a result I've been nursing a headache. I know I'm behind on comments, but I'll get there. Hopefully after I return from my next movie trip tomorrow...

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I think it was a co-production between Hungary, Austria & possibly other countries, and it's won some international awards; so it should be widely available...