a clear picture in a dark cinema

The last week was spent watching movies. Mostly.

Of course, Ella and Louis still needed to go out, and I had a day trip to Bamberg on business. That’s to say, life didn’t stop for the Filmfest München, but plenty was put on hold. There are not only plenty of film reviews left to write, but some of the things I’ve neglected are in desperate need of attention.

However, in the midst of rushing from one screening to the next, there was just enough time for daydreaming. The thoughts I come up with in those moments sometimes find their way into something fit for publication, but more often than not I turn here to this blog to leave such ideas.

And what might I have for you in that regard? Well, I’ve been pondering transcendence. There’s that moment that sometimes occurs when listening to music or watching sport when it’s almost as if time stands still. Every once in a while, you get that while watching a movie.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be great film in order to have such a moment, but it doesn’t hurt. Considering how many films I saw in the last week, statistically the likelihood is that I’d have a bit of transcendence.

For me, the most dramatic example came where I least expected it. I’ll be doing a proper review of the rather conventional movie Stuck in Love on another site, and if I remember to do so, I’ll even come back here and link to it. Yet what I want to say about it here may or may not fit in such a format.

One of the main characters, played by Greg Kinnear, is being told by everyone around him that he needs to let go emotionally of his ex wife. He’s still going by her house and looking in the windows – hoping beyond hope that she’ll come to her senses and return to him.

Personally, I didn’t relate to the specificities of the plot, but at the same time I’ve definitely held out for the impossible. Even when those who cared for me warned me about risky decisions I was making, I was hellbent on having it my way.

Whether it turned out well for the guy in the movie is immaterial (it did), but it was that moment where he finally let go of those expectations he’d been clutching onto so desperately that spoke to me. The look on his face when he realised the actions of others were truly beyond his control – that’s when I had one of those cliché aha moments.

Sometimes cinema is a wonderful distraction.

In this case, it provided a clear picture of how easily one can simply let go.