Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
Extraordinary film exceedingly slow but fascinating to watch. In fact, you can’t seem to take your eyes off it while waiting for something to happen. To say Jeanne Dielman lives a life of deadly routine would perhaps give too much away. I loved the use of the static camera as she walked in and out of the frame turning lights on and off as she went from room to room. There is one moment of stark reality which brings one back to one’s senses and brings unity to the entire affair. An unusual film, but a must-see, for all film buffs.
Personally I have no bone to pick with graveyards, I take the air there willingly, perhaps more willingly than elsewhere, when take the air I must. Samuel Beckett, First Love
Well I’ve lost my equilibrium and my car keys and my pride, The tattoo parlor’s warm, and so I hustle there inside And the grinding off the buzz-saw, “What you want that thing to say?” I says, “Just don’t misspell her name, buddy, she’s the one that got awayBreathe in PeaceTattoos while you waitUniversal Sign Language
“Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. For this, he was chained to a rock and tortured for eternity.” “I am become death, the destroyer of worlds” These are two tag lines from Christopher Nolan’s excellent Bio-pic, Oppenheimer, which I saw yesterday. Perhaps the best and most important film made in the last 100 years That is to say, ever! Must see in IMAX! Highest quality, both for sound and visuals. It was like being on acid without the acid. The acting was superb. Cillian Murphy was excellent as Oppenheimer and Robert Downey Jr. gave perhaps the best performance of his career. One should never forget two things. There are warring nations on Earth right now that have nuclear weapons capable of destroying the world and wiping out civilization. And the other thing is The United States is the only country in the world to drop an atomic bomb on another country. The targets were cities populated by civilians. It is debatable whether this heinous act saved lives or ended the war. But one thing for sure is that tens of thousands of people were instantaneously incinerated and thousands more died of radiation poisoning. This is a heavy burden to carry as an American and as Oppenheimer himself said, we have blood on our hands. Go see this movie!
Taiwan was Japan’s first colony. It occupied Taiwan for 50 years until it had to hand it back to China after WWII. Then it broke away from China in 1949 and declared itself an independent republic. China has never recognized its independence and still considers Taiwan to be part of China today. The US has a special relationship with Taiwan. From 1954 to 1979, the United States was a partner with Taiwan in a mutual defense treaty. The United States remains one of the main supporters of Taiwan and, has continued selling arms and providing military training to the Armed Forces. This situation continues to be an issue for the People’s Republic of China, which considers US involvement disruptive to the stability of the region.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is the fourth Murakami novel that I have read. The others are Kafka on theShore, Norwegian Wood, and Hardboiled-Wonderland and the End of the World. I would be loath to say which one I liked the best. Probably Norwegian Wood is the greatest departure from the other three, but they all stand on their own and are all equally excellent in my view.
I love the way Murakami blends magical realism and naturalism into his novels and the way he sprinkles his writing with cultural references (mostly Western).
Wind-Up Bird is the chronicle of a man who first loses his cat and then loses his wife. It is partly a detective story as the main character searches for his cat and his missing wife. Along the way, we meet some fascinating characters and find ourselves at the bottom of a deep dark well contemplating the mysteries of the universe.
Some of the themes Murakami explores are Identity and journey to the self, polar opposites, the forgotten war, parallel universes, past and present; marriage and love, alienation, aloneness, and isolation; loyalty and trust, subconscious, and reality, and finally the power of fate.
This is a big long book and perhaps a little rambling, and at times incoherent, but it is pure Murakami and if you have a taste for his writing it is a joy to read.
Ghost Dog 