films – Page 5 – hannah ananas

Twilight in Vienna

When I was living in Vienna, there was one night where I was walking down the street, heading home (likely from school), and I noticed a girl walking near me. I originally tagged her for an Austrian, but quickly altered the idea, when I noticed her looking around, as if somewhat lost. Now, I don’t recall if I offered her help, or if she asked me (though I think she asked me, and I had just been wondering whether to offer her help), but it came out that she was looking for a specific spot that was supposedly somewhere nearby, but that she couldn’t seem to find.

I had no idea what place she meant, of course, because I only lived in the neighborhood newly, and smartphones weren’t quite standard in life yet, so, even though we both had local numbers and phones, they did us no service on finding this place. We looked at my paper map, yet couldn’t find her place on it, and so that didn’t help us either. So, I told her that I only just lived near the end of this street on which we were standing, so she could come over, and we could just look up the place online at my apartment.

Naturally, she was rather surprised, but rather easily acquiesced – our attitudes and general vibes got on well enough (otherwise, I wouldn’t have offered). So we chatted as we walked, and hung out briefly in my room as she did her research and found her place, and became Facebook friends before she headed off on her way again.

A few months later, the Part 2 of the final Twilight Saga films was released in Austria. I discovered this fact somewhat suddenly one night, and quickly looked up the film’s showing times for that night. Now, I am in no way all lovey-dovey with these films. I kind of find them a bit terrible, actually, but I thoroughly enjoyed the storytelling aspect of the books, as well as the excitement and goofiness and creativity within the story. And so, I tolerated the movies for the fun of seeing a visual interpretation of these stories. But, upon moving to Vienna, I discovered a new value to the films. Our lending library at my campus had a copy of Twilight, the first film. English and German language tracks and subtitles were available on it, and I took full advantage of them all, once I discovered how useful the language used in the movie was to my daily life – they’re young adults hanging around with friends and family, and so was I! So, after seeing the film a million times with German dubbing, Inhad developed a certain fondness for it, a certain bond with it.

Therefore, I jumped at the opportunity at closing out the series with a German version on the film, and on the big screen, of course, as I had done for free with our movie nights at my college in the US for he other films in the series. It was just a perfect ending! So, I found the movie playing nearby in just about 30 minutes. I wanted company, though. I somehow had this friend come to mind, and shot her a message. She, too, took to the idea, and we both rushed out the door to meet our front of this theatre in 20 minutes’ time.

I worried that I wouldn’t recognize her, but we found each other quite easily at the theatre. We were delighted and excited about our film all the way through, and even had our own jokes about it afterward, as we headed to her place for some tea and hanging out. I’ll always remember when she stopped as she turned to me with an earnest expression of concern on her face, and said to me, “Hannah, ich will dir etwas zeigen,” and, after a pause, we both burst out laughing. We were just too good at re-enacting that final scene of the film, I mean it. 😛 I later told my roommate about the film, and she taught me the phrase unfreiwillig lustig, which means “unintentionally funny”.

This is a favored memory of mine. 🙂
Post-a-day 2017

Across the Universe

A few years ago (and by “a few”, I actually mean ten, because I just looked it up, and it was October of 2007), the film Across the Universe was released. I was originally a bit skeptical, yet also excited. All I knew was that it was a film that used music from the Beatles, in order to tell a story of some sort. While talking about it with my cousin Jared one night, he informed me that the music was not being performed by the Beatles, but by new people. That is, the music was being re-done in order to be used in the film. In a world with loads of terrible song re-makes (think of the stars’ versions of classic songs found during the credits of films [especially Disney films]), I could only expect disappointment. Many a people had already created terrible versions of good songs. What kind of disgrace would come to the names of these fabulous Beatles songs? I was distraught. Why ruin something so good?

But then,… but then… my cousin said to me, “Hannah. They’re actually good.” What? How could that be? I mean, this is the Beatles we’re talking about here. How can someone cover the Beatles and not have it be far worse than the original? Jared had been skeptical at first, as well. But he had the earliest release of the soundtrack now, and he had been listening to it. It was good, he assured me.

So, standing in the living room, we pulled up the music (I think it was on his iPod, actually). I was terrified. And then, when Jim Sturgess lulled out from a silent background, “Close your eyes, and I’ll kiss you. Tomorrow, I’ll miss you…,” goosebumps made an appearance on me like never before.

I listened with intrigue and genuine delight as the songs progressed. T.V. Carpio, a woman, sang of wanting to hold your hand (something I had always dreamed about whenever I sang along to the song, my being a girl and all). Even Rachel Wood’s crystal voice rang through the music, whispering sweet nothings to my heart. The songs. These Beatles songs. Remade. They were just as Jared had said. They were actually good.

They were totally and completely different from the originals, yet their connection and influence from their origins were completely obvious (of course). Perhaps that is why there were so good in the first place. No one had tried to copy the Beatles. They had simply taken the Beatles’ songs and reinterpreted them, while – and this is key – always keeping the original experience of the songs in mind. So these songs were and still are Beatles songs, without occurring as covers. They weren’t like so-and-so’s cover of such-and-such song. They were something uniquely different, while still being beautifully the same. They were forever linked to the Beatles and the Beatles’ music, because they were still Beatles songs, but they were their own entity. They were, put simply, the music from Across the Universe.

Even today, whenever I listen to those songs, to that soundtrack, goosebumps abound, and I am filled with this somewhat unidentifiable sensation. It is as if, perhaps, my belly and chest are filled with… well, with warm happiness. It’s cheesy-sounding, of course, but I believe it to be completely true. The Beatles singing their songs fills me with joy and a desire to dance and sing along. The Across the Universe music fills me with warm happiness, along with the natural desire to sing along and bop around and smile hugely. They are like siblings from the same family, these two sets of Beatles music – they are so much alike and from the same place, and yet they are entirely different from one another. And I love them both.

Post-a-day 2017

Inglorious Basterds

Last night, as I was going to bed (Or was it at some point in the middle of the night, when I woke up? Or even this morning?), I recalled the film “Inglorious Basterds”, and had a slight desire to watch it. I have seen it already, but this film and I have a sort of special connection, and for various reasons.

For one thing, I first saw the beginning of it on my first trip to France, on my Freshman year JanTerm in Cannes – a sort of momentous occasion, its being my first time there and all. One of the students working at our dorm’s café was all excited about watching it, and got us all to sit around to watch it at the café. After only a few minutes, I was uninterested in the film, and I left (as I recall).

A few years later, I finally watched the whole film, though I forget currently when and how. So, it was meant to be comedic and historical and action-filled. Got it. Now I’d seen it, so I didn’t have to see it again.

Then, while living in Vienna (though that part’s somewhat irrelevant), I saw two films that I loved. The first was “Keinohrhasen”, with the German actor Til Schweiger. I fell in love with the film, and has a soft spot for Til because of it. Then, I saw in theaters the film “Django Unchained”. I somewhat fell in love with the German character of the film, played by Christoph Waltz, who is Austrian-German himself. By calling to mind before the start of the film that this was a Quentin Tarantino film, I was able to enjoy the full beauty and glory of the artistry that was “Django Unchained”.

Once back in the States, however, I recalled that I had not given just perspective to “Inglorious Basterds” as a Quentin Tarantino marvel, but had judged it relative to the average film. (I grew up in love with Kill Bill, you see, and learned QT’s style of gore and revenge and all that, somehow learning to enjoy and appreciate it because of the setting and story that was Kill Bill, probably with a bit of guidance from my brother Michael, who had shown me the films in the first place.) So, I decided it was high time to watch the film again, though this time as a Quentin Tarantino film, instead of a regular one.

And so I did. However, allow me to point out the setting of this film: WWII in Germany and France (or, at least, a France filled with Germans), with Americans interspersed. When the movie began, it took me about ten minutes (?) to realize that something was amiss… or, at least, something felt like it must be amiss.

I eventually realized (and even had to pause the film for the extreme laughter that arose from within me) that it was the fact that I was completely missing the subtitles. I was not, however, missing the dialogue. I was just merely ignoring, nay, not even noticing the subtitles, because I simply understood what was being said. The laughter came suddenly and from deep within – it was like this film was made for me, in a sense. I now spoke decent French and German (and still fantabulous English, of course), and this movie played back and forth between my three main languages. It was a perfect mix of cultures and language for my language-loving mind.

Now, that was great, but it got even better. Then, I found Christoph Waltz AND Til Schweiger in the film. Add that all to the expectation of Quentin Tarantino’s style, as well as the gorgeous Brad Pitt (yeah, I have a soft spot for him, too), and I was in love with the film.

You’d think that’d be enough to have a special bond with a film, but there’s one more bit to it all, and a rather profound one at that. Seeing this film shortly after seeing Django had me notice something quite peculiar. In Django, Christoph Waltz was quite obviously ‘the good guy’ of the film. He had obvious morals that were oh-so-lacking in the other characters, plus he was totally BA* with his skills and tactics and sense of style. In a way, in the time and place of Django, being German was ideal, and being American was kind of terrible. (Do you see where this is going?)

Now, look at “Inglorious Basterds”. Are the roles not 100% switched? Christoph Waltz, whose character once was somewhat idolized for his status of being German, now was considered the worst of the worst in morals because he was German. And the Americans were appropriately on the high ground this time. Had it been another actor, I’m not sure I would have made quite the same connection. But I found it amazing that this one man – and yes, I am aware that Christoph Waltz was not present for any of these actual periods of history, but just roll with it – could, at one point in time, be honored and respected for being himself (German), and, at the next, be despised and hated for being himself (German).

And so, I have this forever attachment and special relationship with “Inglorious Basterds”, which also inevitably drags along a bit of moral contemplation on the mentality of the human species throughout the course of human events (especially conflict). And, of course, Christoph Waltz. None of this would have truly linked together so well without his wonderful collaboration with Quentin Tarantino, as well as his total enrollment in the characters he played (I truly loved the one, and was distraught by his death, and despised the other, hoping throughout the film for his immediate death.). Nods and hats off to you, sir. And Quentin Tarantino – you’re awesome, too, sir.

🙂

*bad-ass

Post-a-day 2017

Life and Movies and Longing

I’ve been a dreadful sort of sick all weekend, though I’ve been mostly un- or half-conscious through it all, so it’s been somewhat tolerable, I suppose. Finally, today I was able to watch some filmage, as I have been conscious these past seven-ish hours, and I was finally able to tolerate sound. As I searched for a movie to watch, I got to wondering about the kind of movie I was wanting to watch.

I noticed that none of the movies coming up on the scroll (Netflix Japan) were really appealing to me, although I have enjoyed several of them in the past. Why do I not want to watch them now, but I liked them at another time, and likely will want to watch them again in the near future (I have had this happen many times, you see)? What causes that change in preference to happen?

Mostly, I just wanted to watch Mona Lisa, Smile with Julia Roberts (yet again), and I knew it was because I 1)loved the fashion and lifestyle in the film, and 2)wanted to be like Julia Roberts in the film. And that’s what had it click. I realized: I’m looking for the life I want. Rather than sitting here on the sofa in aches and pains, simultaneously wishing to get well asap and to prolong the illness so that I don’t have to go to work tomorrow, I want to be somewhere else, in some other part of life, even in someone else’s life. And, since I can’t actually do that, I seek this alternative, improved life via film.

I notice, too, that I sometimes do the same with books. Now, while I do read the ones that peek over the fence to that desirable and unrealistic life I want (think Shopaholic (the book, not the terrible movie that I turned off in disgust after about five minutes)), I make sure to put in the various classics and highly acclaimed books that have to do with depth and such, as opposed to my girlish ridiculousness and fun, so as to keep a good balance.

Though, as I debated about how to word that second-to-last clause, I thought of books that I have loved over the years. From Bunnicula to Ender’s Game to Shopaholic to Pride and Prejudice, there was always something I desired and somewhat envied about each of their worlds. The friendships, the sneaking around, the detective mentality, the genius, the fashion and money, the lifestyle, the travel, the love story, the love… they were all things I would love to have in my own life, in my own world of here and now. It was never merely a girlish crush on the handsome and strong Native American so in love with the female protagonist (I admit, I truly did love reading those bits of Bis(s) zum Morgengrauen and the whole series.), but often something much greater, much deeper. I wanted, if not the whole thing, a piece of their lives to come to life within my own life’s story.

And so I think it is with the movies I most love, as well. Why else would I love my favorite films so much as I do? I can relate to them for how they are like I am, as well as for how I want to be like they are.

And, to further and complete the thought, when I am sick and alone and longing to be in almost any other part of even my own life, the movie I most want to watch will be the one that best depicts the ideal situation for my life right now.

And, for today, I think that is somewhere with a great beach and the perfect mixture of warm and cool breezes, filled with people who are fun and who love me and whom I love, and where I am already slimmed down from my winter warmth weight. So bring on some Eliza Thornberry or Just Go With It, yeah? ;P

Except actually. 🙂

Post-a-day 2017