Last Chance Harvey

Rating:  Matinee

Synopsis:  A man whose life is in decline crosses paths with a woman who takes comfort in her loneliness.  In each other they find their last chance for love.

Spiritual Significance:  I think what I enjoyed most about this film is the way it was shot.  If this movie was a painting, then it was done with a soft brush.  Instead of in-your-face dialog it focused on the subtleties of the character's faces and a look in their eyes.  It didn't follow the "rules of the trade" by making Dustin Hoffman appear taller and specifically focused on realism by throwing Emma Thompson on high heels into the frame right next to a shorter older actor. This film was going for truth in all its wonder by letting us peek into the lives of two ordinary people who are trying hard to find meaning in their hectic existence.  

In spiritual terms this movies deals with issues of marriage, divorce, loneliness, love, career choice, and caring for loved ones.  There are, as usual, many avenues one could take.  However, I was most touched by a father daughter relationship.  Harvey is dealing with emotion of loosing his daughter's love.  He doesn't remember how it happened but it did and once he had a chance to take a breath from work he felt the void tremendously.  Looking at both of them was painful for in their eyes you could see the sorrow and regret.  Harvey's fear felt true and having a daughter myself just made me want to never experience it.  I rushed home to find my precious one still awake and happily soaked her in.  Thank you Last Chance Harvey.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Rating:  Worth Full Price

Synopsis:  A man goes through life backwards, having been born in an old man's body and getting younger with age.  Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett give inspiring performances as two lovers trying to find the right time in their lives to be together.

Spiritual Significance:  There is a wonderful bouquet of colorful story lines in this melancholy drama. This film is drenched in human experience as it surrounds its main characters with people from all walks of life dealing with existential issues.  They are each profound and tug at your heart in their own ways by touching upon love, children, aging, parenting, consequences of actions and reasons for living.  There are others, many many others...

While this film's main artery is time and the extrodenarily touching story of Ben and Daisy, I have found the smaller side stories engaging.  For instance, a drunken tugboat captain that takes Benjamin under his wing is truly fascinating.  He wants to be an artist but is forbidden by his father and told to get on the tugboat.  So he does but keeps true to his heart by expressing his art through tattoos.  He loves the permanence of them and the fact that his father cannot take this away from him.  I also cared deeply for the woman Ben falls in love with who as a young girl tries to swim across the English channel and gives up regretting it for many years.  Only much later in life she finally does it fulfilling her desires.  The story of Ben's adopted mother is breathtaking as a black woman unable to have children risks loosing the man she loves to take care of a baby no one wants.  And finally the story of a blind clock maker that looses a son to war. The way he grieves is by making a clock that goes backwards to do what he can to bring his child back to life.  

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a masterful tale full of visual and emotional imagery that will leave you thinking for days.  I highly recommend this film for the way it inspires you to live your life and treat every moment with wonder.