Wrecked.

[merimask]

I wanted to write about Charlotte's truimphant rugby game, but I just watched Schindler's List and it wrecked me again.  

That movie always wrecks me.  It's the only movie that I'll cry unashamedly during, and I don't hate it for making me cry, because it's a movie that ought to make you cry.  Normally I hate movies that make you cry because they do it through artifice and manipulation, and I resent the heck out of that.  But if you don't cry at least once during Schindler's List, you are either not paying attention, a sociopath, or one hard-hearted customer.  Oh my god...the little girl in the red coat...

So now I have puffy eyes and a broken heart.  And a renewed passion for Liam Neeson, who is damn fine.  Poor guy just lost his wife, too...so tragic.  I'm all morose and stuff.  Damn you Steven Spielberg!  *pout*

*sniffle*

In other news, I went for a long bike ride yesterday which started out wonderful, got really icky in the middle, and ended on a good note anyway.

See, it was early evening which is my favorite time to hit the trails.  The air was still & warm, the sunlight had a wonderful midsummer golden quality and everything is glowing and green 'cause the trees have come back to life.  Perfect, right?  So I headed out but skipped the trail because it was SO beautiful, I kind of wanted to be alone with the beauty...does anyone out there know what I mean?  If I'm on the trail, I have to smile and nod and say " 'evening!"  to everyone 'cause it's a popular trail & people are friendly like that, & instead I just wanted to listen to Seal, feel my muscles work and enjoy the late sunlight.

So I picked a dead still road that runs right along the river, and it was a near-religious experience.  The river was full of diamonds, the air smelled like fresh cut lawns, and I was all alone on the road with my bike.  I fairly flew with no wind at all in my face...I must have eaten up 6 or 7 miles in no time at all and it was really wonderful.

And then the bugs woke up.  And there was no wind.  So they just sort of hung out along the edges of the road where I was riding.  They were big enough that I could hear and feel them hitting me, and fragile enough to leave bits of themselves behind.   

Bugs in my hair, bugs up my nose, bugs down my shirt...bugs bugs bugsa. 

In self defence, after about a mile of catching bugs with my face, I turned off that road and headed inland, away from the water.  There were slightly less bugs and I was able to furble my way back to the trail.  Fortunately (after stopping to shake the bugs out of my hair) I found the trail to be relatively bug free and so I did my normal ride with no further bug-related incidents.

For future reference; the West River Road is buggalicious on warm still nights, but East River Road is just fine.  Go figure.
 

Comments

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

I *will. not. watch* Schindler's List. They played it at the Trois Cinema on base (I went to a high school smack on Canada's largest army base.) and sent the entire student body to go see it...I went home. I already knew how it would effect me. There is not only the pain, but raging fury that is completely useless and dies down much slower than the tears that fight their way out. I always feel that way just under the surface, so I don't need anything to remind me (though I think it's important for people who never think about it at all).

I was absolutely enraged after watching Swing Kids, and Swing Kids isn't as horrible as Schindler's List.

God I love when there is no wind. It happens SO RARELY. It's also great when the wind is at your back (ZOOM!) but that somehow seems to happen rarely, too. It happened for a little while this morning, though...good thing, too, because I had to get home right away! Half way through the ride I had to pee desperately (bumpy bumpy roads!) and had to cut my ride short and go home.

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

Brain fart: Troyes Cinema. Sounds nearly the same in pronunciation but Troyes makes a lot more sense. Everything...everything! on base is named after some war reference.

EDIT: I went to school on Ypres Boulevard.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

See...sometimes I wish I could go back in time & shake my Dad & say "Teach us French!" 'cause he was actually French but spoke perfect English and never really kept the French around in the house.

Consequently, I'm reading "Ypres" as "Yeepers", and I know that can't be right.

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

Lol, it's pronounced 'ee-pray'. As in 'the battle of' (Major battle of the first world war. There were several...the third one was also known as the battle of Passchendaele. It's known because it's one of the worst battles in (modern) history. Really...everything on base is named after a battle or a war leader. Dieppe is just a few streets down, for example, and the name of the school itself is General Panet.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

I'll be honest; last night was the first time I've seen the entire movie all in one sitting. I've seen it several times but usually I either intentionally catch the last half or only watch to the middle until I can't take anymore. Because it's a long long movie, & 3 hours of crying tends to hurt physically.

It outrages you and moves you, but there's also good in it, because Schindler is such a good person. He's a member of the Nazi Party because of his community standing, but he never buys into their hatred of the Jewish people, and because he's on the inside he's able to save so many of them. He makes you see that there are no absolutes; that even amidst madness and genocide, mercy and the spark of compassion still can exist. I think that's an important thing to know...otherwise it all seems so pointless.

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

People tell me that all the time, about why they like sad movies...they say they're actually hopeful or upbuilding, to see that humans can be as heroic as they are horrible. But the scant whisper of heroism...one brilliant person...it just makes me feel angrier/worse. I see good as so vastly outnumbered...I've always felt that way...so watching movies that just make me feel it more...it's not a good idea. Sad movies of that nature are for people who have some hope of humanity, not ones who were basically born feeling that earth would be better off without that particular species. To me, the good doesn't balance the bad, and it just makes me want to hit the self-destruct.

So yeah...rage. Not a good idea for me. You have a much more optimistic personality/outlook than I do.

[zannachan.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen Schindler's List in years but I remember it being a powerful movie. The book is good too.

Ugh, bugs! That sounds absolutely horrible. Especially bugs in the hair :(

[merimask.livejournal.com]

It's a beautiful, heatrbreaking movie and the kind of movie that must be created/watched/remembered because it does what cinema is truly (IMO) supposed to do; elevates, moves and informs.

Too many "Fast and Furious", "Wolverine", "Rambo" movies out there, & it's easy to lose sight of what movies are truly capable of doing. Schindler's List reminds me why I love movies. It's art that enriches you for having seen it.

The bugs were Awful. I had to keep my mouth closed! The worst part was feeling them hit my face. I took a looooong shower as soon as I got home.

[drriftwood.livejournal.com]

I can't believe I haven't seen Schindler's List! (everybody I know has watched it)..I do like Liam Neeson too..It is just tooo saaad about Natasha Richardson (don't want to think about it)

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Well, it's definitely something you guys should rent & watch together. It's not a feel-good movie though to have the box of tissues ready.

If you're a Neeson fan, you'll love it. He just shines in this movie.

[drriftwood.livejournal.com]

Sandeep's watched it but I know he will have no problem watching it again..It's me- I don't want to cry..:(..but I am definitely going to watch it at some point.

[angeljapan.livejournal.com]

I saw Schindler's List a while ago. Very good movie. ::nodnod:: Have you heard of the Japanese Schindler?

http://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/12/nyregion/japanese-schindler-and-2100-visas-for-jews.html

http://www.immortalchaplains.org/Prize/Ceremony2000/Sugihara/sugihara.htm

[merimask.livejournal.com]

That's really beautiful. :-) See...goodness existed even in the heat of all that madness. Good to know.