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Thursday, March 17, 2005
two feel-good movies centered on young boy(s) and set in europe between 1940s-1950s[review] i am david set in a forced bulgarian labor camp in 1952, just after the end of ww 2, 'i am david' is based on 'north to freedom', an acclaimed novel by anne holm. david is a 12 year old boy who has lived all his life in that concentration camp with a group of grown man since his parents were arrested for their subversive politics. he knows nothing of the outside world except the cruel life of the labor camp. he has lived under constant fear of torture and death, terrified of uniformed officers. when soap is missing, the prisoners are lined up. one day, without any clear explanation, a guard (who is unknown to us until later) arranges for him to escape. the electric current is switched off from the fence for half a minute, just long enough for david to climb over. he is given a half loaf of bread, water, a compass, a bar of soap, and a sealed letter. he is told to head south to greece, cross over to italy and then walk north until he comes to a country called denmark. only then he can open the envelope and let the authorities see what's in it. "trust no one" is the only piece of advice david receives before escaping.the main emphasis of the movie is david's journey and the people he meets on the way. of all the people that he meets, he doesn't feel able to trust anyone. so he shoulders the burden of the journey alone. he never smiles and is always so tense. although he's a boy about age ten, he has the survival instinct of an old man. too mature for his age. we can't help but symphatize for him as we understand his background. of course, what kind of person would you be if you had spent all your life in a concentration camp. all the years of pain and suffering have burdened him with grief. but as david journeys across europe, he begins to comprehend that he cannot live entirely alone. he does need other people, like maria, whom he saves from the fire, and the dog, and perhaps his own mother. he slowly learns to trust people through the kindness showed by strangers, including an aristocratic italian couple who open their home and their hearts to him after he saves their daughter's life.  his wanderings lead him to switzerland, where a gentle widowed elderly woman helps him break through his inner wall of fear and suspicion. sophie is an artist who is trying to cope with her own tragedy of losing her only son. on the contrary with david, she has lived several peaceful decades in a world where there is freedom and beauty. while painting a picture of david, she is astonished by his serious eyes and his inability to smile. she welcomes him into her home, and although at first david is reluctant to share much about his past, he finally begins to find the courage to open his heart to sophie. we can see how damaged and vulnerable he really is inside.sophie's words of wisdom to david: "you can't be cautious all the time. you have to let people in. most people are good. they have families and friends and they just want to live the happiest as they can. there's always of course bad people in the world, and you usually can recognize them.. sometimes you don't. but you can't let them to stop you for living your live fully and freely and making friends and seeing goodness in people. that way you can find happiness."  this film is about a journey of self discovery, a journey towards healing and redemption. at the end, it warms the heart and nourishes the viewers' soul. the musical score and cinematography were both highly effective. one of the scenes i like most is when david wanders into a small swiss church where the local choir is practising gloriously mozart's ave verum. *one of my favourite song* while the choir sings the hymn, a montage flashback of crucial event in the prison camp rolls out. jim caviezel (the passion of the christ) who plays johannes, david's friend and mentor in the camp, made sacrifice in order to keep david alive. this facet of the story provides a link to christ's history and what he has done for us in order for us to have true life. furthermore, david's overall journey is like a believer in christ's pilgrimage in this life. one must keep putting one foot in front of the other to reach our goal - even when we don't feel like it. i'm quite moved after i watched it. it somehow makes me feel a little more grateful for what i have. life is a gift and is full of hope. as for david, he finally begins to smile, share, trust, and ultimately, love.[review] the chorus  in 1949, clement mathieu, an unemployed music professor who failed as a composer, arrives at a rural boy's boarding school (where "difficult" boys are sent to become men) to take up his new supervisor & teaching position. fond d'etang is the name of the school run with iron fist by the severe headmaster who routinely beats and sadistically abused the boys. on the contrary, mathieu is a sensitive soul who believes that there's goodness hidden underneath these troubled kids and that they need something beyond "action/reaction". when he doesn't seem to make much progress in winning the kid's trust through his patience & friendship (primarily by not reporting them to the principal when they commit a naughtiness but instead designing his own less severe punishment), he tries a new angle after hearing a few of the boys sing in mockery at him forming a boy's choir. believing music to be an excellent outlet for their energies that will certainly tame those teenage beasts, he sorts them by their voices, organizes a choir and shapes them into a beautiful singing choral ensemble. it doesn't take long time before the music magic begins to brighten the whole school. there are two special boys in the school. first is PEPINOT, a cute small kid who desperately awaits his parents, not understand they were in fact killed by the nazis. second is surprisingly talented MORHANGE who has a natural gift with the voice of angel. too bad he is the biggest troublemaker in the school. one teacher describes him as "the face of an angel but the attitude of a devil". in the opening scene, we learn that he ends up in new york city as one of the greatest conductors in the world.the chorus was a huge box-office success in france & nominated for best foreign film at this year academy awards. it is about an influential teacher and how he touches the lives of these children by raising their spirits & introducing them to music. i nominate it as "best teacher movies". you can't help but be moved at the end of the film when mathieu is fired from the school, and the boys, who cannot leave their rooms for fear of the headmaster, float paper airplanes out of their class windows with words of farewell to their beloved mentor. stelly @ 11:51 AM Wednesday, March 16, 2005 [makansutra] bandungsosis & steak : winner (halal)resto ini berlokasi di jl.geger kalong. ancer2nya: dari setiabudi belok kiri di belokan telkom (setelah suis butcher). maju terus sampai terlihat planknya di sebelah kiri. belok kiri di jalan yang menurun, *voila!* rumah kedua di sebelah kiri jalan. specialities di sini adalah thueringer (sosis super gede yang berbentuk tapal kuda) dan german bratwurst (sosis khas jerman). saus barbeque home madenya juga layak dibawa pulang, enak untuk digoreng bersama telur dadar atau menemani hidangan pasta. *ngomong2 soal sosis jerman, dengar2 di cipinang elok ada produsen aneka sosis yg pemiliknya belajar cara pembuatan sosis dari jerman. produksinya eksklusif karena tidak dijual di supermaket, hanya disupply ke hotel dan resto khusus. jadi kalau mau beli, kita kudu datang langsung ke pabriknya. kata yg udah coba sih eunakk banget. namanya sosis delicatessa* ambokue (non halal) ini makanan khas yang hanya terdapat di bandung. asal usulnya cukup misterius. konon aslinya adalah makanan khas orang hokkian mengingat ambokue berasal dari bahasa hokkian, yaitu semacam pempek dari tepung beras. ambokue ala bandung sudah dimodifikasi dengan campuran tahu goreng, lapchiong, sekba, ngohiong, kuping dan timun. semuanya diiris dan diguyur kuah kental manis plus cuka sehingga rasanya khas: manis asam. makanan ini biasa disantap begitu saja tanpa nasi karena sudah cukup mengenyangkan. ambokue ini termasuk endangered species alias nyaris punah karena yang jualan semakin sedikit. saya sih biasa makan ambukue yang suka mangkal di depan toko sosis badranaya pasir kaliki. sehabis beli oleh2 sosis babi badranaya, nongkrong deh di dekat gerobak om2 cainis penjual ambokue sambil menyeruput es cendol. (to be continued) stelly @ 2:24 PM |
