Monday, November 02, 2009

Bright Star....

I've been waiting for a break in our too busy lives to take LeeElla to this movie. Finally this weekend, we were able to steal some time from others and shared a amazing corned beef sandwich called the Hooligan & Hannigan and a great Black & Tan at O' Doherty's Pub. Then we watched Bright Star at The Magic Lantern, our local independent theater, which is only $5 too. Then we enjoyed dinner at Isabella's with some friends.

I loved, loved, loved...the movie. It is right up there with "Once", another must see romantic/drama movie. Bright Star combined a number of my most favorite things and did so with such a intimate, artistic sensitivity that left me actually slightly breathless at times. The director was an artist and his ability to weave, sound, music, color, feelings, passion, anticipation and all the cadences of love...was superb. As one given to poetry both writing and reading, and being a romantic at heart...drank deeply from this movie.

It's PG but that doesn't mean there wasn't some of the most sensual and passionately charged moments...there was, even though there was no nudity, sex or typically oversexed content. They masterfully captured "longing" and left you aching in love's riptides.

Needless to say...I was enraptured.

It's slow, methodical, character driven, poetic and all about a heart tingling romance...if that's not your thing...you're dead...or at least need reviving.


Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art--
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors--
No--yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,
Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever--or else swoon to death.
-John Keats

4 comments:

Todd Bacon said...

thanks for the heads up eric... shamed to say, had never heard of this film, but planning a date night with my beloved to see it

Anonymous said...

Had you a feeling you'd enjoy that one, glad you liked it. Tina was moved to tears when we saw it and it launched a lot of conversation between us that night at dessert. There were a couple scenes in particular where I thought the visual imagery was amazing. 1) when she is sitting on the bed with the window open and the wind blowing the curtain into the room as she lays back on the bed and 2), where Keats, after climbing as others are bantering, is laying on top of the tree, truly at peace in the moment. As he said, one doesn't just jump into a lake only to swim back to shore. One savors, refreshes, drinks in the lake (I thought of your post after you jumped in at Family Camp following the baptism). We also found a bunch of Keats' work in the Harvard Classic collection we have at home that used to belong to my grandparents. To your point about the sexually charged, passionate moments that were void of nudity and the typical oversexed content, The Inlander awarded Bright Star, "Winner of the Hottest Fully Clothed Sex Scene Ever Filmed."
Good stuff.
-Dan

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed this movie very, very much as well. It's amazing when something captures and reminds you of moments when you were younger - such powerful moments. Makes the heart alive again. Thank you, babe, for taking a break from life for me and you to enjoy this beautiful escape. Loved everything about the movie and being with you.
Love,
your wife

FCB said...

Mmmmm, this sounds so good. The poem, if the movie captures what one line contains it will be a masterpiece.
Love Dad