"...certain things stay with you. And that's why we're all interested in movies—those ones that make you feel, you still think about. Because it gave you such an emotional response, it's actually part of your emotional make-up, in a way."
~Tim Burton
Ever since my 10th birthday party, a screening of the 1963 re-release of Disney's classic Fantasia at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, I've been hooked on movies. Some other early favorites were: Hatari; Breakfast at Tiffany's; and Bye Bye Birdie. I would often buy the album of the soundtrack (back in the day of vinyl LPs :-) so I could relive the experience over and over again. I loved everything about going to the movies—sitting in a darkened theater away from the hustle bustle of the world, speaking in hushed whispers to your friends, enjoying a big tub of hot buttered popcorn, and being transported to far away places, losing oneself for a time in a really great drama.
I had such an experience this past weekend, watching a very beautiful and powerful film, Beasts of the Southern Wild. It actually felt more like a full immersion experience than simply watching a movie. Beasts is a fantasy drama set in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans—a community separated from the mainland by a levee, a place called The Bathtub. The story centers on a very remarkable 6-year-old girl, her father, and their community, a band of merry men and women who are determined to stay and face the next apocalyptic storm rather than be torn from their home. It's a story about the tearing apart of the fabric of life in the face of imminent catastrophic changes due to melting polar ice and rising sea levels (a mythic tale that is somehow eerily realistic). It's a story about courage, bravery, loyalty, and the strength of the human spirit.
The remarkable thing about this film, winner of Cannes Film Festival and Sundance awards, is that none of the actors are professional. The little girl at the heart of the film, Quvenzhane Wallis, was five years old when she auditioned; in fact she and her mother "fibbed" about her age because the minimum age to audition was six. She wowed the director Benh Zeitlin (at 29 years old, this is his first film, by the way), and won the part over the 4,000 other young girls. The man who plays her father, Dwight Henry, was a bakery owner with absolutely no acting experience. He would practice his lines with acting coaches while making jelly donuts at his bakery late at night. The fascinating thing is, their performances are some of the most compelling I have ever seen.
Did I mention that I highly recommend this film? :-) This makes the short list of my all-time favorite films. Let's see, what else is on that list: Hugo; The King's Speech; It's a Wonderful Life; Life is Beautiful; Shawshank Redemption; Forrest Gump; the Lord of the Rings series, everything by Alfred Hitchcock; everything starring Jimmy Stewart; and the documentaries I Am, What the Bleep, and Thrive (a shout out to my brother-in-law Marshall Lefferts, one of the co-producers).
Here's to the magic of the movies. Funny, with all the changes in technology and culture over the decades, the experience of going to the movies remains pretty much the same. There is something reassuring about that, being able to sit in a darkened theater eating hot buttered popcorn and being transported to other worlds, losing oneself in a really great drama...just like the old days!
I had such an experience this past weekend, watching a very beautiful and powerful film, Beasts of the Southern Wild. It actually felt more like a full immersion experience than simply watching a movie. Beasts is a fantasy drama set in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans—a community separated from the mainland by a levee, a place called The Bathtub. The story centers on a very remarkable 6-year-old girl, her father, and their community, a band of merry men and women who are determined to stay and face the next apocalyptic storm rather than be torn from their home. It's a story about the tearing apart of the fabric of life in the face of imminent catastrophic changes due to melting polar ice and rising sea levels (a mythic tale that is somehow eerily realistic). It's a story about courage, bravery, loyalty, and the strength of the human spirit.
The remarkable thing about this film, winner of Cannes Film Festival and Sundance awards, is that none of the actors are professional. The little girl at the heart of the film, Quvenzhane Wallis, was five years old when she auditioned; in fact she and her mother "fibbed" about her age because the minimum age to audition was six. She wowed the director Benh Zeitlin (at 29 years old, this is his first film, by the way), and won the part over the 4,000 other young girls. The man who plays her father, Dwight Henry, was a bakery owner with absolutely no acting experience. He would practice his lines with acting coaches while making jelly donuts at his bakery late at night. The fascinating thing is, their performances are some of the most compelling I have ever seen.
Did I mention that I highly recommend this film? :-) This makes the short list of my all-time favorite films. Let's see, what else is on that list: Hugo; The King's Speech; It's a Wonderful Life; Life is Beautiful; Shawshank Redemption; Forrest Gump; the Lord of the Rings series, everything by Alfred Hitchcock; everything starring Jimmy Stewart; and the documentaries I Am, What the Bleep, and Thrive (a shout out to my brother-in-law Marshall Lefferts, one of the co-producers).
Here's to the magic of the movies. Funny, with all the changes in technology and culture over the decades, the experience of going to the movies remains pretty much the same. There is something reassuring about that, being able to sit in a darkened theater eating hot buttered popcorn and being transported to other worlds, losing oneself in a really great drama...just like the old days!
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