2006.06.06 Before Sunrise

再放一篇英文電影心得，這部電影比較深刻，不再是好萊塢商業電影了。但是我寫得還是很淺，反正也沒有人會看，充個板面自己也高興。

 

Review on “Before Sunrise”

 

     BEFORE SUNRISE is a romantic, two-character movie featuring Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke. Their personal characteristics were so strong that even made me lost their names in the movie. They play two people in their twenties who met on a European train. With some simple start-up conversations, they fell into the joy of talking and sharing experiences with each other. Ethan convinced her to get off the train with him for he has 24 hours to kill before a flight home. The two spent the time walking around in the peaceful and inspiring city of Vienna and talking about almost everything. Just when they were deeply in love with each other, the sun light of a new day shone. They bid farewell in a rational-adult way and left this romance unended but profound.
     The movie is so unusual and special that its audience feedbacks on web are way different and apart like the two poles of the earth. Some people say that it’s a totally boring flick. They complained that the movie is lack of energy, not directed and shot carefully, and lack of music to emphasize the chemistry. These criticisms are not groundless or irrational, and they do reveal the true weakness of the movie. The walking and talking pace can really make people doze off. However, there are also some people who love this movie very much. They love the movie because the story is so unique, the acting is spectacular, and the dialogues are reflecting. There is no “misunderstandings” where they break up; they talk about some serious topics that stimulate deep thought; the little body language between the two simply remind people of how they felt when at the age and falling in love. To those who love the movie, the above mentioned outstand this movie beyond all other typical Hollywood romantic comedies. But why a movie can be adored by some people but be repelled by others? Perhaps it’s because that since this movie is not a typical one, it requires a lot of thinking to understand and to realize that it is not dull at all. People who walk in to the theater preparing to have an exciting or thrilling night may definitely be disappointed and hate this movie. It’s not that people who think are superior to those who seek for excitements; and it’s not that rich-and-meaningful movies are superior to simple action movies; it’s just that we take movie in different ways, some already had enough thinking outside the theater so they watch movies for entertainment, while others like to make every moment in their life meaningful.
     As to me, I had a little trouble getting into the movie at first but started to like it on my second time watching it. I found that some of their dialogues were extremely familiar especially when they argue about arguments between lovers and how men and women think differently. My girlfriend and I had the same arguments before and we couldn’t come to a conclusion either. Watching them and pondering on their words remind me of all the sweet and bitter little things of my own. Maybe a few years later when I watch this movie again, I will be touched by other dialogues, such as the philosophy they shared, witch I’m not at the age to understand for now.

2006.06.03 What Women Want

雖然放一篇英文電影心得在這哩，怪不倫不類的，而且還是官樣的作業，但應該也沒有人會看吧...

Review on “What Women Want”

Are men really from Mars while women really from Venus? The movie got into this long-existed issue between men and women in a really interesting and entertaining way.

Nick Marshall, played by Mel Gibson, was surrounded by show girls in Las Vegas when he was a kid. Paying respect to women and being considerately are not what he was taught, and thus caused him a lot of problems in his adulthood. His ex-wife complaining about his personality at the beginning was the best proof. One day, he was given a special gift to speak Venutain! Terrified at first, but he soon started to abuse this talent on dating girls and stealing ideas from his boss. His boss, Darcy Maguire, played by Helen Hunt, appeared to be a tough woman and a men-eater. After a while, Nick gradually realized that he had long been ignoring feelings of women around him, his worker, his female colleagues, his daughter, and his boss, Darcy.

Falling in love with Darcy waked him up; he decided to stop cheating on work and tell Darcy the truth. Just this critical moment, a lack-of-attention girl lost connection accidentally and his daughter was hurt in the prom counting on him to comfort. What’s worse, a thunder almost stroked him and he lost his power. He’s all on his own now!

This movie to me is a little too feminine, especially the last part when Nick confessed to Darcy and won a happily-ever-after ending. Except for that, it was quite a reflecting movie. People often lie to others or pretending them selves instead of telling and showing their true feelings. Therefore, it becomes common that we make most of our efforts guessing the true meanings behind the words even when having a daily dialogue with others. When it’s in the situation between genders, women usually think that men are arrogant, lack of patience and concentration on listening to women’s words, like to interrupt and give their own opinion, and then jump to their own conclusion. On the contrary, men think that women change with no reason, ponder on anything but just can’t make decision, and often say the opposite of what they really think. Consequently, the gap between men and women becomes larger and larger since they both eager to be understood but forgot to listen. That was the major cause of quarrels between me and my girl friend. We went through the issue a thousand times and we still don’t know how to cross these gaps. Perhaps a mind-reading talent is the only way out!

Women and men are really form different planet. When they are jammed on this small earth, they fight like children! And that’s what makes this world so lively! Maybe someday a movie about a woman reading men’s mind would be made. That’s what I meant about “lively!”