»movies«

Its so important to write down or share what you feel - when you feel it. Otherwise the moment passes...

Like just now i thought i'd lost the thought forever :) ...even if it was a simple inconsequential one...

in this case...i remembered in time....

I realized i'll always be the kind've person who likes sharing things with people around me...experiences...moments....anything....which is why, when i started writing on this blog, i felt i'd found a friend who just listened without judgement :) - don't we all want someone like that...

Tonight i caught up with a friend after a gap of about 7 years (seems to be that kind've month) ...and it felt like nothing had changed...except for the fact that both of us were older...and wiser (?) haha...we looked the same...talked the same...and the bond was the same :)

Later, came back home and watched 'The world's fastest Indian'. Anthony Hopkins playing the lead in this movie about the legendary speed racer - Burt Munro from New Zealand. ....wow....what will to live a full life...

In the early part of the movie, when asked why he races the motorcycle at his age (he looks like he's pushing 70 - though with the number of women he gets, you wouldn't think it!)....to which he replies, “You live more in five minutes on a bike like that, going flat out, than some people live in a lifetime.”

His bike had no brakes, no parachute. And yet he went flat out on the Bonneville Salt Flats. It's an amazing true story. If you do watch it - do so for the story and not necessarily the movie. The movie on it's own is just about ok...but it tells a compelling story about a man of true heart.

My life pales in comparison...and watching this movie makes me wonder, "What am i making such a big deal of?"

At another point in the movie he says (quoting F.D. Roosevelt), “It’s not the critic that counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.”

“The reward is in the doing of it.”

Violins playing in my head.

You see and learn to admire the character in the end - and so comes the title with the weight it carries in having watched a gripping story unfold about the frailties of a man, how he fights with them, makes simple choices and leaves it to someone else to ponder over the magnitude of them. And so you see - 'Michael Clayton' appear at the end.

Being driven around in a yellow cab, watching people go by with a faint wry acknowledgement of the minutes prior to the drive and his life in the last four days.

The little button to the right of my page once i've logged in says, "Add a story".

I click on it and a new page opens with a little blank box for me to 'create this story'.

Beautiful stories well told have the power to conjure up such vivid images and emotions within you. I watched one such story unfold called, "Dr.Zhivago"

For some reason or another i've invariably found myself to be averse to watching 'classic' movies...simply because i found them to be a little overindulgent when it came to the 'undying love between souls' and the portrayal of the same. But some stories are so simply told that the beauty lies in just watching them unfold. In just listening to them...in just watching them...

I've often found myself, when in a movie hall, turning around to notice the expressions of different people as they watch the movie with rapt attention, not even for a moment being distracted. Its amazing how much some people love cinema. I count myself one among them. I could watch a movie everyday, if not more.

Dr.Zhivago, played by Omar Sharief, is the story of a young doctor who finds love in the throes of a war torn and ravaged Russian empire before, during and after the Tsar and his family were so brutally murdered in the early 20th century. It's in the midst of the Russian revoution that saw Lenin and Stalin come to power - creating a new Russia...that would change again within the next century, and is in the midst again going into the 21st century and beyond.

The vastness of the country only begins to scratch the surface of the vastness of resources that lie within the heart of Russia. It's a country that has always created visages of mystery...of a time...of a bygone era. I would be so happy discovering a new country like that. The thrill of discovering a new place - one that you've never been to before - is unmatched.

It's amazing what a great piece of cinema can do to you...it truly does stir your soul. 'Dr.Zhivago' is nearly 40 years old. So too 'The Italian Job', another classic i watched earlier this morning. Wow. I'm still awestruck by the brilliance of people who were at the very top of their craft and relied less on technology to convey and communicate what the wanted to...

I love great cinema and will make a movie someday. Someday not too far. Watching a great film or being part of something made with such undying love for someone's craft can be a very soul satisfying experience. Much recommended.