February 12, 2004

Two movies

I went to see The Invasion of the Barbarians Monday evening. This is a “must see” movie. It is very thoughtful, energetic, funny, sad, touching, rewarding. About a man who is dying and how he relates to his family, children, wife, lovers, friends and how they relate to him. It is about learning to love, to lust, to live, to die well. There are few movies these days that I would like to see again. This one deserves a repeat viewing.

I finally saw About Schmidt and thought Jack Nicholson’s performance enchanting. He was still Jack Nicholson, but not the one I expected. In all his previous movies, Nicholson has had a strong sexual allure. Here he lets it all hang out. Literally. His ugly butt, flabby belly, double chin. All of it. And the sad person behind the fallen flesh. Yes, Toni’s son is right. It is gross, but it takes a lot of guts to show that much person.

Posted by leya at February 12, 2004 08:43 AM
Comments

I guess I don't see how an aging body can be described as gross. No matter how hard we try to keep in shape, we will all end up with an ugly butt, flabby belly (especially those of us that have given birth), and maybe even a double chin, if we get old enough.

Beauty can be found in all kinds of shapes and sizes, one only has to look for it!

Posted by: Renate at February 13, 2004 01:19 AM

You're right, Renate. Gross is the wrong word. It is shocking to see on screen in our culture where age is not revered.

Posted by: Leya at February 13, 2004 08:22 AM