The relationship between film and "real life"...

More often than I "should", or perhaps more often than I'd like to, I find myself living vicariously through film, music, literature, etc. These cultural, creative pieces often have the power to truly affect my feelings, emotions, and even decisions. Maybe it's the dreamer in me that hopes life can be "just like the movies..." I realize it's probably naive of me (and I credit myself with being quite aware of the world and its workings), but I don't care all that much.

A day or two ago, I watched Broken English, starring indie actress Parker Posey.

Parker plays a woman named Nora, who feels intense pressure to find "the one" and be married. Her desperation can be cut with a knife at times, and she's a mess of anxiety more often than not. This makes her character oddly lovable, and unfortunately relatable. Maybe it's just me, but dating drives me up the wall sometimes... I of course, am not looking for "the one", but for some excitement, scandal, sex, etc. Nora meets a man named Julien, who she finds something with (after a few short days), but because he resides in France, she is left in pieces yet again. I'm not sure what this film is trying to say, but it made me lust for some odd form of companionship. Three days with a gorgeous French man sounds fine by me. It also reawakened my desire to travel to Paris... Ohhh Paris! This film was sweet and exciting in a way. It also had Drea de Matteo (of Sopranos fame) in it, whom I completely adore. I would recommend this one to anyone who interacts with people in any form. So everyone. Hopefully.

This early morning, I watched Steel Magnolias.

This film is about a tight-knit group of Southern women who support each other through life's ups and downs. Not only is Dolly Parton in it, but the movie is incredible in itself. The relationships these women have with each other are beautiful. Their care for one another reminded me of my own relationships with friends and made me realize how fortunate I am to have such an impenetrable support system. The relationship between Shelby (Julia Roberts) and her mother M'lynne (Sally Field) is extraordinary. It doesn't always make sense, but they love each other anyway. Towards the end of the film, I started thinking about my own relationship with my mother, how much I love her, and how much she's done for me. The theme of death hovers about the movie (though I won't divulge details) and it made me think about what the future holds for my life. I thought about funerals (my own and my mother's), how I would want it, how she would want it, what I would wear, what I would say... It was obviously quite depressing to think about, but at the same time I was happy knowing that our relationship is strong, and if anything were to happen, we've done pretty good by each other. That's probably not something people say often, but I feel comfortable with the fact that one day we'll all die. Perhaps comfortable is not the right word... Anyways, the film was fantastic. It made me laugh, it made me cry, WATCH IT.