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February 28, 2004
In America
(I posted this on the film discussion forum)
Watched it yesterday because I was enticed by the bright lights of New York City and the little girls when I saw the trailer. It gave so much more than I expected. I'm not going to critically dissect it as most of you have done because sometimes, you go to the movies and all you ask for is that a movie takes you away and makes your heart break.
I thought the movie started slow, but steady...gradually showing us the intricate ties in the family and how, legal or illegal, they were trying to survive the best they can despite the fact that shit happens - the death of a precious member of the member, being in reality where dreams (of being an actor) collides with having to make ends meet, when life is more than living (or not living) for oneself but for the others who matter.
Maybe it is an occupational hazard, but having spent more than half of the film empathising with the adults, it hit hard, very very hard, that the young one made known that she was just as justified to feel pain from her brother's death. Role reversal when the young ones taught the adults how to live, how to move on, how to put the past behind and be happier. Role reversal when it's the adults who can't move on and are stuck and needed the young ones to push them to their "senses". Just broke my heart so much that I was so surprised and embarrassed that I was a snivelling idiot at the end of the movie.
No, I would like to think I cried at the movie NOT because it was a sappy movie or that I am an over-sentimental idiot. I think I cried so much towards the end (something I hardly do anymore) because it just hit me right in the heart suddenly after tugging its heartstrings softly throughout the entire movie. It just hit and the tear ducts flowed.
So I don't care much about the critical aspects (though absolutely miffed at the badly censored bit) . I only care that it did what a good movie always does for me - remove me from my reality and make the movie's reality mine for the duration of the movie, and a little while after that.
(rambling too much cuz this is an early morning post)
Posted by lainey at February 28, 2004 03:53 AM