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Monday, March 14, 2016

Wings of Desire

I watched this movie last week and was pleasantly surprised that Peter Faulk was in it. I'm a huge fan of the cheesy, 1970s crime drama, "Columbo" where with he became famous. (Most of you know him as the grandfather in "The Princess Bride." Go watch his old show, it's on Netflix).

Something I really thought was interesting was the use of monochrome when the angels were looking at the world. I have some thoughts on what that might suggest. But looking only at their behavior, it's novel to suggest a more cynical view of angels.  Often, in the context of religion, people believe the hosts of heaven are happy, winged angels that execute the will of God. There are many other forms of angels, ranging from air-heady, happy-go-lucky types to capricious servants of the devil shown in media. But the angels of this movie were what you might expect self-aware hosts of purgatory to look like. Not exactly evil, not exactly holy– just as much an average human being with carnal desire and a standard range of emotions; but that are forced a platonic interaction with the world which surrounds them. Without a body, they cannot "partake" if you will.

 Along those lines, this black and white look given at times during the film are almost ironic, as the angels are again neither holy or evil, but normal. On that token, it might suggest a life absent those pleasures is bland; colorless.

The film actually gave me an idea for a Spotify ad, if you can believe it. More of a one-off, but could be fun.

Monday, March 7, 2016

Tootsie Gif - Chris Osmond


tootsie gif


Tootsie GIF - Alex


Wings of Desire Rut - Alex

Just like a lot of us I'm sure, I tried to enjoy this movie but I think a lot of my lack of emotional connection and feeling towards this film came from 1) a lack of connection and 2) being too tired to truly understand and connect with the film.  I thought that the imagery of the different streets and city shots were absolutely beautiful.  I think the main message that I got from watching the movie was to treat people as if they are going to through a hard time. I read a talk recently with my wife about the same concept, and so I think that was on the back of my mind as I watched the movie.  I don't think that I would watch this film again, but the style is intriguing enough to me that I would watch other films that are a little like the Wings of Desire.