WHAT WE'VE BEEN WATCHING...
Ever realise one little aspect of life you've lost when you embraced parenthood? You've guessed it. Movie dates. At the time of writing the last movie we caught at the cinema was a year ago. Yes, we had, on average, ONE movie date annually for the past four years.
We aren't going to make a big thing out of this, so to make up for it we've been hunting good films and documentaries on DVDs online and at whichever surviving DVD stores in Singapore. Outmoded? We have our reasons: we're not fans of downloaded films and Bluerays are beyond budget.
We've amassed a little collection of films; some good, some weren't what we expected. So we're just going to share those good ones with you.
January 15, 2016
The story follows an aged man who, in believing that he had won a million dollars in a magazine subscription sweepstakes draw, became bent on travelling over 800 miles to Nebraska to claim his prize. The problem? Everyone but him knew that the sweepstakes win was a bogus affair. After repeatedly failing to convince him of this fact, a son decided to take him to Nebraska and in the process, discovered what it means to grow old and to care for the old.
Not an artsy monochromatic film you would expect. Its message, blunt and lucid, hit home the first time I watched it. It takes us deep into the profound psychological changes of old age that we all have to be prepared for - the sudden sensation of being lost, of emptiness, of being left behind and of a yearning for a past that is no more.
It doesn't end here. Alongside this grim portrayal flows a son's intimate empathy and understanding for his aged father and the extent he went to set things right.
It's an achingly beautiful depiction of kinship that we scarcely think about, and one that is much needed today than ever before.