| Wednesday January 22nd 2003 For Christmas, my grandma gave me money with the request that I 'buy something special'. Often I'm not certain what to do with gifts of money; I'm tempted to simply save it, or feel as guilty about spending it as I would if I'd earned it (which is pretty guilty, usually). But my grandma and I have an understanding, I think. When she says something like that, she means it - that if she knew what that thing or things were, I would have received that instead of the money. So I better darn well use it for something special. Once that decision is made, then it makes sense to me to go to the opposite extreme (hear me out) - to spend it on something that would make me flinch at the cost and therefore not normally spend money on myself. Which tends to be things I've had an eye on for a long time but always held back. Which tends to make those things special. That's the logic, anyway. The end result was the following two purchases: 1. 'The Seven Samurai' DVD; Japanese; Subtitles; B&W; 1957; Director: Kurosawa Some of my favourite movies are ones I caught by accident late at night on television and fell utterly in love with. This was one of them. I rented the full version afterward from the library, not once but twice; very very very nearly caught it on the big screen here in Ottawa last fall. This is the tale of a small Japanese village under constant attack by bandits. This time they decide, at the end of the samurai era, to hire a few to protect their village. When the bandits find out, the situation changes from theft to all out war, with seiges, secret missions, charges, assassinations - the whole deal. What makes it a critically acclaimed classic is the characterizations, I would say. The western classic 'The Magnificent Seven' was modelled on this movie. 2. 'Remember the Future' DVD; English/French; 2001 This isn't a movie; it's a music video collection by the group Enigma. A lot of disparaging things can justifiably be said about the music video medium - it's blatant advertising, it's image promotion, it has nothing to do with or add to the music itself, etc. But sometimes it can be art. And sometimes it can add an entirely new element to the music, with new insights into the artist's themes and intentions. Thus is the case with this group, which happens to be my favourite. 'Return to Innocence' is a classic in the history of music video, and there's plenty of other gems here as well, dating back to 1990. I chose pretty well, if I say so myself. Thank you, Grandma! :) |