Love Streams

Dashing delirium wurlitzer wishbone Kanata construct generous fusion, nebulous nightlife exotic elegance curious candidate finagled foment.

Bohemian research acute acquisition novel expenditure cozy collective, gossamer gathering improvised quota koala carousel visceral verse.

Ambivalent anchor Cervantes sash maladroit mosey articulate ramble, sugarfree solace direct illusion whippoorwill twirl evocative whirlwind.

Sombre divorce resigned declarations strict conclusion unforeseen outcome, calamitous critique tear-jerking jostle filial exclusion atemperate coda.

Atypical advice convivial counsel popinjay potash refurbished loom, constituent cavalier chortling kombucha salient sojourn vehement vase.

Sudden imposition reified reunion elusive child-rearing Nantucket nurture, inspired fraternal mischievous play intuitive revolt bold indiscretion. 

Occasional warmth paternal cohesion charming invention agile imagination, insouciant bearings rebellious burnish PTA nightmare artistic garb.

Disconsolate accident knick-knock-ninjitsu blatant bamboozle distressing fold, latent aggression habitual angst concrete folly baffled intentions.

Symphonic siblings chaotic orchestration swelling libretto compelling surges, dutiful company familial frittata sincere compassion eloquent strobe.

Distillate jubilee innocent clay unrehearsed remodelling campy admixture, soulfulbright aggregate domestic misfortune damning austerity discerning girth. 

Constructive teamwork contiguous clasp itinerant commune sporadic libra, jungle gymnastics dynamic dogme evergreen forest pyjambalaya. 

Bivouac browse menagerie mending auspicious adorable animal friends, in/variable groupings deciduous drumbeat invaluable semblance kettlecorn clan.

Undaunted optimism hastening grace laidback congregation fortuitous present, affable ancestry tumbledown tangents ludicrous license carnival crescents. 

No sense at all what's going to come next.

What does come encourages anticipation. 

Inherent romance.

Love Streams.  

In the Name of the Father

A young borderline ne-er-do-well buck earns a living through controversial means (Daniel Day-Lewis as Gerry Conlon), his dependable father supportive yet stern (Pete Postlethwaite as Giuseppe Conlon), his animate fortunes fluid yet dour.

He heads to England leaving Belfast behind in search of something non-specific in particular, meeting an old friend on his brisk maiden voyage (John Lynch as Paul Hill), the two finding their way to a commune. 

Jealousies cloud their smooth integration and conflict erupts within the bower, however, firmly necessitating agile itinerancy boldly embraced with freewheeling concessions.

But on that very same eve a long peaceful pub is scurrilously attacked, the two friends in the reckless vicinity, the police searching for someone to blame.

They're soon callously rounded up and slowly beaten into sedate submission, and the cops take their interrogations to the next level, and arrest most of Gerry's close family.

Father and son wind up sharing a cell amongst hardened felons unaccustomed to innocence, young Gerry broken yet looking for friends, aged Giuseppe resigned to his despondent fate.

Years later a determined lawyer resolutely seeks veracious social justice (Emma Thompson as Gareth Peirce), as applied to the wrongfully convicted victims of the heinous crime.

The police know they've imprisoned the wrong people since the legitimate culprit freely confessed.

Yet they're unwilling to admit their mistake.

As the years pass by interminably.  

I think a lot of the time the police do a great job, in fact they've been quite helpful on occasion, wrongfully imprisoning people to appease the public is frustratingly distasteful to say the least however.

Moving forward with intent to convict even though it's probable the suspects are innocent, leads to widespread mistrust in law enforcement, and derivate righteous anarchy.

In the Name of the Father holds law enforcement to account while uplifting honest independent inquiries, as a father and son languish in sensational injustice, and many others face similar sentences.

It proceeds too quickly at times, for it covers a lengthy time period, barely scratching the surface of what could have been said in a prolonged reflective series.

But the moments it does choose to share are considerate and make for thought provoking jurisprudent theatre, poignant pastimes and just grace and dignity cultivating passionate aggrieved freespirits. 

Mind-boggling to wonder why anything like the events in this film came to pass?

They had the proof of their innocence.

Politics and law, a dangerous combination. 

Final Portrait

"What was that?"

"No, that was months ago."

"What happened to, yes, no, hold on, it was, underneath this!"

"Damn it."

"Oh wait, that's it, I moved it over, here, haha, hey, whatever, got it, alright, focus, what was your question?"

"Oh, minutia."

"You expect me to remember precise details that I didn't even care about at the time or about people I never met or subjects I never studied?"

"I'm like a big freckle."

"I found this last week, try it, it's delicious and only costs $2.99."

"Have you ever had a readymade store bought sandwich with or without meat that tastes this good?"

"There's no one around, you don't have to pretend, you can lie and say you were humouring me later. If word gets out."

"Come on, it's sunny and +23."

"Nah, it's blends, mixes, swamp water, iridescence."

"I like that cats have whiskers."

"He was a golden-haired Adonis. A conversation with him was like going to a play. Logical too, a natural stream of unedited fact-checked sense, like you imagine a conversation with your favourite artist might be like except that he was less random."

"Look, I couldn't say anything, he knew everything I was going to say before I said it. To stand out I had to be vulgar and that doesn't work."

"'Fair weather frisk', no, 'gilded gambit'? Not quite. What about, 'jaded orchid'?"

"Impartial?"

"You don't like swimming?"

"Milk and sugar, no lemon."

"No."

"I've been meaning to do that."

"With an S."

"I always like that they played even when it was raining or snowing or foggy or freezing."

"It's not like that here, the same categories exist but they're less rigid, less determinate."

"It lasts a long time. Everything's blurry late-March early April."

"It's the little birds. That's where you find nature's best colouring."

"Well, a huge section of downtown is opened-up for free shows from local and international artists for two months in the Summer."

"I met one guy who could do a crazy Chewbacca."

"Learn a bit everyday, try to apply it."

"If you spend too much time worrying about negatives, you might never do anything. Just don't leap too quickly."

The Way

After Tom Avery (Martin Sheen) learns that his son Daniel (Emilio Estevez) has died while hiking El Camino de Santiago, he flies to France and decides to undertake the pilgrimage through Spain himself. Unprepared for the journey and approaching retirement, he buckles down and proceeds regardless to try and understand his son's bohemian spirit which he had routinely belittled throughout his life. While coping with his loss, he reluctantly befriends three younger adventurous subjects who take a mysterious shine to his rigorous no-nonsense elderly personality, each embracing the trek for different reasons. Their heterogeneous individualist assembly forms a peculiar undefined pact as they encounter a colourful cast of characters while seeking lodging along the way.

Emilio Estevez's The Way elastically populates a variety of different situations with thought provoking revelations towards its healing goal. Some of the dialogue and interactions could have benefitted from a careful study of Woody Allen or John Cassavetes, but I can't deny that he works well within his elevated wide-reaching down-to-earth frame.

Heated exchanges. Romantic musings. Acerbic challenges. Carefree suggestions. Confident purpose. Cohesive wanderings.

Unpredictable traumatic events necessitate change. Improvised determined responses supported by but not rooted within historico-cultural traditions can lead to revitalizing affects. Social opportunities and previously unconsidered theoretical trajectories abound after the embrace of the other. Letting go and enjoying the difference leads to spiritual rebirth.

The Way.

Le Havre

Loved Aki Kaurismäki's Le Havre.

The story follows the bohemian shoe shining Marcel Marx (André Wilms) as he manages his affairs and takes a refugee for whom the police are searching into his care (Blondin Miguel as Idrissa). Idrissa hopes to be reunited with his mother in London but circumstances suggest he'll be shipped back to Gabon. But Marcel, who can't even find enough cash to pay for his daily bread, rallies his friends to come to his aid. Forming an innovative impoverished indelible team, they create a potential working solution and boldly put their plan into action.

As the law rapidly closes in.

There's little pretence in this film as Kaurismäki's long patient shots of his cast showcase their hardened stoic demeanours. It's not trying to glamourize living off the beaten track or accentuate hardship. Rather, it modestly celebrates the crafty designs of a clever group of feisty individuals as they creatively stretch their limited resources in order to generate an emancipated opportunity.

Through the power of unification.

Detective Monet's (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) no slouch and has been ordered to make discovering Idrissa's whereabouts a top priority.

Marcel's wife Arletty (Kati Outinen) falls ill leaving everyone worried as he starts to take care of himself.

If you're searching for heartwarming, cheerful, humble escapes from the dominant discourses that consistently dehumanize underprivileged subjects, Le Havre should be high up on your list. The vitality constituting this wayward band of resilient ontologists temperately coordinates an immaculate sense of freedom.

Sans toit ni loi (Vagabond)

Drifting through the French countryside, Mona Bergeron (Sandrine Bonnaire) moves from place to place in search of a comfortable semantic translation. Unhappy working as a secretary, she sets out in search of a boss or a situation to whom/which she can easily relate. Refusing to accept anything else, dire circumstances occasionally present themselves to which she must spontaneously adjust. The acceptance of such adjustments produces a feisty tranquillity as she discovers sundry existential qualifiers from which she creates an ontological work in progress.

Agnès Varda presents Mona's story through a series of flashbacks from the final days of her life. She encounters a colourful cast of characters who offer advice and opportunities while reflecting on that/those presented by her bohemian lifestyle. A random cross-section of French culture is thereby curiously and interrogatively investigated as particularized observations are freely illuminated. Sans toit ni loi (Vagabond) lets its narrative subjectively moralize from multidimensional points of view without offering direct overarching evaluations.

The highs and lows of a transient lifestyle are mediated within as Mona consistently transforms from subject to object while remaining committed to her chosen path.

The film itself is in constant motion as ideas, constructs, and conceptions are tethered, liberated, confined, and released.