Some Kind of Wonder-full…

“Times are hard for dreamers”

One of many perfect lines from the film, Amelie.

Tokyo Sonata

Be you a “success” or a “failure”, ‘you are the only person in the world who can be you, and that is what we must hang onto.’

Revolutionary Road

‘People never forget the truth; they just get better at lying’

I was absolutely blown away by this film, starring Leonardo diCaprio and Kate Winslet as a 1950s couple.

At one level, it is the story of the inner workings of a marriage. The potential to be completely strangled by a relationship, the dynamics of power and manipulation, the insincerity. There are few films that paint such a true picture of the absurdities, the fights. In a weird way, I laughed so much – even though that laughter was tinged with pain – because it was so true to life.

On another level, the story is about that inner struggle between living the life that fulfils you and the everyday considerations of stability and ‘being able to pay the rent.’ For many, this is an inner struggle, and inevitably we come out somewhere in the middle of the two poles, but this fillm plays out that struggle within a marriage. I could empathise with both parties, but I think I felt more sympathy for guy – the slightly more conservative/scared one.

The film doesn’t particularly offer us an easy answer. It is a struggle, and it will always be a complicated one.