Movies Worth Sharing

Sorry y'all, but this won't be a humorous post.  However, the past several weeks I have seen three films I found especially moving and would like to share them.  They are The Pianist, Girl With a Pearl Earring, and The Painted Veil.  Though it may come as a surprise, I love dramas. The typical, cheese-puffed chick-flick often grates on my nerves.  I like my romances to be flooded with realism.  Anyways, here are the movies I felt worth sharing: 

The Pianist: Based on the life of musician and Polish Jew, Wladyslaw Szpilman, The Pianist is a harrowing yet beautiful, hopeful tale.  Living in the Warsaw ghetto, Szpilman (Adrien Brody) alone escapes being shipped to a concentration camp like the rest of his family, who he never sees again.  Alienated from the family he loves, he begins survival through a series of hellish events. Unlike other characters in the movie, Mr. Szpilman maintains his goodness despite the horrendous, atrocities challenging his character.  His crusade for survival is surprisingly aided by a German Nazi, who later dies in a Russian POW camp.   Here is the trailer: 

Adrien Brody won a well-deserved Oscar for his spectacular performance in this movie.  This is a truly wonderful film, but I do not recommend it to anyone with a weak stomach.  Because the movie depicts some of the gruesome acts performed by the Nazis, I had to look away from the screen occasionally.  There are just absolutely, terrible things portrayed int he movie, however, I love the portrayal of goodness shining through individuals despite the war's harsh, devilish times.   

Girl With a Pearl Earring: The next movie I saw was Girl With a Pearl Earring.  Starring Colin Ferth and Scarlett Johansson, Girl With a Pearl Earring is based on the novel written by Tracy Chevalier, which is based on the following Johannes Vermeer painting: 

Little is known about Vermeer's life, or the girl in the painting.  Speculation holds that she was a maid (named Griet in the book and film)was living in the Vermeer household.  The movie depicts Vermeer (Colin Ferth) obsessing over the maid's beauty, and Griet (Scarlett Johannson) in turn  becoming infatuated with Vermeer.  Although the main character, Johannson has barley any lines adding to Griet's sadness and the lowliness of her station as a maid.  I like this film because every scene looked like a Vermeer painting; it was just beautiful.  Also, it was interesting to see what life could have been like for a Dutch maid in the 1600's.  

The Painted Veil: Most recently, I saw The Painted Veil, which stars Edward Norton and Naomi Watts.  I was blown away.  Here is the trailer: 

Not too long after seeing this movie, I had a conversation with a dear friend, M*.  

After expressing his wish to "just get up and go to some remote place in Asia to get away from everything and ponder," we had the following conversation:  

Lindsay Mecham: 

Me too! i just finished watching The Painted Veil...and am wishing I was in some secluded Chinese village.

M*:

I really liked that movie even though it was a little depressing at points it was still upliftingat the end.

Lindsay Mecham:

Agreed. Their love story was so beautiful and harrowing all at once. I love the forgiveness in the end. Lovely film.

M*:you know I'm glad you recognize that, cause the girl I saw it with just kept saying how depressing she thought it was, but the story is so real. It's a true love story in that they had issues and dealt with them and fixed them instead of running from them and giving up. And like you said the forgiveness on both their parts, and really sacrificing and learning to love each other is inspiring. I wonder if the director even thought about this, but I think their ability to learn to love each other came in a great degree as they served others. It is through their selfless service to others that they were able to grow in there ability to love, and therefore love one another.

I included this conversation, because I think M* put it perfectly.  The Painted Veil is not your typical, cheesy, unrealistic chick-flick, but a true romance.  Their love is challenged, but they both learn to forgive each other.  It is beautiful, but I recommend having some nearby Kleenex when watching this film. 

And there you have it--The Pianist, Girl with a Pearl Earring, and The Painted Veil.