The White Countess

Nobody told me that Ralph Fiennes starred in a movie called The White Countess with Natasha Richardson and the Redgrave sisters and that this movie was shown last year. My dad bought the DVD last week, and I got coerced to watch it last night. It just goes to show that the hole I have burrowed for myself is really deep and that I need to get out.

Anyway... The White Countess was set in Shanghai in the 1930s, just at the eve of World War II. The title refers to the name of the bar set up by Todd Jackson (Ralph Fiennes), an ex-diplomat who lost his family and his sight in a series of tragedies. The title also refers to Sofia Belinskaya (Natasha Richardson), a Russian countess who was displaced by the Russian revolution along with the rest of the aristocracy, and who was forced to work as a taxi dancer (and probably a prostitute) to support her daughter and the rest of her family.

To me, the movie is full of contrasts. A blind man who sees perfection in a woman supposedly tarnished by the work she does. A woman who faces hard reality squarely to keep a family whose members cling stubbornly to memories of wealth and indulgence, which shall never come again into their lives, from starving. A bar that stood by itself, the realization of a dream of all that is balanced and beautiful, amidst chaos.

The White Countess is told simply, understated and yet poignant. The cinematography is marvelous, sometimes whimsical, sometimes sensual, but never harsh even in the portrayal of hardship. It is a beautiful movie, and I yearn to watch it again.

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On Breaks, Wimbledon, and "Ordinary Lives"

It has been a helluva couple of weeks. I have managed to score a couple of good projects, and I got so busy working on them that I was almost literally plastered to the seat in front of my computer. There was hardly any time for anything, except for raiding the fridge, four-hour shuteyes, and bathroom breaks -- the latter including showers, of course.

Thus is the reason why I have failed to update this blog on that given period.

Oh, alright. I admit it. I did sneak out to watch Andre Agassi's final Wimbledon matches. He is one of my many loves and my heart breaks at the thought of his impending retirement from the tennis circuit. But hey, he's already 36 years old. He does need to retire.

I also admit to watching Robert Redford's Ordinary People on DVD.

That movie is certainly something. High on emotional content, yet carried out in a subdued, understated manner. After all, do ordinary people really go into hysterics when tragedy strikes them, as soap operas often depict? Well, some do, but most just try to carry on as if nothing happened.

But I digress.

In a nutshell, Ordinary People tells of a family dealing with the death of the older, favorite son in a boating accident. The death leads the younger son to blame himself for the death and try to take his own life. The father tries to pull his family together, but his attempts are often foiled by the mother's bitterness and inability to forgive.

The movie's charm is that it is so heavy in drama, but it is so understated. No breakdowns till somewhere at the tail end of the story. Also, as the characters look for what is truly wrong with their lives, they bring the audience with them in their search. Plus, it is the first time I have seen Donald Sutherland cry.

Great movie. Truly engaging, truly deserving of its Oscars. A definite must watch.

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