Fave Movie Moments: Forrest Gump

First day of school, young Forrest (Michael Conner Humphreys) is already bullied in the schoolbus because of his "otherness." His schoolmates refuse to give him a seat, saying:

"This sayt's tay-ken."

"It's tay-ken."

"You can't sit with us!" (Oops. Wrong film.)

Hoping somebody would be kind enough to offer him a seat, Forrest walks on by. Grumpy young faces here and there. Shaking their head and turning their eyes away from the new kid in school, these brats are determined to bully Forrest.

"You can't sit here!" One of the boys said.

And then a tiny mellifluous voice says to Forrest:

"You can sit here if you woant."

Fave Movie Moments: Blue is the Warmest Color

While watching Blue is the Warmest Color, I can't help but be enthralled by the beauty of that lady. And I'm not talking about Léa Seydoux. Not even Adèle... Ex... Exer... Exa... Exarch... Exarchopu — wait, I can do this — Exarchopoulos.

I was talking about this lady...

(Image source here.)

Da who? Actress is Alma Jodorowsky, Alejandro's granddaughter. Her character in the film is called Béatrice, the first "blue" lady to bring warmth into Adèle's la vie.

Actresses Who Committed Suicide

Razors pain you,
Rivers are damp,
Acids stain you,
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful,
Nooses give,
Gas smells awful.
You might as well live.

- Dorothy Parker, Résumé

By now you've probably heard about Robin Williams' suicide; hanged himself with a belt. The man had a jovial persona, but deep inside he was — based on his demise and past drug/alcohol addiction — troubled. It wasn't he who killed himself, depression did.

When you are depressed: (1) admit it to yourself, (2) do not turn to drugs and/or alcohol as doing so can cloud your judgment, (3) do not even try to hide your depression, and (4) talk to someone — there's always someone out there who's willing to listen without judging.

If you're in the US there's Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255). For those in the Philippines, there's NGF: (632) 804-HOPE (4673) and 0917-558-HOPE (4673).

When you are feeling low, please don't hesitate to call those numbers. There's always suicide prevention hotlines in your country. Seek help. Fight depression.

A Resonant Visual Elegy

HELENA

Marc Webb, 2005

Some nine years ago, there was this music video I found rather weird yet addicting. It shows a dead lady (dancer Tracy Phillips) who wakes up in her casket, dances on a church aisle while people mourn over her death, then she goes back to her casket. There's also a group of emotional dancers stealing the show, turning the lady's funeral into a quasi Pina Bausch spectacle.

Village of the Damned

THE WHITE RIBBON

Michael Haneke, 2009

Children scare me sometimes, especially über precocious ones. Scheming and seething adults in the form of cute and supposedly innocent children. You know, those kids who look at you as if they can read your very thoughts while mentally indicting you for having those thoughts — whatever they may be. The alien kids in Village of the Damned, the children of the corn, and the young ones in The White Ribbon. Yeah. You better not mess with them.

Cinematography: The White Ribbon

THE WHITE RIBBON (2009)

Director: Michael Haneke

Cinematographer: Christian Berger

Aside from its meticulously woven story and its meditative rural setting, the other thing that is worth checking out in The White Ribbon is its Bergmanesque cinematography.

Christian Berger is said to have drawn inspiration from the works of Sven Nykvist, Ingmar Bergman's cinematographer.

"CABBAGE DAY!"

(If you like crappy American movies, you'll get that joke.)