19 AUG 2017 / Sometimes, I wish there are subtitles for accent-noobs like myself so that I wouldn't have to concentrate so hard on the words spoken and can instead focus more on the nuances in expressions and the plot in general. That said, Grease (1978) had been a joy to watch, if not for its upbeat song-dance choreography, then for the audiences' uncanny ability to catch the right beat and clapped along! In fact, Grease wasn't our first choice - Xy wanted to watch Top Gun coz Tom Cruise whereas I wanted to go for Life Is Beautiful ... So yeah, we decided on Grease in the end if this makes sense to you HAHA
20 AUG 2016 / Woohoo we were back at Fort Canning for the third year straight to catch a film under the night sky with hundreds others (: I still think the first open air cinematic experience we went for back in 2014 was the most timeless, with our choice of film (Breakfast at Tiffany's - which in itself is already a classic) and the fact that that was THE first ????? Sis joined us last year for The Imitation Game, which actually is a good movie (personal preference to use the word movie for more contemporary films) but Idk, this kind of setting calls for more romanticism and classics lend a feeling both sentimental and implicitly magical - it's just a different quality of feeling.
THE OPENING SONG WHICH HAD ME EXCLAIMING "DAMN NICEEE"
The thing about Forrest Gump (1994) is that I don't have words to describe how very special it is. The story unfolds in this weird and non-linear manner, even to the point of being monotonous, but all in a good way. It also tells of quiet truths against an epic backdrop, and suddenly I feel like the answer lies in the paradox.
And the death parts always get to me.
You know what makes this part so sad ????? It's coz you know Forrest Gump's an honest bloke and he means what he says and I feel like it's so hard to find anyone who mean what they say anymore, and maybe deep down, Im afraid one day I won't mean what I say. And also coz he loves Jenny so much, for so long - "Why don't you love me, Jenny? I'm not a smart man ... but I know what love is."
BUT THIS IS THE PART WHICH I LOVE THE MOST:
The next day after Jenny left him (againz), he started to run - "That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since I run this far, maybe I'd just run across the great state of Alabama. And that's what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason, I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going. When I got to another ocean, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well just turn back, keep right on going."
And so he ran and ran, for 3 years, 2 months, 14 days and 16 hours.
Until he stops and turns around - "I'm pretty tired ... I think I'll go home now."
In this way, he heals himself. And my tears flow coz this is actually a beautiful way of healing.
"My Mama always said you've got to put the past behind you before you can move on."
ANOTHER FAV QUOTE FRM THE FILM:
Jenny:
Were you scared in Vietnam?
Forrest:
Yes. Well, I-I don't know. Sometimes it would stop raining long enough for the stars to come out ... and then it was nice. It was like just before the sun goes to bed down on the bayou. There was always a million sparkles on the water ... like that mountain lake. It was so clear, Jenny, it looked like there were two skies one on top of the other. And then in the desert, when the sun comes up, I couldn't tell where heaven stopped and the earth began. It's so beautiful.
"You know what's wrong with you, Miss Whoever-you-are? You're chicken, you've got no guts. You're afraid to stick out your chin and say, "Okay, life's a fact, people do fall in love, people do belong to each other, because that's the only chance anybody's got for real happiness." You call yourself a free spirit, a "wild thing", and you're terrified somebody's gonna stick you in a cage. Well baby, you're already in that cage. You built it yourself. And it's not bounded in the west by Tulip, Texas, or in the east by Somali-land. It's wherever you go. Because no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself."
- Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Saturday had been a beautiful affair. Xy and I were down at Fort Canning in the late evening to find people spreading themselves out nicely across the lawn with mats laid out, finger food and beverages waiting to be consumed. So many of them brought real food along, I was like slowly taking in my KFC fries. But to each her own right, coz I think fries go with any occasions. We two settled down atop steps instead of on the lawn, which might be for the better coz our spot gave us an elevated view. Then again, the size of the screen didn't warrant an elevated view. I didn't even need to wear my specs!
Right before the film started, Xy turned to me asking "Did you feel the rain?" I was like nooo, and then I felt it - that one tiny drop on my right cheek. Wtf, this was an all-weather event. Do we really have to watch the film in the rain?! Anyhoo I brought my umbrella. But before the opening credits ended, the rain stopped. Lol, Idk the rain just decided it shouldn't spoil an Audrey Hepburn film I guess.
This was my first open-air cinema experience, as well as the first time I watched Breakfast at Tiffany's in its entirety. And I love everything about it - right down to the rain that came and went too fast. Just imagine, when it came to the part where Holly was thumbing her guitar singing along to Moon River I looked up into the night sky to see a full moon, her silver luminosity quite glad of Audrey Hepburn serenading audiences even after a good fifty years. The film, the music score - so timeless. And I got to share that with hundreds others, it had been perfect (:
