Ikiru

“The best way to protect your place in this world is to do nothing at all. But is this really what life is about?”

Children of Men

A movie worth watching.

The movie takes place in a world torn apart by greed and lack of hope. The world is haunted by the reality that no children have been born for 18 years. It is a world with no future.

There is a scene in this movie that I will remember forever. As a battle is a raging between British officials and a rebel group, the cry of a baby is heard in the middle of the explosions and screams of the injured. And something mystical happens. The residents hiding in their rooms, protecting themselves from the random bullets straffing through their building, begin to poke their heads out into the hallway, reaching out to touch the baby as her mother and Clive Owen walk by. The sergeant leading the charge into the building changes his commands from "Charge in" to "Cease Fire". As he yells "Cease Fire", you hear his followers echoing his command throughout the building. "Cease Fire". The soldiers put up their weapons. Some cross themselves. All are amazed. All are taken with the newness. Everything stops.

This stopping. This cease fire. There is something in the newness of the baby. In the middle of the fray of the battle.

There was an earthquake two thousand years ago. An opening of a tomb. A surge of hope.

Movie Consumption Weekend

So Aubrey and I had quite a relaxing weekend. In the relaxation we partook in three movies (all rented), which is quite a feat for us.

Friday Night: Munich

Wow. Powerful look at the toll that terrorism takes on all sides of the equation. If you're gonna watch this, I recommend that you watch Paradise Now as well. And the story is told well.

Saturday Night: Everything is Illuminated

Aubrey and I laughed and cried our hearts out in this one. Not funny like Dumb and Dumber or Black Sheep and not sappy like the Wedding Planner, but a witty account of cultures colliding. Let's put it this way, one of the main characters is a Ukranian who loves Micheal Jackson and is an English translator for an American Jew looking for a woman who saved his grandfather's life.

Sunday Afternoon: Corpse Bride

This was mostly pleasurable...all of it is clay animation, which is quite impressive. And there is some witty banter in this as well. Slightly dark, but showing that there is light even in the darkest places.

Brothers Grimm

Saw Brother's Grimm with Joe and Chris yesterday. It was a good flic. Good mix of action, suspense, myster and laughter. A funny take on fairy tales too.

There was a point in the movie where Jake Grimm (magic beans guy) is talking to the Angelika about the mystery that surrounds the village.

And he says something like:

"All the stories before haven't been real. This one's real. It's alive. And we're in it."

Would love to get a clip of that. Made me think of our story as followers of Christ. It's the first real story. It's the first story ever. It's alive. It's real. And we're in it.