The Kindergarten Teacher

Caught this film at the recent Israel Film Festival – decided to give myself a break given that I’ve missed so many movies I would have liked to catch this year! A film about a young boy’s talent for words and poetry, and his kindergarten teacher’s growing obsessiveness with nurturing him and his talent. That his home environment was not supportive seemed to spur her determination on to bring him to greater heights.  Some lines are blurred as the audience wonders whether she is truly doing it for him or to feed her own ego and sense of achievement.

To digress – I couldn’t help but think that that’s how teaching today has come to be. I recall hearing ex-colleagues say: “I did this with the class, as a result they are…”. “So-and-so from my class got this and that achievement. I remember telling him…” Once, I thought a colleague seemed on the verge of expressing pride at herself when her student did well in his CCA, when he wasn’t even in her CCA! I know it’s good for teachers to be proud of their students and the work they do, but pride that comes from “Its my effort – they wouldn’t have achieved so much without me“- is simply egoism, don’t you think?

I know, because I’ve felt that way. And it’s a continuous battle to keep that pesky ego in check.

Anyway, back to the film- I found the ending slightly disturbing, even though I had inklings about where she was headed from some scenes in the middle. I think I sensed some transferencial relationships going on as well. Psychologically thought-provoking. I loved the play with words and poetry throughout as well. We can only wonder how much of the passages’ lyrical beauty was lost in translation.

Barfi // Vivah

Watched 2 Bollywood films recently, through the magic and convenience of YouTube. After a dry spell, I think I’ve rekindled my love for this culture and genre of films. The music, song, dance – all so magical! The romantic escapist in me is satisfied.

 

Story about a mute and deaf man, and 2 women in his life – one of them with autism. The film is a true work of art in the aspect of communication without words.

 

Reviews didn’t treat this movie too kindly, describing it as lacking in any plot or storyline, making it more documentary than film-like. But for some reason, I sat through the whole 2 and a half hours, captivated by the very mundaneness of the characters’ lives and relationship development (not forgetting the music and vocals which were superb!). And there was a little climax at the end after all, which made me feel slightly rewarded 🙂

 

I love Bollywood.

Schindler’s List

In last week’s class discussion, we spoke about the humanistic views of psychology. How seeing life as a paradox can, to certain extents, help us accept our shortcomings, failures and sufferings better (hence therapies with a humanistic approach may not always aim to cure, especially in severe cases, but will aim to promote acceptance and growth within the individual’s capacity).

In the paradox of life, one might come to the following conclusions –

Without sadness, we will know no joy.
Without the pain of separation, we will not know the joy of reunion.
Without loss, we will not know how to appreciate what we have.
Without tragedy, we will know no hope.

I suppose seeing the world through paradoxic lens does make living a little less tiring, a little more bearable.

But, as I once read someone saying, you don’t necessarily need to know the taste of bitter gourds to fall in love with chocolates.

I still tend to question certain things, and there are still some things that seem harder to find meaning in. Watching films like Schindler’s List just makes me ponder about these things.

Perhaps its time to re-read Man’s Search for Meaning.

Phas Gaye Re Obama

Sometimes I seriously wonder where Bollywood gets all their seemingly original and superbly creative ideas from.

Is it a case of, when society becomes too structured (like in some other Asian countries), people lose the will to think out of the box and hence lose creativity?

 

Anyway, that aside, this was a hilarious film, with satire at its best. Loved it.

 

What We Can Learn From Monsters

To be more specific, a supposedly non-scary, one-eyed, green little guy called Mike Wazowski.

(picture source)

1. Begin with the end in mind

2. We can all achieve great things, if you know what are the great things you want

3. It’s not who you are, but who you choose to become

4. See the best in everyone, it will make your world a better place

5. Let it come from the gut

6. Never stop growing (literally and metaphorically)

I watched the movie with the brother today, and these are just some of the learning points we came up with. It really was quite an inspirational film, about going all out for your dreams, and how our dreams gives us meaning. (Meaning! Again!)

It certainly gave me some food for thought on a Youth Day off.

And tomorrow, I shall continue working towards making my dream come true.

Zero Dark Thirty

“An eye for an eye, leaves the whole world blind.”

I didn’t really enjoy the show, for several obvious reasons.

Too much of Hollywood, too much of American-centricness. Too much of revenge and hate.

I know I’m being biased myself, but I can’t help it. Shall stick to quiet art films for the soul next time.

In The House

 

A dark, yet humorously witty film about a teacher and a gifted student who started writing about one of his classmates in his literature assignments. The line between fiction and reality is blurred, the moment real-life characters are turned into fiction at the tip of the pen.

One of the main themes which struck me deeply through the film was that of our inner desires.

What forms them? How do we even know what kind of desires lie within us?

And these desires, once manifested – to what extent will we go to fulfill them?

The film portrays this and more, interweaving the intricacies of human thought and actions into a tapestry of subplots and happenings.

Fascinating.