French films

I really want to make a concerted effort to post here. Upon re-reading my last post, though, I realized I wasn't saying too much and kind of dancing around topics, so I also want to be a bit more obvious without using this as a platform for rambling about every thought that crosses my mind ;)

So. Currently, or maybe as an on-going thing, I'm really into French films. This may or may not be related to the fact that I just watched Amélie this past week, it is hands-down one of the most insightful, creative films I have seen, plus it's got a good dash of romance in there, and the French do know how to put something romantic into a film. It's funny, though, that culture- it's a mix of subtle gestures and also overt affection, quite a paradox when you think about it.

I thought I'd share with you a few of my absolute favourites:

-Amélie - I love how it was directed (by Jean-Pierre Jeunet), and it's just so layered with good moments.

-Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (I've Loved You So Long)- Kristin Scott Thomas is phenomenal in this film, and it even makes me, a notorious non-movie-crier, shed a few tears. To be fair, when I watch it with Liz, she's in a puddle of tears next to me, so that helps ;)

-Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis- downright hilarious, if a bit hard to follow at times. It bears close attention or the accents lose you a bit. Dany Boon is wonderful, and so is the whole cast, really.

-MicMacs- another Dany Boon, directed by Jean Pierre Jeunet. Another winner, extremely quirky and smart and just enough of the odd factor as well.

-just about anything with Juliette Binoche. I'm kind of obsessed with her right now. Sometimes I'll watch something just because she's in it, which has led to some really strange films, some which felt like a nightmare that wasn't mine, in some kind of film noir genre. In general, though, she is inspiring in her performances. If you can sit through it, try The Red Balloon. It's long and seems disconnected but its images stay with you.

I'm sure there are more, but those are the ones that come to mind from what I've seen recently. Then there's all the other foreign films/independent films that explore culture, like the movie Bella, among others. I don't know many Québec movies but I have seen Père en flic which was pretty funny, and also Bon Cop, Bad Cop with Patrick Huard and Colm Feore, which wasn't as good as other films of its genre but I enjoyed the back-and-forth banter in French and English, a clever premise anyway.

Have any of you seen any from the list? Do you have any favourite foreign films?

~à bientôt, mes chéries! ~

In like a lion?

Is that the saying about March, in like a lion, out like a lamb? I hope it turns out to be true because we've been having some crazy winter weather and I just can't wait for spring.

On Saturday, I got the one goal in soccer (woo hoo!) even though we ended up losing, and I got a goal in ball hockey last night, which was also exciting because it's really not a familiar sport to me- I only started in the fall.

I'm hoping to get back into running, at least running once a week on top of sports, because in April I have a lot in a short time. One Saturday night I have a playoff game for soccer, the next morning, a half-marathon (that I have yet to sign up for...oops...), then that Thursday will be the CN Tower Climb for WWF Canada (that's world wildlife fund, not wrestling, heheh). That's right, I'm doing the climb again, all 1,776 steps, and hoping to beat my time from 2009. I have to, because I'm competing with a friend from work:)

The City is putting on a poetry contest in which the chosen poems will be displayed on the city buses for awhile. Isn't that exciting? I'd really like to enter one, but we'll see...I'm so picky in choosing poems to enter in things, but I find the idea charming.

Lately, I've been coming across the same concept more than once, through a blog, a sermon at church- it's the idea of dreaming big, and praying big, and not being afraid to pray for what is on our hearts. It's a challenge to me, because so often I think I can't bother God with those things, when really it should be my first response. That's what I'm thinking of these days.

Life is so busy right now, but it's also the time that I'm trying to make some fairly significant decisions regarding education, community involvement, etc. Wait, this sounds familiar, have I said that before? (heheh) So I sound like a broken record sometimes. It happens. Anyways, these things take time to sort out, so much time that I am hopeful the end result will be something happy, something that months of work and research and wrestling with ideas and my own mind will pay off in terms of something just right.

Sound vague? I know. It is. I'd love to share more but something keeps holding me back. Fear? Indecision? A strong sense of privacy? Maybe a bit of all of those. Isn't a blog supposed to be a forum for sharing? Maybe I'd better figure out once and for all what my point is with this blog.

In the meantime, I'll keep rambling... thanks for your patience...

~Anon~