Kam's Movie Day

For some reason, when Brian is out of town, my life seems to lose all sense of structure and schedule. Not that there was much there to begin with, but I find myself puzzled at my lack of direction and sometimes motivation. Time to bring out the list of "to-do's" I know, but not this week...

Brian was in Istanbul for work for a few days this week. Instead of revisiting my ever-ending list of things I should be doing while he's away, I decided to indulge in the lack of purpose. I proclaimed Friday my Movie Day. In the space of 24 hours (beginning at midnight Thurs. night), I watched three movies. Those who know my daily routines would know that is a very excessive amount of movie watching for me. I can't remember the last time I watched three movies in a day (btw, Pride and Prejudice does not count, just for the record; it's long, but it's still just ONE movie). I thoroughly enjoyed all of them and find myself still thinking about all of them. So I share my thoughts, by movie:

1. The Prince of Egypt: Alicia and Randi would be surprised to know I'd never seen this one until this week. (I bought the Nashville edition soundtrack three years ago and was cruelly ridiculed as a cartoon nerd by my two best friends, can you believe!?) Okay, so it's the typical Moses story in Hollywood animation style. I loved it, and I thought it did a lot of justice to the elements of faith, courage, and principle, as the story in the Old Testament does. I especially liked the details of Moses' life as Raamses brother. Although that part was fabricated, it made me think about the relationship they might have had, and the courage it must have taken Moses to own his heritage and turn his back on his life as an Egyptian. It really illustrated the strength of his faith in a beautiful way. I also loved the song "Miracles" and the way it portrayed his sister, Miriam, as believing in him so completely. Great message.

2. A Walk to Remember: Another one I should have seen years ago but didn't. It brought me back to high school days, trying to fit in and figure out who I wanted to be. I like how the girl in the film has such confidence in herself and others. She's a little bit idealistic in some ways, but accepts her reality as well. She has a "list" of things she wants to do in life. The boy in the film is so sweet, helping her achieve her goals and dreams. It made me want to dig out my old journals and revisit some of my "lists." (You may be surprised to know that "live in London" is actually on one of those lists! ... along with "Learn to ice skate," "Learn a foreign language," and "graduate from college.") So, that movie made me think about making the most of every day, remembering my dreams, and appreciating the people who love me.

3. The Devil Wears Prada: I hired a babysitter and had a girls-night-out with a few friends from the church, and we went and watched it at the theatre. (Aside: paying the babysitter cost more than paying for dinner and a movie. weird... the things I never thought about when I was single.) So, this is a total chick-flick, kinda silly. It's not one I'd fully recommend, although I did enjoy it. Synopsis -- frumpy girl who doesn't care how she looks gets a very demanding job at a fashion magazine and ends up buying into the "looks are everything" idea for awhile. Her job becomes her life and her personal life starts falling apart before she realizes she's lost sight of the things that really matter to her. I liked this one because it hits home in some ways; how easy it is to lose focus and get priorities mixed up. Also, the girl in the film (Anne Hathaway) feels like she doesn't have a choice with most of the things that happen to her -- her boss pushes her into a lot of sticky situations, her peers demand things of her, etc., until her life is just taken over with this job she "didn't really care about." It made me think about how easy it is to feel like the victim and blame circumstances for the way things are, rather than accepting responsibility for my choices. Good points to provide a little bit of introspection, I thought.

Anyway, that was my Movie Day. It gave me some good food for thought.