The period drama addict:Onegin 1999

Onegin has got to be the best movie I’ve seen in a long long time.
For plotline go to wikipedia.I’ll just give you what I understood.
It’s about meeting true love and recognizing true love.Tatyana knows she will love Onegin since the first time she sees him.And she does.She can’t stop loving him.But Onegin,bored and condescending ,fails to understand himself.

Years later,he finds that he does love her,but it’s now too late.She loves him still,she’s unhappy but she is married and she is determined to be loyal to her husband.
It sounds…hmm.It sounds cheesy somewhat.There are so many films about adultery and love outside marriage…I hate the concept, it’s cheap,but this is different.This seems real.
And I can relate to the characters.I understand Tatyana’s passionate yet stable and loyal nature.And I understand Onegin too.He didn’t know himself,he didn’t understand and when he began to,he repressed his feelings using what he called reason.
Of great importance in this film,are the social interactions,typically Russian.Not much action,but a lot of psychology.
I thought those and the eye games were very interesting.I was captured(but my brother and sister both thought it was boring…hmmm,the Lara Croft generation).The psychological aspects of each conversation,were,in a subtle way,underlined.And every glance had it’s importance.The characters didn’t even need to talk much to explain themselves,they were,even speechless,self explanatory.But not transparent as in…not exposed for the entire party to see.
It’s so hard to explain.
Perhaps the intensity of the feeling is so well transmitted to the viewer because it’s not exposed verbally,but by means of non verbal communication.
Tatyana and Evgheni are both tortured souls.There are no words to express the tortures of a soul in a way that is as powerful as silence.
Of course the actors were amazing,Ralph Fiennes and Liv Tyler.
The music was wonderful,I kept looking for the soundtrack but I can’t find it.Perhaps one day I’ll buy it.
One day I’ll read the book too.
This movie ends unhappily.The two people who love each other,who are perfect for each other and who will love each other all their lives,cannot be together.It is their destiny to not be together.
But to me,it was not an unhappy ending.I only saw the love bit.They love each other.
Love is said to cause pain,but no one wants to live without it.Is it better to live without pain and without knowing true love,or is it better to love and suffer?
Of course it’s the latter.And it seems to me that as the movie ends,both characters are bigger,know themselves better,perhaps respect themselves more(I mean self respect).
I am an incurable optimist.As the movie ends,the story continues.
And I’ll even throw in a clip ;).

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Vanity fair…

I’ve been really busy these last few days and I really had no time for myself,so I haven’t seen much of nothing really except if it’s a cleaning tool.
I did however watch “Vanity fair” one night when I was tired,unpicky and I couldn’t find the remote so I stuck with what was running on the national television.

VANITY FAIR 2004 with Reese Witherspoon, Jonathan Rhys Meyers(my…his name is hard to spell) and Romola Garai.
The distribution was great.Reese W. makes a lovable…(although perhaps too lovable and utterly unhateable Becky Sharp).The reason I initially didn’t want to watch this movie was her.She’s usually too thin and too blonde.None were the case here.She was pregnant appearantly and her hair had a bit of a darker reddish tone.So once I was past her physical aspect I found she can actually act(Oh come on,that’s just mean) and I liked her.Believable,lovable and mercantile Becky .
Anyway,I guess I wasn’t tired enough bcoz it annoyed me that I couldn’t see her cold rational mind games.They only showed me feelings.Lots of feelings.Not excessively for a random movie,but we’re talking about Vanity Fair.Feelings is exactly what this girl is supposed to have in very little quantity.
I wanted to see the wicked Becky and they show me the lovable Becky.*sigh*.
Romola Garai was wonderful as Amelia,she pictured her perfectly…but then again Romola Garai can play any part perfectly.Sadly we don’t really get her entire story due to time restrictions(they should’ve made a miniseries) but her you truly understand exactly as Thackeray wanted her to be understood.Dobbin and Cpt Crawley,on the other hand,are mismatched.Wrong Wrong Wrong.
They’re wroooong for the part.I hate them.
Whatever.
The plotline doesn’t go by the book much…it would be impossible to fit that big a book in 2 hours.
Jonathan R.M. was,of course,as usually,great as Osborne.
Enough with the good bits,let’s get to the nasty part(those were the good bits ?!?)
Whoever wrote the script and whoever approved it and whoever considered it good enough to be financed should be beaten at the bear gluteus maximus in a public market.Why?Because it turnsVanity Fair into a 1930s drama with a hint of whore house.
Steyne wants more from Becky…a whole lot more than in the book.He wants her virtue and Becky is hurt.She doesn’t want anything.She only wants to give him everything back and she wishes she never met him…or so we are led to believe(judging by acting,lights…ya know,nonverbal means of communication).
And they also have a previous bond->he has a painting of her when she was a child.
The funny part was the dancing(was the king present?…no one noticed,we were all too shocked by the Everything the ladies were doin’ to observe his royal highness).
Honestly!!!We’re supposed to be in the 1870 or something and the distinguished ladies have the hips in plain public view.What can we do?How are we to not criticize when we are given such food ;)) ?
The best bit was after the ladies are done dancing and the king flirts with Becky a lil bit,demanding that she is seated next to him.A baroness(or something) dressed as a belly dancer, makes an objection and the king looks at her for a second.Sorry,I just can’t take you seriously when you’re wearing that.
Ok,that line was only in my head.
Overall(wow,I DO criticize a lot!),I kinda liked it.Please take notice that I did hesitate when I said that.Imagine it this way:-I…kiiiiinda liked it…hmmm.Nope.
There you go.It’s an adaptation for the young minds or for the unread ones.I guess it means to make the story understandable for teens who can’t conceive the 19th century ways.
Buh-bye now.
ps.I am really really enormously tired.

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