However, though Christmas is for anyone who wants to celebrate, let us never forget the real reason why we celebrate, okay? It’s CHRISTmas! I’m not against any Christmas figure, but there’s a reason it’s not called “Clausemas”, or any other “-mas”.
Why we celebrate CHRISTmas
If you’re not Christian, that’s okay. No real religion is bad religion. Practice the good that yours preach. If it doesn’t teach you any good, then what are you doing in it?
If you have no religion, then celebrate humanity. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to be human, but it does require effort from you.
Please, always stay positive and keep smiling. Never let depression rule you. It’s a debilitating disease — the longer you nurture depression, the more it will debilitate you. It could be clinical, yet it doesn’t mean you should let it rule your life. It’s hard, we know and we understand, but ultimately, it’s all up to you. Many have succumbed to this deadly affliction; don’t be part of the statistics. We love you. You are important to us. Maybe we are just not good at showing it.
This world is not an easy world to live in. It is up to us to make things work the way we want them to work. Just be happy for the world even if the world seems to smile downwards. Give and expect nothing in return. Spread love and joy and you will feed the hungriest of hearts.
I was just rummaging through my stuff some weeks ago and found something I wanted to share. Then I forgot. So I was rummaging again and voila! This is a brief film review that I had to write for school. Obviously, I was much younger, judging from the lack of depth and the way I wrote, but I’m sharing anyway. Changed just a word or two, added names of actors and edited the looooong paragraph. No stars given as I need to see the movie again to be able to cirticize better.
This must be my very first film review, ever! My advanced apologies 🙂
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One of my first film reviews, and it shows! Oh, well, just in time for a post-Holy Week post. Found this from the Boston University site
AT PLAY IN THE FIELDS OF THE LORD
In my opinion, At Play in the Fields of the Lord is not simply a movie. It is a movie of importance.
Historically, Filipinos can relate to the Indians’ problem. That is why even if I haven’t personally experienced what my ancestors and the Indians went through, I can understand how they felt. The introduction of Christianity is a noble deed, as long as one is sincere in his intentions, and the effect on the ones to whom it is introduced would not be more on the negative side.
In the movie, it is cleary shown that there are people like Leslie (John Lithgow) who pretend, who try to appear so saintly, when they do not really care about the “uncivilized.” I don’t know if there is such a thing, but I would call it the ‘Hero Complex.’ There are people who feel like they are the only ones who can save everyone and feel like the world owes it to them. It is also clearly shown in the movie that what is good for you may not be good for others, that if you push them to comply with what you think is right, it may just hurt them.
Like the experience of the Indians. They were not ready to embrace Christianity. They were only coaxed with goods. Where did that lead them? Martin (Aidan Quinn) was sincere in his intentions but still, he resorted to bribery, reason enough for the Indians to embrace Christianity without being ready. And what about Lewis Moon (Tom Berenger)? He did not want Christianity to enter the tribes. In fact, he joined the Indians. But it proved to be dangerous. He wasn’t about to let go of what he was in the past, kissed Leslie’s wife Andy (Daryl Hannah), and killed practically the whole tribe…Sometimes, it is better to let others be.
Some aspects of the movie may not be realistic but the fact is, most of it is realistic, even the nudity. Basically, the movie is actually good.
NOTE:I wrote this way back in 2009 so the office I was referring to was a different one from the office I go to now. I have been slowly re-posting stuff from my Multiply account and now that they’ve decided to concentrate on online marketing rather than providing free blog service, I thought I’d continue with the re-posting. WARNING: The preview is a spoiler. Watch at your own risk ;p
You’d think I could’ve seen it in movie theaters or on TV, or maybe as rented video.
None of the above.
It was actually at our office’s workshop last February. It was shown to us to get a message across. Oh, yeah, we got the message, and more! I could’ve cried, too, if I wasn’t keeping myself in check. It was not even the whole movie! Simply a preview. However, the preview told us everything we needed to know.
The MOST heartbreaking film
The title is Most, I just recently found out. When I did, I thought it meant something along the line of “Most-loved” or “Most-this, most-that” and assumed that the one who showed it to us just called it The Bridge because, well, a bridge figured prominently in the story, aside from a train. A more recent personal research told me that it is actually a 33 minute-long Czechoslovakian film produced by East Wind Films, shot in the Czech Republic and Poland. And guess what “bridge” is in the Czech language? “Most,” my dear Watson.
The movie is a winner of prestigious national and international awards. It was also nominated in the Oscar’s as Best Live-Action Short in 2004. Didn’t win. Perhaps because it lacked all the other visual and complicated-story elements preferred by the common Hollywood society. Nice cinematography but not enough to warrant an Oscar. Plot? Uncomplicated, I suppose, at least based on what I’ve seen (hey, I just saw a preview, okay?).
But you know, it’s the plot that got to me. If we were to suppose it as real life, I doubt that we would not think it complicated, especially since it had to do with choosing, being suddenly trapped in a VERY BIG MORAL AND EMOTIONAL DILEMMA. If you are the bridgemaster (played by Vladimir Javorsky) confronted with this, you are left with three questions—What will you do? Which should you choose? Which future will you take or save? There is actually just one answer needed and it is literally in your hands. And no matter what you choose, what you don’t choose can haunt you forever. There will always be the what-if’s, but the answer will never satisfy you because either way, that one mistake WILL result in tragedy. You will pay dearly for that one thing left unchosen.
If we are to think hard enough and dissociate ourselves emotionally from the movie, we can say that the main character has chosen the right thing. But that’s just it. The character itself is so in it emotionally that his decision will leave you ironically both devastated and wanting to pat him on the back for having made the right decision. I swear, if I were put in this same dilemma, I wouldn’t be sure if I’d even have the guts to choose rightly. I guess you never really know what will happen until you cross the bridge, pardon the pun, like what the bridgemaster would learn the moment a familiar face in the crowd emerges once more long after the tragedy.
I just saw the preview, but Most just made it to my top and—uh—most favorite films list. It’s really a movie for all. You can take it any way you want: a family story, a father-and-son relationship, a drama, a religious story (which it is), a story of bravery, a modern-day parable, a suspense story even. Let me just say that it is mostly a story of real love and sacrifice. Tragic, touching, moving, edgy, beautiful—all these have been used to describe the film and I say they are all right.
Given the chance and enough resources, I would grab the opportunity to acquire an actual copy of it. Who cares if I can’t understand a word they say? That’s what subtitles are for, anyway. Simple and uncomplicated, though in the more shallow sense of the words, I HIGHLY recommend that you see this film should you have the chance, preview or no preview. I’m sorry I can’t give more clues or the premise until you’ve seen the preview, or I’ll be giving away the story already.
I don’t care what the Oscar’s say. For me, this is a WINNER!
The End Justifies the Journey 