Head over heels

A gem of a short film. Pity it didn’t win in the Oscars but its nomination was good enough.

Its magic lies in the powerful and counter-cultural message.

The story is about the effort and sacrifice that a loving relationship needs in order to keep going. I think we often see romances and friendships that wilt and die off because no one bothered to care for them. With this film, I want to remind people that it’s worth the effort. When you love somebody, a sacrifice is not painful—it’s joyful. (Interview with filmmaker Timothy Reckart, Verily Magazine Feb 2013).

These days when even relationships are included among the disposables, the movie presents a refreshing reprieve. Due to irreconcilable differences, Walter and Madge live on opposite sides of the same house: she on the ceiling and him on the floor (its animated remember, anything is possible). For all practical purposes, they live separate lives, but, significantly, still under the same roof. For hopeless romantics and inveterate optimists, this is telling. It spells hope in a possible reconciliation.

But that’s not all. Film director Timothy Reckart is not afraid to portray what it takes to make a relationship work.

When you look at romantic comedies, you are almost always looking at films that deal with the beginning of a relationship, when chemistry is really the dominant force. Hormones, nerves, and a desire for the unattainable do a lot of work. A lot of times you really do “fall” in love, the same way you’d fall out of a chair. It doesn’t take effort. But that stage of love doesn’t last. Once that initial blush fades away, love becomes a choice and an act, rather than an emotional state. I don’t think Hollywood films deal with that very often, and I think it has given Westerners a warped view of how relationships are supposed to work.

Love as choice. How many think this way still? How many understand relationships as a work in progress? And what prevents them from doing so?

I think misunderstanding is a constant fact of relationships, romantic or otherwise. Even in the political sphere, on the level of society at large, we have a problem with left and right misunderstanding each other. It’s a real problem. Ultimately this inability to understand others is a result of self-centeredness, and Madge eventually manages to break free from that.

Enough said. See it for yourself.  http://vimeo.com/37604847

Benedict

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

Is there still something left to be said about his momentous resignation?

Just one detail I think. Perhaps it has been commented. It’s hard to say with the voluminous articles -some on track, others not so- that have been written. But it’s worthwhile saying it.

Several years back, during the height of John Paul II’ Parkinson’s disease, then Cardinal Ratzinger wrote that JP II is definitely “a sign of contradiction”. In not so many words, he said that before a world that shuns anything to do with aging, sickness and suffering, John Paul II was not afraid to give witness to these inevitable realities of  human life and showed the way a Christian should face and carry them: with hope.

Now, it’s Benedict’s turn to give this same sign. Before a world that shows hunger for power, control, and esteem, Benedict is not afraid to relinquish what many -mistakenly- interpret as the key to these: the papacy.

“(…) in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the barque of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.” (Excerpt of resignation letter)

As Cardinal Herranz – a member of the Roman Curia – put it, “the act is surprising for its novelty but not for Benedict’ personality (…) this move highlights two great qualities of his that I have always admired: his humility and love for the Church”. (Interview, El Mundo)

An acknowledgement of weakness and limitation before public opinion that does not look kindly on it is an act of bravura. And a love for truth, the truth about oneself and for others who will be affected by one’s actions.

How many of us are capable of this? I wouldn’t even dare point to public officials because even for ordinary people, this is a hard feat.

What makes it possible? Pure and simple holiness that makes a person see the true worth of the things in this world vis-a-vis eternity.

As he began, so he ended: with simplicity. As is the case of all great men whose real worth shines through without trying too hard.

Despite allegations to the contrary, he has left a rich legacy succinctly summed up by Bishop Javier Echevarria in his letter of March 2013

“he has invited everyone—believers and non-believers, with new strength and great clarity—to rediscover God, Creator and Redeemer of the world, who is Love above all, and to value the human person as created in the image of God, and therefore worthy of all respect. He has emphasized how faith and reason, far from being opposed to one another, can work together to give a greater knowledge of God and a deeper understanding of man. He has shown how it is possible to aspire to divine friendship, stressing the deep meaning of adoring Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, truly present in the Holy Eucharist. He has decisively spurred forward ecumenism, with his eyes set on the longed-for union of Christians. He has indicated the path for a true renewal of the Church, following the guidelines of the Second Vatican Council in faithful continuity with the Church’s Tradition and Magisterium throughout the ages“.

Thank you Pope Benedict.

Pep

Well into the new year and the last post is still Christmas whew! Never too late.

First post of 2013? a video that sums up this blog’s intent for the year: encourage.

pep talk

Christmas

The Nativity by Noel Coypel

The fuss and flurry of the Christmas season can make reading of its fineprint difficult. It takes a mind clear of clutter and a heart free of cares to do that. Just like one person you and I know: the Roman Pontiff. In a few brief words, he articulates what would take us ages to elaborate:

The birth of Christ challenges us to reassess our priorities, our values, our very way of life. While Christmas is undoubtedly a time of great joy, it is also an occasion for deep reflection, even an examination of conscience. At the end of a year that has meant economic hardship for many, what can we learn from the humility, the poverty, the simplicity of the crib scene?  (Pope Benedict XVI, Article in The Financial Times, 20 Dec 2012)

The fineprint of Christmas i daresay is a questionnaire: who are we? Where are we going? What do we need to get there? The answers to these questions hold the key to happiness. And, they’re  summed up in one Word: Jesus, whose birth we celebrate on Christmas.

His life is an eloquent testimony of our worth. The challenge is, to live up to it.

To all, a blessed Christmas.

Requiem

Image by Brigida Brito on Flickr

November is a month traditionally dedicated by Christendom to the commemoration of the faithful departed. A propitious occasion to dwell on the meaning of death, one of the few events whose fine print does not make for easy reading. Especially if it concerns loved ones.

Nine years ago, our family had to do this exercise. Images of those two fateful days in 2003 -13th and 14th May- are forever etched in our memory. Emergency rooms, tubes, an ambulance ride, ICU, the sleepless wait and finally, the flat line on the heart monitor… In a little over 24 hours, Papa was gone.

As happens to everyone who has experienced death in the family, there is an initial sense of unreality. You never actually know when the truth finally sinks in, but it does. Life has a way of doing that. But there is one factor that hastens it: faith.

No one ever really asks why, because to this question, the only valid reply is, why not? Death is one of the most certain things in this world, a consequence of mortality.  Sure, everyone fears it. But no one escapes it. The best thing to do is to prepare for it, ironically, by living life to the full.  To remember that everything is on loan. That from dust we came and to dust we return. But that journey “from dust to dust”  is not one wasted existence. Each moment is a summons from the Creator to transform every moment into a loving dialogue , a preparation for the final return to Him.

Someone said, we die as we live. True. Because each moment carries the seed of eternity. Resolution then? Trust, thank, give, share, smile… just give to the world the best that you have and the best will come back to you.

With faith, the fine print of death reads….

Lord for your faithful people, life is changed  not ended.  When the body of our earthly dwelling lies in death, we gain an everlasting place in heaven (Preface of Christian Death 1)

Help

Watching a movie past its screening in movie theaters has its advantage: sans the hype, the movie stands or falls on its own merit.

But “The Help” sure stands tall. Based on the novel by Kathryn Stockett, the movie chronicles the plight of African-American maids in Jackson, Mississipi in the 1960′s.

Notwithstanding the fact that Stockett is hounded by a controversial lawsuit by Ablene Cooper, longtime nanny for Stockett’s brother over alleged unauthorized appropriation of her name and image,  the film is powerful for what it depicts: the horrors of racial discrimination.

In the early sixties, black Americans faced prejudice and discrimination in almost every aspect of life, from jobs and housing to education. In the South, where 60 percent of all African Americans lived, blacks were deprived of equal voting rights until 1964. They were even denied the right to sit at the same lunch counter or use the same public rest room as white people.  (Mary Ellen Sterling, The 20th Century Series: the Sixties)

Give or take a few exaggerations, the movie does a great service. Discrimination -racial or otherwise- is an affront to human dignity. The yardstick for a person’s worth is not anything physical. Rather, it is the fact of rationality, of the ability to think and to love which no other created being can rightfully claim.

Besides this powerful message, the film’s sub-plot also touches a sensitive chord. Skeeter (Emma Stone) as an aspiring writer responsible for calling attention to the African maids’ cause, shows a strong-willed but stout-hearted young girl determined to break the status quo for principles. Unlike everyone else in the sleepy Mississipi of the 60′s, she proves that there is more to life than husband-hunting and that change can begin with the efforts of one person.

Add to these the masterful direction -despite the theme, the violence is controlled- and natural performances of the cast, the film sure is worth 5-stars.

Hobbit

Virus spells can have surprising pleasant consequences too. Firm abs – coughing fits achieve the same effect as crunches. Power naps – a rare commodity. But best of all, good reads. My most recent spell brought me back to the Shire, home of Bilbo Baggins from which the title of the book, the Hobbit, took its name. What makes the book special now is the anticipation most people feel with the movie version slated to come out in 2014 by the award-winning director Peter Jackson.

Magical is the only word fit to describe the experience. Tolkien’s genius is unmatched when it comes to creating whole new worlds which nevertheless parallel our own in an uncanny way.

But the magic is not so much in the fantasy as in the reality that the book alludes to especially in the character of Bilbo Baggins. Though not depicted as part of the race of men, something in him brings nostalgia to the reader: a longing for the simplicity of life (family, friends, fun, food), innocence of heart, nobility of character that characterized men in their original state.

Forcibly thrust into a dangerous adventure, he left his snug little hole in Bag End to help a group of dwarves recover their lost treasure at the instance of Gandalf, the wizard.

Little did he know that this adventure was going to change his life forever. For starters, he stumbled upon the ring whose full power is not yet uncovered in this book but which he made use of to get out of many dangers for himself and his friends. Then, even against his will, the adventure wrought a deep change in him. From a status-quo loving homebody, he becomes a courageous hero. Towards the end of the book, he discovers an inner strength and cunning he never knew he possessed.

But beyond all these, his greatness lies in being unchanged by change. Despite the newfound heroism, the possibility of renown, he did not succumb to arrogance, nor greed but rather, kept his simplicity of heart. His return to Hobbiton is a testament to that.

Touche.

watch?v=7fNZRlbkLO8