the unreview - "Our taken for granted lives : thoughts on the movie Cast Away"

"We both have done the math. Kelly added it all up and... knew she had to let me go. I added it up, and knew that I had... lost her. Because I was never going to get off that island. I was going to die there, totally alone. I was going to get sick, or get injured or something. The only choice I had, the only thing I could control was when, and how and where it was going to happen. So... I made a rope and I went up to the summit, to hang myself. I had to test it, you know? Of course, you know me. And the weight of the log, snapped the limb of the tree, so I-I - , I couldn't even kill myself the way I wanted to. I had power over *nothing*. And that's when this feeling came over me like a warm blanket. I knew, somehow that I had to stay alive. Somehow. I had to keep breathing. Even though there was no reason to hope. And all my logic said that I would never see this place again. So that's what I did. I stayed alive. I kept breathing. And one day, my logic was proven all wrong because the tide came in, and gave me a sail. And now, here I am. I'm back in Memphis, talking to you. I have ice in my glass... And I've lost her all over again. I'm so sad that I don't have Kelly. But I'm so grateful that she was with me on that island. And I know what I have to do now. I got to keep breathing. Because tomorrow, the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?" -Chuck Noland, played by Tom Hanks in the movie Cast Away.

to have ice in the glass, to be back home everyday, to watch a sunrise once again in life... it is plainly ridiculous how much we take for granted in our lives!

perhaps each one of us needs to be marooned on an island of either sickness or relationship breakdown or job loss or something like that to realize how fortunate we are to have the kind of life we are living now. because all we do is keep cribbing, complaining, crying that this is not right and this should have been mine and always looking up to the next guy who has just a bit more than us... we all want more... more money, more attractiveness, more knowledge, more this more that but never realize that what we've have is a hundred million times more important that what we don't have!

to have breath in our lungs, to have love in our hearts, to be alive, just aware of this life within is the biggest joy in life. let's be grateful for what is given to us, and let us spread the joy that this awareness provides, let us not take our lives as taken for granted anymore. *amen*

“The most important thing in life is fishing.”

Not long ago, there was a world without boundaries. Where anyone could pack up their bags and loose themselves in a world full of surprises. Surprises, some good, some not so good, but each one full of life, making it that bit more interesting for the grand children to listen to with wide eager eyes.

But sadly, there are borders now. Borders between states, countries, religions and races. Borders that separate men and women and their hearts. And in these divided times, one has to have a little imagination to craft some stories for themselves.

“This is the park”, she said. They were sitting on a bench in a desolate place. “Here is where the children play. And here, are the swings. And here (gesturing behind them) is where the sea is.”

“Its not look like a park, but it’s a park. You’ve to imagine.”

Once not long ago, in the middle of nowhere, a woman was waiting for something interesting to happen in her life. No man, no children, no culture, her life was as uneventful as the desert her town lied in. To this barren life of hers, suddenly came a band of men as bewildered as she was herself. And like a sudden sapling in a stark desert, there was excitement, adventure, humor, and there was love.

“In the early hours of the sea, you can hear the whole world, like a symphony”, said one of them, the band leader.

This is their story. Of Dina, of Tawfiq, of Khaled, of the Alexandria Police Orchestra lost in a lost Israeli town, Beit Hatikva.
“Once not long ago, a small Egyptian police band arrived in Israel. Not many people remember this, it was not important.” But it is, it is, you’ll say to yourself, when you watch this slow, humorous, heart ache of a movie unfold across the screen. And you’ll want to tell the world, how important it was, how beautiful it is.

And maybe you’ll also say like Khaled, “I can tell you, but only in Arabic.”

Or, in the language of imagination maybe?

Watched it this Monday night on World Movies, my favorite movie channel. And then, on Tuesday morning too. Check its own page here, and more about it here, here and here.

This is not a movie review (an excellent one is here), in as much that I call these unreviews. Attempted something similar many days ago here. Do tell me dear friend, if you liked these well.

Maria Elena used to say that only unfulfilled love can be romantic

this is Maria Elena and well, i don't completely agree with her, but then i also believe that a relationship between lovers cannot be completely complete. there always has to be something left for them to complete, to fulfill, to strive for. otherwise, their life would become stagnant like Judy and Mark's did.

Maria Elena, if you don't know her, is the estranged ex-wife of Spanish artist Juan Antonio. they shared a bitter-sweet passionate relationship, but somehow were never able to stabilize it. then one day in a fit of jealousy, Maria Elena stabbed Juan Antonio and the marriage was more or less over.

Judy is a distant relative of Vicky who is doing her masters in 'Catalan Studies.' the practical, traditional Vicky is soon to get married to Doug, who is a successful career minded person and brings the same business-like stability to their romantic life. quite unlike Cristina, who is Vicky's dear friend and completely unsure about what she is going to do next day, hour or moment. Vicky and Cristina have arrived on a little summer vacation to Barcelona, where the former will try to do her Catalan project and the latter will try to find out what she 'not wants' from her life. the problem is, fate, and Woody Allen have something else on their mind.
because their paths will cross with Juan Antonio and Maria Elena will later say that only unfulfilled love can be romantic.

to make some sense of this little story i told, please do visit here, here or click the video below. and then, if possible, do share whether you agree with Maria Elena or...

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