Russian Dolls

For some people, going to movies alone is just plain pitiful and lonely. For me, it’s the best time to be by myself. And of course, to enjoy a possibly good movie.

I remember three films I watched alone inside a cinema: Someone Like You (with Hugh Jackman and Ashley Judd), Something’s Gotta Give (with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, and lastly, Russian Dolls (a French Film with Romain Duris and Audrey Tatou).

Someone Like You. The theory about cows. A mad one =P hehehe. Its about how men can’t be monogamous and how they’ve been compared to cows! Cows, apparently, leave a scent when they mate with female cows. And male cows have these uncontrollable urge and downright crazy need to spread their “scent” to the “cow-dom”. Totally hilarious! And what happens then to the female cows, you ask?! They are stuck with the male scent for the rest of their lives. And what makes matters even worse is that other male cows won’t dare get near them because they carry the scent of another male. Talk about double standards!!! Argh!!!

Okay, okay. NOT fair to compare cows with human. And yet, you have to admit that the idea is funny (well, for the female part of the population at least hehehe). I had a blast watching this film. If something can make you laugh THAT hard, its definitely a gem.

Site: http://www.someonelikeyoumovie.com/

Something’s Gotta Give. This is about an independent, fulfilled and SINGLE career woman in her later years. A playwright and a good one at that. What surprised me in this film is one’s ability to see through the excesses of life – to see beyond one’s work, one’s success or achievements – and just recognize the beautiful person behind all that.

Remember, a person who loves you will let you grow as your own person, will let you do the things you love, will cheer you on with your successes, and will never ever hold you back. A person who loves you feels fulfilled enough knowing that you are happy.

Another thing… the only black stone amongst the pile of white ones: if one notices the small details, that proves that he/she truly cares for you. To remember and to cherish those little details that makes a person who they are – that for me is seeing someone literally “through the eyes of love”. =)

Site: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/somethingsgottagive/site/

And lastly, Russian Dolls. A French film , I saw this one during the Cine Europa film festival. This is actually a sequel to L'Auberge Espagnole (which was also shown in Cine Europa a few years back.). When I entered the cinema, I hardly recognized the characters. Only when they referred to that apartment in Barcelona did I remember seeing the first movie. It is great to find yourself reconnected with the past. It brings back memories that are meant to be cherished. And it reminds you of the person you were at that time – and how different from that you are now.

Going back to the film, Russian dolls are dolls that when you crack open, you’ll find another similar doll inside, only smaller. Sometimes called nesting dolls, Russian dolls have been used as a metaphor for a lot of things – a story within a story for literature, a system within a system for the sciences and engineering, etc.

Meeting someone, and liking that someone, you see one big Russian doll. Of course, all people have their past to deal with, their frustrations, their fears, and their dreams. And to know someone really well would require you to really try hard --- to find and unlock the inner dolls. And sometimes, when we fail to recognize that we’re down to the last doll – that’s where we fail to see the reality of things. And we turn our eyes to other dolls, just to look for and find out whatever there is to find out. We are searching yet keeping a blind eye to everything. EVERYTHING IS ALWAYS NOT ENOUGH. Man kills the very thing he desires. We want something so bad that we make up all these stories and expectations and ideas in our heads. And when we finally get that one great thing that we wanted – it all falls apart. That thing, by mere way of achieveing it, has lost its meaning.

You cannot find perfection if you don’t know how it looks like.

Site, Russian Dolls: http://www.russiandollsthemovie.com/
Site, L’Auberge Epagnole: http://movies.aol.com/movie/lauberge-espagnole/15167/synopsis


Some say movies are well – practically that – just movies. But I find them enriching – like books, like traveling and meeting new people and seeing new cultures.

There is a vast world and we as people are faced with numerous limitations that keep us from knowing the world – from experiencing it. A film, for me, is more than a vacation package. It brings me to different places, it introduces me to different people and it tells me that DESPITE the differences in cultures, languages, habits, and even perspectives – there are still a lot of common grounds – love, friendship, family, dreams, hurts, trials – we ALL go through that. And hopefully we learn. And hopefully we can share. Because the act of sharing alone and finding out that somewhere in the planet there are people who knows how it feels --- that brings a sense of belongingness we all crave for naturally.