Nicholas Spark's The Notebook is a story of two hearts that conquered everything. They still found themselves holding on to their promise even on the very verge of breaking apart. Actually, I just read the book and to tell you the truth, I found it very unconvincing that it could happen in real life.
He said (yes, he's a guy for goodness sake) the story is really inspiring and it made him cry like a baby. It somehow touch his heart and made him realize that love could be so powerful and endless. And that made me disagree...
The Notebook is just one of those stories that people casually talk about at any time of the day. Yes, it is part of reality and there's nothing new to it. Yes, it will touch your heart and it will even make you cry. But in the end, you'll realize that it is not really new at all. As a matter of fact, this novel is so predictable that you'll get the whole point even if you're going halfway in your reading.
I already know stories that have protagonists just like them. A lot of these stories have characters who are totally in love but can't pursue their relationship because of their contrasting social statuses. Stories like these talk about the never ending tale of Romeo and Juliet. It even happens in real life. But the bottom line is, this story is made not to show the world how powerful love is, but to merely satisfy the hunger felt with those in the situation.
It is a defense mechanism for the real world. That's what I've learned in the novel which most of us didn't know. Two people from opposite realms can feel the magic of intimacy. But the question remains, how long can they handle it? Reality is so hard to accept because you've got to follow what the culture dictates you to do. You can't do anything about it because you belong to that race. Yes, you have options to choose; it's either do what you want, become happy but forever suffer for fleeting the law or go with the flow in the same river. We must know that the intellectual ability to perceive reality is a gift; the volatile power to choose is a right. This right from which man is responsible in the consequence of his choice.
I felt the urge of spilling my tears upon reading the novel, because I do feel pity for Noah and Ally. But the thing is, I know that there is a silver line that separates fantasy and reality. As for me, this novel is a fantasy and I am in reality. This is a supplement for those who want an assurance that love conquers all. They wanted to justify that love has no boundaries, that love knows no limitations and that love recognizes equality. But that happens only in novels, in movies, in fairy tales. We, on the other hand, are not Cinderella, and nor we are not Jennifer Lopez in Maid in Manhattan. We belong to the real world, meet real people and deal with real situations. We've got emotions but we have instincts. We've got feelings to follow but we are made to become rational beings. We can' force the society to believe that two people from different worlds can live happily ever after because of LOVE... that's a load of crap!
And if you recognize (for those who have read the book) in the latter part of the story.... The old Ally suffering from an Alzheimer's disease did recognize Noah, but after a minute, she drove Noah away and refused to be acquainted with him again. I think it is the author's way of explaining to the readers that their story is just a fantasy for us to feel good, but after reading the whole novel, we have to snap back to reality and go on living within the real world, embracing the bitter fact of realism.
"Y Tu Mama Tambien" is a Spanish term which means, "And your mama, too". This art film is one of those Bildungsroman films that could begin or end with the phrase, "And my life was never the same again." The director, Alfonso Cuarón, works with a quicksilver fluidity. The movie is a mixture of sex, drama and a little comedy. The movie bagged awards in the best in foreign language category in Academy and Sundance.
The whole movie takes place in Mexico. It focuses on the two hormonally consumed teenage boys, Julio (Gael García Bernal) and Tenoch (Diego Luna), whose immature macho games seem more like baby steps when they meet Luisa (Maribel Verdú), a sad-eyed young woman who is married to Tenoch's older cousin. Tenoch and Julio come on to Luisa by promising her a tour of the wondrous but fictitious beach called Heaven's Mouth. In the end they do not only discover a paradise but a one of a kind experience that will shock their lives.
Y Tu Mama Tambien speaks about reality, all the things that are normally and usually happening in the real world. The movie talks about friendship and betrayal. Some secrets and lies are mostly about sexual betrayal, which is inevitable for juvenile characters that promise fidelity to their girlfriends and immediately try to get laid. The true meaning of friendship was established here in the movie.
Julio and Tenoch were best of friends since their childhood. They were inseparable and treated each other as brothers. Their journey with Luisa, was purely for fun and experience. And without their knowledge, the journey proved to be a test of their friendship, of how long can they keep each other's trust and loyalty. At the end of the movie, they had discovered that they weren't true and loyal. They ended up knowing that they had screwed their own girlfriends and themselves too.
Morality is an issue here. The film exposes explicit scenes, which is strictly for adults only. But what is good with Cuaron is, he exemplified every scene which explains why that scene is included. He did a flawless job in giving reasons why they had to include breast exposure and three some sexual intercourse.
Oftentimes, morality and hypocrisy are connected. And if that's the case, viewing this film is not suitable for you. Y Tu Mama Tambien is a story that mirrors the real situation that is actually happening in the real world. And that includes betrayal, sex, violence and even death. We must admit to the fact that life is not always happy ending. It's not always "tweetums" moments where in a guy kisses a girl on the cheeks and they will look away and giggle as if they were contented. Viewing this movie with a shallow mind will only judge it by saying, "this is an X-rated film". Though I agree that it is not suitable for minors because they are too young to understand. It is not easy to shift fairy tales to reality, as it is not easy to explain what could be the next thing that will happen after Cinderella and her Prince Charming's wedding day.
I must admit that this movie is not advisable to be watched by the whole family. It is not a movie to be seen while snacking on popcorn. It is definitely not for kids and even adults who think like 4-year old brats. This movie needs an open-minded viewers who will percieve it as a sensible film and not for pleasuring purposes. The story is so easy to understand, actually the plot isn't much of a Da Vinci Code that you have to decode every single thing just to get the picture. It is easy to get along with the story.
The movie defies the invisible line separating the shallow progressions of the childish upper-middle class teenagers, to the stricken betrayed wife of a upper-middle class man.
In the horizon of a decaying improvised countryside, beside the decaying wife, the blindness of ignorance and lack of compassion of these teenagers to the plight of those around them was rather shocking.
The denunciation of status division, which is so rampant in Mexico today, shines clearly through the main characters. As they drive through the improvised countryside, the woman seeking her gleaming destination, the callous teenagers seeking nothing but worldly pleasure because they are blinded by their lust and lives of comfort.
Yet, this movie seems to state the ignorance and crudeness of the upper class, and the frailty of betrayal. There is no happy ending in the midst of this lustful existential benightedness, merely the fateful expected ending.
For the teenagers, the journey is a mere pleasure trip. There is no coming of age - for there is no consequences or responsibility or retribution for them. In the last scene where they meet, there is merely their own private shame and denial. And for the woman, in her weakness, driven to tragedy, there is only one ending… Death!
Do I recommend this film? Absolutely yes. It might not be a super budgeted movie but this is worth watching for.
Now, what the hell I'm trying to imply... I don't know it's just that I am so bored after I scanned my mails and found out that it was full of messages from a friend of mine I met in Fling.Com (the one I'm talking about in my previous entry)... I watched the film, somehow touched by it and now I am sharing my thoughts here in my blog.... Anyway.. that's it.. CIAO!
