Wine, romance and the meaning of life
Wine, romance and the meaning of life
Posted 00:10am (Mla time) Feb 09, 2005
By Rina Jimenez-David
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A15 of the February 9, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
THE BEST way to enjoy the movie "Sideways" is while sipping from a glass of wine (preferably one made from Miles the movie hero's favorite Pinot variety) and perhaps nibbling on cheese and crackers.
Barring that, then one should watch the movie with intoxicating company, a new love or an old one who continues to fascinate. And then, after the movie, rush out and get to a wine bar, if only to make the magic of this deceptively simple and quiet movie last a little longer. In fact, I guarantee that after "Sideways," even certified Light Coke and beer devotees will feel their palates and noses itching for a wine tasting. "Sideways" should do for wine what "Saturday Night Fever" did for disco.
Described as a "road trip movie," "Sideways" defies convention by making the main characters not young men in search of themselves, but rather two middle-aged men desperate to escape their dreary reality and fighting off the moment of ultimate surrender to their humdrum fates.
Miles (Paul Giamatti) is a high school English teacher and aspiring novelist, sunk in depression after his divorce and treating his best friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church), a has-been actor, to an extended stag party of a weeklong tour through the wine region of California. Miles views the road trip as a time for reliving his youth and introducing a good friend to the pleasures of wine. Jack, on the other hand, sees the trip as one last chance to indulge in sexual debauchery and conquest, a freedom he fears he will lose once he's hitched.
With such wildly contrasting expectations, not to mention personalities, sparks are bound to fly. What we end up with is a movie that explores not just the mysteries of friendship and the complexities of our relationships, but also the fragility of our hearts and the frailty of our dreams.
* * *
"SIDEWAYS" pulled off a scoop at the recent Screen Actors Guild Awards when it was cited for "Best Ensemble Acting." The award is especially fitting for "Sideways," since it indeed draws its strength not from a single star headliner or a ton of special effects, but from the interaction of its cast and the heartwarming story that manages to touch viewers even as its telling dares take surprising and quirky turns.
I especially loved the fact that "Sideways" gives lots of screen time to journeyman actors, performers like Giamatti and Church who look familiar to us because they've played countless supporting roles, reliable and consistent, allowing bigger stars to shine. In "Sideways," it's the remarkable partnership they share, the give-and-take between them that makes the movie so enjoyable.
I also liked the fact that Virginia Madsen, who may have fallen out of leading lady contention because of her age, is given a chance here to show off what she has. The scene in which her character Maya explains to Miles her fascination for wine is made all the more memorable because of the quiet, grounded presence that emanates from her.
But back to wine. Miles' love for Pinot is explained by the fact that it is very much like him: complex and delicate, easily bruised, quick to deteriorate. Jack, on the other hand, is more like the "easy-drinking" Cabernet, popular and accessible, "growing wherever it is planted." However you like it, or don't, wine proves a pleasing analogy of the many kinds of human beings there are around us and within us.
* * *
CALL "Alfie" an "anti-Valentine" movie. Far from celebrating romance and relationships, it shows up the downside of serial dating and endless sexual conquest. "What's it all about?" indeed.
Not having seen the original that made a major star out of Michael Caine, there's no way for me to tell if the remake, starring the truly scrumptious Jude Law, managed to improve on it or merely proved a sequel was unnecessary. I can imagine, though, how a movie about a chauffeur-Lothario who pursues a string of partners while keeping one or two in reserve for slack times, fits much better with the mores of the Swinging Sixties, when sexual license was a form of freedom welcomed with mindless glee.
Sex in the Age After AIDS, on the other hand, seems burdened with the weight of risk and consequence, and such heedless gallivanting by our latter-day Alfie strikes viewers as not just irresponsible, but quite hazardous to his and his partners' health.
That's why, no matter how the music and production design strive to create a carefree, lightweight atmosphere, "Alfie" never quite rises above the cloud of melancholy that hovers over it. And despite his drop-dead gorgeousness and magnificent bod, there's a point in the film when Jude Law manages to look aging and defeated, when his "mature" mistress (Susan Sarandon) tells him she replaced him with a younger man. One's heart went out to him.
Lovers beware. Watch "Alfie" at your own risk. For far from setting you in the mood for love and friskiness, it may just make you think twice about why you're with the one you're with, and what meaning you hope to derive from this current relationship and others that may follow.
Sometimes, asking "what's it all about" can be downright dangerous to illusions of the heart.
* * *
WHAT does the application of the expanded value-added tax mean to Filipino women? How do women view this new measure? How will their lives change because of it?
Abanse! Pinay, the women's party-list group, is sponsoring a forum on "Women and the E-VAT" at 5 p.m. today, with economist and TV host Winnie Monsod as lead discussant. The forum will be held at Cravings on the fifth floor of the Shangri-La Plaza mall along Edsa.
While the event is free, it will be "pay-as-you-order." And come early because seating is limited.
Posted 00:10am (Mla time) Feb 09, 2005
By Rina Jimenez-David
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A15 of the February 9, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
THE BEST way to enjoy the movie "Sideways" is while sipping from a glass of wine (preferably one made from Miles the movie hero's favorite Pinot variety) and perhaps nibbling on cheese and crackers.
Barring that, then one should watch the movie with intoxicating company, a new love or an old one who continues to fascinate. And then, after the movie, rush out and get to a wine bar, if only to make the magic of this deceptively simple and quiet movie last a little longer. In fact, I guarantee that after "Sideways," even certified Light Coke and beer devotees will feel their palates and noses itching for a wine tasting. "Sideways" should do for wine what "Saturday Night Fever" did for disco.
Described as a "road trip movie," "Sideways" defies convention by making the main characters not young men in search of themselves, but rather two middle-aged men desperate to escape their dreary reality and fighting off the moment of ultimate surrender to their humdrum fates.
Miles (Paul Giamatti) is a high school English teacher and aspiring novelist, sunk in depression after his divorce and treating his best friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church), a has-been actor, to an extended stag party of a weeklong tour through the wine region of California. Miles views the road trip as a time for reliving his youth and introducing a good friend to the pleasures of wine. Jack, on the other hand, sees the trip as one last chance to indulge in sexual debauchery and conquest, a freedom he fears he will lose once he's hitched.
With such wildly contrasting expectations, not to mention personalities, sparks are bound to fly. What we end up with is a movie that explores not just the mysteries of friendship and the complexities of our relationships, but also the fragility of our hearts and the frailty of our dreams.
* * *
"SIDEWAYS" pulled off a scoop at the recent Screen Actors Guild Awards when it was cited for "Best Ensemble Acting." The award is especially fitting for "Sideways," since it indeed draws its strength not from a single star headliner or a ton of special effects, but from the interaction of its cast and the heartwarming story that manages to touch viewers even as its telling dares take surprising and quirky turns.
I especially loved the fact that "Sideways" gives lots of screen time to journeyman actors, performers like Giamatti and Church who look familiar to us because they've played countless supporting roles, reliable and consistent, allowing bigger stars to shine. In "Sideways," it's the remarkable partnership they share, the give-and-take between them that makes the movie so enjoyable.
I also liked the fact that Virginia Madsen, who may have fallen out of leading lady contention because of her age, is given a chance here to show off what she has. The scene in which her character Maya explains to Miles her fascination for wine is made all the more memorable because of the quiet, grounded presence that emanates from her.
But back to wine. Miles' love for Pinot is explained by the fact that it is very much like him: complex and delicate, easily bruised, quick to deteriorate. Jack, on the other hand, is more like the "easy-drinking" Cabernet, popular and accessible, "growing wherever it is planted." However you like it, or don't, wine proves a pleasing analogy of the many kinds of human beings there are around us and within us.
* * *
CALL "Alfie" an "anti-Valentine" movie. Far from celebrating romance and relationships, it shows up the downside of serial dating and endless sexual conquest. "What's it all about?" indeed.
Not having seen the original that made a major star out of Michael Caine, there's no way for me to tell if the remake, starring the truly scrumptious Jude Law, managed to improve on it or merely proved a sequel was unnecessary. I can imagine, though, how a movie about a chauffeur-Lothario who pursues a string of partners while keeping one or two in reserve for slack times, fits much better with the mores of the Swinging Sixties, when sexual license was a form of freedom welcomed with mindless glee.
Sex in the Age After AIDS, on the other hand, seems burdened with the weight of risk and consequence, and such heedless gallivanting by our latter-day Alfie strikes viewers as not just irresponsible, but quite hazardous to his and his partners' health.
That's why, no matter how the music and production design strive to create a carefree, lightweight atmosphere, "Alfie" never quite rises above the cloud of melancholy that hovers over it. And despite his drop-dead gorgeousness and magnificent bod, there's a point in the film when Jude Law manages to look aging and defeated, when his "mature" mistress (Susan Sarandon) tells him she replaced him with a younger man. One's heart went out to him.
Lovers beware. Watch "Alfie" at your own risk. For far from setting you in the mood for love and friskiness, it may just make you think twice about why you're with the one you're with, and what meaning you hope to derive from this current relationship and others that may follow.
Sometimes, asking "what's it all about" can be downright dangerous to illusions of the heart.
* * *
WHAT does the application of the expanded value-added tax mean to Filipino women? How do women view this new measure? How will their lives change because of it?
Abanse! Pinay, the women's party-list group, is sponsoring a forum on "Women and the E-VAT" at 5 p.m. today, with economist and TV host Winnie Monsod as lead discussant. The forum will be held at Cravings on the fifth floor of the Shangri-La Plaza mall along Edsa.
While the event is free, it will be "pay-as-you-order." And come early because seating is limited.
posted by Dante at 6:48 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home