I am definitely enjoying Spring Break! Even though its requires ignoring vast amounts of work. Whatever! I always enjoy uplifting movies, chessy movies, happy romantic comedies, Glee music for 7 hours… but sometimes you are in the mood for more powerful stuff. You know, like Brokeback Moutain and Sigur-Ros-esque, really powerful, heart wrenching stuff. Here are my choices for movies and songs that will emotionally devastate you!
All The Real Girls
This delicately paced, achingly real romantic drama follows a young man (Paul Schneider), who after years of womanizing and fooling around in the small town he grew up in, falls in love with his best friend’s sister (Zooey Deschanel). “All The Real Girls” is filmed in an almost secretive way, moving through the lives of the surrounding friends and family of the couple, and through their hushed, overwhelming, new romance. So many scenes in this movie with transfix you. One scene in particular has Paul Schneider drinking in a bar, trying to explain something to an old fling he screwed over. He describes how as a young boy, he saw a flock of geese fly overhead, and one crashed into the side of a house, and fell down dead. He asks her, “Have you ever seen an animal make a mistake?”. This movie will ask you that exact question.
‘What’s A Boy To Do”, Mat Kearney
Always found this song devastating, but not exactly sure what the lyrics are saying. This song is more like an impressionistic poem, flashes from a young boy’s life, without a father, without direction. The images are violent, rainy, lonely. The song builds up its pace, but stays with a simple melody, keeping that sadness clear. Mat Kearney has a great voice, and with “What’s a Boy To Do”, has created an affecting song.
Into The Wild
Damn, this movie is tragic. Like the memoir, this movie will shock you with the spirit of a young man in love with the wild, the idea of being lost in the middle of the unforgiving wilderness. The tragic end of this man shocks you to, as that same wilderness crushes him. Christopher McCandless walks out on his college educated, privileged life, to wander the American wilderness, with no possessions or money, just a foolish and amazing spirit of adventure. The movie shows his encounters with townspeople and such he meets along the way, who remember him years later. The tragedy and joy of this movie is the path this young man’s life takes, and the friends and family who are haunted by Christopher. Emile Hirsch shows the ability to win an Oscar at some point. Top notch emotional devastation.
The music was freaking luscious and atmospheric and affecting and perfectly timed. I felt the pain and love of Joseph Gordon Levitt. But I feel like that had more to do with his acting then the quality of this film’s message. I mean, how could anyone understand Zooey Deschanel’s character? How could you not hate her, I mean, honestly? Is that what falling in love really is? The character of Tom manages to pour every drop of his heart into loving this girl, but he doesn’t even understand the truth of who she is. At the same time, I have not been moved by a movie like that in awhile. I wanted to cheer at the end when things finally began to look up for Tom. The last shot that began the days again with “1″ was perfect. Back to the soundtrack…I knew I was in love when Mr. Gordon-Levitt was showing Ms. Deschanel the city skyline and “Sweet Disposition” by Temper Trap came on. It was one of those profound moments when you say, “WHAT IS THAT SONG!?!? Hearing it is hearing the truth of the universe”. That is real love.
