The Genius - Hitchcock...

I was watching this movie by Hitchcock “I Confess” – and as I watched the movie I realized what a genius AH was. He was a perfectionist when it came to direction and storytelling. I have watched his other movies as well, but I it was never as apparent as this one…the way he uses the landscapes, streets, church bells and any inanimate object is just remarkable…all of it contribute to taking the story forward…you get a feeling that not even a leaf is wasted…everything making any frame of the movie is there for a purpose… and I do think that when it comes to basic storytelling, its best done in black & white…color brings in distractions…and AH is a whiz at story telling…a movie where you know from the first shot who the murderer is can still give you goose bumps and keep you glued to the screen…another thing that I noticed is that he had the right perspective while shooting..he right lengths and close ups for the right emphasis…I was watching this movie “good night and good luck” by George Clooney…the movie was not bad but what I found very irritating was that the director tried to emphasize every shot…all were extreme close-ups and that just did not work for the film…adding mystery and seriousness when there is none…

One needs to see “Rebbecca” and “Spellbound” to know what I mean…if you read the really long book you will never think that it can be made into such a gripping movie…its sheer genius the way the movie is made…

The only other director that I have seen using the landscapes and settings to move the story forward is Ingmar Bergman…but then in his movies you are so involved in deciphering the complexities of human mind and emotions that you don’t really notice the settings…

Leonard-esque...

I just find this concept so irritating...the other day i bought a biography of Leonardo da Vinci... never having heard of the author before i decided to do some googling to see any reviews...and there it was - the comment - "the book is definitely leonardesque"...how can a book be that....how can anything and everything be "esque"...i can understand "picturesque" but leonardoesque ??? exaggeration and pseudo intellectualism at its best...now i don't want to be judgemental...people do have right of expression...but do we have to say things even when we don't have anything to say...

my idea of love...

i have been a hopeless romantic and dreamy when i comes to love as long as i can remember...i have always felt that the man i fall in love with will sweep me off my feet...will wait for me forever...will take care of my likes and dislikes...will understand the kind of person i am...will care for for me and love me most in the world...

fairytale romance...isn't it...

but that's what i want and anything else just doesn't work...i probably don't understand the practical side of it at all...if someone comes and says "it depends on how much time", i don't understand that...to me that's not love...that's just your loneliness and the need to find a partner...but its not love...it may be the best way to live your life...will keep you floating most times...but i cant live my life like that...there are other ways to be...but as one of my closest friend says...i would rather be this way then any other way...

fast forward...

see the pyramids around the Nile
watch the sunrise from a tropic isle
just remember darling all the while
you belong to me...

i had this friend and though the relationship has been very complex between us...i thought the basic thing between us was honesty and that we shared everything in our lives...now i can see that wasnt the case...i just feel so betrayed...seems like all the relations in my life i trusted were not true...my trust was blind or maybe i was blind not to see this...

i could have done without this today...

expectations...

happiest are those who don't expect anything from anyone...so has been said in all the Vedas and such texts...by all saints and wise people...

how to get to that stage when you don't have any expectations...does it also mean that you should not expect anything from yourself as well...and if that's the case then what is the purpose of living and that too surrounded by people...why interact at all...why not live in a vacuum...or not live at all...

i always struggle to set this boundary of expectations both with myself and with others...i know that we don't have any control over how others behave...the only thing we can at best control is our own reaction and thoughts...

selfishness...

i hate to keep myself in the array of so called feminists who blame all the ills of the world on men...but more and more these days i keep on seeing instances of inherent selfishness amongst men...

i think, evolutionarily a woman's important role is to give birth and take care of the infant...and to achieve this she has to be selfless at some level...just think of the child and not herself...and that evolutionarily probably makes women a little less selfish then men...this gives her an empathetic attitude towards humanity…men on the other hand had to evolutionarily take care and provide for the family…they had to go out and grab what was not necessarily theirs and that inherently makes them selfish…

today when women have become more and more self sufficient and provide for themselves…the contrast is very sharp…men are still living in that primal world…I just see this all around me…so many instances of heartless selfishness…

what a waste...

akelapan hai ki jaata hi nahin hain...sab kuch jaante hua bhi aisa lagta hai ki jaisa mera kuch pichhe choot gaya...

somone will ask me...why that person who didnt care a damn about me...who was and is dishonest, liar, selfish and manipulative...

i am wasting myself and my life...