Nuovo cinema Paradiso ...

... was released as "Cinema Paradiso", a visually stunning Italian film written and directed by Giuseooe Tornatore. The story itself is very simple; an autobiography of a film marker whose childhood evolved around the Cinema Paradiso and his friendship with "Alfredo".  A sense of nostalgia permeates throughout the film, bathing in bittersweet helplessness.  The last scene was a montage of all the kiss scenes which the priest has ordered to be cut, allowing the broken fragments to end in an embrace  ... 


When Toto fell in love,
Alfredo: Once upon a time, a king gave a feast. And there came the most beautiful princesses of the realm. Now, a soldier, who was standing guard, saw the king's daughter go by. She was the most beautiful one, and he immediately fell in love with her. But what could a poor soldier do when it came to the daughter of the king? Well, finally, one day, he managed to meet her, and he told her that he could no longer live without her. The princess was so impressed by his strong feelings that she said to the soldier: "If you can wait 100 days and 100 nights under my balcony, then at the end of it, I shall be yours." Damn! The soldier immediately went there and waited one day. And two days. And ten. And then twenty. And every evening, the princess looked out of her window, but he never moved. During rain, during wind, during snow, he was always there. The bird shat on his head, and the bees stung him, but he didn't budge. After ninety nights, he had become all dried up, all white, and the tears streamed from his eyes. He couldn't hold them back. He no longer had the strength to sleep. All that time, the princess watched him. And on the 99th night, the soldier stood up, took his chair, and went away. 


At the seaside,
Alfredo: Living here day by day, you think it's the center of the world. You believe nothing will ever change. Then you leave: a year, two years. When you come back, everything's changed. The thread's broken. What you came to find isn't there. What was yours is gone. You have to go away for a long time... many years... before you can come back and find your people. The land where you were born. But now, no. It's not possible. Right now you're blinder than I am. 
Salvatore: Who said that? Gary Cooper? James Stewart? Henry Fonda? Eh?
Alfredo: No, Toto. Nobody said it. This time it's all me. Life isn't like in the movies. Life... is much harder. 

It's Friday I'm in love ...

... is a song by The Cure.  It is not the most profound lyrics on earth, but it is a great end-of-summer song ... (I am still holding on despite the wind, at least, the sun is shining!).


I don't care if Monday's blue
Tuesday's gray and Wednesday too
Thursday I don't care about you
It's Friday, I'm in love

Monday you can fall apart
Tuesday, Wednesday break my heart
Oh, Thursday doesn't even start
It's Friday I'm in love

Saturday, wait
And Sunday always comes too late
But Friday, never hesitate...

I don't care if Mondays black
Tuesday, Wednesday - heart attack
Thursday, never looking back
It's Friday, I'm in love

Monday, you can hold your head
Tuesday, Wednesday stay in bed
Or Thursday - watch the walls instead
It's Friday, I'm in love

Saturday, wait
And Sunday always comes too late
But Friday, never hesitate...

Dressed up to the eyes
It's a wonderful surprise
To see your shoes and your spirits rise
Throwing out your frown
And just smiling at the sound
And as sleek as a sheik
Spinning round and round
Always take a big bite
It's such a gorgeous sight
To see you eat in the middle of the night
You can never get enough
Enough of this stuff
It's Friday, I'm in love

I don't care if Monday's blue
Tuesday's gray and Wednesday too
Thursday I don't care about you
It's Friday, I'm in love

Monday you can fall apart
Tuesday, Wednesday break my heart
Thursday doesn't even start
It's Friday I'm in love

Gone with the wind ...

... is a heart shattering beautiful book by Margaret Mitchell.  Part of me wished that I have read it when I am much older, as it is so rich, so devastating, so broken, yet so full of hope in this world with its crushing reality and war ... and the ending ...

"Scarlett, I was never one to patiently pick up broken fragments and glue them together and tell myself that the mended whole was as good as new.  What is broken is broken - and I'd rather remember it as it was at its best than mend it and see the broken places as long as I lived.  Perhaps, if I were younger - " He signed.  "But I'm too old to believe in such sentimentalities as clean slates and starting all over.  I'm too old to shoulder the burden of constant lies that go with living in polite disillusionment.  I couldn't live with you now.  I wish I could care what you do or where you go, but I can't."
He drew a short breath and said lightly but softly:
"My dear, I don't give a damn".

One day ...

... by David Nicholls is not my favourite book on earth, but I like its sentiments, its hopes, its dreams, its failures, its disappointments, its tragedies, for "This is where it all begins. Everything starts here, today."