January 02, 2005
Off With The Old On With The New
A Happy New Year To One And All
By Fred H. Arm
And now it’s 2005! My how the year just flew by. For many of us, 2005 was not quite such a good year. The world registered its shock when the earthquakes and Tsunamis reaped death and destruction in Southern Asia. We were stuck once more with four more years of Bush as the exalted leader of the so-called free world. The bloody and foolish war in Iraq became even bloodier. We lost one fascist Attorney General only to be replaced by one a little farther to the right than Attila the Hun.
Our coasts have been lashed by multi-billion dollar hurricanes. Millions of jobs have been sent overseas. America’s deficit is the highest it has ever been. Gay marriage and abortion rights have suffered major setbacks, perhaps not to recover during this administration. We have the highest per capita homicide rate in the world. We also have the dubious distinction of having the highest per capita rate of citizens serving time in prisons. I would suppose it couldn’t get much worse, yet one never knows does one?
Perhaps there is something to be learned from all this. Unfortunately, those in power seem to like the direction we are heading. The rest of the Planet has lost a tremendous amount of respect for Americans these last couple of years. The animosity towards Americans is quite palpable to anyone traveling abroad nowadays. We used to set an example for the rest of the world. Now it seems to be Europe that is most respected.
The European Union (EU) is having a renaissance that will most likely surpass the United States as greatest country on Earth. They have abolished the death penalty in all their nation-states; yet have a far lower homicide rate. They have fewer people in prisons. They are not as obsessed with religion as Americans. Their Constitution will be totally secular, whereas our Constitution is replete with references to God. They seem to have a more solid economy as the recent rise in the Euro against the dollar have illustrated. They haven’t sent their jobs overseas. On the contrary, they have generated many new industries with the labor forces in their own countries.
So what if 2004 has not been so great. Is it too late for a turnaround? We seem to have recovered from similar crises in years past. Can we do it again? On the other hand, it’s a completely different ball game today. No longer are we the only big kids on the block. Europe, China, Southeast Asia, and India are formidable economic engines that no longer need to solely rely on the United States for technological, economical, and military support. This could very well be the end of the American hegemony. In the past, most other nations who more or less led the world seemed to have a life of about two hundred years. Those 200 years are now over.
Perhaps it will be a good thing for all of us. Being the world leader for so long has created a despicable arrogance among us. Perhaps with a more level playing field we may stop being the world bullies we have since become. Perchance we will have more respect for the environment, the civil rights of all peoples, and leave room in our hearts for the poor, the sick, and the not so fortunate. The rich may have to share some of their bounty and we may not wallow so much in the materialistic or other selfishness. In fact, it could be a darn sight better for the whole world. It is possible, maybe probable. Why not go with the flow.
A Very Long Engagement – A Movie Review
A Long Movie, But Worth Every Minute
By Fred H. Arm
Both the director, Jean-Pierre Jeunet and the star, Audrey Tautou of the hit French film, “Amélie” are back again in a totally different type of love story in “A Very Long Engagement”. If you remember and loved “Amélie”, you will also recognize some of the other actors from that picture.
As the wretchedness of World War I draws to a close, our heroine’s heroic struggle is about to commence. Mathilde (Audrey Tautou) has received word that her fiancé Manech is one of five wounded soldiers who has been court-martialed and ordered to be put to death. Unwilling to accept that her beloved Manech has been lost forever, Mathilde embarks on an extraordinary search to discover the ultimate fate of her lover. At every juncture, she receives a different heartbreaking account on how Manech has spent his last days. Still she pushes on with a determined hope to find him or at least uncover word of him.
With steadfast faith, strengthened by hope and a stubbornly cheerful disposition, Mathilde follows the results of her investigation to its surprising conclusion, all the while convincing those who might help her and ignoring those who will not. As she delves deeper and deeper towards the truth of the fate of the five condemned men and their brutal punishment, she is drawn down into the vortex of the horrors of war and the indelible mark it leaves on the lives it has affected. Just when it seems that all hope is lost, another clue or lead presents itself and a hopeful Mathilde is off on a tangent of her mission once more.
Although two and one half hours long, this film seems to fly by, assisted by the clever techniques of the director Jeunet. As he did so brilliantly in “Amélie”, his mini-flashbacks uniquely explain the details of each segment of Mathilde’s quest for Manech as the story unfolds. He was able to capture the precise mood and realism of the despondent troops lying exhausted in the trenches at the front lines. One can almost taste the foul, musty air of the waterlogged bunkers and trenches. His distinctive technique of occasional comic relief never seems to be forced or out of character for the actors or the scene.
Just to see Audrey Tautou act and flash those adorable innocent big brown eyes is by itself worth the price of admission. Jeunet brilliantly weaves every scene into a fine tapestry of hope, adventure, revenge, horror, and humor that never seems to bog down or overwhelm the audience. A small, yet significant part played by the talented American actress, Jodie Foster is quite engaging and surprising, given that the movie is all spoken in French.
It is brilliantly written as an adaptation of the acclaimed novel by Sebastien Japrisot and adapted for the screen by Jeunet and Guillaume Laurant. “A Very Long Engagement” is a film of Academy Award stature that will live in our hearts forever. Don’t miss it.