Hiroshima Mon Amour

Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959) is a dramatic romance directed by Alain Resnais and written by Marguerite Duras. It is set on World War II Hiroshima after the fatal atomic bombing that took away millions of lives in Japan. The movie begins with pictures of the war, most specifically the remnants of the Hiroshima bombing, along with the discourse between the two main characters playing on the background. The woman ( Emmanuele Riva) tells the man that she had seen the war and its effects on people. The...

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Shawshank Redemption

Shawshank Redemption can be considered as one of the better films in Hollywood, not only because of the beautifully written plot but because of the way it tries to deliver a certain message to the viewer using abstract concepts of justice, power and redemption. Darabont's ability to focus on one of man's greatest needs (freedom), combined with the film’s brilliant musical score and Red’s (Morgan Freeman's) excellent narration made the film so touching, it can drive the viewers to tears. This powerful...

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The Kiss of the Spiderwoman

'...what this world offers me...is the struggle.’....-Internet Movie Data Base *In this life, men are born with different coping mechanisms when it comes to dealing with the harshness of reality that we call life. Some men opt to escape and immerse themselves into their self-created fantasy of a world while others choose to stay behind and battle on. One can never tell which method is right or wrong because it really depends on the person’s preferences. This is what the film “The Kiss Of the Spider...

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Les Quatre Cents Coups (1959)

Directed by Francois Truffaut, this movie is a part of the French New Wave. The literal translation for this one is "THE 400 BLOWS" which in French stands for "raising hell". Angel faces hell bent for violence- Internet Movie Data Base *The 400 Blows is a story that tells us of the events in the life of a 12-year old child and his premature struggles against the norms that have been set for him even before he was born. It is a fictional movie with an uncanny touch of reality, not only because...

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MAYA LIN: A Strong Clear Vision

I will admit it. I was bored at the beginning. I did not see the significance of the film immediately and thought that it was only a plain film about a Chinese-American who went and conquered the United States with her designs in architecture. I thought that it was just another art /success story of a student and it did not really matter politically or in any other way. But I was wrong. Right after that soldier delivered his disdain and complaints against the committee in charge of the memorial,...

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The Enneagram Test

*this is so true.Basic Fear: Of being rejected.Basic Desire: To be accepted.World View: The world values a champion. Avoid failure at all costs.Childhood Origin: Connected to mother-figure.Threes are success oriented and excelling. They are very driven to achieve their goals, and they desire to feel worthwhile, accepted, and desirable. Threes believe in themselves and are often well liked for their positive qualities. They feel that they are "okay" as long as they are successful and others think well of them. At their worst, they feel that there is nothing to do to win the positive attention of...

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No Country For Old Men: A Valuation of Humanity Within Desolation And Despair

*this is my post in our film blog back in 2010. You can see the original post here. “Whatcha got ain`t nothin new. This country`s hard on people, you can`t stop what`s coming, it ain`t all waiting on you. That`s vanity.” –Barry Corbin as Ellis, No Country for Old Men,(2007) Adapted from a 2005 novel of the same title, No Country for Old Men is an award-winning masterpiece of the CoenBrothers about drugs, money and violence. This movie, set in 1980 on West Texas, tells the story of Llewellyn...

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