Kazah Movies

Second week in a row I opened up real player and was like "WTF, another one?" However, you shall be shocked to hear this movie made a lot more sense to me than Land of our Fathers. Why? I don't quite know yet. Perhaps writing will help me figure that out.

I was still bored. Well, I can't say bored because it's not like I was aching for the movie to be over. It's just not what I'm used to. Hardly any action. No one's running around trying to rule the world with big tanks and throwing people off piers. Here, with White Mountains we have an honest to God movie. It involves complex characters, some pretty scenery and some heavy conflict. Now, I was thoroughly thrown when Ulzhan's mom agreed with Mukash in him taking her daughter away to the city. I was sitting in my chair, huh? She's letting her go? But some parents grow up faster than others and realize what was right for them isn't necessarily right for their children. Ulzhan was destined to just be another wife, have some children, blah blah blah. I think it's wonderful that sometimes people just seem to know that their lives are theirs to live and that they need to start making decisions in order to live it to the fullest. Mukash's confession on why he wanted to learn and how badly it ached to not know anything really threw me. You often think that people can't miss what they've never had, but I guess in some cases those basic rules don't apply. Mukash wanted to learn more than anything. He felt it wasn't right that he had no knowledge of anything; it scared him I think. And sometimes fear is a terrific motivator.

I don't know how I'm feeling about him dying at the end. Jumping to his death? Was that really necessary? I don't know yet.I'll have to ponder it for a few days and get back here and let ya'll know if I think it was the perfect ending or stupid. I'm leaning toward stupid perfect ending, which really isn't all that helpful. Hmm....

Expectations Screw You Up

Land of our Fathers. Once I saw the title for this movie and once I understood that the film was in black and white I was annoyed. Again, I was thinking, "Bjorn, really?" And, I don't really know how I feel about it. It was...boring? I feel bad to say it was boring but I can't think of another word to describe it accurately. It wasn't the best movie about pride and family I've ever seen. It was actually, funny. I think. I feel weird about LOUF.

Bayan and Egor were my two favorite characters. Egor was funny and fell in love with the lady on the train. Although she ended up in the middle of nowhere to dig for Uska with the old man. Go figure. Bayan was just, being a little boy. I liked what he said about not wanting to cry for his father. I didn't really get it at first, but I think I see his point. His father was a great man. Well respected and from Bayan's story, he died doing something he believe in. So why mourn him? What would the point be. I guess to some people crying over death is pointless and serves little purpose and in this case I see the point.

Overall, I think I may have missed the point of this movie. Sorry, Bjorn.

Mongol...A Must See/Have

So this week we watched Mongol in my COMM 430 and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. Once I saw the full title of the film my immediate reaction was "WTF, really Bjorn? Genghis Khan?" But I had to watch it so I pressed play and folded my arms and began what I thought was going to be two hours of torture. HOW WRONG WAS I? This movie is about a man who was great in so many ways it's astounding. I am surprised he lasted as long as he did. Being captured, walking across miles of terrain, being help captive in a cage. He went through it all, and he never stopped fighting. Not once did he ever think to give up, and that made me feel, inspired almost.

Near the end of the movie, once Temudgin has bascially just kicked all Mongolian ass, he's with his "brother" and Jamukah asks him about why he wasn't scared when the thunder came. (All Mongols are suppose to be afraid of thunder). Temudgin answer is "I had no place to hide from the thunder so I wasn't afraid anymore." It was during this conversation that I realized that this movie is so much more than it starts of being. You think it's going to be all blood and war and action. Not to say that those things weren't present, but Temudgin is something I have never really seen before. HIs work like enhances his lovle ife, which enhances work life, etc. It's all one big circle and it's so interesting to watch as he fights like hell for both of them.

Borte, Temudgin's wife, is probably the most patient woman on the planet. His disappearences for years at a time his going on to battle to become Khan. It was absolutely ridiculous. But the fabulous part about that is that he kept coming back. When he was captured all those times, his main goal was to free himself and find Borte. At the age of nine he told his dad that Borte was his wife. Plain and simple. And he always found his way back to her. Or in some instances, brought her to him. It was just amazing the connection he felt to her and how, even when death was certain, he was not willing to give up.

Apples...Really?

Apples are from Kazakhstan seems like a joke, right? Who would name their book that? It's seems like a joke, especially if you are under the impression that Kazakhstan is a made up place from a really weird movie. But....drum roll please: apples really are from Kazakhstan and the history behind them is fascination.

When first seeing what book we would be using for film class, I was completely thrown. I was thinking, "What in the name of all that's holy is Bjorn having us read? Apples, really? But once I decided to open the book and stop being a baby about it, I was drawn into it. Robbins (the author) has decided to go on an adventure, to what used to be the USSR to find out about these apples and what in the heck that person was talking about when they told him where apples come from. It's sort of like when you hear a truth you've never considered the answer to before and now that you've heard it, you have to go investigate and see/hear it all over again. Well that's what AAFK is all about. Well not technically all about. AAFK is about a lost generation, a lost way of life. It makes you a little sad reading it, because the apples represent how Russia/USSR used to be. How the old man Valivov misses it dearly. I was surprised to know that apples could mean so much to people and how they aren't as important anymore. Wild apple orchards? I didn't know such a thing existed. Kazakhstan has miles of unclaimed history and no one could care less. Flying in apples from Europe and other such places, when the country itself has apples that used to be prized and used as air fresheners and were used practically as money. How could people not want that life anymore? APPLES! APPLES! Who ever heard of something so ludicrous? Well, I suppose I shouldn't call it ludicrous, but it's more...unheard of, I guess. The country has a lot more history than I expected it to, but I didn't expect the story to make me feel sad. And I do feel sad. That this place is disappearing before our eyes. A country (it's kind of big and kind of south of Russia) that we never acknowledged before Borat. It makes me wonder what other countries have this sort of sordid history. Have they got fascinating stories about lost fruits or jewelries? What else are we ignoring, not on purpose, but with the passage of times we just simply, forget they exist. I think it's time we remember that every country has something to offer.