Thursday, August 26, 2004
Love Actually... Again and Again
“I feel it in my fingers; I feel it in my toes.
Christmas is all around me and so the feeling grows.
It’s written in the wind; it’s everywhere I go.
So if you really love Christmas, come on and let it snow.”
- Bill Nighy singing as rock superstar “Bill Mack” –
“This is shit, isn’t it?”
“Yup, solid gold shit, maestro.”
-----------------------------------------
I have watched the film “LOVE ACTUALLY” a film by Richard Curtis a total of eight times.
Personally, this is a big deal to me and also maybe for others. Why? It’s because I usually don’t watch movies more than two times unless they are tremendously worth watching again and again like the Star Wars series, The Godfather, The Matrix, The Alien quadrilogy, and of course The Lord of the Rings trilogy (I have watched these films approximately 7 to 10 times). I mean, I watch these movies now and then mostly for their mind-blowing special effects rather and of course for their well-loved and superb stories. But usually people don’t go watching the same movie more than five times especially movies without big stars, big-budgeted action sequences, hi-tech special effects, and out-of-this word story twists and plots. Imagine viewing “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and the “Wedding Singer” eight times. I can watch them three or four times but that’s it. Unless they are your eternal favorites, to watch them countless times would be no problem.
For me, it is enough to view romantic films two to three times. Going beyond three or four, I sincerely believe is too much and borders on the insane -- on either being helplessly love-struck or broken hearted.
But with LOVE ACTUALLY, looks like I’ve been struck by love like what the movie is about. I have found this new personal fact a real wonder; it is quite pretty amusing and amazing to say the least. Somehow, something about this movie has made me fall in LOVE with it, ACTUALLY. I could watch it tonight and tomorrow and the succeeding days and know that I would never ever get tired of it. It’s like the way I have fallen in love with the poem “Somewhere I Have Never Traveled” by e.e. cummings or Melissa Green’s autobiography entitled “Color is the Suffering of Light.” No matter how many times I read these literary pieces, there is always something new to discover. It just feels wonderful every time… like having sex. In Tagalog, “walang kasawaan.”
There are just some things in life that strike a chord in our hearts, cling to them, and do not let go. This is what the movie exactly did to mine.
This heart-warming movie by Richard Curtis in his directorial debut (the writer who gave us Notting Hill, and Bridget Jones Diary) is about ten stories of different kinds of LOVE happening four weeks prior to Christmas in London. There is the story of a widowed husband (LIAM NEESON) trying to build up a good relationship with his quiet stepson (THOMAS SANGSTER) who is in the “total agony of being in love” with an American schoolmate (OLIVIA OLSON); an art gallery-owner (ANDREW LINCOLN) who is hiding his intense love for his best friend’s new bride (KEIRA KNIGHTLEY) who on her part thinks he despises her; an ex-heroin addict rock star (BILL NIGHY) on the road to a musical comeback with the help of his ever faithful friend and manager (GREGOR FISHER); a bachelor UK Prime Minister (HUGH GRANT) who instantly falls in love with one of his household staffs (MARTINE McCUTCHEON) on the first day of his job at 10 Downing Street; a broken hearted writer (COLIN FIRTH), who discovered his girlfriend having an affair with his brother, learning to speak Portuguese so that he could propose marriage to the Portuguese woman (LUCIA MONIZ) who used to clean his house in the South of France; an office girl (LAURA LINNEY) who has been in love with their company’s enigmatic chief designer (RODRIGO SANTORO) for “two years, seven months, three days, one hour, and thirty minutes” but is hindered to pursue her affection for him because she is taking care of her mentally-ill brother (MICHAEL FRITZGERALD); a busy mother (EMMA THOMPSON) preparing the animal costumes of her two kids for their school’s nativity play finding out her husband (ALAN RICKMAN) is on the verge of having an affair with her sexy and alluring secretary (HEIKE MAKATSCH); a goofy young sandwich vendor (KRIS MARSHALL) who thinks he is the “God of Sex” but is unfortunately on the wrong continent for he cannot find true love with any stuck-up British girls, believing he can instantly have a girlfriend in America which his best friend (ALAN BARNES) absolutely think is crap; and two naked movie stand-ins (JOANNA PAGE and MARTIN FREEMAN) slowly falling in love with each other in the course of filming. These sweet interconnected stories between characters that move in their own six degrees of separation plus the short but memorable appearance of Mr. Bean ROWAN ATKINSON, as a comically passionate jewelry salesman make the whole movie worth watching again and again. The opening and ending scenes of people joyously hugging and kissing each other upon arrival at Heathrow Airport sandwich the film majestically.
The interrelated stories and dialogues are simply brilliant as the scenes fluidly flow from one story to another. And the actors were just perfect for their roles and quite endearing in their characterizations. I believe that if other actors were given these parts, the movie would have failed miserably. For this, aside from the actors, actresses, and director, I also give the movie’s casting director and crew two thumbs up. (God, I sound like a film critic. Just remember, this is not a proper film review.)
The movie’s soundtrack adds a charming dimension to the film, enough to make you dance, smile, and feel sad with songs by Joni Mitchell, The Pointer Sisters, The Bay City Rollers, and of course Bill Nighy’s Christmas version of Wet Wet Wet’s “Love Is All Around.” The oldies-but-goldies songs are absolutely fun and “wicked” as Colin Frissel, one of the characters in the movie, would say. A new personal favorite is “God Only Knows” by the Beach Boys. By the way, this movie has also caused me to fall in love with Martine McCutcheon. She is just cute and ideal in her role as Hugh Grant’s love interest. I am now a self-confessed fanboy of hers as I proclaim her to be my favorite actress and celebrity-flavor of the year along with Lindsay Lohan. (Last year it was Kate Hudson and the previous years were Ashley Judd, Heather Graham, Anne Hathaway, etc).
This movie is more than an eye-candy; nor is it a film for the hopelessly romantic or just to past one’s idle time away. In its simplicity, it becomes an honest celluloid masterpiece, naturalistic in its happiness and pains and without any pretension just as true love is. It is now in my top-thirty list of favorite films which include Seven Samurai, Six Degrees of Separation, Being John Malkovich and the other previously mentioned movies.
I plainly suggest you watch it and you may get a hint of what I mean. You may LOVE ACTUALLY the movie.
Love it enough to watch it eight times or even more… just like I have.
Christmas is all around me and so the feeling grows.
It’s written in the wind; it’s everywhere I go.
So if you really love Christmas, come on and let it snow.”
- Bill Nighy singing as rock superstar “Bill Mack” –
“This is shit, isn’t it?”
“Yup, solid gold shit, maestro.”
-----------------------------------------
I have watched the film “LOVE ACTUALLY” a film by Richard Curtis a total of eight times.
Personally, this is a big deal to me and also maybe for others. Why? It’s because I usually don’t watch movies more than two times unless they are tremendously worth watching again and again like the Star Wars series, The Godfather, The Matrix, The Alien quadrilogy, and of course The Lord of the Rings trilogy (I have watched these films approximately 7 to 10 times). I mean, I watch these movies now and then mostly for their mind-blowing special effects rather and of course for their well-loved and superb stories. But usually people don’t go watching the same movie more than five times especially movies without big stars, big-budgeted action sequences, hi-tech special effects, and out-of-this word story twists and plots. Imagine viewing “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and the “Wedding Singer” eight times. I can watch them three or four times but that’s it. Unless they are your eternal favorites, to watch them countless times would be no problem.
For me, it is enough to view romantic films two to three times. Going beyond three or four, I sincerely believe is too much and borders on the insane -- on either being helplessly love-struck or broken hearted.
But with LOVE ACTUALLY, looks like I’ve been struck by love like what the movie is about. I have found this new personal fact a real wonder; it is quite pretty amusing and amazing to say the least. Somehow, something about this movie has made me fall in LOVE with it, ACTUALLY. I could watch it tonight and tomorrow and the succeeding days and know that I would never ever get tired of it. It’s like the way I have fallen in love with the poem “Somewhere I Have Never Traveled” by e.e. cummings or Melissa Green’s autobiography entitled “Color is the Suffering of Light.” No matter how many times I read these literary pieces, there is always something new to discover. It just feels wonderful every time… like having sex. In Tagalog, “walang kasawaan.”
There are just some things in life that strike a chord in our hearts, cling to them, and do not let go. This is what the movie exactly did to mine.
This heart-warming movie by Richard Curtis in his directorial debut (the writer who gave us Notting Hill, and Bridget Jones Diary) is about ten stories of different kinds of LOVE happening four weeks prior to Christmas in London. There is the story of a widowed husband (LIAM NEESON) trying to build up a good relationship with his quiet stepson (THOMAS SANGSTER) who is in the “total agony of being in love” with an American schoolmate (OLIVIA OLSON); an art gallery-owner (ANDREW LINCOLN) who is hiding his intense love for his best friend’s new bride (KEIRA KNIGHTLEY) who on her part thinks he despises her; an ex-heroin addict rock star (BILL NIGHY) on the road to a musical comeback with the help of his ever faithful friend and manager (GREGOR FISHER); a bachelor UK Prime Minister (HUGH GRANT) who instantly falls in love with one of his household staffs (MARTINE McCUTCHEON) on the first day of his job at 10 Downing Street; a broken hearted writer (COLIN FIRTH), who discovered his girlfriend having an affair with his brother, learning to speak Portuguese so that he could propose marriage to the Portuguese woman (LUCIA MONIZ) who used to clean his house in the South of France; an office girl (LAURA LINNEY) who has been in love with their company’s enigmatic chief designer (RODRIGO SANTORO) for “two years, seven months, three days, one hour, and thirty minutes” but is hindered to pursue her affection for him because she is taking care of her mentally-ill brother (MICHAEL FRITZGERALD); a busy mother (EMMA THOMPSON) preparing the animal costumes of her two kids for their school’s nativity play finding out her husband (ALAN RICKMAN) is on the verge of having an affair with her sexy and alluring secretary (HEIKE MAKATSCH); a goofy young sandwich vendor (KRIS MARSHALL) who thinks he is the “God of Sex” but is unfortunately on the wrong continent for he cannot find true love with any stuck-up British girls, believing he can instantly have a girlfriend in America which his best friend (ALAN BARNES) absolutely think is crap; and two naked movie stand-ins (JOANNA PAGE and MARTIN FREEMAN) slowly falling in love with each other in the course of filming. These sweet interconnected stories between characters that move in their own six degrees of separation plus the short but memorable appearance of Mr. Bean ROWAN ATKINSON, as a comically passionate jewelry salesman make the whole movie worth watching again and again. The opening and ending scenes of people joyously hugging and kissing each other upon arrival at Heathrow Airport sandwich the film majestically.
The interrelated stories and dialogues are simply brilliant as the scenes fluidly flow from one story to another. And the actors were just perfect for their roles and quite endearing in their characterizations. I believe that if other actors were given these parts, the movie would have failed miserably. For this, aside from the actors, actresses, and director, I also give the movie’s casting director and crew two thumbs up. (God, I sound like a film critic. Just remember, this is not a proper film review.)
The movie’s soundtrack adds a charming dimension to the film, enough to make you dance, smile, and feel sad with songs by Joni Mitchell, The Pointer Sisters, The Bay City Rollers, and of course Bill Nighy’s Christmas version of Wet Wet Wet’s “Love Is All Around.” The oldies-but-goldies songs are absolutely fun and “wicked” as Colin Frissel, one of the characters in the movie, would say. A new personal favorite is “God Only Knows” by the Beach Boys. By the way, this movie has also caused me to fall in love with Martine McCutcheon. She is just cute and ideal in her role as Hugh Grant’s love interest. I am now a self-confessed fanboy of hers as I proclaim her to be my favorite actress and celebrity-flavor of the year along with Lindsay Lohan. (Last year it was Kate Hudson and the previous years were Ashley Judd, Heather Graham, Anne Hathaway, etc).
This movie is more than an eye-candy; nor is it a film for the hopelessly romantic or just to past one’s idle time away. In its simplicity, it becomes an honest celluloid masterpiece, naturalistic in its happiness and pains and without any pretension just as true love is. It is now in my top-thirty list of favorite films which include Seven Samurai, Six Degrees of Separation, Being John Malkovich and the other previously mentioned movies.
I plainly suggest you watch it and you may get a hint of what I mean. You may LOVE ACTUALLY the movie.
Love it enough to watch it eight times or even more… just like I have.
