Brad Cohen's Story--Front of the Class

This is so very inspirational. I've watched this movie in HBO before, but I'd like to watch it again and again. It introduces me what Tourette Syndrome is. If you see a person that has Tourette Syndrome, DON'T laugh at him/her, just understand it's hard to have a tourette syndrome. People may have tic disorders, with the more common tics of eye blinking, coughing, throat clearing, sniffing, and facial movements. People with Tourette's have normal life expectancy and intelligence. We should give more understanding!

To know more, please consult:
Brad Cohen's Website
http://www.classperformance.com/
Testimonials
"Brad Cohen is a walking billboard for the idea of living positively. He is like a cold drink on a hot day--refreshing, energizing, and likely to put a smile on your face."

Tim Shriver - Chairman of Special Olympics

"I have observed the magic of Brad Cohen in the classroom. He has turned Tourette Syndrome into an asset, and his life into inspiration."
Senator Johnny Isakson, Georgia

"Brad Cohen's story is a triumph of hope, determination, will and relentless good humor."
Peter J. Hollenbeck, Ph.D., Professor and
Associate Head of Biological Sciences,
Purdue University
INDB:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1292594/
http://www.cbs.com/specials/front_of_the_class/
Brad Cohen’s Website
http://www.classperformance.com/
Book: http://www.frontoftheclassbook.com/

綠光 Le Rayon vert

什麼是綠光？

可曾觀察過海平面的日落？是否一直觀察著它，直到它眼看著就要全部消失？當天空一片澄淨時，就在太陽放射出最後的光芒時會出現一道綠光。這是一種不可思議的綠色，沒有一個畫家能夠在他的調色板上調出這種綠色；在自然界，無論是種類繁多的植物，還是最為清澈的海水，它們的色彩沒有一個與這種綠色相同！要是天堂上有綠色的話，或許便是這種綠色，它無疑是代表著希望的真正綠色！綠光很罕見，看到它就可以讀懂自己和對方的心，誰能有幸看到綠光，誰就能得到幸福。 ——凡爾納小說「綠光」


綠光是太陽落入海平面時，最後一瞬間出現的一道淡綠光芒。像劍鋒一樣耀眼的漂亮綠色，但稍縱即逝。這種自然現象是因陽光在大氣中折射，靠近地平線時所產生的色散。女主角曾說過，她相信發生在自身周遭的迷信，就像她在巴黎路邊撿到象徵壞運的黑桃Q、看到「恢復自己與他人的聯繫」廣告傳單、在海邊又無意發現好運的紅心K一樣，她也相信如凡爾納小說所述，看見綠光，便能得到幸福。也是這一份虔誠、真摯卻又害怕傷害的期待心情打動銀幕前的觀眾，使這部電影至今仍是侯麥作品中最經典難忘的一部。

《巴黎心‧楓葉情》--個人記憶與歷史的深刻辯證

個人記憶與歷史的深刻辯證──《巴黎心‧楓葉情》
《巴黎心‧楓葉情》英文原名為「Emotional Arithmetic 情感算術」，探討的是人與人之間無法斤斤計較的情感。

德國對猶太人的迫害與屠殺是人類近代一段極其沈重的歷史，不少影片讓觀眾看到這段歷史的非人性與殘酷，但是鮮少有如《巴黎心‧楓葉情》這樣細膩刻劃那段歷史的倖存者如何艱辛地處在記憶與遺忘複雜的糾葛拉扯之中：創傷的回憶痛苦但情感卻刻骨銘心，屠殺的歷史殘忍但卻不能被忘記。不同於《辛德勒名單》是透過個人故事來寫歷史，本片是透過描寫走過歷史的人來關注最卑微的基本人性面：歷史必須遺忘以繼續生活。

這部影片關於個人記憶與（殘酷）歷史洪流之間最精彩的辯證處理給先行消音了。

撕開《巴黎心‧楓葉情》的美國文藝愛情片外衣，影片高度的文學性讓大自然與劇情相呼應，為影片帶出關於生命主題深遠的寓意，在在都使得《巴黎心‧楓葉情》成為一部主題看似沈重，但觀影經驗卻是十分賞心悅目的影片。

<本文篇章片段 取自放映週報http://www.funscreen.com.tw/review.asp?RV_id=363&period=173>

ONCE: What does it feel like to be in love? 曾經愛是唯一 (3)

ONCE: What does it feel like to be in love?

The Hill
Looking up the hill tonight
When you have closed your eyes
I wish I didn't have to make all those mistakes and be wise
Please try to be patient and know that I'm still learning
I'm sorry that you have to see the strength inside me burning

Where are you now, angel now
Don't you see me crying
And I know that you can't do it all
But you can't say your not trying
I'm on my knees in front of him
But he doesn't seem to see me
But all his troubles on his mind is looking right through me
And I'm letting myself down deciding is falling you
And I wished that you could see I have my troubles too

Lookin' at you sleeping
I'm with a man I know
I'm sitting here weeping while the hours pass so slow
And I know that in the mornin' I have to let you go
And you'll be just a man once I leave to know
For these past few days someone I don't recognize
This isn't all my fault
When will you realize

Lookin' at you leavin'
I'm looking for a sign

URL: http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlqzejxa9U8

ONCE: When Your Mind's Made Up 曾經愛是唯一 (2)

Lyrics of When Your MIND'S MADE UP

So, If you ever want something
You call, you call
And I'll come running to fight
And I'll be at your door
And there's nothing worth running for

When your mind is made up
When your mind is made up
There's no point trying to change it
When your mind is made up
When your mind is made up
There's no point trying to stop it

You see you're just like everyone
When you share your falls
All you want to do is run away
And hide all by yourself
When there's fall, there's fall
There's nothing else

When your mind is made up
When your mind is made up
There's no point trying to change it
When your mind is made up
When your mind is made up
There's no point even talkin'
When your mind is made up
When your mind is made up
There's no point trying to fight it
When your mind, your mind

There's no point trying to change it
When your


So,If you ever want something
Then you call, call
Then I'll come running

URL: http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=0oyQPGJ5848

Once: Falling Slowly 曾經愛是唯一 (1)

Lyrics of Falling Slowly

I don't know you but I want you
All the more for that
Words fall through me and always fool me
And I can't react

Games that never amount
To more than they're meant
Will play themselves out

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time, raise your hopeful voice
You had the choice, you've made it now

Falling slowly, eyes that know me
And I can't go back
Moods that take me and erase me
And I'll paint it black

You have suffered enough and warred with yourself
It's time that you won

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time, raise your hopeful voice
You had the choice, you've made it now

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time, raise your hopeful voice
You had the choice, you've made it now
Falling slowly, sink your melody
I'll sing it now

URL: http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=CoSL_qayMCc



沒有轟轟烈烈
以身相許的愛情
但卻是兩人溫馨的一段邂逅
這部電影
沒有華麗的片場
沒有特別的動畫
沒有聲勢浩大的特效
但卻有動人的音樂
和感人的故事

男女主角巧合的相遇認識
一起譜出只屬於彼此之間的歌曲

雖然互相相愛
女已嫁作人婦
但卻把持分寸不踰矩

雖然只有曾經愛過
但這感情卻深深的在彼此心中永藏著
這段錯誤是最美的錯誤
最後回到彼此的原點
屬於彼此的位置
留給對方是最深的回憶
和那美麗的音樂

"Falling Slowly" winning Best Original Song Oscar:
URL: http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=qx8yLvb0gZM

Summer Hours《夏日時光》 L' Heure d'e'te'

夏日時光 (Summer Hours) L' Heure d'e'te'



《夏日時光》的初步構想

　當奧塞美術館找上阿薩亞斯談這個合作計畫時，當時他正在進行《Boarding Gate》的拍攝工作。包括《Boarding Gate》，以及前兩部《Demonlover》、《錯得多美麗》，阿薩亞斯編導的方向是有關全球化浪潮、有關文化與語言的融合、有關人與人之間的交流、有關商品的流通。但是奧塞美術館提出希望此片以『人性』為出發點，阿薩亞斯頓時想跳離「全球化」的圈圈，他想回家，想將他的成長地法國當作新故事的背景，「這個故事可以讓我暫時停下腳步，思考一下我的人生的過去與未來。」
　不過當阿薩亞斯著手撰寫劇本時，他的母親突然驟逝了，「我突然了解到，母親不會永遠留在世上」。在這樣的衝擊之下，阿薩亞斯希望將『家』的戲份加重，「我認為我從來沒有完成一個完整的『家』的故事」阿薩亞斯說。把『家』當作是家族、世代之間、兄妹之間的核心，從『家』去發展『人』的故事。

《夏日時光》的全球化觀點

　不過導演阿薩亞斯依舊在角色的設定上，透露出一些「全球化」觀點。片中的Adrienne（茱麗葉畢諾許 飾）是個從法國到紐約發展的設計師，Je're'mie（傑若米何涅 飾）則是為了推廣產品而世界趴趴走，片中的他即將移居中國。三個孩子唯獨長兄Fre'de'ric（查爾斯柏林 飾）觀念比較傳統，他不想踏出法國，其實他是害怕無法適應全球化的衝擊。
　阿薩亞斯想呈現的是目前法國社會一個很普遍的情況，傳統的中老年人與年輕一代無法溝通，上一代的不了解這一代的社會環境，下一代也在快速變化中。全球化對「人」的影響，遠比對經濟的影響來的大許多，牽連到的不只是社會，還有每個人。《夏日時光》一片就做了過去、現在與未來，家庭文化的差異性。「對我來說，最讓我感興趣的不是那些藝術品的價值，而是人的價值。」阿薩亞斯說。

《夏日時光》的美麗回憶

　看起來，《夏日時光》像是一部充滿回憶與懷舊的電影，有孩子們對母親的回憶、還有對已逝愛人的回憶。但其實，阿薩亞斯只是傳達給觀眾一件正在發生的事，每個人的一生中都一定會發生，就這樣順其自然的把日常生活加到劇情裡，而不是像是史詩電影一樣的述說著歷史。「我覺得有些電影過度的強調『回憶』這個東西，會讓人覺得不舒服，而且我不想用悲傷的感覺來回憶過往。」
　因此，故事中的每個角色，都必須夠成熟來面對「回憶」這件事，就連第三代10幾歲的孩子，也在片尾陷入回憶的過程。《夏日時光》就像在告知所有人：你必須有成熟的改變，你必須要長大去面對所有的一切。


《夏日時光》的藝術品

　由奧塞美術館提供的藝術品，在片中佔有舉足輕重的意味。藝術品有可能是無價的回憶、也有可能是金錢的價值、也可能只是一件無關緊要的裝飾品。藝術品看起來是死的，但阿薩亞斯似乎賦予了他們生命，讓他們靜靜的、看著小屋裡發生的每一件事，最後只留下空蕩蕩的美麗與哀愁。
　阿薩亞斯認為，當一件物品被藝術家創造出來之後，他們就像一個生命一樣，會呼吸、有感覺。但是如果被送進博物館裡當成展示品，等於奪走了他們的生命。像桌子、衣櫃這種物品是被創造擺放在生活裡，與人一起呼吸，如果只是被拿來展示，只會失去他們存在的意義。「我很喜歡逛博物館，但其實放在裡面的藝術品，就像是動物被關在動物園一樣，被人們掌控的囚犯。」阿薩亞斯說。

Love is like the wind. You cannot see it but you can always feel it.

A Walk to Remember- Sung by Celine Dion
URL: http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=bN16Wmn3Uys

A Walk to Remember 走出一片情 (2002)

Love is like the wind. You cannot see it but you can always feel it.

This is a heart-warming movie about the transformation of a character, Landon Carter (Shane West) who falls in love with someone who crosses his path, a fellow tutor, Jamie Sullivan (Mandy Moore). Landon learns concepts of faith, forgiveness, and reconciliation in interactions with his high school friends.

Lust, Caution

Lust, Caution is a great movie indeed. Mileage, depending on taste, will vary--the film is too long, though it never drags, and it's not quite the "thriller" it's being marketed as--but the acting is indisputably stellar. Newcomer Tang Wei and the ever-soulful Tony Leung are just riveting. I haven't seen any Tony Leung films but I've heard so much about him. This kind of nuanced acting is so rarely seen that just watching Wei play innocence and conspiracy, love and hate, truth and lies, compassion and patriotism, is justification alone to introduce this film to friends.

Some scenes of the movie have lingered in my mind and here are some questions Lust, Caution put into my head:
(I agree with what Daph put here and don't want to repeat.)

1. When a group of students decides to go from putting on patriotic plays to raise money to fight the Japanese occupiers, are they heroes, assassins, or reckless children? We'd call them "terrorists" today, right? What are the moral implications of just sitting around one day going, "Oh ... we could just kill a guy."

2. Why is one early scene of unexpected violence so awful, so gut-wrenchingly horrible? We don't particularly care about the victim, but we are as much shocked as this group of young people. There are no visible narrative or cinematic tricks at play. Is it the sheer lack of visible choreography that makes it so much more wrenching?
When you enter the enemy's world and live in it, can you avoid becoming like them? Can you continue to see them as targets, foes, rather than human beings? (Sigh... Ah, people...)

3. Can you fake love, or does the very act of acting like you’re in love inevitably shade into something like love?
How the hell did they make those sex scenes that freaking graphic, without just having the actors do it on camera? (Over here, I understand why Angie thought the sex scenes are extensive.)

4. How do you reconcile the true humanity you might see in the person right in front of you, in a moment of honest vulnerability, with that person's day job as a monster?
Does the fact that Ang Lee avoids the easy outs of showing us the brutality of the Japanese occupiers and their collaborationists--giving us barely a hint of what makes Leung's character so presumably vile--make it harder to answer that previous question?

5. Is his decision to start the story near the end, then do an extended flashback, merely a narrative trick to show us where the film is going, thus raising questions that insure our interest, or is it indicative of his take on his heroine, and in which life she’s most real?

6. Acting/masking/making up scenes through mirrors are all entwined together to reveal the themes Daphne has pointed out.

This is stuff I thought about in this movie.