The Fountain~A Review

"He said that if they dug his father's body up, it would be gone. They planted a seed over his grave. The seed became a tree. Moses said his father became a part of that tree. He grew into the wood, into the bloom. And when a sparrow ate the tree's fruit, his father flew with the birds. He said... death was his father's road to awe."

Few movies have been as stunning to me as this one. And so I feel that I should share this one with you all because of the epic quality, storytelling, and stunning visuals. I saw this movie for the first time with my step-mother. We had only seen a few previews beforehand and weren't sure exactly what we were up for. I had lost my father a few years before viewing this film. Which I believe is part of the reason why I am so touched by this movie while others are so negative.

The story unfolds with Tom, a cancer researcher who is married to Izzy. Tom is avidly working on a cure for cancer, with help from his chimp test subject. Soon after you find out about his work you learn that his wife is in the late stages of cancer. She is writing a book that details a romantic story between the queen of Spain and a conquistador. She sends the conquistador on a search in the New World for the Tree of Life. This story unfolds while jumping between modern times/conquistador Tom/and a futuristic Tom who is travelling to a dying star. Or as we learn from Izzy, Xibalba, where the Mayans believed the underworld was.

Many people were lost in the myriad of symbols and time jumps that make up this film. But at the heart of it there is a story of accepting death. And not only for yourself, but for those people you love most. As you follow the story you can watch as Tom goes through the stages of grieving. This emotional quality is what made me watch this movie so many times. And to mention, I am a big sucker for symbolic imagery.

This is really a beautiful film, it has amazing visual effects and a wonderful soundtrack. If you don't like long, somewhat confusing story lines, weird Mayan priests, or bald men floating in outer space, skip this film. Otherwise, sit down, relax, and let the story unfold.

Guest Writer~Fleur de L'est

This weeks writer is Fleur de L'est, they recently found me on Fictionpress and I really enjoyed their poem Dandelions: Fly Away.

Dandelions:Fly Away

The party has started,
It is time to go.
Fly away! longing eyes
of the tame-hearted,
Before the longing starts to show.

Et la dent de lion
will soon start to bite,
Like midnight-disco
and city lights of neon
Obscuring the moon, silver and bright.

So fly away,
Indulgent tinglings yet little seen,
Before you eat me up,
Et je mangerais

dent de lion - lion's tooth (old French word for dandelion)
je mangerais les pissenlits par la raince - I would be eating dandelion roots (French idiom for being dead)

I loved this poem for its interesting language. From "longing eyes/of the tame hearted" to the inserted French phrases that really made this interesting for me. This poem also has really great structure and word balance. It has great description and not too contrived. I really look forward to reading more work by this author in the future. Keep writing!

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle~A Review

"I'm only sixteen," she said, "and I don't know much about the world, but I do know one thing for sure. If I'm pessimistic, then adults in this world who are not pessimistic are a bunch of idiots."

This was my first adventure reading Mr. Haruki Murakami's work. I had never heard of his work before, and picked the book out purely for fun. It turned out to be a story that was both common on one hand and otherworldly on the other.

The main character, Toru Okada starts his strange adventure looking for his cat. As requested by his wife, Kumiko. As the story evolves we find a slew of other supporting characters. These range from a war veteran to a very mysterious boy who doesn't speak. There is also a large role played by one of his neighbors, May Kashara.

There are many passages in this book that really play with your imagination and I found amazing to read. Some of these being the the emotion grabbing experience with the guitar player as well as the first trip down the well for Toru. Many of these more emotional passages are what kept me interested in this novel. One of my favorites, as I later understood it, was when Cinnamon lost his voice. This eerie and enthralling passage really should have been expanded upon in my opinion. The stories also woven by Malta Kano kept me plugged into the story. Even if the actual plot never carried me further into the character. What I enjoyed about this book the most was the humanness of the main characters feelings. Even though many of the situations are far from realistic the emotions surrounding them are well written and enjoyable.

This book also had some lower points in it. For me it was the conclusion of the actual plot. I felt like I had invested a good amount of time into learning about the characters. And really I wanted the author to build more on how the people Toru met changed his outlook of life. After reading so many pages of fleshing out these characters I was disappointed in such a simple ending. A very abrupt one at that! I won't give any spoilers here. But I wish this was the first of maybe two or three books. Also, as a warning there is graphic violence and some sexual content.

Overall I left this book feeling a little bit more human. It is a mostly quiet novel with very interesting storytelling. I hope you all try reading it! Thanks for reading my review.

Eating.Flowers

Welcome!

Hi!

Welcome to my blog! This will hopefully become a great place for me to write down reviews for books and post my own writings. Sometime soon I hope to make this a more..colorful site! Thanks for visiting.

Eating.Flowers