We must declare Peace with the World

Affinity, Nature, New Attitude to Nature

 

The temperate Rainforest of British Columbia is a wonder. I had the pleasure of spending 2 months there last winter. It took me a long time to appreciate all that rain. Nearly a year in fact. My bad.

Rachel Carson was one of the finest nature writers, besides really inventing the environmental movement. In her magnificent book, Silent Spring, Carson talked about “a relentless war on life.” That’s what I would say capitalism is. It really seems anti-life.

Suzanne Simard wanted to learn how we had gone so wrong. In my view, we, as a species, started out on the wrong foot, when we took the position that we were not a part of nature. It is out there and we can do with it whatever we want. Heidegger adopted a phrase from Nietzsche to describe that: “the will to power.”

Carson then asked us to consider something very profound: “The question is whether any civilization can wage relentless war on life without destroying itself, and without losing the right to be called civilized.”

Really Simard in a very different way deals with the same issues.

If we are part of nature, we will likely treat it more kindly. It’s time for a peace treaty. Not just in Iran. Everywhere. That would really be a new attitude to nature.

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Finding the Mother Tree

Affinity, Books, Nature, New Attitude to Nature

 

 

 

 

A very radical Theory

A while ago now I read a book that I have wanted to blog about for some time. It is time for me to meander in that direction.

The book is called Finding the Mother Tree, by Suzanne Simard. Simard has an amazing theory, which I think potentially has monumentally important consequences.  It really is a radical theory and it has been attracting both blame and praise. It might be the most important scientific theory since Charles Darwin. I recognize that this is an incredibly bold statement, particularly from someone who admittedly knows little about science and claims to like modesty.

Simard argues that trees show us that they live in a complex, interdependent circle of life in which forests are a system in which the organisms in it are connected to each other through underground networks. She claims that trees perceive one another, learn and adapt their behaviours, recognize neighbours and kin, remember the past, and help each other out. Simard believes, based on her scientific work, that trees have agency about the future, elicit and give warnings to each other, mount defences against attackers, and both compete and cooperate with each other.

Much of what she says is relevant for other ecosystems too.

She bases her theory on work she has done in the rainforests of western North America, particularly Canada. She places importance on the fact that at the centre of these underground networks are often Mother Trees which connect and sustain those around them.

 

If you consider these theories seriously you cannot help but change your attitude to nature. These ideas will force us to change our understanding of ourselves and the world in which we live.

 

I believe that Simard’s theory, though hugely controversial, is as radical and important as that of Charles Darwin. In fact, I consider my immersion into this theory as part of another journey I am on, namely, my religious quest in the modern world. How can that be?  I will explain but it will take some meandering.

Simard starts her book by talking about her work as a young botanist in the forestry industry of British Columbia. She found a world that was very different than she thought it would be. As she said,

“I discovered vast landscapes cleared of trees, soils, stripped of nature’s complexity, a persistent harshness of elements, communities devoid of old trees, leaving the young one vulnerable, and an industrial order that felt hugely, terribly, misguided. The industry had declared war on those parts of the ecosystem—the leafy plants and broadleaf trees, the nibblers, and gleaners and infesters—that were seen as competitors and parasites on cash crops but that I was discovering were necessary for healing the earth. The whole forest—central to my being and sense of the universe—was suffering from disruption and because of that, all else suffered too.”

 

This theory might be the path to a new attitude to nature, something I firmly believe, is urgently needed. from my personal perspective that is the point of this book and Simard’s radical theory.

I will continue to meander through this book and the forest she talks about.

Universal Language  [Part II]

Authoritarianism, Movies, Rebel, Rebellion and Resistance

 

 

The film Universal Language continues to dig deeper into the issues of authority, obedience, and rebellion—indeed universal subjects of great importance.

 

Negin, a student, has found money frozen in the ice. It is a matter of life and death he says. 500 Riels. “We can buy so many socks.,” he says. Or perhaps she could buy the student who could not see a new pair of glasses and all the students would be released from their captivity in the closet.

 

The film moves to Quebec with a big image of the Premier and a grey wall and a man sitting at a desk beside another grey wall. There are a lot of grey walls. The man, eating, explains to Matthew, that the world is losing confidence in its governments. Everywhere. Who could disagree with that?  “I am all for freedom,” he says, “but there must be limits.”  Again, who would disagree with that?  Well, Trumpsters in the US and members of the Truck convoy in Canada. To them freedom, means absolute freedom. At least for them. For the rest of us, freedom means no freedom.

 

Matthew has to write a report about his stay in the country, but it can’t be negative or neutral. To him freedom is just another word for nothing left to choose. At least the authoritarians of Iran, or perhaps Winnipeg, have the freedom.

 

Negin and his sister Nazgo as a passerby who is wearing a Christmas tree, all around, where they can find the turkey dealer. Muslims looking like Christians.  Again, they are surrounded by brick walls. Only this wall is brown. They are in the brown district, where you can choose any colour as long as its brown.  Buildings in each district conform to the color of the district. Grey, brown, or beige. Conformity is the key in this film.

 

The children find a shop with only turkeys for sale. You can buy anything you want, as long as its turkeys. They are looking for an axe to get the money out of the ice. The merchant has photos of turkeys on the wall. He assures the children, “we only use the gentlest system of circular saws.”  The merchant, wearing a cowboy hat and riding a senior’s motor cart asks the girl what she wants to be when she grows up. She says, “a cognitive neuroscientist.”  This is a surreal world.

 

Matthew takes a bus to Manitoba. The teacher, Iraj, is going too and asks if he can sit beside Matthew, even though the bus is nearly empty.  Matthew explains that he was planning to sleep through Ontario. He is a smart tourist and Iraj says that is unfortunate, because Ontario is very romantic in the moonlight.

 

One passenger refuses to sit beside a turkey. Buses should be for humans only she says. She explains to the driver that she has experienced much suffering. Her sons died in a marshmallow eating contest. Her husband was killed by a swarm of wasps. She has neighbours who steal her rhubarb and now she must sit beside a gobbling turkey? How can that be? The bus driver dressed in pink, including pink ear muffs, explains she is lucky because the turkey won an avian beauty contest. In the land of authority be thankful for what you get.

 

 

We see seniors playing bingo with the lady pulling ping pong balls with numbers on them. She is wearing a big coat, mitts and scarf. After all it is Winnipeg—One Great City. A pyramid of Kleenex boxes guarded by a ramrod still man in white coat and tie. A woman in East Kildonan can’t stop crying and the jackpot is a year’s supply of Kleenex. What could be better? The winner rebels. She does not want Kleenex because she already has a fantastic tear collection.

 

 

Dara drives by a bridge with a group of mourners standing in the snow inside an exit ramp of the Disraeli Bridge if I am not mistaken. Supposedly it is the grave site of Louis Riel the founder of Manitoba. All wear proper winter attire except the tour leader. The tourists are told Louis Riel was the premier rebel of Manitoba who started the province. They asked the leader if he earned good money as a revolutionary. What was his salary? This is the land where inane is king. I suppose they want to know if it pays as well to resist authority as the Revolutionary Guard in Iran? He wants them to stand for 30 minutes of silence to honor Riel for the sacrifices he made for the people. But, of course, all we hear is loud street traffic as the tourists from Iran stand respectfully obeying authority in silence surrounded by snow and loud traffic.

 

 

The tourist meanwhile visits another highlight of Winnipeg in the beige district where all buildings are beige.  They stand around looking at a dull building. One tourist asked if anyone famous lived there, as “it seems pretty boring.” ‘No,” the guide replies. “They were all unknown people. One was an administrative assistant. Another was a fax machine operator.” Dull ordinary people in other words. The tourists have been dragged out to see views of dull ordinary people. But they are free to do so. You can do anything you want as long as it’s boring.

 

The next place of interest is a briefcase left on a makeshift bench in 1978. Someone left it there. No one has ever looked inside. No one knows who the person was that left it there. It is said he was waiting for a bus. There is a photo of former Mayor Bill Norrey. The bench and forgotten briefcase have been enshrined as a UNESCO World Heritage site. “It is a monument to absolute interhuman solidarity at its most basic and banal.” It is a monument to dull and boring.

By then the tourists were understandably complaining about standing around in the cold. A very small rebellion.

 

Next, they are taken to Portage Mall to see a poster of former premier. Pallister with the words in Farsi, “A strong economy helps to prevent feelings of worthlessness.” I guess there is nothing like a nod to consumer society go give a tourist a thrill of excitement. There is also a sign in the mall in Farsi, the universal language, “ No loitering. Zero tolerance.” One customer sits on a chair, inserts a coin and waits for a mechanical massage. Reminds me of Marshall McCluhan’s car that he called a “Mechanical Bride.” The Portage Mall clock has no minute hand nor hour hand. Because, explains the tour guide, “the Portage Mall is timeless.” And they don’t any longer show 3D films because “they were too exciting.” Just one-dimensional films now. A blind man with a cane and a camera follows the group down the stairs. Spying on them? Perhaps.

 

In a modern scene right out of Kafka’s playbook, the tour guide shows them an empty water fountain no longer working. It has no water anymore. Another highlight of Winnipeg! In 1987 though people would watch it for hours, as it was so fantastic. You can’t throw coins into the empty water fountain because “all wishes have been cancelled.” To discourage loitering. One tourist asks, “Loitering? There is nothing to see here. A fountain without water is meaningless,” she demands. “I don’t know why you brought us here.” One more tiny rebellion. The guide replies, “Perhaps I brought you here out of hope. A small hope that the water might return and dazzle us again. A police officer comes up to the group and asks them to leave, because there is no loitering allowed. But they have a permit. They are an official tour group. Sadly, the permit allows only 30 seconds of viewing and they have already been there a whole minute! The tour leader asks to be forgiven. He lost track of time. I guess it was too exciting. They must leave.

 

 

As they walk through the city at night, a woman comes by to offer to sell her paper shredder. Massoud says he doesn’t need it as he has no paper. The woman says he can use it to make noodles with it or shoelaces. That’s allowed. They have some Riel freedoms.

 

Mahmoud walks Mathew to his apartment—another brown beige apartment block—where he took in Mathew’s mother who mistook him for Mathew. He works as a customer rep at the Winnipeg Earmuff authority. He is another authority figure, no less. He always wears earmuffs in the film as do some of the kids. He is also a shoveler of snow. Of course, he also is a tour guide but there is little need for his services in Winnipeg, particularly in the winter time. “There is very little tourism in Winnipeg,” he says. But he loves to show people the places he cares about.

 

Why does he do care so much for Mrs. Rankin, Mathew wonders? She had no one else he explains to Mathew.  Mathew says, “but it’s not your problem?” Mahmoud explains it this way to Mathew: “just as the Assiniboine joins the Red River and together they flow into Lake Winnipeg we are all connected.”

 

And the characters in the film, that seem so unconnected are in the end revealed to be entirely inter connected. It is real. Mahmoud tries to get Matthew to reconnect with his mother. He suggests he go up to see her. Photos of him will be there and he should know that sometimes he noticed his mother looking at them with love. “Tell her you are home now,” he suggests. After all, love is the universal language. Not Farsi? Or French? In this Riel Winnipeg, there are no other languages.

 

What a brilliant, beautiful, and funny movie. I had to see it twice to catch on. The first time I watched this film I saw the humour but I was distracted by it. It is so much more than a brilliant comedy.  This film is fantastic. It just seems boring!

 

Yes, the universal language is love. And connection, but you must obey authority. If you rebel, just don’t expect to be well paid.

 

 

Universal Language Part I

Authoritarianism, Freedom, Movies

 

Recently, I reviewed all 10 films nominated for Best Picture of the Year by the Academy of Arts and Sciences.  I saw some great films in the process, and some that were less than stellar.  Now I want to talk about the film I thought was the best film of the year, but it was not on that illustrious list. This film was called Universal Language and it was made by a Winnipegger Matthew Rankin. Can you believe it?

 

It was selected as the Canadian entry of the Academy Award for the Best International Film at the 97th Academy Awards earlier this year, but it was not chosen by the Academy for the nominations. It did receive 13 Canadian Screen Awards and won 6 of them including best Director.

 

Rankin was originally from Winnipeg and his father was Laird Rankin a long time executive director of Canada’s Historical Society. I think it was a very funny film when I watched it in Victoria earlier in the year.  Let me acknowledge however, that although my friend Ralph Friesen and I giggled throughout the film, but not that many other chuckles were heard in the room. It was an “off-beat comedy.” The film is set in Canada, but one very different from the Canada you know. It is a Canada in which Farsi is the main language. That is the language of Persia or Iran. The comedy takes place somewhere between Tehran, Quebec, and mainly Winnipeg. It tells two stories that eventually converge. One is between Negin and Naxgol who find money frozen in the ice in Winnipeg and try to claim it. The second story is about a tour guide who brings a group of tourists from Iran to Winnipeg.

 

The Winnipeg they see is unlike any Winnipeg I have ever seen. Understandably, the tour group is constantly confused, but largely obedient to their guide. Added to that, is the tale of Matthew (our Matthew Rankin) who quits his job in Quebec to come to Winnipeg to see his mother. Amazingly these stories do actually merge together to make some semblance of sense.  A semblance is all you get and that is enough.

 

In the opening scene an image of a school on a cold winter day in Manitoba where students are running wild in a French emersion class, for Iranian students, because the teacher is late.  He arrives and runs as fast as he can into the class and is really angry with them, but he is particularly angry that they do not have “the decency to  misbehave in French.” He reminds the students that he is not like other authority figures they know. “I wear an ear ring. And a turtle neck sweater. I’ve played my electric guitar for you more than once. And still, you behave like brats. I have devoted my life to making you better human beings. But look at you now.” The students are clearly rebels. And who doesn’t love rebels? The authorities of course hate rebels, in Iran, or in Canada.

 

 

One student in the class is dressed like Groucho Marx.  He is sent to a closet where he can still hear the teacher. The teacher stands beneath a portrait of Louis Riel the Metis rebel. Another student incurs his rile because he claims to want to be a tour guide when he grows up.  The teachers says, “in this town.” Another student wants to breed donkeys. The teachers says all the students will fail because of “REALITY.” The teacher says, “When I look at you I see little hope for humanity.” The students must say, in unison, “We are lost forever in this world.” Now they are not rebelling, they are following instructions from their authoritarian teacher.

 

He tells all the students in the closet even though they obviously can’t all fit.  It is their problem, not his. He expels all the students from class until the one student who could not read his notes from the class figures out how she can see the blackboard.  Arbitrary punishment for an arbitrary non-existent crime.  There is no justice in this Canadian autocracy. He lights a cigarette in the class room. After all he is the lord in the classroom. All-in-all as absurd as any authority figure.

 

As the students go out to play in the snow, in perfect order, they encounter another authority figure—their fellow student in a Groucho mustached and glasses.  He directs traffic to the one swing. Students line up and each get 3 swings. No more. then they must go back to the end of the line and wait again while each student has their turn. No questions allowed. Everyone must follow the rules in this authoritarian regime.

Meanwhile, a “real tour guide’ shows up, holding a small white flag, so his 3 tourists, in the middle of a yard of snow, can see him clearly, even though there are no other tourists and white might not be the best colour for the flag.   The guide who is the next authoritarian leader tells the tourists  if they don’t follow him they will miss the “jewel of the Grey district.” It is the Centennial Parking Pavilion in the winter. Nothing else. They stand in in the snow in front of a bare grey cement wall. Is this the best thing to see in Winnipeg? But the authority says it is the highlight of Winnipeg. And thhe must be right. Not? He has to end the tour, but he has hired students to re-enact “the Great Parallel Parking Incident of 1958.” What could be greater or more interesting than that? One tourist asks, “since when is a parking lot of great importance?” Well, of course, since the authority says it is.

Teh authorities must be right. Just like authority always works. Even in Winnipeg.

 

[to be continued}

F1

Movies

 

 

Veteran driver, Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) , wakes up from his nap, sticks his head in ice water, gives it a shake, takes a pill, and re-enters the race. And as the announcer said, “Sonny Hayes may have left his brake pedal at home.” This is racing. With great film work too. But, this is not just about car racing. It’s about miracles. Sort of.

Sonny Hayes, a man who just won Indy 500 and doesn’t bother touching the trophy. He doesn’t need to. So he doesn’t.  In a Wash and Fold Coin laundry in Arizona, he is approached by an old pal, Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem) who offers him a job to work on a driving team  with a talented young rookie driver without much experience in a F1 racing. To Sonny, F1 racing is the real thing, but he quit it. Years ago.

 

Reuban’s problem is that his best driver left his team, because, he said, “the car is a shitbox.”  After 2 &1/2 seasons he has no victories. And the third season is half over and there are 9 races left. He knows he will lose his team after the season unless he does better and wins. Ruben says, “Some people see Sonny Hayes, they see a guy who lives in a van, a gambling junkie who missed his shot.”   Hayes responds, “Wow Ruben, you’re really selling this.”  Ruben replies, “But I see a guy who makes teams better. I see experience. I see know-how.” Sonny’s answer, “you’re off your meds.”  Ruben adds, “My rookie’s a phenomenal talent. Phenomenal. But he’s young. You know what he lacks? Maturity. You plus him? Boom I got a team.” Like so much of life, it is about teams.

 

Ruben shows Sonny an old photo of himself and a very young Sonny Hayes  and asks, “What  would he want?” Sonny, “Join a boys’ band? Seriously I’d ask what he’s smiling about.” Ruben, “He’s smiling at the possibility.”  But Ruben doesn’t quit. He offers him a first-class seat on a flight to London. “I’m offering you an open seat in Formula 1. The only place you could say for one day, if you win you are the absolute best in the world.” In the end, Ruben  and Sonny agree. Neither has ever seen a miracle. They separate. Maybe it is time for a miracle.

Brash and over confident rookie driver, Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) is the young driver who stands to lose his career if he doesn’t win. And it has hardly begun.

Sonny asks his waitress: “A good friend makes you an absolutely too good to be true offer? What do you do? “ She asks, “How much is it about?”  He says, “It’s not about the money.”  She asks a good question, then what is it about? That’s obvious. It’s not about a miracle. It’s about the possibility of a miracle.” Who else gets chances like that. Sonny is Ruben’s “Hail Mary.”  Very appropriate for the possibility of a miracle.

 That’s what this movie is about. The possibility of a miracle.

The team’s technical director, Kate McKenna (Kerry Condon)  is the first female technical director of an F1 team. And of course, she and Sonny get involved. He wants Kate to give it to him “straight as an arrow. No sugar.” Kate tells Sonny, “Everyone thinks Ruben has lost it. That he’s clutching at straws. They’re saying he lost a bet. Ran over your dog. They’re saying Sonny Hayes isn’t a has-been. He’s a never was.”  This cuts deep. Sonny says, “Yeah, when I said I like straight talk I meant me. From others I mostly prefer praise, flattery, hero worship, at times straight up bullshit.”

Sonny then tells Kate to win he needs a way to chase through the dirty air. Get closer to the car ahead. He must follow close—dangerously close—in order to have any chance to win against the establishment who are all way ahead of their team. She asks, “How can I make that safe?”  He then asks, “Who said anything about safe?”  This sets her off: “You want me to redesign so you can follow closer?”  He nods and says, “We need to design for combat.” Her answer comes swiftly:

 “I say that when you look in the mirror you see this rough-and-tumble, old school, no bullshit cowboy. Doesn’t take orders. Goes his own way. Huh? A lone wolf? Well, I have news for you. Formula 1 is a team sport. It always was. And maybe that’ why you failed at it. The only question here is why did Sonny Hayes come back to F1? I’ll start listening to you when you finish a race.”

 

Like so many of these films the protagonist here is infused with insane goals. Racing cars and no interest in safety?  That’s insane. Chasing miracles? That’ insane. Ruben realizes this after Sonny crashes the car. In the hospital. Ruben realizes he and Sonny are insane.  Ruben reads a report in the hospital: “blunt force impact trauma likely to result in vision loss, paralysis death.”  But this was a report from 30 years ago. And Sonny never told him then.

Where are those miracles possible? Somewhere insane.

 

Frankenstein

Moral Humility, Movies

 

 

What is a monster?

As I have been commenting on how in nearly all of the films I have been reviewing that were nominated for Best Picture by the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts, and Sciences for 2026 I have been struck by the fact that many of them depicted insane devotion to unreasonable goals.  The film Frankenstein certain complies with this analysis.

 

In 1857 a large ship is entombed in the ice of the far frozen north. In a very cold hell. No other word captures the utter madness of the endeavour. It was bound for the North Pole, on some mad chance for no rational purpose other than to be the first crew that accomplished this insane goal. The men are muttering, sensibly, because it seems hopeless. Only mad men would continue. And, of course, the Captain insists that they do what they signed up for. The men shout their compliance. Just as insane as the officers. Why do men do it? Why are men blinded by their goals. I do not have the answer to this question, and never will.

 

But there is an even madder goal in this film—creating a human life from dead parts.  How sensible is that?

 

The ship is surprised by an explosion a mile or so further out on the frozen sea.  A man near dead is seen freezing to death. The crew of the ship rescue the man, but a monster of a man or beast, comes out demanding Victor. Victor is the beast’s creator. He “made” him.  The monster kills 6 of the crew whose rifles are ineffective at killing the giant. 6 sailors die in the attempt. Victor wants the Captain to promise to release the monster to him. Why would he recklessly invite such danger? The only reason is men are mad. And watching this film will make you believe exactly that.

 

 

The man introduces himself as Victor Frankenstein, and tells the Captain, “I had determined that the memory of my evils should die with me. Some of what I tell you is fact. Some is not, but it is all true.”

 

He says his name means “conqueror. One that wins it all.”   He says, “Yes. It all started with me.” But what is he winning?

 

Young Victor, named after victor his Father, is punished by his Father with a whip against his face. Victor’s mother dies. And young Victor says, “she who was life was now death…her smile feeding the cold earth. Part of the universe had been hollowed out and the firmament was now permanently dark.”

 

Victor’s younger brother, William, grew out of sunshine and smiles. He was of a calmer, gentler, disposition, clearly favoured by my father… He was the breeze; I was the storm cloud. He was all laughter; I was all frowns.”

 

His mother died while being attended to by the finest surgeon in the land, his father.  Victor blamed him for failing. His father said, “No one can conquer death.” Does that not seem totally rational?  But young Victor, says, “I will, I will conquer it.” One more mad goal.  Among so many mad human goals.  Victor says I saw for the first time that night, “Dark Angel.”

 

He had a vision that he would be given the power over life and death. The vision was clearer than anything he had ever seen before. But it was made, of course, like so many human goals.  It was monumentally mad.

 

He told a group of scientists:

 

“We are not gods, are we?  But if we are to behave as immodestly as gods, we must at least deliver miracles. Ignite a divine spark in these young student’s minds. Teach them defiance rather than obedience. Show that man may pursue nature to her hiding places and stop death. Not slow it down. Stop it entirely.”

 

The young students clapped and cheered madly. Yes truly, madly.

 

One of the lords asked the question: “How exactly do you propose to teach what is impossible?”  The lords of the court declare his task, “unholy.” “An abomination.”  One Lord tells Victor that “God takes life and God takes it.” But Victor is not dissuaded. He says, “Perhaps God is inept.” Men should correct God’s mistakes. He urges the students, “Don’t let old fools extinguish your voice. The answers only come when coaxed by disobedience, free of fear and cowardly dogman.”   I actually agree with that. To some extent. It was the voice of every stroke of genius. But also, the voice of madness. He demonstrates to the Lords and students that an electrical current can bring life to a dead body.

 

 

Frankenstein’s brother comes to visit him with his lovely fiancé, Elizabeth.  She is not, as one might expect, and as Frankenstein suspected, a dimwit. She has bought a book in a bag and he guesses it is a romance. But it is a book about insects. She is interested in science for see wants to see and learn about the “The Rhythms of God.”   For the first time Frankenstein became a little more interest in life, and a little less interested in death.

 

Frankenstein was working hard on his research until “life interrupted.” Elizabeth showed up. He tells her that they both have “a belief in the marvelous.”

 

He believes that they have a bond between him, but she says, “believing it does not make it so.”  Now there is wisdom. Elizabeth says choice is from God. And she has chosen, and her choice is not him.

 

The creature said, “I want to know who I am. Where do I come from?”  The old man says, “Forgive. Forget. The true measure of wisdom to know you have been harmed by whom you have been harmed, and choose to let it all fade.” Don’t become a monster.

 

Frankenstein had never considered what came after creation. He created a creature. What now? Too often great minds ignore the consequences of what they do. Madness again. Elizabeth tells Victor, “Only monsters play God.” This is a film about monsters. Ordinary monsters. People like us. The essence of his story is that he is not a monster.  His maker, Frankenstein is the monster.  As Gary Kasparov said, “humans have a monopoly on evil.”

Only humans are monsters. Don’t be one. Be humble instead.

Hamnet

art, Drama, Movies

 

 

Hamnet is actually the same name as Hamlet in England at the time of Shakespeare. So we are told right at the outset. This is confusing. Maybe it is meant to be confusing. Is Hamnet really Hamlet?

 

Agnes was reputed to be the daughter of a forest witch.  She asks William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) to tell her a story that moves him.  Will writes Romeo and Juliet: “What light through yonder window breaks?”  That’s a pretty good response.  He also writes about “the envious moon.”  He tells her, I must be handfasted to you. No one else will do.” That means sort of stuck together. Lovers.  Both are rebels feeling constraint by conventional rules. Will knows her family won’t approve to a marriage but he doesn’t care, because “I have no talent for waiting.” He can’t wait to make love to her either.  And when his family finds out about it, because Agnes is pregnant, he insists “there is no sin in it.” How could there be?

 

Agnes’s mother came out of the woods. Like her mother and her mother’s mother before her. Agnes says, “The women in my family see things that others don’t.” as a result, she is a pretty good match for Will. Meanwhile Will gets her pregnant and her brother, Bartholomew, wonders why she wastes time on a pasty-faced scholar. “What use is there in that?” Agnes says, he’s got more inside of him than any man I’ve ever met.” She asks Bartholomew, “What would our mother say to us if we were afraid or uncertain. He replies, “To live with our hearts open. To shut it not in the dark but turn it to the sun.”  That is living.  Agnes adds, “He loves me for what I am, not for what I ought to be.” He responds, “Then marry him you shall.” Seems simple doesn’t it?

 

Nothing is simple in the land of Shakespeare.  Her mother tells Agnes: “you defy the horror that stalks the land.” Wow. Don’t we all wish we could do that?

 

In the pain she remembers her own mother who died when she was young. The second child, a girl, dies. Agnes vowed when her mother was dying that she would go to her church but would not say a word there. She feeds her son. She is told her daughter went to heaven but she does not believe that. She nurses both to life.

 

Will and his father argue and the father hits the son.  Then makes it clear to him, “that is the last time you ever hit me.”  It turns out his father is a brute. Will is afraid he is also a violent and dangerous man like his father, but Agnes insists he is a good man. He says, “I’ve lost my way.” It sure looks like Shakespeare has lost his way, but not really.   Agnes knows that he needs distance from his father. She wants him to go to London. Will needs the world. He’s got a lot inside of him, as she knows. And he needs his art.

Will got a job making gloves for the theatre. Not good for the finest writer in English history, but it’s a job and Will turns out to be a good business man as well as a great playwright. How is it possible to be both a great businessman and great playwright? Shakespeare did it. Meanwhile the kids are running around yelling, “Fair is foul and foul is fair”, sounding like one of Shakespeare’s witches.

Later as Judith, the second daughter lies sick with the pestilence, Hamnet gives his life to save his sister. He promises that he will be brave and save her. Like he promised his father, Will. In the morning Hamnet is sick and Judith is better. He blows into his hands and sees the hawk up high. But it is too late for Hamnet. But he was brave. As he promised he would be. He tricked death by changing places with Judith when it came for her.  A true tragic hero. He uses his talent to defeat death. Some say artists can do that too.

Agnes thought Will was wasting his life because he was missing his children’s lives. That might be true. It could be one those insane goals I have been talking about as I posted about the 10 films nominated for best picture this year. But a man who can write Hamlet deserves some slack. But how much?

Will said he is “crawling between Heaven and earth?” No perfection there. But sometimes life requires hard choices. Don’t make bad ones. You may regret them.

When Agnes goes to see Will’s home, she expects a mansion. She was told he had the largest house in the city? But he lives in a hovel of an attic. Why is that?

A man who has lost his son to death when he was not there to comfort him or say good bye to him, cannot live in a mansion. Just like my great Uncle Peter could not go to LaBroquerie to hang out in a bar when he had lived through the Russian Revolution. Both would be desecrations. Shallow responses won’t do.

When Agnes sees the play he wrote after his son died, she begins to understand. Her husband is not a dud. It was hardly a waste.

Will has brought Hamnet back to life. He has shown him. This reminded me of what Jeff Tweedy of the band Wilco said, “Creativity eats darkness.” That is what art can do. It can trick death.

After the play is over, and Hamlet is dead, first Agnes, his mother, and then everyone wants to touch and connect to Hamlet before he dies. Perhaps he lives on through them “The rest is silence.” Maybe they can trick death too.

Agnes smiles at Will. She has seen her son again, through the miracle of art. Her Hamnet has tricked death again.

 

Marty Supreme

Movies, The American Dream

 

 

The film goes from the mundane to the ecstatic in the first 2 minutes—from selling shoes and dealing with an unhappy customer to joyous uninhibited sex.  From low to high in a flash.

 

This film is about the American dream. Winning it all. Or not. This is sort of a sports film, but really unlike any sports film you have seen.  Marty Mauser played with boundless energy by Timothée Chalmaet, is supremely confident; supremely arrogant.  He claims to be “Hitler’s worst nightmare” because he is Jewish and on top of the table tennis world.  It’s only a start according to him and no one else. Ignoring his girlfriend for the moment, he meets Kate a famous movie star much older and more famous than he is, and thinks she will want to go out with him, even though he is a pimply faced 23- year-old obnoxious kid. Extremely obnoxious. But extremely confident. In fact, he is supremely confident. He is American brash. He invites Kay the star to his penthouse Royal Suite and amazingly, she accepts. Even though she has a wealthy husband and family that chain her down until she bursts out of those chains.

 

Marty  cons everyone. Friends, relatives, loved ones. It makes no difference in the insane pursuit of his goals he cons anyone who stands in his way or could help him out, voluntarily, or not. This is what happens when we have insane goals. Like becoming the best surgeon in the world and bringing dead people back to life, as in Frankenstein. Or a revolutionary, as in One Battle After Another Or becoming the world champion table tennis player as in Marty Supreme. Or a secret agent as in Secret Agent.  Ora racing car driver long past one’s best by date. Our goals and desires can kill us.  Lying going to war in Iran without a hint of a plan. Insane, but Americans, or at least a lot of them seem to like insane.  That’s for sure. Supremely insane.

 

But Marty is nothing if not brave. He is a rebel. He is lightning that refuses to stay where it belongs. Which is true. He is disgusting. And he is what he said he was—a confidence man. He sells confidence. Supreme confidence.  He sells faith. People believe. So it must be true.

 

Marty is playing in a world championship, and of course expects to win. The American is a lout. A poor sport. Sort of like their current President. The Japanese player is stoical. Humble, gracious.  The Japanese  player with a very unusual serve, that mysteriously he is unable to return. Now he is no longer supreme. Only very good. How will be handle that?

Watch the film!