it’s 3:49 in the morning and i couldnt sleep. i was in bed since 12 and ive been turning and twisting all night. i eventually decided to come downstairs and surf. i think i had too much Coke tonight, although that never happened before (not being able to sleep, i mean). then again, it’s been a long time since i had that much coke. and i mean, the softdrink kind!
perhaps ive just been too preoccupied with the developments of our class film project. suddenly we’re contacting real film actors and the whole shenanigan just got complex and challenging. not that we’re backing down, but we really dont have much experience for this. if we actually got ricky davao and jaclyn jose it would be a really great learning opportunity for us. it’s scary in a way, and exciting on the other hand. we still have other things to plan out though, one would be logistics. the other and most important of them all deciding factors, the finances. im losing sleep over all these details and we actually have to start doing studies for the film! we’re shooting stills here at home later in the afternoon so i might have to get back in bed in a few more minutes. at least we’re mighty serious about this film project. all im asking from you are prayers. =) and if you spare alms (we’re talking thousands here), that would be much appreciated. =)
my org in fine arts, cinema as art movement (or CAM) recently screened darren aronofsky’s “requiem for a dream.” ive seen the film before, i was able to find a pirated copy in philcoa sold for only PhP40. i was watching it off a computer monitor and, though it lessened the possible effect the film would have on me, i nevertheless enjoyed it. it was a painful movie about 4 people on a downward spiral to self-destruction (how else would you explain the downward spiralling effect anyway?). the imagery was indeed haunting and very, very interesting. what i didnt realize until now was that viewing it on the computer hindered what could have possibly been such a heart-wrenching experience.
yesterday afternoon as i watched the film again on a huge tv, in a dark auditorium, and playing off a DVD player i was transported to brooklyn and into the very lives of those 4 people. i could have died in that screening, i wanted to cry. this powerful film was just so painful to watch (i cant find any other word to describe it). i suffered, looking at them succumb to horrible ends and terminating what could have been a beautiful life. they had dreams and they lost it. the score, led by a string quartet, kept beating and torturing us viewers as it played endlessly to the deaths of their dreams. requiem for a dream. aagghhhh! jared leto and the luminescent jennifer connelly played lovers who wanted the perfect american life. ellen burstyn, if i am correct, was nominated in the oscars for this performance as a supporting actress. she’s jared leto’s lonely mother whose wish to be on television was really all about being remembered and loved. damon wayans is the fourth player in this quartet of doom. painful and hauntingly beautiful, this is one film you should not miss.
“harry, will you come home today?” – marian, “requiem for a dream”
benjamin padero 