Tales of the City

Last night I found out that Tuesday someone was assaulted right around the corner from my place. To say it was shocking was an understatement; seriously, it was for me a blow to my sense of security and peace of mind. Apparently – I tried to find a story on the WaPo unsuccessfully – the person attacked had parked down the hill (this is a one way street with the park on one side and house on the other) and was walking up hill when he was cornered by two guys that pushed him to the ground and took his wallet and cell phone and Lord knows what else. From the email that the president o the block sent, the person went to the hospital, and I ma hoping everything is fine and it was just a scare. But momentarily and for a while I will be uneasy every time I park and walk to my place with a laptop, a gym bag and plenty of paraphernalia needed when one works so far away from home that one carries with oneself half one’s thing every morning.

I am not even going to go into the usual discussion, the two attackers are the “usual” suspects, and that is all. I mean we live in a city and cities are dangerous places. I know that. I also know that it happens everywhere, in Gtown, in Mt Pleasant, in Columbia Heights, everywhere, so no one is free of it, not even the people in Potomac, from what happened there this week. But still, what is one to do, I can not be home at 6 every night locked away safely, I need to go out, swim, come back home, so the answer is to continue one’s life. Even if I have a rational discussion about this, I am still afraid, at least a little bit. I guess time will take the fright away, and in a couple of months I will be able too park and not look for suspicious people. But for the time being, you betcha I have a plan and I will be overtly alert.

Volver

I know it comes as no surprise that I like Almodovar, and his movies. To me they are a world that is close by, the world of Spanish women and their idiosyncrasies. I love his descriptions, the way that world he puts on the screen at times real and at time fantastical, blends together to give you a sense that reality is more than what it appeared before you went into the theater. Also there is the way he can finds humor and dignity in the most tragic and macabre circumstances. So go see Volver, it is not his best picture, by any means, but it is a great movie, the characters feel real and the situation at hand, goes from murder to chuckles in 5 seconds.

I have to agree with the Canuck that Volver is not his best movie, in my opinion his best movie is “All about my mother” and from an artistic point of view, “Talk to her” was jarring and beautiful all at once, but disturbing in the way only European moves can be.

So if you like movies, and you enjoy ensemble pieces, where it takes 6 extraordinary women to tell a story, go get your tickets now. If you do not understand the female universe, and want to see a less biased story, then skip it. Hopefully his next movie will be a comedy –comedy again.

PS. Can you tell I am in training and I had to can all these posts? LOL will post live again next Monday when I get back in the office.