The Bonnie and Clyde Syndrome

What's the craziest thing you've done lately?

After watching the 1967 classic Bonnie and Clyde, I feel ecstatic (and prolly bored of myself). You have two young people (read: Clyde was 25 and Bonnie was 23 years old then), robbing banks and killing people all over Central America. They had the time of their lives--after all, they live in the Great Depression era where you see people living in their cars without a penny in their pockets while banks foreclosed all their belongings. Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were AWESOME. But best of all, they were head-over-heels in love with each other. 

I always knew that their story was about two lovers-bandits-outlaws trying to emulate Jesse James in 20th Century America. But I didn't know how it really felt when I saw it in their eyes. (Ok, what I really saw were two great actors--Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty--acting as lovers. And when you have Hollywood hunk Warren and drop-dead-gorgeous Faye together in the silverscreen, it's not that hard to fall in love with their characters. But that's not my point.) Bonnie was, and if the script was at least half accurate, madly in love with Clyde. While Faye's physique (and looks) in this movie is somewhat distracting to my analysis of the love story, I concluded that what Bonnie and Clyde had was really special.

I am not writing this to offer a 40-year-delayed review of the Bonnie and Clyde film which is btw a thing of beauty. What I am most affected about is how the true story of Bonnie and Clyde were all about. Yes there were countless crazy things they've done during a 2-year hiatus of robberies, killings, and evasion from the law. Yes they were immortalized by what they did to rob banks, gas stations, grocery stores. But their true story was about love. Everything else they did were collateral damages. And for what it's worth I do hope most people find that type of love during these times. And if I have to be a criminal to find that feeling, I might still consider it. 

Funny thing is we do a lot of crazy things in life that we are aware about. Sometimes we're ashamed, most things we did we're not proud of. So I admire Bonnie's conviction to stay with Clyde--and as Jay-Z and Beyonce (circa 2003) woud put it, "all I need in this life of sin is me and my girlfriend... down to ride 'till the very end, it's me and my boyfriend." They lived a crazy life but they had one heck of a ride. And they were until their very deaths proud of it.

Those two died when they were around my current age. I can tell you now that I never robbed a bank (or a gasoline station), I never killed anyone (although I wouldn't be surprised to find out that most people have killed other people inside their heads and in their memories), I never evaded arrest (except maybe for a few MMDA/TMG traffic rule violations), but like most people I loved. I love. We love. 

It doesn't matter if we love ourselves, our careers, our families, friends, possessions, and all the worldly things. We love. And it gets crazy because love defies conventions and laws (exhibit A: Bonnie and Clyde). Love defies rationality. Love defies cultures, differences, dreams, plans, circumstances, adversities, diet, traffic rules, and even gravity. Even the Discovery Channel knows this. And when you think about it, love indeed conquers all. 

The only problem is if we loved ourselves too much. But that's another story right?

So to answer the question at the beginning of this post, I think it suffices to say that the craziest thing we did--all of us--lately is to love. Like I said, it doesn't matter who or what you loved. You just did. It is crazy. And (I hope I'm not being blasphemous by saying this) even God loves us even if it doesn't makes sense for us to be loved at all by Him (and I'm not saying God's crazy). We love. Period. Our lives are full of Bonnie and Clyde events. But I'm sure most of us just wish we could find love in another's eyes (this again is another story). 

Thanks to Bonnie and Clyde, now I realized so many things about love that I ruined my Saturday afternoon nap in the process. Cheers to one of the loveliest love story of all time (for me at least). For what it's worth, it makes me want to cry (want is the operative word here). 

Now that this is out of the way, let me get that well-deserved nap. Out.

"Incepted"

Dreams feel real while we're in them. It's only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange. -Cobb

I just saw one of the best films in recent memory over the weekend. And it’s about dreams. Poetic justice. Great for this blog. Great for any blog. Just great. This will be my first movie review post for this blog. Rightfully so. Inception is wicked. And we’ve never seen anything like it.

Christopher Nolan has done it again. He has done it big time.. The man behind titles like Insomnia, The Prestige, Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight clearly lived up to his name, leaving critics and movie enthusiasts delighted. Inception is well written—well thought of—and the very concept in which Nolan creates this masterpiece is timeless. It’s a constant interplay of dreams and realities that stretches our imagination.  It’s a depiction of how our brains work on an idea. Brains can work exponentially fast that a second can mean a lifetime; brains are more powerful than we can ever imagine. Inception infers that a dream is not just random things, but every dream embodies how we think and, ultimately, who we really are.

The plot is deep, and it clearly is not for everyone to appreciate, nay, understand. My take on this may be a whole lot different from yours. Maybe that’s the point. It's a debate.

For me, the fact that an idea transcends from a dream makes a lot of sense. We can never change, even when we are asleep. What we think about while we are sleeping may also reflect who we really are. It’s not a choice… it is our nature. And to even consider that we can invade someone else’s mind (and identity) and change it to something we want him to be (without coercion, meaning effectively it’s his own idea, his own thoughts and free will) is a very powerful thought. It’s like an advanced hypnotism.  It is genius.

The cinematography is very Nolan-like. You can see his signature from all over the place; to name a few: the dark-yellow-red-black-gray hue, the semi-stable camera pan, and the constant music filler backdrop—these can be seen in his works in the past. Speaking of music and original score, award-winning Hans Zimmer delivered once again (Zimmer’s resume includes: Sherlock Holmes, Angels & Demons, The Dark Knight, King Arthur, The Last Samurai, Black Hawk Down, Pearl Harbor, Gladiator, even Madagascar, The Prince of Egypt and Lion King). Nolan’s choice of camera angles is phenomenal, and I think the editors did a good job of putting it all up together. The set looked great, and the effects very down-to-earth (ok, not literally, but I think all of it looked very believable). The split-second shots (especially the one in the van) were a thing of beauty. My favorite part was when Joseph Gordon-Levitt et al were doing “space-shuttle-like” maneuvers. Jaw-dropping scenes. The set/locations are fantastic. It felt like a classic.

And then there is the Nolan twist. He did it in The Prestige (Christian Bale’s character had a twin) and The Dark Knight (game theory-esque social experiment by the Joker and the irony of Batman being a dark knight). Inception is possible because Cobb (Leo DiCaprio) did it before. And Nolan used advanced technology in all three movies as well. In The Prestige, the Tesla Coil; in The Dark Knight, the sonar visuals, and in Inception, the “dream machine.” He knows how to stretch imaginations and successfully create subplots.

I also concede that the cast is phenomenal. It’s given that Leo DiCaprio is classic. As always, every new role is a nice addition to his repertoire. Joseph Gordon-Levitt widens his acting perspective. And I tell you, he’s still rising—probably to replicate “10 Things” co-star Heath Ledger’s success (looks like a thinner version of him too).  Ellen Page acted like a veteran, reminiscent of her role in the wildly successful Juno. The Last Samurai Ken Watanabe is also a natural. The supporting cast also delivered: the Katy Perry-look-alike Marion Cottilard (my friend pointed out that Joseph Gordon-Levitt paired up with 2 Katy Perrys already, the first in 500 Days of Summer); Michael Caine’s role wasn’t big, but he’s Michael Caine nonetheless; Cillian Murphy’s look is still mysterious and I could see why he fits his role in this; the others are also great.

The only trouble for me in this movie is you have to see it at least three times to understand all the meanings, the little subplots and symbolisms that surround every act. It’s a lot to swallow for a relaxing Sunday night. Inception is not for those looking for a quick fix. This movie puts everything into question; while at the same time it pushes your mind’s limits. You really have to think; think hard and over and over. And because we have to do that for 145 minutes, some may tap out. This is not for everyone.

I’ve never written a biased movie review before. I always had to say something strange, something incomplete—something about the movie that disappointed me. Maybe I should watch again to see it. But like most people, I was blown away by this masterpiece. I think Christopher Nolan did a really good job, and he’s becoming one of the few directors who can pull off a constant string of near-perfect movies. And you don’t have to understand it to appreciate it (I think I need to watch it at least four times :))

For me, the one true selling point in Inception lies in its theme: that dreams make you who you are; that thoughts are part of reality; that there is a chance, no matter how small, that you might just transcend that thought into reality.  I may not get all of meanings at this point (and maybe I am wrong) but I think it’s very inspiring.  Five stars definitely.