Saving Mr. Banks

John Lee Hancock, 2013.

On Wikipedia: Saving Mr. Banks

This story is about how Walt Disney convinced PL Travers (author of Mary Poppins books) to sign over rights to the story so Disney could make the movie. But really this is a story about grief and shame that (when locked away/stuffed inside) can be a barrier to so many things (authentic relationships, joy, creativity, freedom...) and the transformative power of having our personal stories/histories (warts and all) seen and held with compassion and tenderness.

Plus, you know, Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson. Two of the very best (IMHO) at showing internal transformation on an external medium (i.e., on screen).

(RLB, 3/2/2020)

See also ............. Mary Poppins

Warsaw Bridge

Pere Portabella, 1990.

On Wikipedia: Warsaw Bridge

This entire film is composed of a series of vignettes that challenge us to find connections. At first one discovers a few very explicit statements of this challenge, and then it becomes apparent that it permeates every aspect of the film. (Where, for instance, does the "Warsaw Bridge" of the title fit in?)

For me, it seems the film is about the utter magic of how people manage to step out of their individual universes and find points of connection.

It is very difficult to find an opportunity to see this film - it sometimes turns up in festivals of films by contemporary Spanish filmmakers. But every time I do manage to see it, it reconfirms that this film is really special!

A favorite moment: one character sits inside a car and communicates with someone outside the car by tracing a word in the fog coating the window. (The word? CONSTANTINOPLE)

(JTS3, 2/28/2020)

All That Jazz

Bob Fosse, 1979.

On Wikipedia: All That Jazz

Based on the career and lifestyle of Fosse, breakthrough choreographer of Cabaret, Pippin, Chicago, and many more.

I saw this when it first came out, at the end of my college years. It showed me one version of what "success" might look like for a man -- simultaneously seductive and terrifying.

One wry and unforgettable thread in the film is that among the protagonist's many projects, one is a documentary of a stand-up comic who uses Kübler-Ross' five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance) as material. (Guess where this is going.)

(JTS3, 2/28/2020)