Rés of The Day

You might wonder, why most of my blogs are full of reviews or thoughts of mine on movies, music, or just simply anything that I feel like commenting on. I just can't help but feeling moved by so many things that I experienced (i.e. heard, watched, saw, felt) every day.

This movie, a made for TV movie by HBO Films, is not an exception. Eventhough I was watching it in a time that couldn't be any worse, 4.30 in the morning for an hour and a half, it leaves quite a strong impact on me. It is so powerful that it moves me to run and grab my laptop to try to write something about it.

The movie is about a man, an old man really, an assistant to some British senator (or chancellor?) who met with a girl, a naive and simple girl really, in a cafe, during this man's hectic lunch hour. They were just talking, about some nonsense stuff, but it leads to a strange (not necesarily in a bad way) connection between them. The connection materialized in subsequent encounters: dinner, coffee time, a midnight walk, but not a physical contact (oh yes, you know what I mean).

As the movie flows slowly as it can't be any more boring (except for the warmth and brightness that both Bill Nighy and Kelly Macdonald bring on to their each character), it turned out that this man is actually preparin for the G8 meeting in Reyjkavick, Iceland. He clumsily invited the girl to come with her, and she, armed with the knowledge that Bjork comes from Iceland, decided to take the invitation.

As they were in Reyjkavic (with several awkward moments a la "Lost in Translation), the plot moved, in undeniably clever way, into something of more serious issues: the poverty, the international politics, the ignorance of of the leaders from the more advanced countries of the reality that is happening in the poor countries.

The girl learned from several hand-outs that this man (and his fellows countrymen) prepared, staggering facts and numbers that many people in the rich countries might have never thought about. And it really shocked her to the level that she keeps questioning and can't understand why the world is not doing anything to put a stop on it.

As the social encounters amongs the conference attendees unfolds, this girl brought up her thoughts face to face with the British senator, the German chancellor, and every single contry's delegates that attended the conference dinner. "Is all right good enough for you, chancellor?" that's how she questioned the answer from one of the delegates about her inquiries about the progress that they have made in dealing with commitment to help poor countries eliminating debt, poverty, aids, etc.

As propagandic and tricky as it might seem, it's hard to avoid feeling empathy on how the girl views the reluctance and compromise that the world leaders sem to make to deal with the world problems. And it just flows effortlessly as if you are as weak and unable to do anything as this girl is. And you know, it's not a good feeling knowing something wrong is happening but you can't do anything to stop it.

The brilliance of this movie, in my opinion, is on how the plot unfolds from a cheesy different attraction romantic (again, a la Lost in Translation) to a very serious and heart-shattering knowledge on how the world leaders can actually make a difference in battling the world poverty, yet they don't always follow their heart to do the right thing (or to do enough of the right thing). Its subtlety, its character development, its true to yourself dialogues, they all blend together to make such an unforgettable journey into understanding how and what we might feel about this world.

Kudos to Kelly Macdonald and Bill Nighy, for such a perfect chemistry and the right amount of tone that they put into their characters. There is no screaming, weird-acting, hysterical moments, or any of those "Oscar-worthy" scenes. It's all in the subtlety, simplicity, and keeping it low, that makes this movie approachable, and enjoyable, while at the same time, hoping to touch your heart into being, somehow, a better human being.

On a side note, the soundtrack features a song by Damien Rice ("Cold Water") which really gives the perfect tone to the movie (the way his other song, "The Blower's Daughter" does to "Closer" of Natalie Portman and Jude Law). And the best part of the soundtrack is: several music from one of my favorite bands from iceland, Sigur Ros. It's just perfect. probably because they are from Iceland, and I can't think of any other band that could represent the silence, coldness, and mystery of this north pole country.

Labels: Resensi