Boys Don’t Cry
I knew nothing about the plot of Boys Don’t Cry. But somehow the title was so familiar. It must be a famous movie. For the past year or so I have been participating in a video rental service that sends me in a new film from my wish list whenever I send the previous one back. A few weeks ago Boys Don’t Cry arrived in my mailbox. For me the charm of the film was that I had no idea what would happen, whether the film was really good and whether I would watch it until the end. I want to leave it that way for you. The film is definitely worth seeing. It is a bit heavy but I would not want to have missed it. The acting of Hilary Swank is spectacular. I found her more compelling in this film than A Million Dollar Baby. Boys do cry sometimes.
87-year-old Nigerian faith healer has 86 wives
Other countries, other customs. Arnold Schwarzenegger apparently remarked upon reading this story: “Life is unfair!”
An Islamic faith healer in Nigeria has married 107 women. The wives seem happy, but religious authorities are not amused.
By Robyn Dixon, Los Angeles Times
He fell in love with his first wife because she was sincere and eager to please. His second wife, a cousin, was irresistible because she did everything he wished and nothing he didn’t. “That alone made me love her.” His third wife won him because she submitted to his every request.
“I saw her, I liked her. I went to her parents and asked for her hand in marriage.” Wife No. 4 was very obedient. So was wife No. 5. Wife No. 6, the same. As were wives 7 and 8 and 9 and ...
Well, by then—it was the late 1980s—things had taken off for Bello Maasaba, an Islamic faith healer in this city in Niger state. He went from a wedding every few months to one every few weeks.
Breaking News: The Terminator is Terminated
I don’t share the politics of Arnold. But I feel for him. He was the American dream. He even wanted to get the constitution changed to become president. But then the dream stalled. He didn’t turn California around and now is marriage crumbles. This was not how the Arnold story was supposed to end. See the excellent documentary Pumping Iron to get a sense how Arnold rose to the top.
Update May 17: My intuition that the terminator was terminated by his wife was confirmed today. Oops, another Republican with a sex scandal. Click on “More” for more of the story…
Schwarzenegger and Shriver Announce Separation
By ADAM NAGOURNEY (NY Times)
LOS ANGELES—One of America’s most unlikely and riveting couples—Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Austrian body builder and movie star who became a Republican governor, and Maria Shriver, the journalist and member of the Kennedy dynasty—have separated.
The Postman
I received The Postman as a birthday present, fittingly in the mail. I felt obliged to start reading it. After a while it dawned on me that I encountered the plot before in a movie, which I had found terribly disappointing. It walked out of the theatre and wen to dinner early. But the book is better. It is a charming tribute to the writer Pablo Neruda with a love story sprinkled in. But is it a must read? No.
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Never Let Me Go
The book on which the film is based was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and was nominated by Time magazine as the best novel of 2005. Every basic ethics discussions ponders the question whether it is moral to take organs of one person to save a few other persons. The film is sophomoric, disgusting and sad.
U.S. Kills Osama Bin Laden decade of 9/11 attacks
I am not a fan of the death penalty. But when it comes to terrorists or military leaders, taking aggressors out is the right cause of action. Psychologically, this is a big moment for Americans. And it surely is different from the Royal Wedding last week in London, which was also a big event. I am sure before long we will see a movie about the end of Osama Bin Laden. KIMBERLY DOZIER and DAVID ESPO of the Associated Press report:
WASHINGTON—Osama bin Laden, the face of global terrorism and architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, was killed in a firefight with elite American forces Monday, then quickly buried at sea in a stunning finale to a furtive decade on the run.
Long believed to be hiding in caves, bin Laden was tracked down in a costly, custom-built hideout not far from a Pakistani military academy.
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Coco avant Chanel
The Supreme Justice Potter Stewart famously said, “I know pornography when I see it.” Watching Coco avant Chanel I became less sure that I could identify in all instances of prostitution when I see it. Early in her adult life, Coco tracks an aristocrat to his country mansion and then exchanges sex for food, lodging, and social climbing. So we may ask: What is the big difference to her taking money for sex to pay rent a nearby apartment and cook her own food? The film follows Coco until she makes a big in the fashion world. Coco clearly was a trailblazer and I enjoyed watching her find her path. The most appealing feature of the film is its understated, classic style. The director managed to imbue entire film with the core of Chanel’s fashion sense.
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