Blogging Wisdom and Movie Moments

I believe the wisdom of aging allows for indulging some personal needs and whims. That attitude has informed a change in my approach to blogging for the past month or so. Sitting at my desk top hasn't been particularly pleasurable, so I've chosen to spend little time exerting much effort at my keyboard daily. I've been focusing on some personal medical health needs, now mostly resolved, other matters, and placed even my part-time work on hold. I have, however, pondered thoughts and some memories of my favorite season, autumn, including Indian Summer, becoming the subject of several short posts. So it is that I have been catering to myself to the exclusion of some blogging activities. I find I like this current approach and will likely do more of the same in the future.

Movie DVDs have recently provided a pleasurable respite to an unexpected degree. I selected the films with little knowledge of their content. I had seen no trailers, or been exposed to other promotional materials about these movies. I was not influenced by movies based on a specific book, having long ago learned that any resemblance between a book I had enjoyed reading and a movie by the same title was all too often purely coincidental. In fact, using that criteria for a film's selection could be disappointing.

Generally, I attend to the directors, actors and select movie collections i.e. Criterion when I consider movies for viewing, especially if they are known to be selective about the projects with which they associate themselves. Often, films nominated for various film festival awards can also be potential candidates attracting my consideration.

One such movie I selected from The Criterion Collection is titled "Dead Ringers" starring actors, Jeremy Irons and Genevieve Bujold whose talents I appreciate. Irons plays both rolls of identical twin gynecologists known for their innovative treatments who operate an exclusive clinic. This psychological medical drama thriller is purported in the New York Times review by Janet Maslin to be a "loosely fact-based tale...the film's most disturbing moments coming mostly through suggestion."

I find "suggestion" a much more powerful stimulate for my feelings than most literal special effects film creations. Director David Cronenberg's movie certainly impacted me beyond expectation in that regard. I think I was likely overly-sensitive for at least two reasons. One had to do with the movie's medical anatomical focus and visual effects. The other reason was due to a real life experience I had as a pre-teen. In the latter instance, I and others, independent of each other, were subjected to dental treatment from a dentist later determined to have been descending into psychological madness for which he was eventually institutionalized.

This movie is an intriguing idea likely appealing to many of stronger fortitude than I. The shower scene in "Psycho" haunted me for many years, partly due to the scene's music. Selected visual scenes in "Dead Ringers" could readily surpass my reaction to that shower scene -- but I looked away.

I'll recap a few other movies later that I find to be much more pleasing visually, psychologically satisfying, and emotionally gratifying. They portray more frequent realistic life experiences with which we can all identify or, at least, recognize.