Across The Universe (2007)

Across The Universe






As me and my friend listened to one of The Beatles's songs, I popped out a question of what to be reviewed next. My friend thought and stumbled a while but seemingly as he was being carried away with the music listened to, he came up with an idea for me to make a film review about a musical, historical-related drama concerning America's turmoil in 1960-1970's. The movie revolved around a multi-fold circumstance happened in America during this period of time: dreaming and try pursuing a war-free world and race&gender equality through movements of freedom led actively by college students with the backdrop of a chaotic Vietnam War and ornamented by a colourful,eccentric and laissez-faire way of life adopted by Hippie communities. We also are about to be drawn in a 33 original compositions of Beatles's songs all penned originally by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr between the period of 1962-1967. This musical drama arranges the 33 legendary pieces of The Beatles song as an essential conjugator of the storyline.

Storyline :
The story opened up with Jude(Jim Sturgess)sang his heart out, looking devastated and wondered about a girl concerning her whereabouts. The story immediately flashes back, showcasing his life as a Liverpool shipyard worker(blue collar)wondering for his father who has abandoned him when he was still an unborn baby. He illegally came to U.S in search of his father while along the way, restoring his passion in painting as a freelance artist. Switch places to America, Lucy(Evan Rachel Wood) was a sweet girl facing the reality that her boyfriend is about to be enlisted in the military army serving US combat in the Vietnam war. Then there was Prudence from Ohio who was smitten by a girl and having a rough time accepting her condition. Move to another scene, there was Sadie, a struggling,rocking, star quality vocalist and JoJo whose brother was accidentally murdered in Detroit's 1967 racial clash before eventually decided to move out to Greenwich-New York, to collect his scattered life. Also there was Max, a rebellious Princeton university law student who had a different idea about how life should be conducted and his ongoing struggle with the family that did not understand his Hippie-impressed way of life. All of them mingled together, discover something together, and found an antidote in each other company in a different way.

Trivia:
The 33 Beatles original songs featured sequentially in the movie are as listed below:
1. "Girl"
2. "Helter Skelter"
3. "Hold Me Tight"
4. "All My Loving"
5. "I Want to Hold Your Hand"
6. "With a Little Help from My Friends"
7. "It Won't Be Long"
8. "I've Just Seen a Face"
9. "Let It Be"
10. "Come Together"
11. "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?"
12. "If I Fell"
13. "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"
14. "Dear Prudence"
15. "Flying" instrumental(composed by Ringo Starr)
16. "Blue Jay Way"
17. "I Am the Walrus"
18. "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!"
19. "Because"
20. "Something"
21. "Oh! Darling"
22. "Strawberry Fields Forever"
23. "Revolution"
24. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
25. "Across the Universe"
26. "And I Love Her"
27. "Happiness Is a Warm Gun"
28. "A Day in the Life"
29 "Blackbird"
30. "Hey Jude"
31."Don't Let Me Down"
32. "All You Need Is Love"
33. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"
All song were re-sung by the leading roles ( Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood,Joe Anderson, Dana Fuchs, Martin Luther McCoy, T.V Carpio )including one song("I am the Walrus) performed by Bono-U2. The negative film-effect seen on this part("I am the Walrus" being sung) was a mere symbolic phase of what most sacred to Hippie communities during the time: a hazardous, mind-wrecking LSD(Lysergic Acid Diethylamide). Cannabis are widely known to have this particular psychedelic/hallucinogenic effect.

The movie only scored half out of full score from critics and earned a below-budget earnings, even though the movie was nominated as Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy in 65th Golden Globe Award. From my perspective though, this movie is worth pursuing to be seen.

Insight:
There are no freedom in a freedom that is executed too much. Living up the dream is one thing, how we do it is what defines it.
--quoted--
Uncle Teddy: Because, Maxwell, what you do defines who you are.
Max: No, Uncle Teddy. Who you are defines what you do. Right Jude?
Jude: [awkward] ... Well, surely it's not what you do, but the, uh... the way that you do it.
--quoted--
Live freely and execute responsibly. By the end of a movie, discern again to the sentence quoted above to create a chill effect. =D

P.S : Thanks to a friend, DU, who has sparked my willing to draft this movie review.
Lastly and hopefully this Beatles's song-inspired movie will carry you all away as well.(NA)

The Painted Veil (2006)

“Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people.”

For a heart-wrenching night, this movie is to be rated 8 out of 10 as a fine getaway to bury us in a gravity of sad adventure before eventually plunging ourselves into a phase of heavy sighs of relief after letting every bitter emotion out of our overburdened feeling due to holdbacks. In hindsight, this chosen movie reviewed will knock a touchdown on anyone who is in the spirit of remembering how is it feel to be regretting over something and reflecting the blessing with what have been decided and had in the present moment.

Storyline:
It's 1920 and Kitty, a lonely socialite deprived by the situation which not suited her vivacious, vacuous, and above the company attitude, met Dr. Walter Fane, a bacteriologist who was instantly falling for her impeccable charms and immediately asked her hand for marriage and as a consequence, Kitty was faced with myriad of confusion due to her obnoxious family wanting to pair her off as immediately as they could possibly do. She accepted the proposal, reluctantly and started experiencing the chain effect of her decision. She was to be taken to the centre of China as Dr Walter Fane was going to be stationed there as an infectious disease researcher in a government lab. Every imagination, aspiration, and definition of happiness to her naturally ceased away as she was brought back to reality. Embarking to China, she met Charles Townsend (Liev Schreiber), a dazzling British consulate who ended up having an affair with of which known to her devoted husband. Devastated by his wife’s adultery, Dr. Walter Fane, in the spirit of vengeance, accepted to be transferred and stationed in the remote village of China, where a cholera outbreak was currently highly spreading and had diminished nearly half the population. Feeling secluded and accompanied only by a language-restricted Chinese widow; Chinese officer in charge to protect her from the ambush of the Nationalist; children and nuns from French convent; it was a struggle with her inner self, the unfamiliar circumstance, and the unintentional discovery about where happiness actually is. Her perception about life, love, and forgiveness forever changed.

Insight:
From every centre point of angle, this movie defines a sad irony of life which shall always be entangled with a sheer bitter-sweet kind of longing in the final phase. Sometimes, we want something that we cannot be having anymore; It’s like knocking at the door that has not yet been locked up but as we opened it, the person as our reason for knocking has long been gone. This is the movie that is about to give you that kind of a grapping sense of loss and regret, which cannot be undone, erased, or forgotten.

Info/Trivia:
Painted Veil showcases Edward Norton( The Illusionist, Fight Club, & The Bourne Legacy) and Naomi Watts( King Kong and Mulholland Drive) as the leading roles consummated with this dysfunctional relationship. Directed by John Curran who was once cooperated with Watts in the 2004 movie- We don’t live here anymore- this movie is based on the novel with the same name authored by W. Somerset Maugham in 1925 and has been screened for the third time, once in 1937 showcasing legendary actress, Greta Garbo. This movie has earned Alexandre Desplat ( French film composer arranging the original soundtrack of “The Ides of March”, “The Tree of Life”, “ The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”—of which all of them either won or nominated to receive honorary awards in moving-image business ) his first Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.(NA)