Faith in Chaos

Do you have a desire within you to pursue answers to questions that are bigger than yourself? When you get a little closer to the truth, do you notice anything happening within you? I believe that most human beings long to know answers to questions that are bigger than themselves, and that no human vessel is equipped to carry all the answers. So, is it an "ignorance is bliss" type of existence? Where we let these questions fall away, because in the end we cannot comprehend it all? I think not.

There is something critically important in the journey for discovering truth, and if you ignore the quest, you miss life. This is true no matter where you are along the path. If you're a child, you ask tons of "silly" questions, seeking to know more about a world of which you know nothing. If you have been pursuing truth all your life and are considered "wise" by many, you seek to understand the subtleties of the truth between the lines. Basically, the one thing you never do is remain idle forever. That is not a journey. That is a make-out spot for lonely old perverts who would rather make love to the knowledge they think they have forever than to step outside of the car and look over the cliff. The implication is that if you are not seeking truth of some sort, you are content with the truth you have and see no reason for more.



In the film "Pi" we see a character (Max) driven to madness and immense physical pain by the truth he was encountering. We understood that his afflictions were not solely brought on by the truth itself, but also by his obsession for it. The underlying assumption is that the closer we get to truth (or reality), the more we are captivated by it and burn to live within it. It changes us. However, if truth leads you to pride, or to forsake the life around you, you have missed something within the truth you have sought. The character Saul (Max's mentor) persists that Max needs to take things in perspective. Max believes that Saul has forsaken the journey of understanding, when in fact Saul is fully engrossed in it. He is understanding the beauty of life through animals (his fish). He is understanding the joy and burden of love and friendship by trying to save his friend (Max) from his own destruction, which he knows is just around the corner. Saul is still interested in larger than life questions, but only within the context of love and humanity. It was the pursuit of knowledge alone, without love, that threatened to un-do both characters. The fact that Max puts a drill to his head to escape reality is not a conclusion that truth must be avoided, but that it must be undertood carefully, and with tons of humility.



Acknowledging that we are limited should be the start of humility, not the end of the journey. Beauty, truth, reality, these things bring fruit, love and life into the world. We need to pursue them. If you notice that you have been stagnant, and that maybe you believe you have "truth" pretty figured out (or that you don't care anymore), I urge you to get out of the car. Stop making out with the kernel of life that you have inside of you, and look over the cliff. The world is out there, and we need you.

The Envelope Please....

What is the greatest acting performance you have ever seen? What made it so great? I would be curious to hear from everybody what ranks highly on their lists. Several performances come to my mind, so I have decided to make a top 10 list. If you have 10, you can tell me 10. If you have 3, you can tell me 3. If they're not in order because you have a hard time ranking, just tell me performances that you love. Here is my list, from 10 down to 1

10. Cuba Gooding Jr. - Radio
9. Anthony Hopkins - Silence of the Lambs
8. Robert DeNiro - Awakenings
7. Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
6. Sean Penn - I am Sam
5. Emily Watson - Breaking the Waves
4. Leonardo DiCaprio - What's Eating Gilbert Grape?
3. Ben Kingsley - House of Sand and Fog
2. Ellen Burstyn - Requiem for a Dream
1. Bjork - Dancer in the Dark

If you can pick up a theme, I have the potential to be greatly moved by somebody with a handicap (so does the American public). The only other major connection is that there are 2 of my top 5 performances that take place in a Lars Von Trier film. The highest ranked performance belongs to Bjork in her performance in Dancer in the Dark, which is the film we just recently watched at M.O.M. 2 of my top 3 performances came by supporting actors, isn't that a little weird?

So look at yourselves, what would you put on your list? I want to see some comments here, let's get some thought trains going as to what moves us and why.

Who's his chiropractor?

Last week (yeah, I know, I should have written sooner) we watched one of my favorite movies, El Espinazo del Diablo, a ghost story set in a Spanish orphanage during the Spanish Civil War. For those of you who don't habla Espanol, El Espinazo del Diablo is Spanish for The Devil's Backbone. It was directed by Guillermo del Toro, probably best known in the U.S. for Mimic, Blade II, and Hellboy. He also wrote and directed a film called Cronos, a fascinating reworking of the vampire mythos.

If you haven't seen any of del Toro's films, I would highly recommend all of them, with the unfortunate caveat, however, that they may be classified as horror movies. I say unfortunate because I think the horror genre is one that many people simply dismiss out of hand.

So I'd like to begin discussion with a few questions:

1. If you avoid horror, why?

2. If you enjoy horror, why?

3. What horror movies/stories do you enjoy, and have you watched any that you wish you hadn't?

Del Toror's next film, Pan's Labyrinth, comes out in December. I've only seen the trailer, but I think it's my favorite movie ever.