Movie Night - Tuesday 4

Hello Friends.. welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4. Just 4 questions each week. So glad you are joining in and the more the merrier!

Books.. TV.. Movies are the topic of the week.

1.  A movie theme song will play every time you walk in the room.. what is it? (consider asking family or friends).

I really wouldn't know the answer and there isn't really anyone to ask who would know. But one song comes to mind that my sister loved, "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor. It wasn't so much the content or theme of the song which is about surviving a broken relationships.  But it was more the theme of being strong enough to overcome anything and doing it with love.  The songs sum up my immediate family's lived experiences so we all enjoyed it singing and laughing through life's challenges.  For a Christian song, I'd pick the hymn, "I Love to Tell the Story". My salvation and faith has always been the single most important thing in my life and it has guided me throughout my years.

2. What movie are you eager to see... what book are you eager to read... what TV program are you interested in most?

I don't have any movies that I'm eager to see. It seems like the really great movies are no longer being made. If they're considered great by today's standards they are often about themes that are too dark and evil for my liking. I haven't even heard of many movies in the last few years that I'd really like to see.  But at the moment, there is a new movie I'd like to see by director Christopher Nolan, called "The Odyssey".  It's based on Homer's text of the same name. I might try to see it if the movie stays in theatres long enough.  It's a long movie at almost 3 hours but I hear it's good.  You've probably seen it talked about on television or read about it online.

3. Is there a book/movie/TV program you often think about or that affects you in some way?

I'm a romantic at heart so I like and think about romantic movies.  The issue with them is that they usually end in some kind of tragedy which I don't like but I guess that is what sells movies. I'm thinking in particular of Anna Karenina based on Leo Tolstoy's novel by the same name and Out of Africa based on several books by Karen Blixen writing under her pen name, Isak Dineson.  I'm posting a clip here from Out of Africa where Karen reads a poem at the grave site of her lover Denys Finch-Hatton.

4. OK friend, it's your turn to organize our Blogger Movie Night where we get together as a group for snacks and movies!  What movies have you planned for us tonight and what snacks are we going to have?

I think it will have to be a sleep over night because the movie, Gone With the Wind is very long, clocking in at 3 hours and 41 minutes.  I'm thinking snacks with a southern flavour such as pimento cheese spread to have with crackers and celery, cheese sticks, perhaps some devilled eggs and some candied pecans. None of these are foods I typically eat in the north where I live but some of you are probably familiar with them.  For drinks we can have iced tea. Hmm, maybe I need to make dinner instead or invite everyone to bring a dish to potluck dinner.  I hope you'll come.

Out of Africa

Have any of you seen the movie "Out of Africa"? It was released in 1985 and amazingly it was showing on the big screen in my city last Saturday morning.  I've seen bits and pieces of it on television over the years but I had never seen the movie from start to finish until this past weekend. The movie is based on the book of the same name, and other writing by Karen Blixen.  It is a movie based on Karen's love story and is described in one sentence on a website about movies

In 20th century colonial Kenya, a Danish baroness/plantation owner has a passionate but ultimately doomed love affair with a free-sprited big-game hunter.

What a powerful movie this was on so many levels. On the surface, it is a love story but it is a multi-layered story which is nuanced with so much about the meaning of life, love and loss.

The movie ran at 9:30 a.m. this past Saturday, and though it was open to the public, it apparently is part of a series of movies watched and discussed by local movie buffs.  These "regulars" get an introduction to the movies and a critique afterward and then they go off for lunch to carry on with the discussions.

It was lovely to hear an older woman talk about her thoughts about the  movie and of her journey to Kenya. It was also delightful to hear from an Indian woman who grew up in Kenya but now lives in Vancouver with her husband and children.  She had an especially personal account of the movie.  The director of the movie rented her apartment in Kenya while filming was occurring.  After filming was over, she was left with a copy of the screenplay. She was very emotional in speaking about the movie and her recollections of it because the movie had a powerful ending and people were still emotionally raw.

My friend and I enjoyed the movie so much that we went for our own lunch rather than join with the group luncheon.  However, we have decided to try and join these movie buffs again in the Fall and will likely take in more of the movies and discussions at that time.

What about you dear reader? Have you seen the movie? 

What did you think of it? 

Have you been to Kenya and how did that affect your viewing of this movie?
Perhaps you live in Kenya and have views you can share about the historical period this movie represents.
Whatever the views of my readers, I'd love to hear them.

Have a good week ahead.