Echoes from My Headphones: A Taste of the Music I'm Listening to

For the Love of Children

We must begin higher up; we must watch the infant in its mother's arms; we must see the first images which the external world casts upon the dark mirror of his mind; the first occurrences which he witnesses; we must hear the first words which awaken the sleeping power of thought, and stand by his earliest efforts, if we would understand the prejudices, the habits, and the passions which rule his life. The entire man is, so to speak, to be seen in the cradle of the child.

~Alexis de Tocqueville

Trailer.

When I was born, I had white hair. It was odd, my mother told me, because I have such a youthful spirit. It was as if I began my life backwards. And I was quiet - so quiet that when I was in the womb, my mother thought I was a boy. My elder sister had kicked and squirmed. Then, as I'm told, when I was only a few months old, I went on a four-day nursing strike which my father says were the worst days of his life. Ah, youth.

In April Johnston's world, those early years are a blank. Abandoned in a dustbin (a trashcan for American readers) on the day of her birth, April was passed around from foster homes to child care centers after her adoptive mother's suicide. She does not know what she was like as a child; all she has is multi-colored box with mementos from her past. A few worn-out paper dolls, a comb, a postcard. But she's now settled in the home of her former teacher, the loving Marion Bean. For most of the year, April can handle the pain and disappointment; she can pretend to be normal.

But her birthday is another matter. On that day, she is consumed with the knowledge that she was alone and unloved when she entered the world. Where most children celebrate their existence, April is tormented by the loneliness and neglect she's faced her whole life. And this birthday is even harder than others because at 14 years old, April is getting impatient with the unknown. Already weighed down by broodings over her childhood, she gets wildly upset over the earrings Marion got her instead of a mobile phone, storms out towards school, and then plays truant, wandering about town for the course of the film.

Based on Jacqueline Wilson's novel of the same name, the touching BBC film Dustbin Baby follows April's (Dakota Blue Richards, The Secret of Moonacre) pilgrimage to the haunting spots of her youth in an attempt to cope with her past. At each spot April visits, she experiences a flashback from her history - nearly all of them quite painful. But April's trek is not petty revenge upon Marion (a stellar Juliet Stevenson, Truly, Madly, Deeply). On the contrary, April is searching for something - though it's not till the very end of the film that we see the need which has been driving April on.

In this sense, Dustbin Baby does away with stereotypes of what matters to children and what happens to them when they live troubled. April doesn't take drugs, smoke, or move through boyfriends at the speed of lightning. Her pain is not so easy to distinguish; it is a less flashy but more realistic internal isolation of the spirit. At the same time, the film rejects the Hollywood idea that what children need is to be permitted to do and have whatever they wish. Elliot, Marion's friend, constantly tells her that young people need to "play truant" every now and then and have cell phones. But by the end, we see that such ephemeral concerns were not on April's mind. That's not what children want or need most, not really.

In addition, the film follows Marion's frantic search for her foster child. Like the Biblical woman who turned her house upside down to find a missing coin, Marion pulls every string imaginable to track down young April. And the story is so skillfully structured that observant viewers will see that April's loneliness can only be undone back where it all began. Only by inverting her former situation can April break out of her isolation.

Though the beginning and middle of the film are filled with suffering, made even more painful by the fact that it involves a child, Dustbin Baby has a beautiful ending (at least, it made me cry), plenty of good themes and structure, and vivid characters to boot. Espousing a love for children, strong families, and attentive parenting, Dustbin Baby is exactly the type of modern critique I recommend.

Film Fairytale: The Secret of Moonacre

I must confess in advance that I have not read the book The Little White Horse, upon which this film is based, so I will not be able to analyze the film's ability to adapt the story.

The Secret of Moonacre begins with an ending, the death of Maria Merryweather's colonel father. Black dresses and a coffin, with only a single red rose for color. Yet even here, at her darkest hour, Maria's mind is open. She sees something very odd: a masked bandit standing boldly in the sunlight who disappears upon her second glance. Rather odd, huh? But Maria doesn't give the apparition any second thoughts. It's as if the sight wasn't out of the ordinary at all.

This attitude of acceptance, or faith, pervades the entire screenplay of The Secret of Moonacre. If you pause and examine some aspects of the story, you might begin asking questions to which there is no immediate answer. Why does Maria accept the fact that she's a Moon Princess so suddenly? Why does she become friends with Loveday right off the bat? Why does she go to Robin, her enemy, for help? Why does he, in turn, believe her? Some of these things just don't, to a critical mind, pass the test of reason. It just doesn't make sense.

But it is that which makes the film so delightful. Like Grimm's or Hans Christian Anderson's Fairytales, The Secret of Moonacre doesn't try to explain everything. Instead, it focuses on making a wholesome story filled with whimsy and imagination. We never find out exactly why the climax of the film must happen as it does; we're left to draw our own conclusions. But that's how most fairytales work. Why did the Prince fall in love with Cinderella? Why did Snow White disobey the Dwarves and eat the apple? Why did Robin Hood go to the archery tournament, nearly losing his life in the process?

Just, because.

The film is made even more delightful by it's excellent choice in cast. The story is borne along by the considerable acting talent of Dakota Blue Richards. The young British actress has an incredible talent for bringing just enough emotion to a scene, but not overdoing it. She particularly uses her facial expressions, or lack thereof, to maximum effect - a trait rare to find in child actors. Her Maria is at once distinctive and ordinary, making it easy for the viewer to sympathize with her. Ioan Gruffudd brings all of his Welsh charm to Maria's disappointed Uncle, and Natasha McElhone brings the many facets of Loveday's character to life convincingly. As an extra bonus, the two have an excellent chemistry. And, since this is a British film, we are offered a splendid cast of character actors which includes Tim Curry and Juliet Stevenson.

Just as in his 2007 film Bridge to Terabithia, director Gabor Csupo makes it his priority to make a whimsical and imaginative world meld impeccably with the realistic world in which the story is set. The sets and costumes were tastefully chosen, and the music composed by Christian Henson was quite gorgeous.

It is a very rare occasion when I will praise a film for not answering all of my questions. This is such a situation. The Secret of Moonacre was an excellent film because it did not try to be the most deeply thought-out story. It simply took things as they were, the crazy with the sane.

But I suppose much of real-life is the same, isn't it?

Echoes from My Headphones: A Taste of the Music I'm Listening to

Enough of American Comic Books

Let's have something from the British comics. This photo is for an upcoming film about Tintin, the British boy detective. Oh, I can't wait for a trailer.

Nota bene hoc de arte

You art would follow nature, just as a pupil imitates his master; so that your art is almost God's grandchild.

~Dante

Echoes from My Headphones: A Taste of the Music I'm Listening to

Am I the only one who hears the Magician's Nephew in this music?

Still from The Deathly Hallows Part 2

I know I'm not the first person to find out about this, but.....

Here is a link to a nice picture from the Battle of Hogwarts. Gives my insides a tightening sensation just to look at it.

Here comes the Spiderman

He's back.

The webslinging hero who hails from New York, New York, is on his way back to the screen. Here is a link to the newest picture from Untitled Spider-Man Reboot.

There will be a few changes, however. Tobey Maguire has been replaced by the half British Andrew Garfield. Hey, the only way to make Spiderman cooler is to make him British, right? In addition, Spidey's new girlfriend appears to be Gwen Stacy, played by Emma Stone (the role was previously played by Bryce Dallas Howard).

Other highlights: Rhys Ifans, from Nanny McPhee Returns and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, is playing Dr. Curt Conners / The Lizard. Do I spy a villain? And what do you know! Uncle is alive once more, to be portrayed by Martin Sheen.

Echoes from My Headphones: A Taste of the Music I'm Listening to

Apparently, Jeremy Northam can embody Mr. Knightly and sing.

Echoes from My Headphones: A Taste of the Music I'm Listening to

A most delightful piece from a most delightful film, composed by a most delightful composer.