a thousand splendid suns

just finished reading it last night. a beautiful story. makes you think about your own choices, endless possibilites, unappreciated. very simple, to the point style of writing but because of that very poetic. every detail contains incredible amounts of images, feelings; simple words create a complex world of entrapment, violence, repressed desires, absurd inequality. the essence of life stripped down to a simple will of surviving, somehow, yet another day. another proof that too often a person can become a shadow of one's own self, one's life a mockery of existence. until eyes wide shut become eyes wide open.

paradoks

the paradox of being sleepy and wanting to stay up. what's one to do? decisions, decisions, solved by closing your eyes and drifting inside your head. good night.

inception and leo

to me inception was somehow similar to shutter island. but shutter island was much more mysterious and did play with the viewer's mind. at least it did with mine. and it had some real drama. inception, on the other hand, was just a good idea with visually interesting pictures. it lacked, however, real substance and depth. but there was leo again, with his dead wife who, shortly before her death, pretty much lost it. leo searching, struggling to find reason in maddness, truth between lies . leo with his distant memories of a perfect family, his two children. leo trapped in his own mind - the heart of darkness.

inception reminded me of an italian job squad robbing the mind of its own subconscious ways. the idea of designing dreams to access one's thoughts, defenses and subconscious decisions was intriguing, as was ereasing memories in eternal sunshine of the spotless mind. i wish, though, that the motives behind it were more vital. all this psychological drama, risking staying in the limbo of subconsciousness and having memories forever removed in order to change one man's mind regarding the future of his father's business - that's just plain shallow. yes, there was also leo's personal drama, but its true potential and importance were down-played. that's the true weakness of inception. an elaborate, seemingly complex plot serving a very insignificant purpose - aspiring independent idea played out, unfortunately, hollywood style. but those two hours felt like being in one of those dreams where you try to get somewhere, to some very important meeting or place, and you just can't. one obstacle after another stop you from moving on, as if trapped in frustrating inaction. at least that's what i dreamt of that night after watching inception.

all i got from no smoking band concert is this memorable phrase: do you agree? fuck you mtv! now that's maybe because i'm not serbian. kusturica wore the same black t-shirt and his hair was one day greasier. lots of running back and forth on the stage, the singer dressed in a tight blue costume with wings and his genitalia hanging somewhere between his legs - also blue. a russian girl dancing on the stage like the concert was for her and she was lady gaga. creative chaos. i smoked a cigarette and got a headache. the end. spasiba.

emir kusturica looks like jeff bridges - maybe a bit more disheveled with his somewhat greasy grown out hair and a random black t-shirt. the interview at AF was recorded for NPR. kusturica was introduced by his interviewer, a movie critic from 'time out'; he entered the small auditorium and sat down at the table. the audience clapped and he just sat there, glancing at us, as if the event was not really held for him. then visibly tense and a bit nervous 'time out' guy stared with his questions; they were interesting questions, i have to say. he asked about how music related to his movies, if kusturica's studies at prague film school taught him anything, how he went from making movies about troubled balkans and mystic gypsies to a documentary about maradona. and kusturica answered so intelligently, with such bright and fresh comments, funny stories, insightful observations about today's society, the state of cinematography, his own mischievous childhood years, and current human condition which can be summed up in the heightened anticipation for a new iphone. he sounded nostalgic about his now lost innocence and freshness present in his past movies, dictated by inexperience, youth, and fascination with human stories caught on a 35 mm film camera. he is so unpretentious and creative, capturing the audience in his own eastern european mindset. an artist, a careful observer of life, a narrator of human stories, a director with so much to say - such a cool guy. there is, though, some controversy related to kusturica's political views, his alledged collaboration with milosevic regime, pro-serbian views in 'underground'... but to that i cannot add much, as i am uninformed and have at this point some major gaps in knowledge on the subject. so, as i do not wish to sound ignorant, i will just say that i liked that simple guy, a director with such distinct vision, willing to take his audience on a journey to some crazy yet forgotten worlds. i would like to ask american film people to have his movies, old and new, available on a much larger (than currently) scale. now, that would be cool.