The Curious Case of Human Existence

While here in the 'States I saw 'Benjamin Button at the local 25 screen cinema. I went in with the knowledge it had had mixed reviews and was going to be a heartwarming tale, little did I know how much it perfectly illustrated the pointlessness of human existence! The screenplay is based on a short story by F Scott Fitzgerald, classic American author whose work had provided us with material for Forrest Gump. The authors tone is seen in certain mirrored aspects - a sea captain, a mother figure who runs a guest house with rose-tinted armchair psychology and a main character who does a short tour in a war. FSF once again shows Man's life in it's entirety, from birth to death, full of travels and trials and interesting characters - only in this work, the lead character starts old and ends young, a curious detail indeed, but ultimately, I feel, shows that independently of direction the travel is meaningless.
The film itself is a glowing, warm story with southern drawls and crickets heard in the background in most every scene. Shorter than Forrest Gump and with much more innocence, it plucks at heartstrings but snaps them back instantly, so you feel uplifted rather than sad coming out. Unless you instead of seeing the glory of a human life with its variety, see the endless repetition and similarity echoed through generations leading from and to non-existence, which itself is meaningless.

Humbug?

My Cambridge

Watched Guy Maddin's noir-documentary about Winnipeg aptly titled "My Winnipeg". It's a great gritty local-boy approach to an average city, his enthusiasm for the details playing out as a sinister tale of a sleepy snowed-in people steeped in mysticism. He talks about stores and buildings with love and hate and speaks of things that really matter, not just the history but the *real* history. It's a post-noir shot to make it look old (I don't know the name of film type) but with lots of actual historic footage you start not to know which is reconstruction and which is stock!
It's inspired me to tell my story of Cambridge as an eventually accepted outsider, the local people who have amazed me, the local legends, the local secrets, the places only locals know and the uni students don't even see, the local characters whose names and sayings are immortalised on the walls of pubs and in the hearts of the people who live here, the tales of village halls and village schools, of city six forms and bridges...