2008-04-27

Mick had to awaken me this morning! I was very glad to be awakened as I was having a dream in which things were not going my way. The scene seemed to be post-disaster. I found myself in a ghost town, alone and with no resources. Meeting up with another person, a man who was Mick although he looked entirely different, I agreed with him to form a partnership for survival.

A the same time, I was taking a class in a technical subject. I could not make any sense of the teacher’s comments. And I had no time to study, for my off-hours were taken up in finding canned food to eat and in creating a snug shelter against the weather in one of the derelict buildings. Coming into class, I discovered that there was a test. I was totally unprepared.

Crikey!

My schoolgirl heart was delighted to awaken from that dismal situation!

Mick took me over to St. Luke’s and wheeled me into the nave so I could sing in the choir. He came back to Camelot and polished her up for the week. He picked me up after the service and we settled down to our lunch and our first film.

Charlie Wilson’s War was an interesting movie, telling the semi-true story of how a congressman was able to secure funding for Afghanistan’s army as they fought off a Soviet invasion in the early ‘80s. Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman constituted a seamless ensemble. The screenplay was also excellent. All the production values were good. What the film lacked was depth. It told the story on the surface. But it was a good story nevertheless.

Our second film was Lions for Lambs, directed by and starring Robert Redford as well as Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise. It was a theme day for us. The subject matter concerned Afghanistan twenty years later. I thought the screenplay a bit muddled. However the actors pumped nuance and interest into the somewhat flat action.

Over dinner we tried once again to watch Reservation Road. However for the second time, our copy was bad and it would not play. So we turned on the television and found that The Constant Gardener was just starting. This was the pick of the day by far. Go see this film! The villain is big-business pharmaceuticals and the callous use of African villagers in testing a new drug. The screenplay was excellent, as were the direction, by Fernando Meirelles, and the cinematography, done by Cesar Challone. The music, by Alberto Iglesias, was superb. And the African scenery was breathtaking. And Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz were beautifully cast and incandescent in their roles. I loved this movie!

Mick offered the prayer at the close of the Gaia Meditation.