El Camino de Santiago de Compostela

Cleaning out the dust here on the blog, I found this from the archives somewhere in 2014, after I did El Camino de Santiago de Compostela myself. It was such a life time experience and, after 1 and a half year, I still don't want to add anything to what I wrote back then.

I've always had this "problem": to find on others the words I'd like to write myself. You know, putting down quotes and texts nicely and make them having sense with the underpinning thoughts, not too strict, not too soft, not too tough, not too flowered. In other words, I lack the ability to write. Invariably, of course, it seems I always find on others the things I wanted to say myself.

Nonetheless, I've finding out this thing about myself: I'm best at talking! I can say I'm a good speaker, I like it when I have (some serious) conversations and I notice my thoughts been linked and I surprise myself with some serious stuff I can articulate with the flow of a good conversation... That's when I'm more prone to ramble, because when it comes down to me and a keyboard, I have quite strict and rational writing.

Regarding "El Camino", I found this quote"The Way is a very personal journey" - I heard in this movie - all I wanted to say about it. Nothing more, nothing less.

With that said, I should just add that I feel really fortunate for had been able to do "The Way" and it came, again, in a peculiar phase of my life which, giving my sceptical mind a little benefit of the doubt, made me believe everything really happens for a reason (and why not, a little cliché never hurt nobody!).

"It's your road and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you." 

O Nome das Coisas

Há momentos em que temos, mesmo, de ouvir o nosso corpo e a nossa alma, e respeitarmo-nos incondicionalmente. Esquecer os outros e olhar para nós - sou, hoje, contra tudo e todos, uma séria respeitadora desta filosofia na minha vida. 

Em termos práticos, e na minha vida, isto resulta em fazer nada mais do que aquilo que me apetece e preciso. Ser perfeitamente feliz assumindo que estou melhor sozinha do que com planos cheios de horas mundanas só para matar tempo e que há pessoas e coisas que tão somente (já) não me interessam. Foi um longo processo de conhecimento até perceber o que funciona para mim e o que não, e outro processo, não tão longo, de assumir o meu verdadeiro Eu, tantos anos submisso a vontades alheias que eu dei como minhas...

Sou muito boa em cortar elementos da minha vida e mudar planos para meu bel prazer. Este fim-de-semana, 4 dias, foi um deles... Desejei não fazer nada. Tive planos para os 4 dias, para jantar, para café, para isto e para aquilo e nenhum me fez querer mudar a vontade de fazer nada. Sou a minha melhor companhia, que posso fazer? Noutros tempos iria querer fazer tudo e adoraria ver que tinha realmente "imenso" com que me entreter; hoje, porém, renuncio a tudo para ter até a hora do almoço livre para ver um documentário que quero há tempo demais - O Nome das Coisas sobre Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen - e acabar desfeita em lágrimas.

É para isto que eu vivo, para mim.

Os efeitos secundários da Poesia são tramados, mas a verdade é que, e evocando Edgar Allan Poe, "se um poema nunca te desfez a alma, nunca experimentaste a poesia."

Excerto do documentário relativo à visita de Manuel Alegre a Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen no hospital:

"A última vez que eu estive com Sophia foi muito pouco antes de ela morrer. Ela não estava deitada, estava sentada, com uma almofada, vestida de branco, estava bonita, estava estranhamente bonita.

Ela ficou a olhar muito séria para mim, eu percebi que ela não me estava a reconhecer e falei-lhe e ela imediatamente disse "Manuel Alegre" e depois disse o nome da minha mulher. E então eles pediram-me para eu dizer uns versos e eu (...) disse-lhe "ia e vinha e a cada coisa que perguntava" e ela disse "que nome tinha?". (...) e depois pediu Camões, e eu "erros meus, má fortuna" e ela foi-me acompanhando mesmo quando as palavras já não lhe saiam muito bem e a partir de certa altura ela dizia só a música do poema, era poesia em estado puro, absolutamente puro e depois aquilo parou porque eu já não fui capaz de continuar... Mas é a última imagem dela, é o ritmo, essa energia, poesia como forma de energia ou de música. Mesmo quando faltavam as palavras ficou a música, ficou essa actuada."

Asian insights

Got to watch these two documentaries (see below) few months back and once again last night, because they really impressed me, so now I thought I'd share.

Despite the thematic is not particularly the same - they have nothing to do one with another in terms of story - I guess they are related on the craftsmanship, the discipline, the strive for excellence and ultimately the pursuit for perfection impregnated in that part of the world.

I really appreciated the content and insights learnt in both docs.

Lee Kang-hyo 'Onggi Master' - film about a Korean potter

 This documentary tells the story of Lee Kang-hyo’s search for a beautiful life, through his work with clay and the love of his family. Set against the backdrop of his South Korean studio, it gives an insight into the spiritual journey that plays a vital part in his artistic practice.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

  JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI is the story of 85-year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world's greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. Despite its humble appearances, it is the first restaurant of its kind to be awarded a prestigious three-star Michelin Guide rating, and sushi lovers from around the globe make repeated pilgrimage, calling months in advance and shelling out top dollar for a coveted seat at Jiro's sushi bar.

The Hundred-Foot Journey

There are only two things I really (like, really!) miss when days get too oddly busy to do the things I wholeheartedly appreciate in life: photographing (new places or not) and watching movies. For the first, let's also blame it on the day time this time of the year, coming home always dark doesn't really help...

Anyway, let's talk about The Hundred-Foot Journey, my delight this morning! An ode to all senses.

You know the smell is the sense through which our memories can be revived and "reactivated" more easily and profoundly. Not even our vision can recall memories as much as the scents can do (parfum, food, wood, houses, the sea, etc.), so I'd like to accentuate an apparently simple moment in the movie where Hassan (Manish Dayal) smells some spices gifted to him by her mom long ago and the immediate emotion provoked on him when he smells it again. It's beautiful! It also helps the great photography and recording work done in this movie.
Beyond the smell and taste awareness, the location of the movie and its landscapes complete the journey - Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val - south of France (bliss!) brings me the most unforgettable memories too...
Last but not least, I loved the sensibility of the text.

"Food is memories"

Temporada de Patos*

Un pato - Natalie Lafourcade

*Do filme "Temporada de Patos".

Ain't no freedom here, nor there

Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two makes four. If that is granted, all else follows?

in 1984

Words and Pictures

"Words and Pictures" is one of those feel-good-and-inspired movies for precisely words and pictures lovers, (like me?).

Thinking of that, it just made me realize the importance of these two worlds in my life, how I actually need words and pictures, how much of my important alone-time I spend in/with them and how I've been founding myself through it...
With that said, I feel like sharing one of the last speeches from the movie by 'Jack Marcus':

Each artist makes the world his or her own, and in doing so elevates it. And in doing that elevates us, gives us a larger view.
"Art is the most intense mode of individualism the world has ever known." Oscar Wilde.
Proust said that only through art can we get outside of ourselves and know another's view of the universe.
(...)

And the value of artists like that, artists like Miss Delsanto, is that through their gifts, their agonies, their energies, and their vision, they make us feel our best. They make us want to be our best. And I thank all of you for allowing us this opportunity to honor the artists and the arts, not through a battle,but through a... a coming together, a mating of words and pictures.

 

Most days I wish I never met you because then I could sleep at night and I wouldn’t have to walk around with the knowledge there was someone like you out there. I didn't have to watch you throw it all away.

in Good Will Hunting

Backyards, cinema and other stories!

Words, photos, backyard and beauty all from Kelly Framel.

Around here, we fervently believe in the power and importance of upgrading the everyday: making every meal an occasion, applauding a sunset, opening our home to friends and filling it with a lot of love and fun. It’s this ethos that inspired us to collaborate with Ecco Domani Wines on some summer entertaining ideas; their brand is built on the same tenets we ourselves live by. For us, living every day like it’s your last means celebrating life in the moment: putting your best foot forward, wearing a pretty dress just because, using the good plates, living in harmony with nature, and taking care of the ones you love.

For the past year and a half, we’ve divided time between New York City and Amagansett, a quiet little hamlet nestled between The Hamptons and Montauk on the easternmost tip of Long Island. Our time in the city is filled with momentum: industry, appointments, takeout and crowded restaurants ~ everything in inverse of the languorous days we spend in Amagansett. It’s a life with distinct yin and yang ~ a fantastic balance. Out East, happily ensconced in our little cabin in the woods, the rest of the world really fades away. In every direction, we’re surrounded by trees; we wake up under a canopy of leaves, glistening through the skylight above bed. You can almost hear their branches sing. The retreat feels endless, and it’s a cathedral we’re always loathe to leave. So we entertain at home, make every day festive, and lure friends into our little dreamworld so that we rarely have to abandon it.

We’re surrounded by fisherman and farmland, fresh produce only a bike ride away. If you pop by at lunchtime you’ll likely find seared tuna tacos served alongside heirloom tomatoes and watermelon salad, for dinner, ceviche. The afternoons in between are spent poolside, and we rarely go inside again until it’s time for bed. Why should we? In lieu of lawn furniture, our grassy backyard is littered with sun-faded rugs, oversized pillows, Moroccan poufs and a random assortment of stuffed jungle animals. Friday night is movie night. We pin a white sheet to the clothesline and pull a few rugs and a projector up around it. Word has spread quickly that if you mosey over to our place at sunset, you’ll be just in time for the evening show.

It’s the easiest, most impromptu of parties. We never know who exactly will drop by or how many friends they’ll bring, but it really doesn’t matter. There’s plenty of room around the fire. Popcorn is constantly exploding from our stovetop (it’s the simplest thing to make endless quantities of, then elevate with a sprinkling of herbed salt), and as long as we have plenty of wine and fixings for s’mores, then we’re pretty much in business ~ whether 2 or 20 roll up for the flick!

 

Photos: The Glamourai

The Way

I'm watching "The Way" 2 days after I did "El Camino de Santiago de Compostela" myself, and I don't know if I should laugh or cry!... I'm doing both.

It was without a doubt one of the greatest shits I've done in life.

"The Way is a very personal journey"

- that is the ultimate truth, and, as in all journeys of life, it's also a thing you will never, ever understand unless you do it (not mean to be rude, it's just the way some "things" work). Quite impossible to describe and I don't think I'm gonna try.

Feeling more blessed than ever.

Un Amour de Jeunesse

This is not just "another french movie" to add to my list... This is in fact a french movie too good to be true.

If someone had told me about this movie, its story specially, I wouldn't probably believe. Me, myself, even think I'm silly for the "been there, done that" feeling felt throughout the movie... The love, the architecture, the music - "Gracias A La Vida" song -, the photography - and the very good photography of the movie - and, as this wasn't all good, hurtful and beautiful enough, there's the time. Of course.

"The rest, of course, is open to interpretation."

Un Amour de Jeunesse

David Mourão-Ferreira e um quarto escuro

O dia é Mundial da Poesia.

Passei o dia a ler poesia, literalmente. Podia não ter acontecido, mas começou a baixar em mim o "travo amargo da melancolia" assim que li o primeiro poema hoje de manhã - "efeitos secundários da poesia", não é? Mas repito, podia não ter acontecido.

E chovia... No fim do dia, só queria sentar-me no chão do quarto e tudo escuro. Queria mais Poesia também, mas não queria luz para ler.

Foi assim que vi o documentário do David Mourão-Ferreira ("Duvidávida") e tive tudo o que queria: o chão, o quarto escuro, a Poesia e a chuva.

"Duvidávida", David Mourão-Ferreira

 

Le Week-End

I haven't watched as much movies as I'd like lately, actually very few of them. (Blame it on work!) 

I read something about Le Week-End the other day and, as it happens with every good movie I think it will be, I started to feel anxious about watching it; well, the week passed but this morning I made it.

I don't know if it was Paris (here), or the grace, class and elegance of Lindsay Duncan (Paris suited her perfectly!), or the soundtrack (you always get me with jazz!) or the script, but, as expected - I wasn't anxious for nothing -, this is one of my kind of movies.

The final scene is priceless!

 

Fabulous Fashionistas

This documentary is a must-see.

I wonder if there's something more beautiful than a woman's body and an intelligent mind. I couldn't think of this documentary being made about men, for example...

You know I've always been inspired of great women (read here & here) and luckily I'm surrounded by most of them in my days. This doc. is an homage to all great women out there who ageing naturally, confident, intelligently and not in disguise; and a boost of confidence for me. 

"Award-winning director Sue Bourne explores the art of ageing in the company of six extraordinary women. With an average age of 80, Bridget, Daphne, Jean, Gillian, Sue and Lady Trumpington have something inspirational in common: a determination to keep going, to look fabulous and to have fun. 

Without botox or plastic surgery, these women are redefining old age, in style. Not one of them feels like an 'old person' and, in their own ways, they are defying expectations of the ageing process. 

This Cutting Edge documentary features uplifting, often poignant personal stories and insights into how staying young and dressing with style is about more than following the latest trends; it's about an attitude to life itself."

These two movies

This quote I've already shared here "I'll be always grateful to all the women who struggled before me" is something I really take in consideration in my life now.

I'm a very excited woman, always unsatisfied (!) - happy but always unsatisfied -, always wanting more, dreaming and projecting how I want my life to be and all that, but that's not only because of my ambition, mental capacity of aspiring more and seeing beyond what's achievable, that's most certainly because I have my basic needs 100% suppressed. That fact, by itself, makes me feel incredibly lucky (and aware to not take them for granted). Plus, the society and times I live in, beyond all the craziness I sometimes mourn about, are healthy, developed and secure (this is not North Korea, Africa, Venezuela, whatsoever) and I've never ever suffered any kind of war or racism. That's why sometimes it's hard for me to believe in all the atrocities commited in Human History.

The other day, Jamie wrote something that I deeply agree with and it's related with this problematic: "It is so different to be a woman now, the opportunities presented to us that were never available for our grandmothers or mothers. I feel so blessed to be alive now and able to do what I love, and I know that comes from the courage of the women before me, my own determination and faith in myself, and the love and support of many other inspiring women around me."

That said, I want to share two movies I've watched recently which, in the end, made me think about all this, all the things I shall be thankful for.

And just for the record, The Butler is such a piece of cinema, just sayin'...

The Help

The Butler

Sofia Coppola

I haven't watched The Bling Ring yet, but I read this interview with Sofia Coppola (about the movie and other stuff) and I couldn't help but 100% agree with her point of view about how our generation/current times have been ruled and that contributed to her last movie, The Bling Ring that is.
I've kinda wrote about this issue, my personal viewpoint of course, here & here, and that's why this specifically quote of her stopped me: 

It is almost as if your experiences don’t count unless you have an audience watching them.

(...)

Coppola: When I read the Vanity Fair article about these kids, it summed up everything that I think is declining in our culture. And it just doesn’t feel like anyone is talking about it. Kids are inundated with reality TV and tabloid culture so much that this just seems normal. When I go to a concert, everyone is filming and photographing themselves and then posting the pictures right away. It is almost as if your experiences don’t count unless you have an audience watching them. There are even videos of kids having their sweet-16 birthdays and they want a red-carpet V.I.P. theme. This movie [The Bling Ring] was about an extreme version of this. 

Radziwill: Does that fascinate you or frighten you or bewilder you? 

Coppola: It frightens me, and it just seems like this trash culture is becoming acceptable as mainstream culture.

(...)

Source: NY Times

The Pale Blue Dot

For days when we should take a step back and calm down our ridiculousness.

The Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan

The never ending spirit

Back to this post I wrote last week and to these statements I shared, I'd like to add this I read today:

To be happy doesn’t mean you don’t desire more, it simply means you’re thankful for what you have and patient for what’s yet to come. Sometimes it’s easy to get so caught up in trying to accomplish something big, that you fail to notice the little things that give life its magic. So appreciate today for all it’s worth. Today is one of the good old days you’re going to miss in the years ahead. 

And all this comes again because yesterday I had a wonderful rainy-sunday-evening.

I was about to go out to meet a friend when I went downstairs and saw my brother watching Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, oh my!... that's an irresistible plan for this tenderly soul. Needless to say I changed plans in a blink of an eye. Plus, as I'm probably the most passionate person I know about Christmas, that was the moment I realized my Christmas 2013 spirit is officially open!

And so, these are the kind of little things I'm most thankful for, a sunday-rainy-night with my brother wrapped on a blanket in our sofa watching Willy Wonka.

Synecdoche, New York

My big, big praise to Synedoche, New York movie from Charlie Kaufman.

It's not very common for me to find good pieces of text, real poetry as I like to name them, on movies - even on those I like very much. The most common is to like the whole message in the end, the story or the scenario, but not exactly the text. Well, in Synedoche, New York I found really beautiful, deep and thruthful text moments... One of them already shared here and honestly, I could keep sharing. 

Everything is more complicated than you think. You only see a tenth of what is true. There are a million little strings attached to every choice you make; you can destroy your life every time you choose. But maybe you won't know for twenty years. And you may never ever trace it to its source. And you only get one chance to play it out. Just try and figure out your own divorce. And they say there is no fate, but there is: it's what you create. And even though the world goes on for eons and eons, you are only here for a fraction of a fraction of a second. Most of your time is spent being dead or not yet born. But while alive, you wait in vain, wasting years, for a phone call or a letter or a look from someone or something to make it all right. And it never comes or it seems to but it doesn't really. And so you spend your time in vague regret or vaguer hope that something good will come along. Something to make you feel connected, something to make you feel whole, something to make you feel loved.

Little Miss Sunshine

Dwayne: You know what? Fuck beauty contests. Life is one fucking beauty contest after another.* You know, school, then college, then work, fuck that. And fuck the air force academy. If I wanna fly, I'll find a way to fly. You do what you love, and fuck the rest.

Frank: I'm glad you're talking again, Dwayne. You're not nearly as stupid as you look. 

*Isn't it?