In my continued resolution to try and do the things which are most unlike what I would have done earlier and to try and educate myself some more, I’ve taken to listening to books on long drives. I like driving (would be much more fun if it wasn’t for the tension inspired by the damn highway cops!), except for that if I’m not cntinuously engaged, I also tend to fall alseep in a car very quickly. Not a good combination. So as an attempt to try and mix the best of both – I picked up a couple of audiobooks from the Carnegie Library to try and combine reading with driving (okay, all those folks who’ve ever sat in a car with me driving are probably cringing right now…)

Anyhow, so one of the audiobooks I picked up was The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. Now, I’ve only heard of the Phantom of the Opera before and never read it or never knew the story. I used to keep hearing the musical score for it once in a while and also heard the ads for the performance at the Pantages Theatre in Toronto… something I now definitely plan on doing now; going to Toronto to see the performance of the Phantom of the Opera (it’s only a 7 hour drive from Pittsburgh, I’ve done it before and right now I even have a Canadian visa!). So this was my first time really getting the whole story behind this wildly popular show.

So on my drive this weekend from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC and back, I popped in the first CD to the famed novel and started listening. It took a littke getting used to at first since I had to figure out a balance between focusing on the road and paying attention to the orator. Especially, since my exposure to French has been very minimal 🙂 Initially, I was skeptical about whether I would like the story since it starts out leading one to believe that there is a true ghost in the Paris Opera House. Given my highly skeptical nature, I just wasn’t comfortable accepting that basic premise. I guess this is where my firm convictions and the storyline of a work of fiction collided. But needless to say, by the time I made it to 270 (the main highway leading into DC) I was on the forth CD and completely hooked as the mytery to the true identity of the masked monster and his seemingly supernatural abilities and dreadful antics kept building up. When I reached my destination, it was with a definite air of disappointment that I turned off the CD player before exiting my car.

Today, on the drive back I continued where I left of and all the way from DC to Pittsburgh, listened to the rest of the story. In fact, the last CD wasn’t finished by the time I parked outside my apartment, but I was so curious to hear it all the way to the end that I sat in the car with the engine running till the time I reached the end.

The character of the Opera Ghost is thought provoking. A classic example of a person who because of his unpleasant appearance was led to a life which was filled with ethical dilemmas and actions which at the same time made one feel sorry for him and be enraged by him. The pain, the fear, the love and the loathing are brought to life in this glorious novel, which is obviously well worth the read (well, listening). Since I am definitely not worthy enough to comment on it further, I’ll stop at just saying that I’m glad I made the trip and listened to the book along the way.

At this rate, I’ll be making several more long drives 🙂

Oh, and BTW, I should probably also mention that the Georgetowne Station on M Street in DC is a totally happening place on Friday and Staurday nights. Plus their bartender there got extra point since even while he was serving a gazillion people at the same time, he still remembered, not only the drinks for the two of us who were there (all the way down to the two limes for my gin and tonic), but he made a mean drink and even remembered the name on the tab! The waitress serving shots was way cool as well and even had shots with us. This was my second time down there and I think I’ll have to make it a regular stop on my DC trips! 🙂

Phew! Finally after a long drought of good movies one that has some panache to it! A.I. sucked. Pearl Harbor sucked even more. And I don’t think you could even force me to go see something as dumbassed as Planet of the Apes. The only thing Hollywood can produce these days is either stupid shit with monkeys or dinosaurs running around or totally stupid, insult-to-your intelligence shit like Dude, Where’s my car.

So it was a pleasant change to finally get to a movie that didn’t have it’s roots in Hollow-wood. Thanks to my friend who suggested going to see Divided We Fall – which happens to be a Czech movie which has been nominated for an Academy Award. This was my first time going to a Czech movie… the last time lots of people told me to go check out Kolya, but I never quite made it — just wasn’t in the right frame of mind to see any movies at that time.

Anyhow, so while the dinosaurs and the monkeys monopolized the screens in mainstream theatres, the one up in Regent Square had the good sense to give up it’s showing of Monty Python and the Holy Grail and do a favor to those of us who still have a neuron fire in our heads once in a while by opting to show Divided We Fall instead. (I should mention here that both Clamen’s Movie listings and Yahoo! Movies listings did not even mention the showing of his movie on their schedules and had me very confused for a while until I called the theatre to confirm since my friend had seen it listed (and correctly so) for a Friday evening showing in the InPgh newspaper.)

Anyhow, the movie was really quite excellent. There isn’t any big surpise or revelation in the movie — I’m always looking for some strange twist. But it is a unique story told in a very effective and moving way. The characters do justice to their roles all the way from the attractive wife to the obnoxious Nazi-collaborator who in the end turns out to be a real human being after all.

While sitting in the theatre wathing the movie and listening to the description of the concentration camp David’s family was sent to and watching the intense fear of the Nazi regime in the minds of the people, I could not but help of thinking back to Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl. Especially of when he talks about how man adapts to his circumstances. And even under the most dire circumstances, we can still choose our own attitude. The movie shows multiple examples of human behavior changing with circumstance. Disturbing in some ways, refreshing in others. There were times when I didn’t know whether I should feel sad or laugh. Pathetically amusing and sadly funny are the only words that can be used to describe it.

It also made me think back as to how strong the Nazi influence was on the Behaviour, Information, Thought and Emotion of not only those who they victimized, but even all of those who bought into Hitler’s bullshit and committed the attrocities towards their fellow human beings. (Not to forget the poor little dog too!)

Divided We Fall is a movie about people. About people who survive. About people who deal with what circumstances they are presented with. It is an excellent portrayal of a personal story of the lead characters in the small Czech town during World War II. My gorilla, has a villa in the zoo…

Side note: While going to Yahoo! to find the links to the movies I mentioned above, I couldn’t help but notice that AI received a 2.8, Pearl Harbor a 3.4 (okay, that’s hard to believe), Planet of the Apes a similar 2.9 and Jurassic Park III a 3.0 in user reviews. Divided We Dall on the other hand received a 4.8! It’s good to see that even though film critics reviews may be as accurate as the glowing Internet stock recommendations from top-tier analysts, there are still people out there who can separate the wheat from the chaff…