My wonder today is for a film trilogy directed by Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski
Krzysztof Kieślowski
Blue (1993), White (1994) and Red (1994)
The title of each film is directly connected with the colours of the French flag in left-to-right order, and each plot is loosely based on one of the three ideals in the motto of the French Republic: liberty, equality, fraternity. These principles are treated in the trilogy in an ambiguous and often ironic way. As Kieślowski noted in an interview with an Oxford University student newspaper, “The words [liberté, egalité, fraternité] are French because the money [to fund the films] is French. If the money had been of a different nationality we would have titled the films differently, or they might have had a different cultural connotation. But the films would probably have been the same.” In each film, its respective color visually dominates.
Blue, White and Red have been interpreted respectively as an anti-tragedy, an anti-comedy, and an anti-romance.
BLUE (1993)
According to Kieślowski, the subject of the film is liberty, specifically emotional liberty, rather than its social or political meaning. Set in Paris, the film is about a woman whose husband and child are killed in a car accident. Suddenly set free from her familial bonds, she attempts to cut herself off from everything and live in isolation from her former ties, but finds that she cannot free herself from human connections.
WHITE (1994)
Starting in Paris, the film depicts Karol, a shy man who, after being left by his wife in humiliating circumstances, loses his money, his residency, and his friends. As a deeply ashamed beggar in Warsaw, Karol begins his effort to restore equality to his life through revenge. Equality, thus, is the subject of this film.
RED (1994)
Red is about fraternity, which is examined by showing characters whose lives gradually become closely interconnected, with bonds forming between two characters who appear to have little in common.
Together with Kieslowski's genius, the films owe their greatness to an overwhelming soundtrack, composed by Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner and performed by Silesian Philharmonic choir along with Sinfonia Varsovia. Below you can listen to Preisner's "Song for the Reunification of Europe" from Blue:
Keep an eye on this blog because I'll publish an entry on Preisner soon! ENJOY!!
Where one would expect a dance choreography, one finds sign language. This is Pina Bausch at her purest, a great example of her ability to create dance out of everyday gestures and express a whole range of emotions: from restrained, unsatisfied desire to melancholy.
Pina Bausch
Here you have the lyrics of the "The Man I love":
When the mellow moon begins to beam, Ev'ry night I dream a little dream, And of course Prince Charming is the theme, The he for me. Although I realize as well as you It is seldom that a dream comes true, For/To me it's clear That he'll appear.
Some day he'll come along, The man I love And he'll be big and strong, The man I love And when he comes my way I'll do my best to make him stay.
He'll look at me and smile I'll understand ; And in a little while, He'll take my hand ; And though it seems absurd, I know we both won't say a word
Maybe I shall meet him Sunday Maybe Monday, maybe not ; Still I'm sure to meet him one day Maybe Tuesday will be my good news day
He'll build a little home Just meant for two, From which I'll never roam, Who would - would you ? And so all else above I'm waiting for the man I love. Definitely, a wonder of a performance!
My wonder today is for a painting by one of the most fascinating painters ever: Belgian surrealist René Magritte.
The title of the painting translates to English literally as "Ongoing Time Stabbed by a Dagger" and Magritte was reportedly unhappy with the generally accepted translation of "Time Transfixed".
This painting exemplifies some of the features characteristic of Magritte’s work:
-In the midst of an ordinary, familiar setting something odd appears that makes us feel surprised or even shocked. Here, of course, the locomotive with the steam appears not to make sense, yet I cannot keep my eyes off it.
- The title refers to an concept not directly depicted in the painting yet closely related to its meaning, a meaning which, however, appears rather open.
What does this painting suggest to you? Here you have some ideas that come to my mind:
-First, the boundaries between the public (train) and private (fireplace inside a house) seem to disappear, creating a sense close to the idea of the uncanny.
-Second, the realms of fantasy and imagination (children’s, I would say as I associate the train with children’s toys) and reality appear to mingle.
-Third, the idea of time, evoked by the movement of the train and the presence of clock on the fireplace seem to contrast with the stillness of the inert objects depicted in the painting.
My wonder today is one of the most magical natural phenomena; the Northern Lights.
I haven't travelled North yet to see this spectacular event. This is definitely in my to-do list...one day! Here you have a video to get a glimpse of the wonder that may accompany an encounter with the Northern Lights
I’d heard
the phenomenon described as moving and mystical. Every northern culture has
legends about the aurora. One Inuit myth holds that the northern lights are
torches held in the hands of Spirits seeking the souls of those who have just
died, to lead them over the abyss terminating the edge of the world. Another
holds that the lights are the visible spirits of unborn children playing ball in
the heavens.
What Causes
the Aurora?
(Source:
Wikipedia)
The
scientific explanation for the lights may be less poetic, though still
fascinating. Auroras are born of the sun, when large explosions and flares
throw great quantities of particles into space, carried outward by the solar
wind. The aurora is an electro-static phenomenon that occurs during when these
charged protons and electrons in the magnetosphere collide with atoms and gases
in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. When the particles meet the Earth’s magnetic
shield, they are pulled into two great ovals around the Earth’s magnetic poles.
As they interact with the upper layers of the atmosphere, approximately 60-150
miles above our heads, the energy that is then released appears as a luminous,
moving glow, typically visible in the night sky in the polar zones at
particular times of the year.
Each gas
gives out a characteristic color when bombarded. Excited oxygen atoms emit
yellow-green light, the most commonly observed color. Ionized molecular
nitrogen emits blue and violet light, colors to which the human eye is less
sensitive. At lower altitudes, excited molecules of nitrogen and oxygen glow
with a vivid red. These three primary colors together produce the hues of a
typical aurora.
In the
north, it is known as the aurora borealis, named for the Roman goddess of the
dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas. The name ‘aurora
borealis’ was first recorded in 1621 by French scientist Pierre Gassendi, who
thought the lights looked like a bright sunrise. Especially in Europe, the
aurora often appears as a reddish or pink glow on the northern horizon, as if
the sun were rising from an unexpected direction. Its counterpart is
observable, though less frequently, in the Southern hemisphere, where it is
called the aurora australis, a Latin word meaning “of the South.”
What about you? Is there any natural phenomenon that inspires wonder to you?
My wonder today is one of the most illuminating poems I have ever read.
"No te salves" was written by Uruguayan poet Mario Benedetti and included within his 1996 collection El Amor, las mujeres y la vida. Poemas de Amor.
NO TE SALVES
No te quedes inmóvil al borde del camino no congeles el júbilo no quieras con desgana no te salves ahora ni nunca no te salves no te llenes de calma no reserves del mundo sólo un rincón tranquilo no dejes caer los párpados pesados como juicios no te quedes sin labios no te duermas sin sueño no te pienses sin sangre no te juzgues sin tiempo
pero si pese a todo no puedes evitarlo y congelas el júbilo y quieres con desgana y te salvas ahora y te llenas de calma y reservas del mundo sólo un rincón tranquilo y dejas caer los párpados pesados como juicios y te secas sin labios y te duermes sin sueño y te piensas sin sangre y te juzgas sin tiempo y te quedas inmóvil al borde del camino y te salvas entonces no te quedes conmigo.
English translation:
DON'T SAVE YOURSELF
Do not stay motionless on the side of the road do not freeze the joy do not love without wanting do not save yourself now nor ever. Do not save yourself do not fill yourself with calm do not set aside from the world just a quiet corner do not let your eyelashes fall heavy as judgements do not end without lips do not sleep without being sleeepy do not think yourself without blood do not judge yourself with no time.
But, if after all you can not help it and freeze the joy and love without wanting and save yourself now and you fill with calm and reserve from the world only a quiet place and let your eyelashes fall heavy as judgements and dry without lips and sleep without being sleepy and think yourself without blood and judge yourself with no time and stay motionless on the side of the road and you save yourself then do not stay with me.
As Halloween or, in other words, All Hallows' Eve is approaching, I can't help thinking how wonderful it is to retain traditions that date back thousands of years. Long live "folk-lore", the WORD of the PEOPLE!
Let me quote the words of an Irish historian:
Folklore is one of the oldest and most international inheritances of the human race. It brings us into close touch with a mentality that embraces all countries and all times. (Ó Súilleabháin , Irish Folk Custom and Belief)
Halloween in particular brings many European and American countries close together.
Experts agree that the origins of this millenarian feast are to be located in a Celtic feast called Samhain, meaning the "end of the summer": A time of transition that marked the beginning of the Celtic New Year in November, 1. The night before, New Year's Eve, was believed to be the only time of the year where the ghosts of the dead could come back to the world of the living.
To know more about the history of Halloween, watch this video:
My wonder for today is one of the most amazing fragances I have ever tried: ESSENCE ASBOLUE by Thierry Mugler
It's a new redefined version of Alien (one of my favourite perfumes) and has recently been launched (last September).
Essence Absolue is described as "richly intense, sensual, deep and mysterious". The composition is developed by Pierre Aulas from accords of white jasmine flowers, orris root, animalistic black vanilla pod, incense, myrrh, white amber and cashmere wood.
The bottle design is inspired by the classic Alien bottled style and gold drops used as talismans in the Orient.
Here you have one of those performances that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand on end when you listen to it. "Non te namores meniña" ("You'd better not fall in love,child") performed by Carlos Núñez and the Galician Philharmonic Orchestra.
The first thing we need to bear in mind before we start posting about what makes us feel wonder is what WONDER itself means. It does not exactly mean to feel happy or good, it's a rather more intense feeling...
Let us quote a definition from the FREE ONLINE DICTIONARY:
1. a. To have a feeling of awe or admiration; marvel: "She wondered at all the things civilization can teach a woman to endure"(Frances Newman).
b. To have a feeling of surprise.
2. To be filled with curiosity or doubt.
ADMIRATION, CURIOSITY, AWE... feelings which undoubtely make us feel ALIVE, which make every day COUNT.
Welcome to A WONDER A DAY...(keeps depression away!)
As its name suggests, this is a blog whose main aim is to remind bloggers how wonderful life can be, something we very often forget for one reason or another... We will daily publish posts about things that have made us feel WONDER, from films to songs, from newsitems to books, from smells to dishes, from landscapes to artworks... We will deeply appreciate comments with your wonders list and we will publish posts with your suggestions.
