Diva

Oh my gosh guys do i even know how to blog anymore?
(probably)
I'm so bummed to be back from vacation. We stayed in Colorado, at over 9,000 feet in a tiny cabin hidden away in a forest (not like Antichrist). A week without cell phone service, internet, telephones, TV, and even radio is so....wonderful. Sometimes I'd post some pictures for my family when I would be in town, but it was so nice to just relax in front of mountains and a lake and read. We had tons of hummingbirds at our cabin, and even a friendly deer (who in pictures looks like something out of Antichrist). Anthony and I had a lot of fun - we did everything from hiking followed by sleeping in and cooking out to taking the highest cog railway to Pike's Peak (hey, hiking is hard, ok?). Maybe someday when I have a moment to myself I'll see if I can find a decent picture or two for you kids.

Right now I'm so tired! We drove, which is a two day long drive for us. We drove all day yesterday and then had to get home, unpack, try to cram in some True Blood, and then attempt to sleep. I feel pretty beat, although it is nice to be back down at sea level where I can, yunno, breathe. 

Enough about me. I'm sure you're all crazy excited to hear about my latest movie escapade and not my doofy life. Er, at least a little excited. I hope.

Today I watched Diva, directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix in 1981. A summary for you, from IMDB: "[A]Young Parisian mail courier is content with his bohemian lifestyle, his circle of friends and listening to opera, particularly one exceptional American diva who refuses to be recorded. [he is] So enamored with her, he makes an illegal tape of her at a concert. But when the tape is confused with one implicating a police chief with the mob, he must use all his ingenuity to survive." What, did you really think I'd be up for real big girl writing my first day back? Pfffftttt.

It's a thriller type of movie, but you really know the whole plot the whole time - there really aren't any twists and turns like I expected. We know the whole story, from both sides involved. I sort of liked that, though. I get sick of stories that just have random reveals and things just to amp up the story. And the movie was still really tense during all the action scenes. You knew what both sides knew, but it didn't take away from anything, really. Well, for me, at least. It was just as fun and exciting without some last minute piece of information to "change everything" or whatever. 

The movie has a really cool plot, but it's so interesting looking as well. It's full of bright, neon colors and lots of saturation. The camera angles are different, too. Well, some of them feel like they've been done before, watching it now. The scenes with handheld-feeling action are sort of tired at this point, but I'm sure they were really different in 1981. I just liked all the sets and the colors. I loved how there were these great 80's murals in the rooms, and it almost all felt like a different world. I never saw spaces filled with so many different colors or strange lights, at least not ones that were meant to be lived in. It was just really fascinating to see how vivid and creative everything was, and to just watch the characters in these environments, as the lights and colors played off of them in different ways.

I also loved the opera aspect of the film. I don't really often admit this, but I like opera, and actually sing opera. Since high school. It's questionable if I'm any good, but I really enjoy seeing beautiful voices and singers portrayed in films. Opera sometimes is just the butt of a joke. Even if it's not, sometimes it's so over the top that it's hard to enjoy the music. I loved that Diva let a real woman with a truly beautiful voice sing, and didn't try to present it as anything else. It wasn't over-dramatic. It was simple. Elegant. Stunning. I loved her voice, and I was really in love with any scenes that she sang during. She just had that sort of rich, smooth voice that seems effortless. I'm always happy when a movie portrays music in a way that can actually capture how moving and emotional it can really be.

I'm really exhausted, so I'm going to collapse in my bed. I'm sure once I get back to normal life and used to working and waking up and ugggh again, the blog will be up and running like normal as well. It was definitely harder to focus today than I thought it would be - shocking how lazy I get after just a week!

Have any thoughts on Diva? Share them in the comments!

Links:
Ebert's Great Movie Essay on Diva
Buy it on Amazon