by Julie Crabb
I don't know the exact moment or even the exact film it was when I knew we were meant to be. The we, of course, is me and movies. I remember as a child the usual suspects: Bambi (soon to be released in blue ray and hi-def), The Sound of Music in all its' grandeur and in cinemascope, The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, and the old movies from the 30's, 40's, and 50's at 3:00 o'clock every afternoon. All these set in motion an enduring relationship to film.
I began to take it seriously in the 9th grade when I saw my first foreign movie at the Ken theater in San Diego California. The movie was The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, in subtitles. I was drawn to the sad tragedy of the story and enamored of the beauty of the brilliant Catherine Deneuve. The small, dark quiet of this indie theater became a refuge. The movies there enveloped all my senses the way music sometimes can. This movie made me want to see more french films: Jules and Jim (Francois Truffaut) and Au Revoir Les Enfants (Louis Malle) to name a couple. You follow the genre and it takes you places.
Consider the next big movie that really moved me: The Pawnbroker (1965)-Rod Steiger won the best actor academy award for this haunting film, directed by a fairly young Sidney Lumet. Now, look ahead in Lumets' career:Dog Day Afternoon, Network, and the most recent addition, Until the Devil Knows You're Dead. Just follow the trail of credits in movies you like, it will inform you and steer you.
Fast forward 47 years and I'm still taking refuge in small dark places to have my heart broken (Rabbit Hole-2010), my mind blown (Inception-2010), my soul stirred (Winter's Bone), my sense of joy rise (The Fighter), my anger fueled (Inside Job) and, I've been surprised (remake of True grit). Go see a movie today.
And tune in this Saturday March 5th for Between You and Me - we want YOUR stories of movies that moved you. 10-noon every Saturday morning on KAXE.
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