Hello you!
It's been a really long time since I blogged. I think I have probably forgotten how to do write in the first place but sometimes when the subject matter is so strong, you can't stop, so here I am, plunging into the water all over again. Maybe this will signal my coming back from the forgotten bookmarks, or maybe it's a one-off thing, but I'm just going to let this play out as it does. :) Happy New Year to you too! :)
I got back from my holidays and my friends made a plan to go watch this movie on the first day of it's release in Singapore. Yup! It's been a while since I've done one of those. The second was they decided that it was high time I got introduced to The Projector! In the last 1.5yrs since I've been in Singapore, I've never once been to The Projector. If you're from Bombay, think of how Gaiety-Galaxy look like as theatres compared to the flashy multiplexes and combine that with the vibe, character and aesthetic beauty of Prithvi + Kala Ghoda and you'll get what The Projector is. :) Certainly a fitting venue for the kind of movie we were to watch.
Recently, unconsciously, I've watched movies without having even read the byline, forget the reviews / IMDB rating and more. It's gone both ways honestly, but when the movie is good, it's soo much better! I had no idea what the movie was about and I went in like a blank slate.
If there's one movie I'd recommend you to start your year with, it would be this one (in my head, i'm now thinking that I must follow-up with a review for 'The Intern' which should be the second movie you should watch, followed by Manjhi if you haven't seen that already).
I'll tell you now, if you haven't seen this movie and if you want to see it without reading about it first, close this tab (bookmark it so you can come back after seeing it maybe?) and go buy the ticket! If you're choosing to continue, read on knowing I will give descriptions about the movie which will contain spoilers.
The Danish Girl opens with some fantastic shots of Copenhagen set in the 1920s and then moves to some amazing landscapes which look like postcards. I remember thinking if this movie had an instagram account, I should definitely follow it. The movie follows the life of a couple, Einar Wegener and his wife Gerda who are both painters in Denmark. Einar paints landscapes, primarily inspired by his homeplace and Gerda paints portraits. Life seems good. They are happy with each other, pursuing each other's work in separate areas in their house which is more like a studio and less like a home. I loved the details in the cinematography of the movie, the colors of the paintings, the textures on the wood in the walls, the repetition of certain shots and people to give a sense of time passing by and the beautiful background score which gave me goosebumps at key moments.
Before you know it, the movie has taken a very different direction. I thought this was going to evolve into a romantic movie or a period drama, but all of a sudden I see it's about an identity crisis on a very deep level.
Einar Wegener was asked by his wife to sit in as one of her "subjects" for her portraits when the client is missing and the deadline is approaching, during this process of donning a pair of stockings and holding a silk dress, he discovers that the touch of the fabric evoked desires in him that had long been suppressed.
From then on, the movie shifts focus to show us the internal struggle that Einar goes through on his journey of self discovery and self expression till he finds 'Lily'. Lily is initially introduced as Einar's cousin, she becomes the primary subject for all of Gerda's paintings which boost Gerda's standing as a painter.
Personally, as a viewer, I felt like the movie speaks to you at different levels. I could identify and understand Gerda's character and was moved by her expressions and emotions of helplessness, overpowering love, desire for some stability, torn between being the decision maker as also feel so strongly for Lily, who is driven by a desire to be appreciated, loved, and wanted for who she is. Both of the actors did such a fantastic job of making these characters real and human, you can't help but get consumed in those emotions.
I won't go into the details of what happens in the movie because I think you ought to see it for yourself, but suffice to know that the movie has the depth that most movies around you don't. It has poignancy, lots of silence, beautiful locales, stunning performances and human emotions.
From amongst the many things that stayed with me after the movie, the most important one was to hear Einar say, "I think I'm a... woman inside... stuck in a man's body... and I know you must think I'm insane". For some reason, I thought of HONY and how each time when I read about someone's story, it strikes me how each of us have a unique journey, a different struggle and how just listening to someone's story can be the difference between them feeling like they are all alone, insane or feeling like there's someone who can be there just listening while they figure themselves out.
I didn't mean to sound preachy. This is what I took away from the movie, maybe you're just curious to know who was the pioneer of a sex-change operation! :)
Comments