Inspiration with a Foreign Flavor -- A film by Philippe Claudel

When the world around me starts feeling too dull, I can usually raise a few sparks in my brain by engaging in some cross-cultural activity. In an ideal world, I’d have enough dough to hop on a plane and visit a foreign country every few months. However, since impulse travel is out of the question, I do the next best thing and go to a foreign film. Last Saturday I went to see a very moving French film called I’ve Loved You So Long. This was the wrenching story of two sisters reuniting after one of them completes a 15 year prison sentence for murder.

The movie was very touching. The most striking qualities of the film are its emotional honesty and the stripped down nature of the acting. At the beginning of the story, the primary characters aren’t comfortable around each other and each seems to harbor their own volatile secrets. Relationships evolve slowly and revelations surface in very subtle ways.

If a movie with this theme had been made in Hollywood, the actresses would have been dolled up and shimmering. The script would be weak and it would force two photogenic women to overact. The style of Philippe Claudel, however, is much more restrained and avoids the shiny pomposity of American film. When the movie was over, I felt like I’d traveled a great emotional distance in a few hours.

After seeing a film in another language that reflects a different culture, my mind feels enriched, stimulated – like I just took a mini-vacation. But because this was a French film, it also transported me back to memories of my trip to Paris last April. While there I wrote some articles about French food and wine. Here is a link to one of my pieces at Vineyard Stars. Juicier details of the trip will follow.

Get Out and See the Local Talent: Becky and the Beasts

After years of living in Philadelphia – home of hundreds of theater companies, musical groups, and galleries -- I’ve become a little spoiled by easy access to the performing arts. But the Pocono region is full of working artists who are just as talented as the big city types. The main difference is that artists here have to work harder to cultivate an audience that is more geographically dispersed. The big benefit to consumers is that it costs a lot less to hear a great band or see a show in the Poconos.

A few weekends ago I paid a measly ten bucks to hear Becky and the Beasts, a fantastic cover band play a live benefit performance at the Mauch Chunk Opera House. The concert was so much fun -- partly because the band played all sorts of danceable music from the seventies and eighties. But they did it with a much higher degree of musicianship than you’d expect when you’ve only paid ten dollars. Songs ranged from Paula Cole tunes to Jethro Tull and Eric Clapton classics. Sounds impossible, right? Yet it was all built on the superb voice of the lead singer (let’s assume her name is Becky) and the incredible guitar skills of other band members. The multiple talents of the band’s sax player provided the key asset that allowed the band to perform such a wide range of music. He was perfectly comfortable – and skilled – on the flute, trumpet and cornet. And he also sang pretty well on a few songs. These musicians reminded me how much fun a good night out can be. Along with others, I got carried away by the music and danced in the aisle. That’s good for you. Music is good for you and having that much fun makes you realize the joy you can give to others when you put your own creative talents to use.

Times News Article about Pennsyl Pointe Writers

Michelle Gallagher, one of our featured writers during last Saturday’s reading at Seller’s Books, called my attention to an article that appeared in the 11/3 edition of Carbon County’s Times News. Those of you who want to know a little more about our event last week can follow this link to the article. Pay no attention to that corny photograph.

Jim Thorpe -- A Great Town for the Arts

This past Saturday, several writers joined me for a reading of short fiction pieces at Sellers Books and Fine Art in downtown Jim Thorpe. I was happily surprised at the turnout. The room was full and our host, Randall Sellers, put together a really nice event. In fact, we had such a good time we may do it again in a few months. Be sure to come by and join us in December if you are in town. We’ll announce the date here and in the Carbon County media.

Perhaps the best outcome of the event is that, due to the store’s location, we can now tell our families that we performed on Broadway.

I read this great poem by Susan Mitchell as part of the event:

The Dead

At night the dead come down to the river to drink.
They unburden themselves of their fears,
their worries for us. They take out the old photographs.
They pat the lines in our hands and tell our futures,
which are cracked and yellow.
Some dead find their way to our houses.
They go up to the attics.
They read the letters they sent us, insatiable
for signs of their love.
They tell each other stories.
They make so much noise
they wake us
as they did when we were children and they stayed up
drinking all night in the kitchen.

by Susan Mitchell