It was warm and sunny Saturday. I arrived early at Joy's place to meet another three earlier birds waiting at the door of Joy's lounge. I knew Mr. Hung, the movie critics, but I didn't know the other two ladies (Maria and Betty) invited by Linda. I did not take the initiative to chat with them as I was totally absorbed in the "Treasure Island" for the radio drama rehearsal scheduled tomorrow afternoon.
After Joy arrived with her Filipina maid Mary, we began watching a recent highly acclaimed French film "Intouchables" with a stunning box office around the world . The film is written and directed by Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano. It's about the friendship between an aristocratic Frenchman Philippe (Francois Cluzet) and a young and lively African Immigrant Driss (Omar Sy). Through their friendship, Driss is able to appreciate the finer things in life while Philippe learns to love life as he did before his devastating paragliding accident which resulted in his quadriplegia.
"The Bucket List" we watched last Saturday and "Intouchables" we watched this Saturday have two protagonists, one is white, the other is black. The white is rich, the black is poor. The protagonists attempted skydiving in "The Bucket List. In "Intouchables", it was the paragliding they enjoyed. Flying in the air seems a dream come true for movie goers! I wish I could ride in a Maserati Quattroporte someday!
After seeing "Intouchables", Linda ran to the kitchen to prepare fried rice noodles and vegetable salads, I was in a rush to put "Bacon and Potato au Gratin" in the oven I brought along from home. Meanwhile, I made the sour napa cabbage hot pot. It felt great to see Toastmasters friends devoted to the craft of feeding, cooking, and creating in the kitchen, and to exchange the recipes. While everybody was pleased with the sour napa cabbage I bought from the traditional market in Hsin-tien, I decided to make the sour napa cabbage at home. And a brass hot pot on coal stove with a chimney is a must-buy on my shopping list.In order to save time, we watched "Nora's Will" (Five Days Without Nora in Spanish, Cinco días sin Nora) over dinner. It's a touching and award wining Mexican film by First-time writer-director Mariana Chenillo, about love and madness of a Jewish family in Mexico City.
Nora's ex-husband José is an old cynical Jewish atheist. Ever since they broke up, they've lived on the same street, in facing apartments. Before Nora finally succeeded in committing suicide, she planned an elaborate annual Passover dinner for her family. José resisted Nora's will by ordering a Catholic funereal and by serving guests a ham and sausage pizza. When José discovered a photo of Nora with another man by accident, he began to unearth the infidelity evidence of Nora whom he claimed he loved no more. Nora's funeral eventually brought peace to her family members with her WILL.
"Death at a Funeral" we saw last Saturday and "Nora's Will" we saw this Saturday share the core value of funerals. Funerals of different religions and cultures are expensive in both movies. They reminded me of six seasons of "Six Feet Under" I spent an entire month watching two years ago. When facing life and death, people are given the chance to reconcile with what seemed impossible in the past and to begin a new life! Funerals connect the family members in the end!
There were a total of a dozen participants at the movie and dinner gathering today. People came and people went! After movies, a panel discussion chaired by Joy Chyr began. Joy asked us to name a favorite pastime in life. Some like good food, some like a pleasant walk in the park in the morning, some like reading good books and meeting interesting strangers. Joy likes to open her door to people who are willing to share ideas about life. What a splendid and successful movie and dinner gathering we enjoyed today!
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