A Snapshot of Friday Night in Charlottesville

I want to write, but I can't seem to think of a topic decent enough worth your or my time. I could possibly talk about my week... but that would be too personal now, wouldn't it? Well how an epic film I just finished watching... That sounds a lot more like it!

Its Friday night. I had the option of partying, but that hobby seems to have lost its flare. Instead, I hopped on my bike, paddled quickly to the Downtown. I was hoping of spending a couple of minutes in the Mudhouse before it shutdown. To my dismay, I missed out on a much-craved-for oatmeal cookie and gun powder tea. I decided to walk.

Walking down the main avenue of the Downtown never seems to amaze! So, in the blistering cold, with my headphones on, I strode along puffing clouds of vapor out from the cold. I passed by all the shut down ma' and pa' shops. I was definitely an outlier at this hour (it was 11:30pm). I was there for the leisure of a walk to clear my mind, contemplate emotions and events, and to have some time to myself. Everyone else was either drunk or "lost". At this hour, the Downtown had lost its aestheticism and beauty. It was dark and shady. I decided to depart. To return in the morning when it was cheerful and sunny.

I biked just as quickly home and made it back before midnight. Since I wasn't that drowsy, I decided to put on "Les Amants Reguliers," an indie French movie I checked out from Clemons yesterday. I actually checked it out randomly. I wanted to watch an intersection of an Indie movie and one that was foreign, so made the cut.

After injecting it into the DVD, I was amazed by how nostaglic I'd gotten. The protagonist reminded me of myself a couple of years back. He plays the role of romantic revolutionary during France's near-revolution in the 1960s. He falls in love and strives for a Marxist revolution. Ultimately, he discovers that these ambitions are mere delusions.

More than anything, this film is a piece of art. With beautiful urban scenes in Paris, 1960s vogue lifestyles, and the humanistic behaviors of artists, poets, and loves, this is indeed a masterpiece. The movie, shot 2005, is in black and white to simulate the milieu of the 1960s. Every scene, lull, and dialogue in the movie is a artwork in and of itself. The soundtrack, cinematography, and photography of the movie lets you live this decade I once aspired to live and emulate.

This is a film where the viewer is not merely fed the events and emotions. Instead of witnessing what the characters feel, you feel it with them, and at times, for them. The despair of failed ambitions is a common theme I feel I can relate to. Also, the dichotomy between idealism and realism is a case in point of the human experience. Anyways, I shall not give the movie away. In fact, I can't since the movie is an abstract painting; a wide range of inferences can be drawn.