Dan in Real Life, written and directed by Peter Hedges, with Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, the other writer: Pierce Gardner

Dan in Real Life, written and directed by Peter Hedges, with Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, the other writer: Pierce Gardner

8 out of 10

-          This is a Look Through a Glass Brightly at this comedy, using a Positive Psychology lens as much as possible

-          We have within Dealing With Adversity and Trauma, Humor, signature Strengths that are part of the paraphernalia of

-          The Science of Happiness

-          Dan Burns aka Dan in Real Life is played by Steve Carell, who gives a strong performance reminding one of:

-          Foxcatcher, Little Miss Sunshine and other

-          Outstanding roles that have been the work of a formidable actor

-          Dan is a widower and he has three daughters that he needs to take care of and it is no easy task

-          I have only one and find that overwhelming at times…what am I saying – at all times, but then I am not Dan

-          One of the daughters, and not even the eldest, Jane, but Cara is in love- she says- with a colleague

-          I thought Dan was correct in considering this feeling just an infatuation, but I could be wrong and old fashioned

-          The plot centers on Dan meeting with Marie

-          Marie is played by the beautiful, talented and charming Juliette Binoche

-          Alas, the fact that when they meet they have what the French would call a “coup de foudre” does not help

-          Not for a good while anyway

-          Marie and Dan meet in a library and they talk about books and they find that they are not just attracted to each other

-          There is also an important meeting of minds and souls that have matching interests and this is heaven

-          One would think

-          But Marie is dating Mitch at the time when she has found Dan

-          And Mitch is…Dan’s brother

-          There follows a part of the film wherein comedy takes over, or maybe I should say tragicomedy

-          If we look at it from Dan and Marie’s point of view, this is an impossible situation, the worst case scenario…

-          Hero and heroine want to be together, but he cannot cause his brother’s turmoil and unhappiness

-          This is where Character Strengths and virtues come into evidence, as identified by Martin Seligman

-          Both the heroine and the hero show that they have:

-          Integrity, Persistence, Vitality, Bravery, Kindness, Appreciation of Excellence, Gratitude, Hope…

-          And there is more:

-          Humor, Self- regulation, Prudence, Mercy, Fairness, Perspective, Love of Learning, Open-mindedness

-          Almost All the Signature Strengths are at play!!

-          This is because we have here extraordinary people…well, fictional ones evidently, that are near perfection

-          Once in a while they act in a silly manner

-          Often it is the circumstances- the matrix they have to work within presupposes a sacrifice for the brother

-          But they love each other

-          When Dan comes to talk to the woman he loves, in the bathroom, as this is one of the few places offering intimacy…

-          One of his daughters comes to talk to Marie, who is so much appreciated by the whole family…up to a point…and then again

-          I wanted to talk to you…says the daughter

-          All right…

-          But you said you were going to take a shower

-          Oh yes…

And to keep appearances, Marie undresses, enters naked in the shower, where Dan had been already hiding…

Fully dressed, but with a lot of water pouring down on him…

A lovely romantic comedy

The Age of Innocence, based on the classic by Edith Wharton, directed by Martin Scorsese, with Daniel Day-Lewis, 10 out of 10

The Age of Innocence, based on the classic by Edith Wharton, directed by Martin Scorsese, with Daniel Day-Lewis

10 out of 10

-          This will be a look at The Age of Innocence, as adapted for the big screen and Through a Glass…Brightly

-          This note will be trying to consider the Signature Strengths of the characters and what we can learn from them, in terms of Positive Psychology

-          The Age of Innocence is a resplendent story of love, fidelity and betrayal, perseverance, dedication and more

-          It is surprising thought to find that the film, with an impressive acclaim form critics, did not win more than one Oscar

-          Besides, it was not even nominated for Best Motion, Leading Roles, Director, which it deserved

-          Even if this was the year of outstanding productions, like:

-          Schindler’s List- the formidable winner for 1994- The Remains of the Day- another glorious masterpiece

-          The Piano, with extraordinary performances from Holly Hunter and the very young Anna Paquin

-          Winona Ryder, probably before her real life problems, has won a Golden Globe for her role as May Welland

-          May is about to be married to Newland Archer aka the phenomenal Daniel Day-Lewis, who is alas retired now

-          May Welland is not one of the main characters, although the apparent simplicity and lack of standing is just that:

-          Smoke and mirrors

-          I think I missed her maneuvers when I first saw this state of the art film and when I have read the novel

-          When she becomes aware of the danger posed by her cousin, Ellen Olenska, the magnificent Michelle Pfeiffer, May acts

-          As she presents an image of Innocence, the woman who loves Newland is not just Conscious of the threat, but moves to win

-          Her Creativity, Persistence, Bravery, Social Intelligence, Vitality, Humility and Hope win the day

-          These are all Signature Strengths that are not at all evident at first glance, indeed, as aforementioned I missed them at first glance

-          Newland Archer is the hero of this story and he is torn between his duty towards May and his love

-          He falls in Love with Ellen Olenska, a married woman who has to live away from her bad husband

-          This situation makes her a sort of pariah in certain circles that blame her for a situation in which she suffers and for which she is not responsible

-          This is where The Age of Innocence appears as an Absolute Irony since what Innocence is there?

-          There is of course a tendency to glorify past époques and attribute to them qualities they did not really have

-          In Midnight in Paris, the narrative concentrates around the hero who travels back in time, to meet the likes of Scott F. Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, Salvador Dali

-          The protagonist is exhilarated, for he sees this as The Golden Age and yet, his girlfriend wants to travel to the 1890, because for her that is the real Belle Époque, which raises the question- where do we stop?

-          With Kubla Khan?

-          Newland Archer experiences the classic conflict between mind and heart, duty and passion, in the end keeping his promise

-          He is at times Prudent, Kind, Hopeful, Grateful, Persistent, Open-Minded, Fair, Forgiving and Merciful

-          Alas, all these Signature Strengths do not help him obtain the desired escape with Ellen Olenska

-          The tragic thing is that the two are in love with each other and in this Age Without Innocence, they would just run away together

-          In the “Age of Innocence” however that must not be and what the society says matters a lot and determines the outcome of this and multiple other love stories that ended in sorrow and disappointment

-          It is also true that we could not really know if Newland and Ellen would have been happy together

-          It could have been a passing infatuation, a strong sexual desire in an age that was so puritanical and pretentious

-           One magic and elating aspect of this work is that it makes the audience think; imagine possible outcomes and variations of the plot…

The Island, based on a story by Caspian Tredwell-Owen

The Island, based on a story by Caspian Tredwell-Owen

8 out of 10

-          This note is an attempt to look at the Island Through a Glass…Brightly, looking at Signature Strengths

-          In general, it should an effort to use Positive Psychology to get the aspects that provide some meaning…or at least Positive Emotions

-          The Island has not benefited from appreciation from the critics, who seem to be divided on this work

-          The Metascore for this motion picture is 50 on IMDB, which suggests an equal split between those who liked and the others who have rejected this Science Fiction story that has some relevance for today

-          Lincoln Six Echo is played by Ewan McGregor, who is also starring as Tom Lincoln, the sponsor of Lincoln Six

-           Jordan Two Delta is the friend of Lincoln Six and her name is also Delta because she belongs to a different generation of…clones

-          Scarlett Johansson is both Jordan Two and her sponsor Sarah Jordan

-           The character portrayed by the stunning actress is waiting to get to The Island, which seems to be Heaven

-          But that is just propaganda provided by the company Merrick Biotech, which is a nefarious entity

-          “Hell is paved with good intentions”

-          If in the initial plan the purpose was to have unfeeling clones that provide sponsors with organs, this went wrong

-          Terribly wrong

-          The head of this company, a sort of Big Brother, is Dr. Bernard Merrick and he explains the process

-          They had to change the idea of “soulless” clones because the organs provided by them were useless

-          So they provided following generations with the primitive elements of consciousness, controlled and under the ground

-          Sponsors aka rich human beings who could afford the five million dollar price for a clone could add fifty years to their lives

-           Once an organ failed, skin needed replacement, they could resort to their “insurance policies „and get the transplant

-          Only this is where Signature Strengths of the…clones come into play

-          With Bravery, Persistence, Curiosity, Love of Learning, Perspective, Citizenship, Fairness, Open – Mindedness, even if at times in incipient form, Lincoln Six and his partner Jordan Two escape…

-          They have realized that there is something wrong with The Island, the system they are in and get out

-          This is going to be very difficult, for they have trained mercenaries on their footsteps and they are naïve in many ways

-          The protagonists ‘lack of education, experience and understanding of human ways makes for some humorous situations:

“Jordan Two-Delta: [watching motorcycle scream down the asphalt] What was that?

Lincoln Six-Echo: I don't know. [smiles]

Lincoln Six-Echo: But I want one.”

-          The fact that they get away when faced with much more experienced, supposedly smarter opponents sounds hard to believe

-          And it is

-          So if one looks Through a Glass Darkly, as in the famous Ingmar Bergman masterpiece, the conclusion is:

-          The plot is flawed

-          But there are explanations and besides, the idea proposed here was to take a different, kinder take on this work

-          Jordan Two Delta is spectacular

-          And she is involved, with her partner-soon-to-become-lover in quite a few scenes that make the public laugh:

“Aces & Spades Bartender: [to Jordan Two Delta] Something to drink? Jack?

Jordan Two-Delta: Yes, please.

Aces & Spades Bartender: Straight up? [Jordan looks up at the ceiling]”

-          She has no idea what many or most expressions mean and also many of the emotions of people are incomprehensible:

“Bar Guy: [quite obviously hitting on her] What's your number?

Jordan Two-Delta: Two-Delta.”

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, based on story by Lewis Foster, directed by Frank Capra, with James Stewart

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, based on story by Lewis Foster, directed by Frank Capra, with James Stewart

9 out of 10

-          A look at this classic Through a Glass Brightly, trying to learn about the Signature Strengths of the protagonists

-          1939 was the year of Gone with the Wind

-          Therefore, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington did not have such a big chance at winning Awards at the Oscar Ceremony

-          Out the formidable 10 nominations, it only won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Story

-          But the cast, led by the outstanding James Stewart, supported by Claude Rains and other great actors was exceptional

-          Excellent was the direction of Frank Capra and all the other members of the team involved in the production

-          This is an all-time classic

-          As William Goldman writes in his chef d’oeuvre Adventures in the Screen Trade, this was a Golden Era

-           These were years when State of the Art works did not even get nominated, forget about winning big awards…

-          As opposed to now, when cartoon based films get a nod at the prestigious ceremonies, albeit in technical categories…

-          Most recently, Jodie Foster talked about the negative, disastrous actually, impact that these blockbusters have on good films

-          Bill Maher also jokes on his show Real Time on HBO on the issue of the “summer movies” that are now covering all the year

-          There was a time, he says, when the films that involve no brain activity on the part of the audience where for the summer only

-          Now they are on screens all the time…well, he did not use these words, but the message was clear

-          Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is in the category of intellectual motion pictures that have a message

-          The hero is a role model that has all the Signature Strengths imaginable and actually is the Superman!

-          He is the epitome of Justice, Wisdom and Knowledge- even if he seems naïve to start with- Temperance, Transcendence, Humanity and Courage

-          Jefferson Smith aka James Stewart is sent to Washington by the governor of his state as a puppet

-          A group of corrupt businessmen and politicians think that Mr. Smith will just play as they sing in the American Senate

-           But this is a Curious, Open Minded, Persistent, Integrous, Kind man that excels also at Citizenship!!

-          Therefore, when he learns that there is something very rotten, not in the State of Denmark, but in his home state, he acts.

-           Jefferson Smith is attacked on all fronts and all the senators backs his enemies, withdrawing from the Senate

-          The hero shows the other strong points he has:

-          Vitality- he has to filibuster for more than 24 hours!- Bravery, Modesty, Social Intelligence, Love, Hope and Gratitude among others

-           Senator Joseph Paine aka Claude Rains, a man that Jefferson Smith had worshipped is one of the villains- at least up to a point

-          This Paine is corrupt and in cahoots with Jim Taylor

-          They both stand to benefit from the approval of a bill, that has a provision regarding a dam that would make them rich

-          Without knowing, Mr. Smith proposes a Boy Scouts Camp right where the project of the dam had been initiated

-          When they see their perspective of making illegal millions is endangered, the crooks start a huge fight

-          Newspapers start publishing defamatory materials on Smith and they accuse him of the schemes they had concocted

-           For a long time, this looks like a helpless war, with one fighting all the others, a political machine with tremendous power

-          But this is the Ubermensch we are talking about

-          His Creativity, Perspective, Fairness, Leadership are formidable!!

Resplendent film!

The Bad and the Beautiful, written by Charles Schnee, directed by Vincente Minnelli, with Kirk Douglas, 10 out of 10

The Bad and the Beautiful, written by Charles Schnee, directed by Vincente Minnelli, with Kirk Douglas

10 out of 10

-          This is a look at this glorious film Through a Glass Brightly, looking at the Signature Strengths of the characters

-          The Bad and the Beautiful is an outstanding motion picture

-          It has won Academy Awards and Golden Globes in some categories

-          But I think that this work is better than The Greatest Show on Earth that was acclaimed as the Best Film of 1952

-          Strangely for this viewer, The Bad and the Beautiful was not even nominated for Best Motion Picture

-          Or Best Actress in a Leading Role and Vincente Minnelli was also not even considered as Best Director

-          I wonder if it has to do with Hollywood inside stories that resemble to some extent the plot of the film…

-          Did they consider that the story was wonderful and this is why they gave the writer Charles Schnee the Oscar?

-          The members of the Academy might have thought that Minnelli and Lana Turner did not rise to the level of the script?

-          If you ask me, The Bad and the Beautiful is one of the best films I know

-          The main character played by the magnificent, powerful Kirk Douglas- who is what? 99 now?-is Jonathan Shield

-          This hero is extraordinary and a role model in so many ways

-          In Signature Strengths :

-          He has Wisdom and Knowledge, Justice and most of all Courage!

-          Temperance is not his strong point, but then he is not really Superman…just the Ubermensch!

-          Jonathan Shield starts small, on film sets that involve the Cat People, B films that he transforms

-          A visionary, with his Persistence and Bravery, instead of acting Inside the Box, he shows Creativity

-          Creativity is an element of Wisdom

-          With his friend, the director Fred Amiel, he takes on a different horror film that becomes a success

-          They gave up the silly costumes and based their invention on darkness and ingenuity, winning the jackpot

-          They use their Vitality and Appreciation of Beauty for their next production, which was supposed to be…

-          Son of the Cat People or something similarly grotesque and ridiculous

-          Only for the next big move to the level of a big production, costing over one million dollars, which is probably the equivalent in movie terms of more than three hundred million today, Jonathan abandons his friend

-          Or so it seems, for instead of working with Fred Amiel, whose project this film really was, Jonathan would work with an established name

-          Counterintuitively, this was a generous decision, for the career of Fred could have ended then and there

-          The hero himself, later on takes the helm as a director only to create a catastrophe that is the first to recognize

-          The producer is the one to save and launch the career of Georgia Lorrison, played by Lana Turner

-          With an major alcohol problem, this actress was destined to ruin when Jonathan reached out and offered redemption

-          This where other Signature Strengths played an important role:

-          Leadership , Open – Mindedness and Perspective aspects of

-          Justice and Knowledge

-          Only this is where it gets more complicated and the protagonist might again prove Humility and Mercy

-          Or maybe not- I am not sure why he just promoted and created a formidable actress, but rejected the woman in Georgia

-          Then the hero is involved in the career of a Pulitzer Prize Winner, the writer James Lee Bertlow, who could be inspired by

-          William Faulkner, Steinbeck or Scott F. Fitzgerald, but most likely he is a combination of them all

-          As the wife of this talented writer is in the way and blocks his Creativity with a multitude of interruptions- by the way, after a two hour session of work, an interruption can mean a delay of one half hour, just to get back to where the work had been interrupted!!- Jonathan Shield finds a way out

-          He gets one of his star actors to take the woman to Mexico so that the husband would get the peace he needs to finish the script

-          Only the plane flying them to Acapulco crashes and the two are killed in the accident that actually means the winning of the Pulitzer for the writer, but also shows a rather Unkind Jonathan

Spectacular film!!

The Party by Sally Potter: writer and director

The Party by Sally Potter: writer and director

-          The Party is not really a sparkling shindig

-          It is a very good film, with a resplendent cast and very good story

-          But it gets really depressing…for a Party

Janet aka Kristin Scott Thomas has been appointed minister.

Or perhaps, Prime Minister- I am not really sure on this one, for one of her friends talks about Janet ruling the country- it might be in the future…

For this special opportunity, a victory for women as some of the guests put it; there is a celebration, a party.

It could be a reference to the Prime Minister that Great Britain has in reality.

Although by the time I finish this note she might be history.

Because her position is very weak, with coughing fits, internal fighting within the conservative party itself.

And the incredible- in my view abominable- popularity of the guy on the left who sympathizes with all kinds of villains.

Jeremy Corbin appears to be not just a Marxist sympathizer, but a real believer in communism and almost all it entails.

Let us hope this is a wrong image and once in power, which seems quite likely to happen soon, given the circumstances, he would be reasonable.

Insha’Allah!

Janet has invited friends to come to her house to celebrate.

There is April played by Patricia Clarkson, with her husband and foe, Gottfried aka Bruno Ganz, the latter being a sort of healer.

Martha arrives with Jinny, and the latter is expecting not one, but three children, all boys to be born to the couple…

Martha and Jinny are lesbian.

Tom is also present at this gathering.

Although Tom is not really too aware of what is going on, given that he is using drugs in the bathroom or lavatory as they call it.

He is expecting for his wife that we will never see.

There is humor of a rather caustic kind:

-          “April: You're a first class lesbian and a second rate thinker. Must be all those women's studies.”

Politics are criticized or satirized and the plot is rather complicated, for a film that ends after only about one hour and ten minutes.

There are shocks aftershocks:

-          First we learn that Bill, portrayed by the phenomenal Timothy Spall, has a terminal illness and will die any moment

-          He is Janet’s husband and she immediately states that she would resign, she will take care of him

-          It is an occasion to find that actually Janet is the minister of health in waiting and there is criticism for the fact that Bill had to wait for weeks, even in his condition, because that is the way the NHS works…or doesn’t

Oh, before that, we could hear Janet talking secretly with a lover, on the mobile phone.

-          Which made it if not absurd, at least intriguing to see her outrage and violence when we get another blow:

-          Bill would not let his wife resign and take care of him and not because he is unselfish and thinks of her

-          No!

-          He wants to…spend his last days on earth with…someone else!

-          What a twist!

-          Timothy Spall has lost a lot of weight…I hope he is not ill in real life…

When she learns about this strange situation, Janet goes ballistic, which was more than odd, given her conversations with her lover…

-          I mean, ok, be mad when you learn your spouse is cheating, but not when you just came from the kitchen, where you were just talking emotions and miss you and see you soon and all that!!

-          She even slaps her husband twice and so hard that he starts bleeding…

-          Why is that?!

-          Well, it all becomes clear at the very end, in the last scene of this challenging film.