THANK YOU FIREFIGHTERS!! YOU ROCK!

Views Along West Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz

The Amazing Nature Reserve of Big Sur can be seen in the background, on the other side of the Bay

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Recently, we watched a couple of interesting films on Dvd. The first is called, in English, "Lights in the Dusk," http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0458242/ by Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aki_Kaurism%C3%A4ki whose dry and deadpan films always seem to intrigue me with their subtle black humor. His style is not for everyone... he usually has a very sparse plot, and his actors seem to be wooden, with terse dialogue, to create his mood. But if you don't mind being patient, the resulting film is usually very creative and full of irony. In this film, he examines a character struggling to stay out of poverty, working a job where he is treated with little dignity, With a touch of Satre and Camus, Kaurismaki tells the story of the desperation of poverty and loneliness of urban society, under capitalism. He has subplots of love, gangsters, robbery, prison, and revenge, but they are not central, and shown in a new way. His films are an acquired taste, but I believe once you try one, you will want another :)

The other film we enjoyed on Dvd was "Atash Bas/Cease Fire" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0838254/ by Iranian Tahmineh Milani, a courageous female director who seeks to improve the lives of Iranian women by portraying some of the difficulties they face in todays society there. For her struggle, she has been imprisoned by the government, but international protest eventually led to her being released. This film is much lighter than her earlier films, as she portrays the 'battle of the sexes' by telling the story of a marriage between two strong spirits, a man who wants an obedient wife, and a wife who wants a full, fulfilling life. The pace and feeling reminds me of a 50's movie, maybe with Katharine Hepburn :) But in the Iranian context, it becomes fascinating. This movie is a nice break from some of the more intense films I usually see, but of course, underlying it, is a criticism of a society where the treatment of women is far from a light subject.

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Seems like fotolog has been full of speed bumps lately. Our dear friend Sarinka still cannot post. And I can not post to my richseibert page. I guess I have been greedy having more than one page, though :) Sure wish, amongst their rush for improvements, they would figure out a way to block this mass of robotic posting coming from our overly-enthusiastic friends to the south. I really don't want to have to resort to 'friends only' guestbooks

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