Movie Journal #4: The Outsiders
The Outsiders I had never seen Coppola’s film of The Outsiders , for a number of reasons. It came after Coppola’s great period, and it seemed almost painful to watch a bad film from that great director. Also, I am averse to nostalgia of any kind, especially that of the 1960s (how grating was Across The Universe ?), a period by now mythologized into something that can be nowhere near its truth. There are, of course, exceptions, such as the Coppola-produced American Graffiti , but these films are usually set in a specific time and place as opposed to celebrating that time and place. Or perhaps there is no hard rule separating a nostalgia piece from a period piece, only a filmmaker’s restraint. In any case, the examples of ‘60s nostalgia pieces far outweigh the period films. I needn’t have been so skeptical of The Outsiders . It avoids nearly all of the pitfalls of a film of this type in its depiction of the lives and characters of a small group of rough kids from the wrong side of the tr...
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Janice, don't get too worried about me. I can't always seem happy and spirited, especially if this blog is going to be current and honest. I've chosen a life that is often frustrating, and I'm realizing certain truths about it that I've always denied, such as the fact that I'm not really as good as I thought I was and it's going to take a lot more time than I had imagined. But I'm happy with what I have been able to accomplish.
France has been great. I'm not always doing it right--I spend an awful lot of time dithering inside the apartment. I probably would have seen more of France if I'd just come on a month-long trip instead of this year-long sabbatical. But I have the opportunity to live the life I've wanted: writing, reading, watching movies.
I do miss certain things: friends and family, convenient meals, and movie theaters and a TV screen bigger than my 12" laptop. But this trip has been great for stripping away those illusions I've had about me being a wunderkind. I have a better idea of what I need to do, and only struggle with actually doing it.
It's amazing how little I can do with a large amount of free time. Sometimes the burden of everything I want to accomplish is so heavy, I just put it all off until the next day--or the day after that. But I'm learning all the time what works and what doesn't.
Anyway, I hope to put something new up by tomorrow, and I'll try to step up the pace a bit.
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