Bright Star

To say that tonight's Cinema 10 film, "Bright Star (2009)", was anything short of beautiful would be a colossal misstep on my part. I can't say that my mind was totally blown or that I'm left absolutely speechless. If that were the case, I wouldn't exactly have much material for this blog entry. What I can say, however, is that Director Jane Campions' latest endeavor is a wonderful piece of art that might bridge on the "masterpiece" status.

The profound poetry that ran the course of this film about John Keats and his lover, Fanny Brawne was touching, but what made the film was the silence that broke up the emotional dialogue. On countless occasions since I've begun my college career, I've been fed a quote from an author whose name I've lost that runs something like this: "The hardest part about writing is trying to convince my wife that I'm working when I stare outside my window." This film captures this sentiment perfectly. Much of the picture is composed of shots of characters staring - gazing, even - at something or someone in the distance. The audience is forced to wonder at what they're contemplating. While much of the message is straightforward and precise, the audience must create their own meaning, just like they must with every piece of important literature.

Even masterpieces have their flaws, though, I suppose. The film is a little slow at the outset; the first few minutes are slightly boring and trite, but it unfolds into something incredible quickly. Every relationship presented in the film is significant and plays a role in the final outcome, and is therefore enjoyable and engaging. I was a little put off by the attire at first, as high class British dress tends to rub me the wrong way, but the film transcends the class war stereotype that is so often the subject of movies set in the 1800s and focuses instead on the conflict of expectations established in the aforementioned relationships. If that run-on sentence makes strikes a chord at all; sorry.

Verdict: Moving. This is the first and last time I'll sum up a movie without somehow using the word "Stoked." I think that while I find the word funny and useful, to say it now would almost be to sully what this film was about. I hate to say that "Bright Star" was moving because that's cliche and boring, but there aren't too many other words in my vocabulary that come to mind at the moment. Do whatever you can to get your hands on this.