Discover Your Bliss

Los Angeles Film Festival: Stella

I'm a sucker for French films...and this one gets 4 1/2 disco balls out of five. 

Here's how the Los Angeles Film Festival describes Stella:

It’s 1977, and 11-year-old Stella Vlaminck is handed a lucky break when she’s randomly assigned to a prestigious secondary school in an affluent area of Paris. But the working-class Stella is more streetwise than booksmart, and she is shunned by her new classmates who view her cheap clothes and academic struggles with disdain. Meanwhile, her home life consists of poker, pinball, pop music, and an odd menagerie of damaged adults. Her parents run a rooming house and rowdy café frequented by ex-cons, drunkards, and prostitutes, where she witnesses nightly barroom brawls and the never-ending drama of her romantically-troubled parents.

Stella seems destined to follow in the footsteps of her barmaid mother until she befriends Gladys, the daughter of Argentine-Jewish intellectuals, who exposes her to literature and a whole new world of possibilities.

Aided by a superb cast, especially young Leora Barbara, who gives a low-key, assured performance in the titular role, writer-director Sylvie Verheyde’s semi-autobiographical film is a remarkable portrait of a young girl’s intellectual awakening.

The little girl that plays Stella is years more mature and wiser than most children at her age.  She's the main focus and gives a performance that's almost impossible to ignore. 

One thing I appreciated about this film is how the viewer gets an insider look as to why Stella reacts to situations the way she does and how her outlook on life is a bit twisted compared to the average girl her age. 

Here's the trailer - it's in French - yet you can get a feel for the film if you watch it:

How do your surroundings shape who you are?  What's one insight you have about how your surroundings influence who you are?

I'd love to hear your comments and discoveries.

Los Angeles Film Festival: Paper Heart

Probably one of the best films I've seen all year - Paper Heart delivers quirky heart-felt comedy that's sure to please.

Here's how the Los Angeles Film Festival describes Paper Heart:

Los Angeles-based comedian and performance artist Charlyne Yi brings her winning and quirky “woman on the street” approach to a subject that has plagued humans for centuries—the search for true love. In this lovingly crafted hybrid of road trip documentary and quasi-fictional romantic-comedy, our heroine and her friend and intrepid director Nicholas Jasenovec criss-cross the country interviewing experts and everyday folks about the meaning and nature of love.

Yi employs her disarming persona to draw vulnerability, insight, and humor from her subjects, who range from biologists to bikers, lifelong couples to lovesick singles. Yi’s quest is underscored by her own dawning romance with actor Michael Cera, which is amusingly staged-for and interrupted by Jasenovec’s all-seeing camera. The couple’s awkward courtship and a few lo-fi animated sequences of handmade paper puppets lend some gentle humor and a generous, expansive spirit to Paper Heart’s weighty investigation.

Thankfully, Paper Heart will hit theaters on August 7th - so mark your calendars. 

If you want an up-lifting and fun movie to watch this coming August, then Paper Heart is the movie for you. 

Here's the trailer:

How does love show up in your everyday life?  Where would you like to have love, but don't?  How can you make that happen?

I'd love to hear your insights and comments.

Friendship Quote

"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked."  Bernard Meltzer, radio host and personality

Michael Jackson Remembered

I probably don't need to tell you if I liked Michael Jackson when I was a kid.  I can go one step further and show you.

Here's my Michael Jackson doll in his "Thriller" outfit.

And here's my Michael Jackson doll in his "Billie Jean" outfit.

I have two more outfits - "Beat It" and an awards outfit that looks a lot like St. Pepper.  I also think I have the microphone...yet I didn't dig that out. 

Each outfit came with its own set of socks, shoes and glove...of course. 

In case you're wondering, the doll and its outfits were sold in the J.C. Penny catalog. 

I wasn't allowed to have posters in my room - except for one behind my bedroom door - which was a photo of Michael Jackson in a yellow outfit with a sweater vest. 

When I was in third grade, I created a Michael Jackson board game after he was burned while making the Pepsi commercial.  Yeah, I was a popular kid (ha, ha). 

I know a lot of people are sharing their memories today, yet I thought I'd show you some of mine. 

I'd love to hear your comments and discoveries. 

Los Angeles Film Festival: City of Borders

What a fascinating film subject.  I am so happy I chose to see this documentary. 

Here's how the Los Angeles Film Festival describes City of Borders: 

After stabbing three participants of Jerusalem’s 2005 gay pride parade, the suspect told police, “I came to murder on behalf of God.” This event underlines what’s at stake for the gay community in this ancient city of borders. It’s an unlikely place for gay rights to make any headway, but the sheer impossibility might make it the most important place to wage this fight.

At the center of this powerful film is Jerusalem’s sole gay bar, Shusan, where gay and lesbian Jews and Palestinians drink and flirt with abandon. The freedom of expression the bar offers is precious to its owner, the only gay man on Jerusalem’s city council, and its patrons, including a lesbian couple comprised of a Jew and a Palestinian, a gay couple building a home together, and a Palestinian drag queen who risks dangerous nighttime border crossings where armed guards pose a constant threat. Gay-friendlier places like Tel Aviv and the U.S may beckon for some, but others will stay, determined to win the war, even if it means losing some of the battles.

Even though it might appear that the film is a heavy subject matter, I found this film to also be uplifting and delightful.  It's a real insider's look into a world that many deem impossible. 

The filmmaker said that City of Borders will hopefully air on PBS in the coming year as well as be available through NetFlix next year.  If you visit the film's website City of Borders - you can find a schedule of upcoming screenings - possibly near you. 

Here's the trailer:



I highly recommend City of Borders.  I give it five out of five rainbows. 

Where do you see "the impossible" in your life?  What does "impossible" mean to you?  Is anything in your life ever impossible? 

I'd love to hear your comments and discoveries. 

Los Angeles Film Festival: The Queen and I

Wow, double wow - fantastic!  What a treat it was to screen The Queen and I in Los Angeles. 

Here's how the Los Angeles Film Festival describes the documentary:

Thirty years after the Iranian revolution, two exiles from opposite sides of the divide face off on screen. The “Queen” of the title is 70-year-old Empress Farah Diba, second wife of Shah Reza Pahlavi, an icon with considerable charm. “I” refers to filmmaker Nahid Persson Sarvestani, who, as a teenager, joined the Communist faction of Khomeini supporters who deposed the shah. This fascinating encounter of two women with clashing political visions serves as a primer for problems that every documentary-maker contends with. How far do you let your subjects impose their will on you? And to what extent do you comply with the image people want to create of themselves?

Fearing that Queen Farah will refuse further cooperation, Nahid finds herself unable to ask truly confrontational questions about the shah's regime. Frustrated by the layers of bureaucracy shielding her subject, annoyed with her own timidity, and conflicted about her growing affection for a woman whose husband she so vehemently opposed, Sarvestani Nahid cleverly structures the picture to include the filmmaking process as well as her own doubts and fears.

The filmmaker Nahid Persson Sarvestani attended the screening along with Los Angeles' Iranian popultion.  I not only enjoyed the documentary, I also enjoy the theater atmosphere. 

Before the film, everyone stood for a moment of silent for what's currently happening in Iran.  Very powerful. 

The film is funny, serious, sad and thought-provoking.  Please do yourself a favor and remember the title - The Queen and I - if it comes to a theater near you - be sure to take the time to see it.  You'll be glad you did. 

Five out of five stars.

The Queen and I trailer:


How does looking at your challenges from a different perspective support you?  What gifts can you see in your current challenges? 

I'd love to hear your comments and discoveries. 

Los Angeles Film Festival: Dear Lemon Lima

It's that time of year again and I'm here to report on the nine films I will see over the next week. 

First stop:  Dear Lemon Lima

Here's a quick description from the Los Angeles Film Festival site:

When 13-year-old Vanessa experiences her first breakup, she rebounds by following the boy to his stifling prep school, where she receives the only minority scholarship for her Yup’ik background. Landing at the bottom of the school’s social ladder and confined to the weight room during P.E., she begins to rally with the other school misfits, including an animal-loving boy with overbearing parents, a girl named Nothing, and a pathological liar claiming Puff Daddy is her father. Vanessa’s attempts to find herself and win back the love of her life flounder, until she’s presented with an opportunity to captain the oddball team for the school’s bastardized version of the World Eskimo Indian Olympics—the Snowstorm Survivor competition.

It would be an understatement to say this movie is campy.  The film is reminiscent of that stuck in another time of Napoleon Dynamite and outcast quality of Edward Scissorhands. 

What I liked about the lead character (Vanessa) is her lack of care for being an oddball and outcast.  It wasn't a challenge for her and in fact, she learned to embrace her differences - which quickly proved to be her strengths. 

The supporting oddball cast-off characters were pleasantly lovable and helped to create a delightful environment for the somewhat mystical tale. 

Overall, I would give Dear Lemon Lima four out of five Popsicle sticks. 

Here's the trailer if you'd like to see it.  I don't think it's the best "tease" of the film.

How can you embrace your inner outcast?  How does seeing your "differences" as strengths instead of weakness do for you? 

I'd love to hear your comments and discoveries. 

Friendship Quote

"You can always tell a real friend:  When you've made a fool of yourself, he doesn't feel you've done a permanent job."  Laurence J. Peter

First thought of the day?

When I woke up this morning, I had the most amazing thought - I am grateful to be alive.

Now, don't worry, I am not on the brink of death due to some unknown illness (yet it could be so unknown that I don't know about it, then it's not that clever of a name) - I just had this moment of - I have a choice in everything - and at that particular moment, I chose to be grateful.

This moment of gratitude prompted me to wonder...what if I did that every morning before my feet hit the ground.  Just took a moment to be present to my gratitude and drink in every gift I have in the moment.  Wow, pretty cool, huh? 

Where can you infuse a moment of gratitude into your life?  How can you remind yourself to pause and drink in the gratitude of each and every moment (please know that this is not to overwhelm you, just drinking in one gratitude a week is a great start). 

I'd love to hear you comments and discoveries.

Pregnant women are smug

Thanks to a friend's posting on Facebook, I stumbled upon an amazing song duo that writes and performs funny and wacky songs. 

Although some people might be offended at the title - Pregnant Women are Smug - you might want to give it a chance - it's really funny and so true about how certain women act/say when they're pregnant. 

Enjoy!

Pregnant Women are Smug from Erika Lindhome on Vimeo.

How can you see the humor in an ordinary situation?  How does humor color you life? 

I'd love to hear your thoughts and discoveries.