A LETTERED SOUL, BOOK 2- MUSINGS ON ART AND CULTURE

CINEMA AND VERSES- A DIVERSE GROUP

These are pithy capsules on diverse works this cinephile has watched in recent times.

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THE MISFITS(1961)

There is
a region
where mustangs
roam free.

Not far from Reno's
gilded age,
the battle
of the sexes
interlopes
in
this
wild horse country.

There is a resistance
building
on the back
of a ranch.

The mind
swelters
in
Nevada's
dry, open
valleys.

The heart
may go
first
where
no one
has.

THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD(1965)

In this valley,
the harvests
will come
like a rain of petals
on blanched ground.

The Creator
will
languidly
depose
the face of
Virtue
here.

THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN(1981)

When she looks,
the sea
calls out
to her.

With no lover in sight,
no town to
stand behind her,
she knits
the waves
and the
high tide's spray
with her eyebrows.

That frown
challenges
far-off
rapids
before the cascade.

Her remarkable
stories
will finally
drown
in the ocean
in her eyes.

KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN(1985)

With the matches lit
and the interiority
of a life in parts,
let me become
the raconteur
you'll
recall
through
the streets
of Rio.

We became
jailbirds
when
we gave up
the key
to those same old
sentinels
of ill-repute.

We hold a real chance
here
now
more than ever.

It's in our hands.
The intimacy
to
be two men
in love
with each other's kindnesses.

RAIN MAN(1988)

Brothers estranged.
Men at odds.

Let us take
these roads.

We have
all the time
in the world.

Let us become
confidantes.

***

MISERY(1990)

It will make
us talk to strangers.

It will make us
scorn's
very own impersonation.

Plain, old
victimhood.
You must know that
the battle
in Hell
is now earthbound.

Something will
severely
break
in this hospice
amongst
God's
fallen
and deranged
dark angels.

THELMA AND LOUISE(1991)

They are Soul and Zest.
They are
the sun rising
eternally
from
Arkansas'
fiery gut.

They are:
drivers
in
Valhalla.
Sisters
of a different kind.

Tell the canyons
they are coming.

They will flow
as big
and mighty
as the Colorado.

IN HER SHOES(2005)

Go get them
both
to the
world's fair!!!

They will
babble
before the
articulate moment.

They will
sign up
for the long haul
but
break
their
word.

At the end
of the day,
for all
the distance
and the
unpredictable intents,
they will
be
at each other's
banquets.

They are sisters.
That is the sacred vow.

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE(2006)

Laugh
Crack
Mingle
guffaws and tears.

This trip has been in
the making
for disheveled
years.

If at
the very
last gasp
before
the final act
a blatant truth
tumbles out,
don't push it
away.

Keep it
with you
because
this pageant
is the real
freak show.

Just
keep it together
for the last dance
before
Innocence
hurts.

HIDDEN FIGURES(2016)

The great blue guy above,
how slyly
he taunts you,

"All ye earthbound,
'tis a stretch
for you
to find your place
in your own domain"

He had forgotten
that the gospel
of three
had
found residency
aeons before.

It was only
a matter of
Time
and
Place
as Opportunity
breathed
for them
and they
took
it
to their sisters.
For Times ahead...
To Places
in a mind
full of sky
and earthly
potential.

They are now
all
winged creatures.

***