On Friday we went to see "Tenderness", a French film about two people who had been divorced 15 years previously and come together when their son is injured in a skiing accident. The opening scenes are magnificent - shot from a helicopter, we follow the path of two snow boarders making their way down hill in pristine, powder snow. It is breath taking in its simplicity and the pureness of the unblemished snow. Then bang! the accident. Well that brought me back to earth.
The story follows the tender scenes of the the mother and father on their road trip to pick up the injured son from the mountain hospital. Beautifully, simply written and shot.
The next film we went to was a documentary called "Then the Wind Changed" and followed the story of about 6 families that had been affected by the Black Saturday Bush Fires in country Victoria back in 2009. I remember this day clearly as it was my niece, Claire's, wedding day, February 7th.
One family lost everything, the next had the fire destroy all around them but their house was left untouched; the lady called Dini lost her husband and her son; a man had lost his wife and son; a market gardener lost everything including all his gardens that were ready for harvesting and then there was the film maker who documented the recovery of the town of Strathewen, particularly the local primary school. The strategies that they utilised to assist the children in their psychological recovery was really great and creative.
This film was hard to watch, but endearing at the same time. It really made me think about the importance that I put on "Things". Are they all just an accumulation of stuff and frivolous material possessions or are they beautiful links to precious memories. Would I recover as well as these people if I had lost everything I had ever bought, been given, treasured? Some of my souvenirs that I have collected over the years, presents from the kids, paintings and such, could I handle the loss of those things ? Hard to know.
The third and final movie we saw was called "Inch Allah" and was set between Israel and Palestine. It tells the story of a French obstetrician who lives on the Israeli side of the border but goes into Palestine each day to work in a free clinic. Chloe befriends both an Israeli checkpoint guard and a Palestinian activist, whose husband is awaiting sentencing for his part in supposed warfare activities. The film is told beautifully but is heartbreaking, shocking in content.
At the end of this film, I didn't walk out into the sunshine feeling entertained or light. My heart and mind felt very heavy. I also felt ignorant as I do not understand the background or the proper story of the conflict between Palestine and Israel. It made me realise just how lucky we are here in gorgeous Tassie to live in such a peaceful, beautiful place.
We really do take our blessed lives for granted, don't we.
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