The movie is "Julie & Julia". While the movie itself is one of the better movies I've watched this year, what stayed with me after the movie was the character Julie. No, not Julia, and No, not Meryl Streep's much-vaunted portrayal of Julia Childs. I thought Amy Adam's portrayal of an edgy, restless 30-something desperately trying to find meaning to life, trying to motivate herself to do something outside of the mindless grind at a dead-end job was spectacular. The movie was pretty lighthearted and moves fairly quickly, and still manages to show the ups and downs that's life, shows that normal people (and even great people) actually struggle to fulfill their goals, and that life is not all a bed of roses. Well worth a watch if you haven't seen it already.
The book was "A Free Life" by Ha Jin. This is not a genre of book that I usually read, and I bought it pretty much out of idle curiosity to see how foreign authors write. It is the story of a Chinese family that immigrates to the US and how they build their life here. The pace of the story is not that of the usual breakneck-speed thriller we see everyday, there are places where the pace slows down pretty drastically. Strangely though, it suits the story somehow. The language is not the best I've read and I sometimes found myself editing the book as I read it. Despite all of this, I found myself captivated by the story. The story was disturbing, makes you think, and was pretty moving in it's own way. I found myself looking for more books by this author the next time I went to B&N.
Memories.. When everything else is gone, isn't that what you keep? Found myself transported back about 15 years. Why, you may ask, how did the Time Machine kick in? It was something as simple as the taste of a plate of Pani puri at some random desi restaurant. Reminded me of those carefree schooldays and the occassional plate of the forbidden roadside pani-puri. I think the taste of it was enhanced by the fact that it was forbidden and by all the horror stories you heard about how the water used to create the chutney was dirty, how the men (boys, actually!) selling those would cheat you and so on. I dont recall falling sick from that ever. I do recall the long waits at the bus stand that was a decently long walk from school, especially with the heavy bag, the tiresome bus journey, the heat and humidity, and teh fatigue from a long day at school. You know what's strange though? I am almost positive that I feel all of these now more than I used to when way back then. I remember endless energy, I remember dumping the school bag once I got home and running out to play, I remember the pleasure from a forbidden pani puri. I smile.
