Rewind #1

Emiliana Torrini: Me And Armini (2008)

There's only one person in the world who could climb this high this past year and as soon as I saw that she was releasing an album, I got all worked up inside. Emiliana Torrini is it! She of the beautiful soul, of the lithe heart, of the honey lungs, of the princess of cool, of the magical spirit. For a few years now our house has been blessed with her presence. After hearing a remix of her song "Baby Blue" from her first album, anything that Torrini does is eagerly anticipated in CasaWeX. We even were surprised by her on stage when we went to see the Thievery Corporation a couple of years back. It was at that time that her full nature was unleashed upon us. She's a magical creature, a gift from the universe and it's vitally important that we embrace such a joyful spirit when we find one. There's so much tragedy and suffering in the world, so much hate that when we find people of a refined nature, a supreme delight bubble up from inside. Simply take a moment to immerse yourself into the sound of her music and you will comprehend the meaning of our existence, humanity's purpose. For the longest time, when I imagined the value of art and what I wanted to do with my creative spirit, I always felt that we artists needed to touch beauty and reveal it in amazingly profound and incredible ways. I want to show the world the meaning of life and it's glorious wonders. I'm still searching and struggling to portray that in my own art but I feel that Emiliana Torrini has discovered the formula. She is beauty.



Unconscious: Joaquin Oristrell (2004)

During the beginning of the 20th century, the world welcomed a new paradigm of regard toward human nature. Freudian analysis brought hidden desires to the surface and the demons at bay roared forth into a new modern era. In Spain a young woman on the verge of motherhood must track down a husband who burst from her life with no explanation. Who does she call to aide her with the quest? Why, her brother-in-law who's secretly madly in love with her while married to her sister who's secretly harboring an identity crisis of her own. What else would you expect from a movie secretly laughing at the heart of Freud? They ramble through the streets of Barcelona uncovering the strange new world of reckless uninhibited abandonment, dreams of vicious desires acted out without care and interventions into the human psyche that no one ever dared to uncover so openly before. Both the lead actors in Unconscious were adorable and any fan may have recognized their charm on the big screen before. Leanor Watling and Luis Tosar are icons in Spain and after watching this film it's easy to see why. For the entire move they flirt and dance and bounce off one another's characters with fluid generosity and you hope in your heart that they will ultimately end up in each other's arms. It's bound to be in the cards in the end because Joaquin Oristrell guides us down this labyrinth with a light touch and a joie de vivre that make the film shine brightly so that it resonates strongly in the viewer's soul. A beautiful film that chases its comedic spirit with an ounce of humanity that brings out the smile in an instant. There's no dark shadow floating around the aura of this movie, no matter how hard Freud may try to find it. It's a pleasant and joyful trip down a hundred-year-old trail and I, for one, hope that I can find more of them out there.