Blessings #17

Julia Holter - Ekstasis (2012)

So this is what I'll do. I'm going to immerse myself in this album, cut off all other senses and only listen to this music. Then I'm going to write an opera about the world of faeries. It will be a transcendental escape into a magical place filled with laughter,  sadness and jovial pranksters. It will be full of the yearnings of the heart as beings interact with one another in beautiful ways. It will be immersed within an incredible landscape that comes from a great love for the earth that provides life. It will challenge the expectations that we've all come to know and open our eyes to the wonderful possibilities of all beings as they weave in and out of existence. I can see it all now as I close my eyes and listen. It all comes from the beauty of Holter's expression here in Ekstasis.

Mysteries of Lisbon - Raul Ruiz (2010)

"Mysteries of Lisbon" is a magical expression about people as they weave in and out of each other's lives. Beginning with an orphan, a young boy whose yet to create stories of his own, we follow a vein of life that goes from the present to the past to the future and back around again. Each person's tale connecting with another until we have an incredible history that spans generations. Some are heartbreaking, while others are transformative. Some involve tragic confrontations and others great consequences because of the choices being made. It's a beautiful display and Ruiz, the master Chilean filmmaker who has been around since the mid-60's, vividly brings it all to life in a wonderful mosaic. It's hard to imagine a more complete film in recent memory than this one. It is so precise with all the technical aspects; costumes, movement, acting. It is so captivating and sincere. Movies like this don't get made anymore without completely losing a touch of mystique somewhere along the way. Nothing is missing here, then it is all pulled together in such a somber way that it may cause some to dismiss the film. That would be the biggest tragedy of all because we don't often get a glimpse at the broad scope of human character in one package. The great mystery of all is that I imagine most people reading this are hearing about this movie for the first time but please make sure that more and more people learn about it. Allow it to weave throughout our lives in much the same way as the stories being told within it.