Me and Gilda.

"Tonight the bottle let me down,
and let your memory come around."

Mostly because I watched a movie called "Gilda" which really launched the career of Rita Hayworth. She was something, too. Very much like you.... who isn't reading this, (and even if you were, would not think I was talking about you).

I love those war era '40's movies (which is why I'm looking forward to "The Good German"). One thing I've noticed which is common in the writing style of that era is that they left innuendos subtle, giving us (the viewers) the opportunity to make up our own minds about a thing. It allows us to weigh our options and try to piece together the untold story line on our own. That sort of ambiguity makes those movies fun to watch. A good example is when Rita Hayworth says to her husband, "I can never get a zipper to close. Maybe that stands for something, what do you think?" And it's pretty much left at that.

Take Casablanca (one of my all time favorites) as another for instance. Nobody who's seen that movie could tell you who Ilsa was really in love with. Probably both Rick and Victor. The Beauty of it though, is that it's never actually explained. There are no answers to the ultimate question in that movie. Neither did the writers feel obligated to explain weather or not it's ok for Ilsa to be in love with two men. It just is the way it is. That's how life works sometimes. No clear good guy/bad guy conflict... just shades of grey.

Gone are the days of making a blockbuster movie like that. Gone are the days of letting innuendo be just that... assumed. Now they have to spell everything out in giant red letters. At least, they do when it comes to dialog, metaphors and messages. Sure, these days there are a lot of filmmakers and movie go-ers who love the "twist" (i.e., The 6th Sense), but that just isn't the same. I'm talkin' about subtleties. I'm talkin' about letting the viewer think for themselves. I'm talkin' about having the courage to pose a cinematic question, and leaving it unanswered at the end of the movie.

The only modern movie that I can think of right now that has done this is "Broken Flowers", a Jim Jarmusch movie (which I liked a lot). The big question was left up to the audience to answer if they must. Not afraid to let us think it over. After seeing a movie like any of those (Gilda, Casablanca, or Broken Flowers), I feel like the director and/or writer just gave me a present; like the movie was made for me, since I was allowed to project so much of myself into it without ruining anything. Thanks guys.

I don't know much about anything, but I do know that I really loved that movie Gilda. It's worth watching, and if you have Time Warner Digital Cable and live in Southern California, you can watch it for free on "Time Warner On Demand". Just turn to channel 001 and click "Free Movies". I know that's a shameless plug, but they have a good selection of Classic movies there (mostly presented by TCM), including some old John Ford/Duke Wayne westerns, and free movies on demand kicks ass.


Gilda: You do hate me, don't you, Johnny?

Johnny Farrell: I don't think you have any idea of how much.

Gilda: Hate is a very exciting emotion. Haven't you noticed? Very exciting. I hate you too, Johnny. I hate you so much I think I'm going to die from it. Darling...

[they kiss passionately]

Gilda: I think I'm going to die from it.