Friday, February 05, 2010

Poetry Friday: Pablo Neruda and Truly, Madly Deeply

The girls and I just finished reading Red Glass, by Laura Resau (more on that in another post) in which Pablo Neruda is mentioned as a favorite poet.

We read a little bit of Neruda last year at Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup, but I think I first heard him in Truly, Madly, Deeply  (my reactions to that film are here and here) a few years ago.

So.  As I sat down this morning to post a little bit about Neruda, I realized that I didn't really want to talk about Neruda at all. What I really wanted to do was revisit Truly, Madly, Deeply. Again. People seem to either love or despise this movie, and my feet are firmly planted in the love camp. So, I suppose this is really a "Movie Friday" post, but I know that the Poetry Friday crowd is forgiving of such mental meandering, so I'll not worry about it a bit. 

Go here to listen to Alan Rickman and Juliet Stevenson limping exquisitely through an  excerpt from Neruda's La Muerta.
~~~~~

The Poetry Friday round up is at Great Kid Books.

7 comments:

Lizzie said...

Have you seen 'Il Postino'? It's a fictional film based around Neruda's poetry and the effect he has on an Italian postman and the postman's community. That description sounds a bit dry but it's an absolutely fantastic film - proves that poetry changes lives!!! There was a book of Neruda's poems published to accompany the film.
I found your blog recently and really enjoy reading it - thanks for your thoughtful posts and reflections.

Charlotte (WaltzingM) said...

I am with you in the love camp!

tanita✿davis said...

Oooh.

Wow.

Guess I need to maybe see that one.

Kelly said...

Yes, I am with you too in the love camp. :) I didn't know anyone else knew about this little movie. I'm glad to know I'm not alone.

Of course it helps that I'm a big Alan Rickman fan. ;)

I'll have to pick up a book of Neruda's poems at the library this week.

Thank you for the post. God bless.

jama said...

I've seen parts of TMD, but now I must see the whole thing. Beautiful clip! Also recommend Il Postino -- it really inspired me to read more Neruda. :)

Karen Edmisten said...

Lizzie, I haven't seen Il Postino, but thanks for the quick review, and thanks for your kind words about the blog.

And, I'm happy to see other TMD fans. And soon-to-be fans. :)

Beth said...

Count me in the love camp. I thought it was a beautiful film. I found it because I'm a Rickman fan, but I thought Juliet Stevenson was just amazing too. (I knew she could do comedy...witness Mrs. Elton in the Mirimax version of Emma...but I didn't know what a powerful dramatic actress she is!)

I reviewed the film on epinions, where I regularly review, and it is the only review I've ever had there that got eaten by the database (aaargh!) so that it can no longer be accessed. Fortunately dealtime picked it up, so if you'd like to see my longer thoughts on the movie (under the reviewer ID "befus") you can click here: http://www.dealtime.com/xPR-Truly_Madly_Deeply_Anthony_Minghella~RD-355519270532