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the Big 32
October 2, 2005
32 years ago, my parents went on their first date. They were hanging out in the tomato fields of Ukraine when my father remembered that a big deal soccer game was on that night. He cut their first date short to watch the game... and my mother still married him.
My parents have been too cute this weekend. Last night they brought some sushi home and watched Grand Illusion, a great movie I first saw in film class. Today, they spent the whole day out and about, something about an arboretum and visiting my brother at school. They topped off the night by eating dinner out, a rarity for them.
My parents are in love with Jean Gabin, an actor who plays one of the main characters (Lt. Maréchal) in Grand Illusion. Of course, after watching Gabin in action, my parents were newly enraptured with the man. My mom explains his appeal like so: you wouldn't say that he is a particularly attractive man, but when he looks at you with those eyes, he is beautiful.
A couple days ago I tried to identify what I love about Javier Bardem. My mother's words were the answer.
What makes Gabin powerful for her and Bardem powerful for me is an inner glow manifested in the physical. How is an inner glow made visible? Through the eyes and voice, through the movement of his hands. The way he steps around glass shards, the silhouette of his body when mulling something over. How he crouches to inspect the stain on the sidewalk, and how he looks up to tell you that it's blood. Every movement has a purpose, every motion crafted. Each gesture is the product of a force within him. He radiates visibly, he is electric -- as if by touching him, whatever runs through him will surge through you.
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