Careful He Might Hear You

Watched Careful He Might Hear You tonight.

I saw this film when I was eleven, when it came out, with my parents, and I recall it as the first "adult" film I was ever taken to see -- not comedy, not sci-fi, not cartoons. I've recommended it to people for years, even through my accutely hazy memory of it, and watching it at a cinema that no longer exists on 72nd between 1st and 2nd, where my parents always told me I wasn't allowed to see movies on my own (Meatballs one summer was the issue, I recall) because perverts like to touch little girls in the dark.

What boggled my mind, after seeing the film tonight, is why on earth anyone would take a child to it. Had my parents not been able to get a sitter that night? Or did they figure since it was about the life of a child, I might relate to it on some level? Certainly, there are a peculiar number of minor touchstones in it for me -- morbid fear of storms being one of them (something I can deal with now, but drove me to absolute terrors as a child -- largely because our apartment had a ton of windows, and was high up and near the river, and the wind howled and the windows rattled and I was convinced lightening or God knows what else would come through them). Also there's a great deal about class and training and matters of education. And how children know things adults do not wish them to -- and believe in fairy tales, not because they know no better, but because they choose to and need to.

At any rate, it is an exceptional, yet very very strange film that does a remarkable job of protraying a number of things -- including the degree to which the world of adults is creepy and horrifying to children, especially very aware children. It also nails the only child need to anticipate the moods of adults, and mitigate them, even if it's foolish, illogical or unreasonable.

And the child actor in it is phenomenal. I feel like I should warn people more before I recommend it, as it's so bizarre, but I wouldn't really know how to.

And for those of you renting at Kim's (devil devil devil) it's under Australia.

Topsy-Turvy

How the hell did I miss this in the theaters? I mean, I kept meaning to go -- I so often do, and never got there.

Just, utterly spectacular. And of course, I'm biased, I played Ko-ko in the Mikado when I was in 5th Grade at my all girls school, so I know the show and have a very, very thorough affection for it.

But how great -- perfect costumes, incredible performances, gorgeous sets, a wonderful subtlety, utterly obnoxious humour and a real heart. Wow -- there's a meaningless rave review if ever there was one. I will also add it did a lovely job at touching on the inability some/many/most (choose your own quanitifier, would you?) creative types have to interact with others in any sort of manner that is any sort of use outside of said art. I was really moved by that.

And really, who the hell says, "I know, I'll make a film about the creation of the Mikado!" -- there's a thought process / bit of serendipity I'd love some insight into.

1999 was one hell of a year in film -- and some of the crap that got recognized instead of stuff like this....

It's a good movie if you believe in the romance of theatre and all that. For someone who go beat-up by her peers because she finally scored a good role in a school show with the Mikado, it was positively bizarre.