I watched one of the most heartbreaking films today. It's called The Painted Veil. Based on a novel by W. Somerset Maugham, director John Curran brought this timeless love story to life. Set in the outskirts of Southern China, the set is most certainly beautiful and pleasing to the eye (if you can stomach the dead corpses that pop up throughout the movie). It's been noticed by them award givers, too!
- Winner of the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score: Alexandre Desplat
- Best Original Score: Alexandre Desplat (Los Angeles Film Critics Association)
- Winner of 10 Best Films (National Board Review)
- Winner of Best Adapted Screenplay: Ron Nyswaner (National Board Review)
- Best Male Lead Nominee: Edward Norton (Independent Spirit Awards)
- Best Screenplay Nominee (Independent Spirit Awards)
Not bad, huh?
The plot starts off a little slowly but by the time the love story within starts blooming, just when you find yourself being drawn into the lives of its characters, it ends. It ends so abruptly that my mind still lingers on it. My mind is haunted by the echo of its sad romance.
The story revolves around the lives of a man and a woman – a married couple. Their marriage is far from perfect. There are, by far, more downs than there are ups, more pain than there is joy and happiness. Sigh. It's a strange sort of love story between two very different people, one of whom loves the other and one of whom eventually learns and grows to love the other. A love story that speaks about love gained, love mishandled, love renewed and love lost... in that very order. Sigh.
It plagues my mind and infects my thoughts with so many questions I have not answers to. So many Why's. Too many Why's.
Why is it that we only learn to love with all we've got when we go through difficult times together? Why is it that we break the hearts of those who love us dearly for the sake of others whose measure of love doesn't even come close? Why is it that when we have those who love us more than life itself, we fail to love them in return until that life is taken from them? Why can we not show the people we love how much we love them? Why do we not tell them that we love them although we feel it so strongly deep inside? Why do we always wait until it's too late to show how much we really care? Why?
"Sometimes the greatest journey
is the distance between two people."
– The Painted Veil
is the distance between two people."
– The Painted Veil
I couldn't agree more. You see, I've always thought that distance between two people who love each other was unbearable torture. I still do. Long distance relationships are far from fun. Not everyday's a happy-happy-joy-joy day when you can't physically be with the one you love. Plus, it's a lot more work than I-see-you-you-see-me relationships. It takes a lot of effort, it takes a lot of understanding, it takes a lot of time, and it takes a lot of faith and trust.
But when put into perspective, physical distance is nothing compared to emotional distance. You can love and continue being in love with physical distance. But it's impossible to do the same when emotional distance comes into play. The former brings pain. Sure, it does. But the latter brings even more pain, especially when only one party sets up barriers distancing them from the other and consciously creates that emotional distance. Yes, indeed. Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people.
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Love before it's too late; live before it's too late.
Love before it's too late; live before it's too late.
17 comments :
u define distance like that ah ...hmmm ...becos i always tot the distance here meant relationship that has gone sour .. i mean even though physically the couple is close yet their relationship is far from close .. to me i think THAT journey is the hardest compared to physical distance
oh oh is it out in cinemas yet?? everything here is super slow to release ... kamu semua orang probably have already finish watchin 300 over here thursday baru release ... beh tahan
Well, I never specified which form of distance I referred to all this while. But here, I've categorised it into two main types: (1) Physical distance, and (2) Emotional Distance. And like I said in my post, the latter is much harder to bear and much more difficult to pull through from. I say that because emotional detachment isn't easy to move on from. You start not to care. You start not to feel. It will lead to nothing (like literally nothing - no feelings, no love) if you don't do anything to save the relationship before it's too late.
Nah, I don't know if they are gonna air it wan. No news about it here. I watched on DVD. Haha. You going to watch 300 this Thurs then? Go man. Not to be missed.
Watched 300. Wicked.
300 half naked men, wrapped in cloth-looking diapers, slashing baddies and speaking of courage, honor, and Glory and brotherhood.
Lots of slow motions too. Heck, even the sex scenes are in slow motion. Spanking badass spartans! They dump weak babies off cliffs, shove the rest out the door at age 7 and tell them not to come back until they’ve become men...awsomeness
I like king LEONidas voice too. manyak Chun lo. just imagine him screaming in that voice " I HAVE..TO...GO...TO THE....BATTHHRROOMMM!!!!" FUYOO...!! or
"I WAANNNT PAAANNCAKKEEESS!!!!"
mm.. i always thought that the qoute means the journey between the distance of two people is the best because when you walk the distance(walk closer)it brings you together at the end of the journey.
i prefer to walk to bank and cash in on my $$ 16M winnning.. but since i dun gamble.. am most probally not experiencing that journey!
The very same question many peoples ask: WHY?
There is no definate answer to that so and so WHY... The more we ask...the more we are confused and feel bad about it....Sometimes Love is not meant to be measured but it is meant to be FELT! The greatest challenge is how do we deliver that so called LOVE in our vocab to the other person and in hope that person will interpret it the same way. Well...getting to know the love languages of the other person will help in the delivering process. But haha...hurdles will always be there to test the faith that we strongly believes in. That will build up the muscles that I called "Love muscles"; greater bonds for the future.....=)cheers!
well said babe! =p
Oh, lets not discuss of love. Leave those to the philosophers! Unless you wanna play philosopher or love specialist, ah well.
Hehe.. philosophy or not...we live with it everyday! No way to hide.... =))Cheers!
"The hardest-learned lesson is that people have only their kind of love to give, not our kind". ~Mignon McLaughlin
sorry adhojlim, let me justify my remark.
True, love's part of life. Thing is we tend to talk in circles for we have our own definition and prospect on the subject, and ppl beating around the bush on a matter is rather vexing I must say, which happens when it comes to unexplained science and love.
Cheers mate :)
Again explainable or not it is also up to individual preference and a matter of acceptance.
We as humans always want something to explain to us! But come to it, most of the time we will have no definate answer for that and we beat around the bushes more in practical!
However the real defination of LOVE has Never Never deviated from its BASIC defination... Pick up the Bible and read the book of 1Corinthians Chapter 13 if you are interested: The REAL Defination of Love is there!
If there is a scale to measure LOVE...hey! I want to know...just joking! =P
Happy reading pal! God Bless!
Oh, bring out the big guns! The bible!! You cant go wrong with that aye! How is this going to go on if you throw a bomb like that in there?! haha...
yea, ask Jesus, he's the author of love!
ATTN: Jono
– Haha. Super good leh. Did you see how the blood seemed to coagulate in mid air? Haha. So cool. And the colour throughout the movie was awesome. I have to watch it again. And this time, on DVD. So that I can pause, rewind, forward and speed up. HAHA.
LEONidas? Damn, you just ruined the hero for me. And your "I WANT TO GO TO THE BATHROOM" talk suddenly reminded me of "FEEE FIII FOOO FUUM! I SMELL THE BLOOD OF AN ENGLISHMAN!" Haha.
ATTN: *adelaine
– Well, if you see it that way, then you're definitely taking the glass-half-full perspective of things. Of course, if the end brings both people together, it makes the journey (however long and however rotten) worth it, right? But come on... Realistically speaking, how often does THAT happen? Sigh.
HAHA. Walking to the bank guarantees interest upon your investment. Love doesn't. Sucks but what to do? Memang like that.
ATTN: adhojlim
– Well, yeah, I believe so. Love is meant to be felt. But sometimes, when you're not feeeeelin' the love, it's whatever measurements that tell you how much the other loves you ma. It's the measurements that comfort in the end. What's terrible to bear is that you don't feeeeel, and your measurement results turn out darn depressing, too.
Yeah. Delivery based on the 5 Languages of Love could help boost morale in both the giver and the receiver of love. Unfortunately, not everybody does that. Like for instance, if one partner is an Acts Of Service person the other is not, the latter will try to tell and remind themselves: He is showing me that he loves me. That's what they tell themselves. But they still don't feel the love ma. Cos it's not their language. And if they fail to show appreciation enough (cos they don't feel loved) then the giver will inevitably feel unappreciated and unloved too! It's a vicious cycle. Sigh.
Not easy la. But what to do if both parties don't try to show love in the way that would please their partner and not themselves? Both suffer lor.
ATTN: Ming
– =) You know, I know.
ATTN: Jono 2
– Whhhhyyy? Me likes discussing love!
ATTN adhojlim
– HAHA. True true. As much as we shy away from the thought, we cannot deny the fact that Love is what drives most of us to do the things we do. Love for sports, love for music, love for creativity, love for people, love for God.
ATTN: Nisha
– That kinda sucks, doesn't it? Sigh. It's sadder if you learn to give "their kind" but they only return in "their kind".
ATTN: Jono & adhojlim
– Jono, meet Adrian. Adrian, meet Jono.
There. I've done my part. Tinki Talks brings total strangers together.
I'm begining to wonder, after purposely resisting the urge to comment on this posting, why Pam is just so bitter about relationships in general and men in particular?
*scratches chin thinkin.....*
And most people who's name starts with Leon are known to be full of valor, honor and integrity.
Not to mention bravery, charm and moral values.
*nudge zecount* *grins*
Haha. Well, it's not that I want to be bitter about them. And honestly, I don't think that I really am. Sure, I've got a past that shapes a part of my worldview when it comes to things of such but I'm looking towards my future, too.
I guess it just pains me when things CAN be beautiful but they're not because of selfish individuals who seek their own pleasures before the pleasures of their partners. That's all. =)
Pfft. Bravery? Charm? Integrity? Hah. Did you look through the dictionary or thesaurus for that list? Haha. Not working, man. I see through that.
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