Today, although outside work was yet being accomplished, we all slowed down a bit and went out for lunch and then for a walk down to the Roberts Creek pier, where there were Barrow's Goldeneyes and Scoters sailing about in the pretty calm waters. But a mostly gray day, though warm, still. Those poor Olympians.
We have spent our evenings together watching an odd pairing of movies: Heavens Gate (the 1980 Michael Cimino disaster)and Che (the 2009 Steven Soderberg disaster). Each runs almost four hours. We watch half of a movie each night (and tonight will see the second half of Che). So far, I am struck by how similar they are. Not in length but in intent. Each seems absolutely committed to NOT making it a story about a guy who is the to-be-adored/admired hero who shows us how to be a hero. The critics were very unhappy about Kristofferson 'disappearing' into the film, about Cimino's failure to 'develop the character.' And exactly the same thing could be said about Benicio del Toro's role/performance. As Che, he too 'disappears,' (he keeps saying, 'it's not about me'); his character, too, is not explained or illustrated in a traditional biopic way: the hero, the charistmatic leader, firm in his purpose despite all events. He's got a couple of rules, but mostly he's just slogging along like everyone else, doing what he has to do mostly in response to events outside his control.
As a result, you see the events of the two 'wars' presented as chaos and disorder and disruption against an often extremely beautiful background. The people don't seem entirely clear, the dialog isn't always audible (or in English), the actual events don't seem to have any clean/clear directional line, but you can see and feel, if you are so inclined, the difficult and dangerous context that everyone is living within. But also, the way in which they are all living through it together.
It's as if both directors were saying, 'enough of these sappy individualistic hero narratives. Here is the world as it is in times of crisis.' I don't know that any of us really wants to see or feel what the world is like in times of crisis. But both movies have felt very familiar to me.
Ed is sleeping and eating well, has lots of energy, and keeps moving forward. We are so grateful for all that Dave and Margie have helped us to get done. 'What can we do?' they said, and then they came and did it! They return to Oregon tomorrow. We will return to Washington on Wednesday morning.
[The pictures are the main accomplishments, but not all of them: washing the moss off the deck glass panels lacks a photogenic result, e.g.]
