What I see, defines me.

                                       Ruth Malan

My various "Traces in the Sand"

- Architecture Journal

- Architecture Action Guide Book Draft

- Trace in the Sand blog

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HelpMatch

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Movies I Like

Just a note on my identity line "What I see, defines me": What I choose to see, is unique to me, and so, in a sense, it defines me. But also, I interact with what I see, integrate it into who I am, and in that way too, it defines me. The photo at right, is an expression of who I am--the places I put myself in, the things I see; the tip of a continent, and grasses, kissed by the day's last rays. The movies I see, define me in these ways too. So, I offer the following as a (partial) expression of who I am, and what has influenced my becoming.

 

Foreign (English subtitles)
  

I saw these outstanding (IMHO) movies in the past year or two (they aren't necessarily new, just new to me):

* not suitable for children. Disclaimer: My children (were 9 and 10 when I put most of this list together) watched and enjoyed Opal Dream, The Color of Paradise, and The Story of the Weeping Camel. These are emotionally challenging, but my kids are reading books tagged for the 9-12+ age range, and they are bright children, attentive to the human spirit. They also like the Air Bud movies, so they're not perfect. Grin.

The movies by Majid Majida (Iran) are more than a window into an important culture; they are artistically exquisite and bring literary devices like metaphor and imagery to the visual medium, reminding me of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's contribution in Merchant-Ivory productions such as Howard's End.

Foreign English and Foreign with Subtitles

If I dig further back, I also liked Monsoon Wedding (India), Muriel's Wedding (Australian), and Four Weddings and a Funeral (UK). And I liked some movies that didn't have Wedding in the title. Like My Left Foot (UK), Duma (South Africa) and Rabbit Proof Fence (Australia).

I also love a number of Hayao Miyazaki's (Japan) movies (all that I have seen, but I haven't chosen to see them all). Of all the movies my children watched over and over when they were 5 or 6, I most liked Kiki's Delivery Service and My Neighbor Totoro. We didn't let the kids watch Grave of the Fireflies, but we enjoyed it and I'll have to watch it again now the kids are older to see if it is appropriate yet. It is a powerful anti-war statement. It see it has been discontinued--so unfortunate in this global climate!

Green Movies

Movies I like and relate to architects/architecting/architecture

Building architects:

Nash Equilibrium: Bar scene, A Beautiful Mind, 2001.

Rallying Call: "With all due respect, gentlemen, I believe this will be NASA's finest hour." Apollo 13, 1995.

Leaders tell Stories: Saving Private Ryan, 1999.

The End Depends on the Beginning: Emperor's Club, 2002.

Overcoming Resistance: Amazing Grace, 2007.

Leadership through Principles: Gandhi, 1982
This movie is about a great leader, and about great followers. And it is about principles with catchy names like "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." Deep, nation-changing principles.

Making Others Successful: The Englishman who went up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain, 1995
A key characteristic of a good consultant is dedication to making others successful. This movie speaks to the quality of empathy and enthusiasm, that willingness to build others up, that willingness to help them find a way to meet our tough standards.

I Have a Hammer so It Must be a Nail: meerkat sequence in Animals are Beautiful People

 

Copyright © 2008 by Ruth Malan
URL: http://www.ruthmalan.com
Page Created: January 21, 2006
Last Modified: November 16, 2009