Day 196: Elvis and Anabelle (September, 21)

Do you know when a movie ends and you feel like you're floating, free of everything, because you now have a light fluttering heart? It was this way with me in front of Elvis and Anabelle.

I didn't know what to do on this day, because I wasn't on the mood for any story at all A heavy hand was holding my heart hostage, a feeling that life is on auto pilot once more and that I've been carried on by life, when I should be doing the opposite. It was nothing drastic, not even close to what suggests the dramatic way by which  I'm describing it, but It wasn't my best moments. It was a quiet sense of doom and loathing. I had a challenge to fulfill, though, and I asked myself how I would be able to do that on such a weird mood.

Indie movies - that was the answer. So I prayed to the gods of the magic shuffle and searched the indie's list on Netflix. And the answer came on the form of this lovely, fairy, dark story right on the first chords of Bela Lugosi's Dead. There, immediately I was on other place entirely. 

And what a place to be. From the first scene I realized that I've reached the golden pot. There's so many layers in those two characters, their demons being showed by a caring writing and cinematography, not by words or too many explanations. Even so they're there, screaming out loud in the quiet manner that this story has through their hurt characters.  

That a movie that refers so much to death is incredibly alive is beautiful actually and not without precedent. Restless have been here recently talking about just that. And there's Harrold and Maud, of course, and the cutest TV show of all times Pushing Daisies. The last two came to my mind at the end - if you've seen them, you'll know why at the end. I'm not being overly mistterious, it is not to spoil one of the greatest scenes on the film. 

I was in love with Elvis at his first appearance on screen. Max Minghella deserves a special mention because he carries the contradiction of carrying all his demons on his face in such a contrite manner. We see the whole Elvis life on his every movie and expression without needing any words or explanation, and when they finally came we could only confirm what we already knew. And Elvi's dad? Sheer love. 

The writing is beautiful, so well constructed, an amazing attention to details. Many of my thoughts I could hear on the mouth of one of the characters. It is not previsible, as you would think. It is something more transcendental, actually - sorry if I'm being cheesy, but it is true :)

I'm becoming more and more convinced that nerds bookworms and indie movies will be the salvation of this wrecked insensitive way that the world has assumed as natural. Elvis and Anabella really saved me yesterday, reminding me why life is such a delighful adventure through very painful journeys. 

Elvis and Anabelle. Directed and written by Will Geiger. With: Max Minghella,
Blake Lively, Joe Mantegna . UK/USA, 2007, 106 min.,  Color (Netflix). 

PS: I'm not a big fan of the kind of cover presented by Nouvelle Vague, the vocals are not strong enough to my taste, but their version of Bela Lugosi's Dead put me right on this movie, as I've said. It is beautiful.

PS: My favorite version of Bauhaus' song is this one: