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Notes from the back row

The rise and fall of inspiration

Every year. Leaves change colour. And they die. This is constant.

I guess this observation of mine would have all stemmed from my love for

Autumn. Scarves. Mittens. Never wanting to give up the jean jacket. I would like to think that the transition the leaf goes through, before it dies, is its one last moment of passion. It’s last stab at the world.

Look at me!

Up here! Up here!

I am HERE!

I am beautiful.

I need you to see this.

Don’t forget about me!

And all of their beauty surges through them at once. And then it’s too late. Their emotions drip off, and they turn weak, and brittle. Like a whisper. Their grasp loosens, and they drift. And then winter comes.

But they are not forgotten, as they have feared. Like many beautiful things, their image will remain vividly in our minds, maybe even forever.

Films, art and novels stand through time, and sometimes, are needed to remind us of what our brains have misplaced; the things that sometimes get lost in the day to day, the priorities, and the dilemmas.

This week (well, not until Monday), Finding Neverland , stars Johnny Depp, as J.M. Barrie, the author of the classic story, Peter Pan. The film is based on the life experiences of the author before and during the time he wrote the play. He had been having trouble finding the means to write another great script, when he encountered a mother and her children. Their father had passed away and so he begins to spend more and more time with the other family, despite the wishes of his own. He teaches the children about his version of life, the one in which you never get old and imagination rules over all. The film also features the likes of Kate Winslett who just starred in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with Jim Carrey. Finding Neverland also features Dustin Hoffman and Julie Christie.

Random movie tip No. 85,541: Johnny Depp’s debut role was in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), directed by Wes Craven. What a great idea that was. A dead child murderer who stalks the children of the lynch mob that killed him. Pure Gold. But the real terror is the fact that he stalks them in their dreams. No kid was safe; you know the rhyme, so go grab your coffee and a crucifix and hope Freddy doesn’t decide to slice you in your sleep. It was the first time I saw blood spray out of a bed, and for sure when I was in high school staring out into oblivion, bored out of my skull, I imagined the girl in the body bag being dragged down the hallway. Creep fest, so gross. To this day, people everywhere question the safety of their boiler rooms.

Yeah, Wes Craven. After this Depp has pretty much taken over the world with his idiosyncratic dark ways. He was also in a band called The Kids who once opened for Iggy Pop.

So cool.

I’m sure that I do not need to say this, but I will. Please do not forget to check out the Whistler Film Festival this weekend, it’s going to rule. There’s pretty much something for everyone. It’s a great window into a lot of films from all over the place that you may not get the chance to see again.

The Rainbow Theatre and some screens in the Village 8 will be showing films from the Whistler Film Festival Dec. 2-5.

At Village 8 Dec. 3-9:

Motorcycle Diaries; National Treasure; Incredibles; Christmas with the Kranks; Alexander; Bridget Jones 2; Polar Express. Starting Monday, Dec. 6 : Finding Neverland. Starting Wednesday, Dec. 8 : Trinity.

At Rainbow Theatre Dec. 6-9:

The Grudge.