Movie: 500 days of Summer (the modern day fairy tale).

Managed to watch this while on the flight back from Tokyo. First impression: This is so familiar. On a very literal sense, it's a very real snapshot of life survived by someone at some point. Nice twist at the end but the story bears a lot of resemblance to something you might have caught two years ago which is Jim Carrey's Yes Man. Almost the same complete with Zooey Deschanel's angelic blue-eyed stare and childlike manner. The narrative method is refreshing though - cutting scenes back and forth - each chapter spliced nicely with some really rocking choice of tracks. This just goes to show how much our society has evolved with an innate ability to multitask. It's almost like watching two movies at once, sometimes simultaneously on the same screen.

500 days of Summer talks about a hopeless romantic who believed in THE ONE, the soul mate, the love of everyone's life, the manifestation of his missing rib in the form of his perfect Eve. He falls in love with a girl who doesn't share the same ideals, lifts him up and shatters his sterling idea of what love is. And then there's the evil twist at the end which I wouldn't spoil it for you here. But while Summer is all endearing but if she was a man and he was a lady, you'd label her something else, something faaaaa a a a a a ar from endearing.

The protagonist learns that there is no such thing as destiny and learned it in the most heartbreaking manner possible. Again, we witness how through generations, the definition of 'fairy tale' love has evolved. Long gone are the days of Cinderella and Snow White where lovers are destined to meet each other. Where girls are taught from young to play the role of the damsel in distress and wait patiently for prince charming who would ride swiftly on his Shadowfax to their rescue. Through the years of increasing divorce rates and heresy of someone's friend's friend who went through deception (whether or not they survived), we have officially been infected with cynicism. When our fairy tale ideals fall apart, it's natural for us to want to believe in something else. And love being an all encompassing concept that's relevant to every living thing but few gained the precious wisdom to grasp - we, the common people would refer to the most convenient way of learning - the TV, in this case, aka the movies.

The moral of this story is, it's all about choices and being responsible for them. If you take someone's heart, don't be reckless. That's all. But we're just human beings. Sometimes to wash us out from guilt, we become cowards when what we really ought to do is the exact opposite of what our feelings tell us. So here's a tip: If you're ever stuck in a sticky situation and you doubt and your mind is telling you something, listen to it. And do the exact opposite. If you meet a person and it didn't work out and your heart tells you to stick to it. Break it, runaway, severe ties, begged someone to kidnap you, go for a sabbatical, hibernate, whatever, just severe it. It'll hurt tremendously but as you can see from this indie-ish version of fairy tales, it works. Remember, 'indie' is about keeping it real. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the reality of things.


The other thing which I really dig is the playlist:
1) Regina Spektor - “Us”
2) The Smiths - “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”
3) Belle & Sebastian - “The Boy With The Arab Strap”
4) Black Lips - “Bad Kids”
5) The Smiths - “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want.”
6) Patrick Swayze - “She’s Like The Wind.”
7) Jack Penate - “Have I Been a Fool? ”
8) The Doves - “There Goes the Fear”
9) Hall & Oates - “You Make My Dreams”
10) Knight Rider Theme
11) Temper Trap - “Sweet Disposition”
12) Carla Bruni - “Quelqu’un M’a Dit”
13) Black Lips - “Veni, Vidi, Vici”
14) Paper Route - “The Music”
15) Feist - “Mushaboom”
16) Regina Spektor - “Hero”
17) Spoon - “Infinite Pet”
18) Simon & Garfunkel - “Bookends”
19) Wolfmother - “Vagabond”
20) Mumm-Rah - “She’s Got You High”

Absolutely rocking soundtrack. Am gonna search for it. Well, go watch the movie and let me know what you think.