L'Avventura

Josh Getzler

Quick one today, because it's 11:15 and my wife and I just got back from taking our son to see L'Avventura,  the first non English-speaking film he has seen (The Artist, to us, didn't count because it wasn't anything-speaking). He got an education. Sex, moping, wandering around melodramatically, smoking, some more (mopy) sex, a train (no sex on the train), an island, and a climactic scene in a hotel I HAVE to stay in one day. And all in black and white. In Italian. With subtitles. Which occasionally faded into the black and white. While it was longer than Kate's labor (had to get ONE reference in!) (sorry, labour), it was an artsy, modernist, interesting movie about gorgeous, unpleasant people sitting around (See Gatsby, Great). 

And Joe was up for it, and that was terrific. We weren't sure he'd sit still, weren't sure he'd get it. And certainly some elements went over his head. But he's 14, not 9, and has internet access. So, I mean, he's hardly going to be shocked. And he really wanted to give it a shot. It was kind of like our middle daughter JJ, last summer, who read Hunger Games even after she'd been told not to, by borrowing her camp counselor's copy. When she got home from camp last August she said "Dad, I did something naughty."

"What?" I said, slightly apprehensive.

"I READ Hunger Games."

"You're OK."

We went up last Sunday for visiting day. Ita, the youngest, almost couldn't wait to get into the bunk before coming out with "Jessie took a Walk with a Boy." 

Where's Mockingjay? 

Comments

[Jessy Randall]

Please ask JessieJean to write up a description of the WALK with a BOY for this blog. And/or Ita could give her impression of the event, a la Rashomon.