Thursday, December 23, 2004

Love and Reincarnation

Yesterday, my sister, Pam, picked me up from work since she was on her way home from accompanying our Grandmother. We had to pass by the Alabang Town Center to pick up some baked goodies that our Mom ordered from the Ilustrado. Since it was still quite early, I invited my sister to watch a movie at the Cinemas of the Alabang Town Center.

There are only 5 Cinemas at the ATC, so our choices were limited. I wasn't in any mood to watch The Polar Express or National Treasure, nor was I even minutely interested in watching Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason. I was left with no choice but to watch Nicole Kidman's Movie, Birth.

I admired and saw several movies of Nicole Kidman, and each time, she never ceases to amaze me. This movie is not an exception. It was one of her "different" movies. It wasn't as "Commercial" as Commercial Movies go. It had soul and depth. Most importantly, it made me think.

Could Love really transcend Time, Space and the After-Life? Could Love ever be that strong? Could one truly believe in a Love that Reincarnates through another person who can easily pass as your child? How would I handle such a situation? Would I choose to dwell in a previous, but enduring Love, or would I move on and Love another?

The movie was unlike any Dramatic or Romantic Movie I have seen. It was laced with a shady, dark mood. The usual heaviness of a Drama, and the etherealness of a Romantic Movie is shrouded by a sense of doubt, uncertainty, hesitancy and even absurdity. And yet you can definitely feel a slight tug in your heart, that urges you to believe that the Love between the Young Sean (Cameron Bright) and Anna (Nicole Kidman) is real. And that the Young Sean, is the REAL Reincarnation of Anna's beloved Husband, Sean.

Birth is also unlike most Commercial Movies that build up on the plot and follows this up with an explosive and definitive climax. Birth leaves you wanting more, concluding the film with an Open Ending, without giving a definite closure to the storyline.

My sister and I had different interpretations and views on the movie. We were even arguing on the ending, since we both had different evaluations on how the story closed.

The story, the plot and the questions still linger in my mind. The "What If's" still floats in my subconscious. Answers to the questions may forever stay unanswered, but who knows?

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