Green Oasis

I read Yoshikawa’s Musashi when I was younger. The tale of the brash young samurai seeking to perfect his skill and himself influenced a lot of my thought. Am I a human or an animal? The movie Musashi Miyamoto reminded me of the book. I liked it.

I don’t know what it is about the eponymous character of Fitzcarraldo, but I don’t like him and his operatic obsession. Is it because he’s ugly? Or do I think he’s ugly because he annoys me so much? Jung might have something to say about shadows or something.

The Power of Myth changed how I viewed religion. Where I had thought religion was either true and good or false and bad, now I think religion can be consciously false and useful: now I see the transformative power of myth and symbol.

Swing Kids has a promising premise: the struggles of kids in Nazi Germany who love American swing. It touches on a theme that I wonder about often: how much would I sacrifice for my principles? It is regrettably overacted which distracts from the power of the story. Sometimes, less is more.

I’m a sucker for cultural fusion, so I had a lot of fun watching Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. Tarantino’s bloody goulash of favorite genres—revenge, kung fu, spaghetti western, blaxploitation—is entertaining to watch. His passion for these genres is obvious. The soundtrack is impeccable. Plus, PussyWagon = Hilarious.