Love always has its way...

Watched 3 nice movies during my recent HK trip in April. One on the plane ride to HK. The second one on the last night in HK and finally the last on my plane ride back to Singapore.

What I am intrigued by, is the similarity between the 3 movies though they were all of different genres. The first one, "The Way Back" is a WWII drama depicting the harrowing escape of a group of prisoners from the Russian concentration camp and finally to safety in India. Along the way, they tracked through the treacherous, barren terrain of Siberia into the god forsaken realm of emptiness in the Gobi Desert. In the end they conquered the seemingly invincible mountain tracks across the Himalayas into the arms of safety of India. Triumph of human spirit and will over nature. Fairytale ending number one.

Next up, needs no special introduction, Pretty Woman. It's simply adorable, an instant classic. Fell in love with Julia Roberts when I first saw her unpretending, truthful, endearing performance in the show. A simple young gal, fallen by the wayside, became a hooker and all this while harboring the dream of finding her Prince Charming. She got lucky one day when her knight in shining armor appeared in a Lotus and swept her away. The rest is history as they fell in love, found that they needed each other, gradually realizing that they couldn't do without one another. Sounds familiar eh? The catch here is... this is a hollywood movie and they usually have a fairytale ending for the audience.

The third one "Love and Other Drugs". A quirky one in which a suave, smooth-talking drugs salesman fell in love with a girl suffering from Parkinson's disease. This sounds serious but the show is somewhat "interesting" as I am "intrigued" by the seemingly endless portrayal of "nipples", "naked torsos", "orgasms", "Viagra","intimacy".. enough said. These are just distractions as we human, especially men, are easily distracted by such kinky references. Beneath this poorly weaved veil of distractions, lies the story of a couple finding love through this unfortunate episode. In the end, it's also a fairytale ending when the guy chose to give up his career and promotion to be with the girl.

You might think that the similarity ends there. In my humble opinion, all 3 shows have another similarity.. that is, their last scenes are poignant ones which bring out the flavor in them.

In "The Way Back", a young Polish officer was betrayed by his wife as she couldn't take the tortures by the Russians. Out of desperation, she falsely confessed that her husband was an anti-Stalinist element. Thrown into the abyss of ultimate betrayal, one by her most beloved wife, he sought the chance to see his wife again. He sought a moment of truth to face and forgive her. He knew that her wife was living a life as hellish as his, as she was constantly wrecked by the guilt of betraying her very own husband. In the last scene, many years after he escaped from the concentration camp and after the Stalinist government collapsed, he made his way back; this time back to the home he was so familiar with. As he entered the room, where his wife, now old and shriveled with age, quietly sat, he slowly advanced towards her and gave her a hug. No words; just tears flowed. Powerful stuff...


In the last scene in "Pretty Woman", Richard Gere, like the usual fairy tale ending, rode a "topless limousine" into the streets where Julia Roberts stayed. He waved his bouquet of flowers as he neared her apartment. She waved back, reliving her dream of rescue by her very own Prince Charming. This was a rescue of another sort for her; one that was set in reality. For him, it was a challenge. He had to overcome his fear of height as he climbed his way up the fireman access stairs to her apartment balcony. Sensing his determination as well as fear, she made her way down the stairs into his extended arms. He quipped "So what happened after he climbed up the tower and rescued her". Instantly, she replied "She rescues him right back". They kissed.. oh man..


And in "Love and Other Drugs", Jake Gyllenhaal finally realised that he couldn't do without Anne Hathaway. He hunted her down in a travel stop as she was travelling out of town in a bus. He got her out of the bus and the following conversation ensued.. enough said:
Maggie Murdock (Anne Hathaway): I'm gonna need you more than you need me.
Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal): That's okay.
Maggie Murdock: [crying] No it's not! It isn't *fair*! I have places to go!
Jamie Randall: You'll go there. I just may have to carry you.
Maggie Murdock: ...I can't ask you to do that.
Jamie Randall: You didn't.

[I simply adore this Love and Other Drugs trailer!!]

Love always has its way... hahaha