Friday, June 05, 2009

Free Association (He’s Me Pal)

Back then we had only two T.V. channels and they were BORRRing so we had a video and few tapes. We used to record some films and watch them again and again. E.T. and the moppet show and some songs were the mixture that made me laugh and comment: “E.T. phone home!! No he says it like this EE TEE PHAN HAAM”. The starting music of the moppet show was something that altered my taste to music. Seeing a movie was a noisy happy experience for me. But when Rain Man was shown for the first time in the 80s, and I succeeded in recording most of it apart from its first 1 or 2 minutes, I learned how to watch a movie in silence. I didn’t know Dustin Hoffman back then and I thought that the HERO was Tom Cruise. I loved his sun glasses and his hair. I wanted to be like him. But when I saw Cramer Vs Cramer I was shocked to see that man, same man, Rain Man, acting as a normal man. I knew that Dustin Hoffman is not abnormal “that was how I call Autism”. So all Rain Man was just acting? Was not true? How can he act like that? Every time I see Rain Man again I get amazed by how he can imitate Autism. Oh God, he is really an actor. He knows how to wear a personality. He is not naked at all that man. Have you seen his black rain coat and black and white hair lately in “last time Harvey”? I wanna be like that.



















Seen her? Knew her? Look again.


























Yes she is Meryl Streep. Her film “falling in love” was the first time I saw her in my life, and it was the first time to see Robert De Nero also. I was little older when I saw her. I saw that film and recorded it in the 90s, and I fall in love with my fantasies again. And you can imagine may be my day dreams back then. To be lost in the urgency of time running after the metro which would take me to my boring work as a, as…a….. an magazine photo editor, and that woman with that hesitation and that peculiarities of movements, especially when she touched her neck would agree to spend some time with me chatting on a cup of tea while we are both stretching the time into an Arabic thousand seconds and a second….

I have seen many films of Meryl Streep and lately I felt that she is repeating herself. Well, I was deluded.

Yesterday I saw her film with Jack Nicolson, a film talking about really lost people, what was the name of the film? IRONWEED, but I don’t know really what the name means. What interested me in the film was her acting. She is not the Meryl Streep I was deluded about, she was the real creative wonderful amazing Meryl Streep with her front teeth caries and a strong voice while she sang to me “He’s Me Pal”.















7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dustin Hoffman's range really is wide. His first breakthrough films were "The Gradaute" in 1967 and "Midnight Cowboy" in 1969. Very, very different roles. In the first he plays Benjamin Braddock, a disaffected, confused college graduate and in the second "Ratso" Rizzo, the ulitmate down-and-out small-time loser in NYC (with Jon Voight).

Later would come "Straw Dogs," "All the President's Men," "Marathon Man," "Tootsie," "Rain Man," and "Kramer vs. Kramer."

Hey, I'd love to hear about your experiences as a photo editor.

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Sami said...

Hi Jeffrey,

Thank you for letting me know about Dustin Hoffman I really love him. Regarding working as a photographer or a photo editor, this is just a dream of mine. I hope one day I will be a prefessional photographer and do my own work.

Is that film you mentioned about Dustin Hoffman when he was as a college student is that one with "Mrs. Robenson"?

Anonymous said...

Sami,

Yes, "The Graduate" has the Simon and Garfunkel song with the opening lyrics:

And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)
God bless you please, Mrs. Robinson
Heaven holds a place for those who pray
(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)


Mrs. Robinson is the woman that Dustin Hoffman has an affair with, but he later falls in love with her daughter. Complicated.

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sami said...

Thank you Jefferey. Now I think that Dustin Hoffman got his early gift and wisdom from Mrs. Robinson. And as they say:" behind every great man, is a woman, greater than him".

Just joking

tracy said...

Hello Sami,
i have missed you and will try to comment more often. Have you seen "Sophie's Choice"? Very beautiful and haunting.
Your friend,
tracy

tracy said...

A photo editor? What happened to that doctorin' thing....?

Just kidding.
tracy

sami said...

Hiiii Tracy I miss you too my friend. Hope everything is fine with you. You cannot imagine how much I feel happy when I recieve a comment from you. I have that film of "Sophie's Choice". You made me eager to see it.

Thank you for everything Tracy.

sami