Prompts

Write about a favorite movie. . . OR . . . Prompt #287

Write about a favorite movie. Why do you like it?

OR . . .   write about a movie you really didn’t like. Did you watch it to the end?  Why? Why didn’t you walk away?

A note about freewrites:  You don’t have to write on the prompt exactly as it’s written. You can write about “Why didn’t you walk away?”  Write freely, with no attachment to the final product. Just write.

favorite-movie-of-all-time

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3 comments

  1. karen53

    My favorite movie is an obscure, black&white gem, called “The Inn of the Sixth Happiness.” It is about an uneducated Western woman who dreams of becoming a missionary in the Far East. She manages to get herself to China, and falls in love with the people and the culture. I don’t want to spoil it, but in the end she does something quite heroic, during the Japanese invasion of WWII, fulfilling her destiny despite her humble origins.It’s not an especially Oscar-worthy movie. The acting (with the exception of the luminous Ingrid Bergman) isn’t stellar, and it is very much a “movie of it’s time,” meaning corny and dated. I ADORE this movie – it speaks to me for several reasons, but none is more compelling than how I discovered this old diamond in the rough.

    I was a young, new mother with a colicky baby. My husband and I had moved 3000 miles away from family, friends, and everything familiar, (although we’d just moved to New York City, not the Far East). This child was not an easy one. As long as I held my sweet, uncomfortable baby, she wouldn’t fuss, but setting her down for even a minute would set her howling like a banshee. We were living in an apartment, sharing walls, ceilings, and floors with some very obnoxious, aggressive Big Apple stereotypes. There was very little tolerance for a wailing baby, especially when the rest of the building was trying to sleep. Needless to say, things were stressful.

    Nighttime was especially lonely. I spent many an exhausting overnight on the black leather couch, nestling my cranky, sleepless princess while the rest of the world slept.
    One endless evening/midnight/early morning, channel surfing, I happened upon the beginning of an old, classic movie: “The Inn of the Sixth Happiness”. Maybe I was punchy, from lack of sleep and overwhelming homesickness, but I fell in love within the first five minutes. It was like reading the first paragraph of an amazing book, and knowing that you are going for an awesome and memorable ride …. and it was a LONG movie, something to keep me enthralled until the sun started to come up. I’d never had this experience with a movie, although it was a common occurrence with books.
    Swallowed up by the comfortable sofa, my baby snoozing peacefully on my chest, I inhaled this gift of story and lost all track of time. The movie wove a spell around me, transporting me to an exotic place and familiar storyline, with a heroine I could relate to … an earnest, naive ( beautiful, although I claim to be no Ingrid Bergman) idealist navigating a brave, new world.
    Suddenly it was 5am, and time to feed my baby girl. I will never forget the magic of that night. I’ve seen the film several times since, and still am able to lose myself in the story, and remember the embrace of that first viewing. It will always be my favorite.

    1. mcullen Post author

      Oh karen53, I can relate. I love your descriptions “luminous Ingrid Bergman” and “old diamond in the rough” and “sleepless princess” and so many more exquisite phrases that bring this picture to life. I can see this mother and child, both in their teary states, and blissful states. I shared the journey moving from hopelessness to solution to satisfaction. How special to have such a memorable experience. Thank you for sharing this story. Very moving.

  2. PamH

    Karen. You created a vision that is both personal and so familiar to any mother. Thank you for reminding me of the challenges, the riches, of those long night vigils.

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