exodus

somehow the book exodus wound up in my adolescent paws when i was 13 years old. i'll never forget it, as it made a huge impact. teenage angst is a cliched term and you often think of kids getting into goth, metal, drugs, punk, what have you. i got into the warsaw uprising and the plight of the jews. i became a bit obsessed with judaism back then... obsessed is a strong word. let's say finely interested. and to this day i find the religion mysterious and appealing. time goes on and strong interests weaken... by 15, 16 i wasn't swept up into daydreams about it (or nightmares, as the case may be). and now... it is a dusty, hazy summer-before-high-school memory.

but it all came back to me last night. dooly and i caught the 8:00 showing of the pianist. i'm not sure if either of us was necessarily in the mood for such a ... sad, dark, hopeless movie. but i'm really glad we went. check out the site, which is very well done.

afterwards, me and dools went to linnaea's for a bite of something sweet. we talked a bit about the movie. my question, what i kept wondering while watching the film, is... is it better to sentence yourself to death by helping people — and then dying and not being able to do more... or do nothing and keep your head down to survive at the risk of not contributing anything and also being killed anyway.

and i was overcome by how life is... luck of the draw... being at the right place, the wrong place, etc. which makes me think of there but for the grace by wislawa szymborska who won the nobel. sigh. life.

and one more thought, and now i'm rambling and i need to find an editor.... the protagonist in the movie, wladyslaw szpilman, was such a noble human being. in love with his art, yes, it is obvious. but also humble and dedicated to the well being of others, above art. a very sympathetic character. and the movie is based on this man's real life. amazing.

i hope adrien brody gets an award.

and meanwhile... talking with carsten about visiting berlin... he said, "where else should we go?" not wanting to revisit any of his latest travels. he suggested warsaw, krakow, not knowing about my adolescent interest and i said "yes! poland! great!" that trip might not happen as soon as planned, but something to look forward to.