Bread and Tulips

bethchestnut4.0

It was a miserable long week and I saw this at the library and knew it was exactly what I wanted. A sunny, quiet portrayal of people going beyond depressing responsibilty and embracing enjoyment and love.

exemplimarilina5.0

"sono solo di passaggio""chi non lo è?"letteralmente la definizione di poetic cinema

theironcupcake4.0

"How many people really do what they like?"Women Film Editors #313: Carlotta CristianiWhen I was walking to the train home from work last night, pouring sweat as I am wont to do in unreasonable summer weather, I remembered an excellent Guardian essay by Nell Frizzell that I read recently on a woman's right to be unashamed by perspiration:Sweating has rarely been encouraged – particularly among women. The ancient Egyptians daubed themselves with incense and scented wax to cover the smell of their perspiring bodies, while Britons were dousing themselves and their clothes with various scented powders and pomades, even when washing fell out of favour. In 1888, the first commercial deodorant – tellingly called Mum – hit the market, quickly followed by Everdry antiperspirant in all its aluminium chloride glory. For as long as people have beaded and dripped, it appears that we have tried to hide it.Teenage girls in the 90s (you may identify us by our amoebic eyebrows and continuing faith in the transformative power of conditioner) were implicitly told that pretty much all normal physical processes (eating, menstruation, weight fluctuation, masturbation, yawning, illness and of course sweating) were somehow unfeminine, uncool and – most serious of all – unattractive. Now, I’m not going to slide out here on a tsunami of elbow sweat, and claim that body odour and dripping foreheads should be recognised as the throbbing aphrodisiacs they truly are because, well, I’m not convinced. I like cleanliness. I also like people who smell like washing powder. But it is worth saying that the sooner you can come to accept the expirations of your own body, the easier it will become to like it. And the more you like your body, the easier it will be for other people to express their affection or admiration for it too.I'm liking this wave of appreciation for women existing exactly as they are, unapologetically. How could I not love that the Italian gymnast Giorgia Villa is sponsored by her obsession for Parmesan cheese? It has also been noted that women gymnasts competing at the Paris Olympics are older on average than usual; it used to be that these particular athletes peaked as teenagers, but we see tremendous success for women in their twenties and thirties (to say nothing of Oksana Chusovitina, who I think could still come back for LA in 2028 - I wouldn't be surprised!). And it made me happy to notice that that another Olympian (hey, it's most of what I've been watching on TV this week), American swimmer Kate Douglass, had acne when she won her gold medal for the 200m breaststroke race; that's so real and relatable. Women have all kinds of bodies, personalities and the determination to do what they want, and it just feels really cool to see it manifest in so many ways lately.I was also feeling good yesterday about the fact that some other women in my office decided that, to celebrate National Girlfriends Day, they'd buy flowers for all of our women coworkers. They gave me two bouquets, one for me and one for my mom; later, while we were redecorating the office space, we also finally hung my framed Bride of Frankenstein poster up on the wall after many months (all seen here). It's always a special thing to be thought of and cared for, offered these gestures of kindness when it's least expected.When I went to dinner on Tuesday night to meet one of my many lovely mutuals from Letterboxd, Enrico, who was in New York on holiday with his family, I suggested that I would pick an Italian film to review in order to commemorate the moment. When looking through my collection, I found my old DVD of Silvio Soldini's Bread and Tulips (it's also available online, free with ads), which I hadn't revisited in many years, but has always been close to my heart for co-starring the wonderful Bruno Ganz. It's a sweet story peppered with the occasional lightly surreal fantasy interlude, following a housewife (as so delightfully played by Licia Maglietta) who embarks on an adventure by getting out there and living her best life - even if it's a choice that her family could never understand - and moreover it's all about the importance of second chances. There is meaningfulness, as these characters come to learn, in finding a similarly passionate person who seeks to become a deep connoisseur of your soul, taking joy in a breakfast arranged with care or the gift of a vase full of delicate blossoms. It's the feeling of a phoenix rising from its ashes when in each other's company, finding the music that can be made together.When happiness knocks on the door, it doesn't have to be in vain. The call can be answered at any age, any stage of life. A nice thought to take into a new week."Beautiful things take time."Women Film Editors: A Journey