Motion Picture Adventures

What is it about my profile that allows others to recognize me in near pitch-black?

It was Thursday afternoon at the MSI, and a late experiment almost caused me to miss the screening of Before Sunrise at the UP Film Institute. By some stroke of luck I was able to get out of my responsibility and instantly trooped over to the university moviehouse. I was going to text Bea the minute I found a seat, but I guess her thumbs were quicker. Her text message read: “Am I just hallucinating or did you just walk into the UPFI? I recognized your outline.” What the…? I called her immediately and we spent the next few minutes groping for each other in the dark (why does that sound sleazy). When we finally found each other we plopped into the nearest empty seats and giggled. Almost twenty-four hours later I enter the UPFI again, this time with K-Ann, to watch Before Sunset. It wasn’t hard to find seats, unlike yesterday’s screening, which was free admission. We found a half-empty row and began to settle in, all the while chatting. Suddenly, someone three seats to my left hails me: “Hoy, Fadul, ikaw ba ‘yan?” I respond to the affirmative. It was my high school batchmate Jacq Romero, with some of her friends. I was flabbergasted. I start to wonder if I exude a characteristic smell.

To stray a bit from the topic: I liked all three movies I watched this week. Before Sunrise and Before Sunset were heartwarming, quaint movies with exceptional screenplays. The films ran on, well, good dialogue. It’s like eavesdropping on two regular people when they unintentionally meet and connect. And somehow you never get tired of the tête-à-tête, even I with my short attention span. (To Bea, Grace, and Patrick: I'm sorry I singlehandedly prevented us from watching Before Sunset that night. I was just really turned off by the tag line. Now I know it’s my folly; I beat my breast, mea culpa.) And Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was just brilliant filmmaking. Beatriz, we should've held hands, if only to approximate that feeling.

And I just had to put this:

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd.