• Home
  • Chilli Pepper Scale
  • The Early Research
  • Hall of Fame
    • The List
  • Genres
    • Drama
    • Horror, Thriller, Supernatural
    • Comedy
    • Action, Crime, War
    • Science Fiction, Super, Fantasy
    • Art House, Musical, International
    • Gritty, Challenging, Documentary
    • Romance, Matters of the Heart
    • Kid Friendly
  • Blog
SPICYWATCH

Reaching Greater Heights

13/2/2019

2 Comments

 
Only a few short years ago I recall writing on this blog with great anxiety about my daughter Zoe leaving home to go to University. I was a total mess at the time; a mess of worry and a mess of emotions. I was filled with a strange and unsettling mixture of pride, melancholia and knee-trembling fear that I haven't really come up against since then. I suppose that letting your children leave home to find their own place in the world really does have it's own unique set of emotions. A set of emotions that can't completely be defined or replicated, and equally cannot be forgotten either.  
I recall that one of my blog entries at that time was entitled But I don't want you to go.... and it was filled with my deep concerns and neurotic carry on about how Zoe could ever cope without me, and also what my life would look like without her around 24/7. I know that at that point in my life I just could not imagine what it would feel like or look like to not have Zoe there all of the time, it was such a foreign idea to me; an idea that I didn't really want to entertain.
​And now here I am, preparing to see Zoe graduate from University tomorrow and wondering what it was that I was so worried about when she left home a few years ago and about how my life and hers, turned out to be just fine, in fact better than fine, pretty damn great! And there is something really comforting about that. You see, I now have the knowledge that in spite of our greatest fears and anxieties we can adjust, we can move forward and we can achieve marvellous things as well. 
Tomorrow Zoe will take to the stage in her gown and tassel mortar-board and she will become a University graduate, the first University graduate in our family and we just couldn't be more proud of her. And she did it on her own, in a new town without us beside her to bolster the waves and lead the way, she did it all on her own. Now I could say that it was because we are such epic parents that she could manage all of this, but I honestly can't take the credit for all of her hard work. This one is Zoe's and Zoe's alone, she did it and she did it so well that she's been invited back to complete her honours as well. Woohoo - you go girl!
This whole experience has not only made Zoe grow up and learn about life, but it has also made Craig and I grow up and learn about life as well. We've changed a lot over the last few years that Zoe has left our home, and we have had a glimpse at what life looks like when you have less chicks in the nest to tend to as well. And you know what? We survived and we thrived, and we are all still close and we all enjoy each others company. I also now know for sure that just because your chicks fly the coop, that doesn't mean that they won't come back to roost for a spell every now and then, and that they aren't still your chicks in every way. 
Letting them fly is difficult because you're so damn worried that they will fall without you, but I cannot tell how incredibly good it feels when they don't fall at all, but when they actually soar to greater heights than you could ever reach yourself. Words just cannot describe it and nothing I write will ever do it justice, so I am not even going to try, but I'm pretty sure that you get the idea. 
Picture
WADJDA
Release Date: 2012
Rating: PG
Running Time: 98 mins
This is the first feature length movie that has been shot entirely in Saudi Arabia, and the first feature length film to have ever been made by a female Saudi director - Haifaa al-Mansour. Wadjda won numerous awards at international film festivals and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards and the BAFTA Awards. 
The story revolves around Wadjda, an 11 year old Saudi girl who dreams of owning her own bicycle. But riding bikes is frowned upon for girls, and her mother is constantly distracted by her husband who is planning to take a second wife, so Wadjda plans to win the money for herself by competing in a Quran recital competition. 
This is a beautiful story about the power of the human spirit. Through the eyes of the director we also get small glimpses of the everyday hardships that the women in Saudi Arabia face on a day to day basis; presented in a matter of fact and non judgmental way that works incredibly well. 
If only there were more determined girls like Wadjda in Saudi Arabia then maybe there would be more freedoms and less limitations for the women, and this movie beautifully illustrates how something as simple as a bicycle can be so empowering. 
FINAL SAY: I will get a bike, and then I will beat you in a race. 
3 Chilli Peppers

2 Comments
MELISSA Delaland-Desfosses
20/2/2019 20:33:35

I adored this film on so many levels. Saudi Arabia intrigues me (not enough to buy a plane ticket there) and this felt like a great film about making the most of your life in this ultra restrictive society. Like you, I didn't feel it was judgemental nor white washed. It felt authentic and intimate, like having access to your neighbour's daily life.

Reply
Spicywatch
22/2/2019 16:32:09

It is a beautiful movie and a definite worthy watch. I agree with you completely Melissa, it's the intimacy that makes it so good.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Hi, my name is Barb.
    I crave excellent, high quality viewing experiences. 
    ​Share in my addiction. 

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Action
    Art House
    Comedy
    Disasters
    Drama
    Eating Out
    Fantasy
    Foreign
    Gatherings
    Gritty / Documentary
    Horror
    Kid Friendly
    Life
    Mum Stuff
    Romance
    Science Fiction
    TV
    War

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
Photo used under Creative Commons from Crysco Photography