Across The Universe

It was a late Sunday afternoon sometime last year.  Kidlat and Nards were sitting beside me on the grassy steps of the ampitheater, resting after throwing a frisbee around, while Lisa was biking in circles a few meters away.

"Have you seen Juno, Kidlat?"  I asked.

"Yeah, that was a good film."

"It was well written, and that young actress really blew me away," Nards joined in.

"Have you guys seen Across The Universe?"  Kidlat countered.

"No.  Is it good?" Nards and I chorused.

"Are you a Beatles fan?"

"Since I was six and my Dad and Uncle let me listen to all their albums," I said.

"You'll love it.  It's a very well made film."

Coming from a filmmaker, that's always a good sign.  So I got a copy of the movie, and fell in love with it.

I don't think I've got anything bad to say about this movie.   For a solid Beatle fan like myself, I knew all the songs by heart, and it was amazing to see this fresh interpretation.   Also, to see characters named after significant names in the Beatles discography was delightful.  All scenes were well shot with great attention paid to each detail.  The lighting was fantastic and, and, and....  it's just so pretty.  Beautiful photography, great camera work, good actors (plus the wonderful cameos), and a marvelous, to-die-for soundtrack.  I can see why Kidlat was raving about this movie.

Here are a few of my favorite clips.  (I'm afraid this watered down version from the web doesn't do it justice.  It's WAY better on the real thing.)

My Dad used to sing this to me before I went to bed.




This is my favorite track from the White Album.



And this is T.V. Carpio, the half Filipina actress who portrayed Prudence.