Words and Pictures

Words and Pictures is a film I have longed to see for a good while. The draw for me is my passion for both writing and the visual arts. It had alluded me at the theater and disappeared from cable and Netflix without warning. It reappeared this week on On Demand fortunately.

Mini-review: This film is about two lonely, wounded artists who find one another and challenge each other to become better versions of themselves. The acting is magnificent. Juliette Binoche and Clive Owen are beautifully matched here. I am a fan of both in such films as Chocolat, Bee Season, Croupier, and Closer. But I would be inclined to say they gave better performances in this piece. I appreciated mostly the nuances in what wasn’t said, the intricacies expressed by their facial expressions were on full display.

The main premise asks the question: Which medium is more moving , pictures or words? While the answer still remains a mystery, the film uses both words and visuals to provide drama, inspiration, and some comic relief. Both main characters struggle with loss, failure, and emotional vulnerability. It seems like they have become reduced to lifeless, half-dead, shells. But life has other plans….

The purpose of this post is to pair images with words and have you, the reader, decide your preference. I am pairing the paintings of J. E. H. MacDonald and the words of  poets from Love Poems from God and quotes by The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo for your enjoyment and comparison.

First pairing:

I WOULD CEASE TO BE by St. Teresa of Avila

God

dissolved

my mind – my separation.

I cannot describe now my intimacy with Him.

How dependent is your body’s life on water and food and air?

I said to God ” I will always be unless you cease to Be.”

And my Beloved replied, ” And I

would cease to Be

if you

died.”

Second pairing:

LIKE ROOTS by St. Thomas of Assisi

Our hands imbibe like roots

so I place them on what is beautiful in this world.

And I fold them in prayer, and they

draw from the heavens

light.

Third pairing:

The stream of life that runs through the world,

runs through my veins.  ~  Rabindranath Tagore

Fourth pairing:

And then the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk to bloom.  ~ Anais Nin

Final reflections ~

This is not a contest, just merely an exercise to focus on the wonder of the written word and the dance of color and light. I will admit that blogging has afforded me the luxury of marrying my words with art, a luxury I am unlikely to relinquish without a fight.

The beauty of Words and Pictures is the restoration of the main characters. This is a partial restoration or reset point. While neither one goes back in time, before the damage and wounds set in, they emerge lively and prolific once more. Compromises were made and risks were taken. Through this process, rebirth prevailed.

Happy Spring from litebeing,

May you embrace your inner Easter.

image credits ~ wikiart.org, public domain