a very new york movie

Yesterday I watched one of the most visually arresting films I have ever seen. A true New Yorker's movie, Pi (thank you Darren Aronofsky) depicted my city brutally and beautifully -- unromanticized yet lovingly.

I'm not going to sit here and say the movie had no flaws. Because, well, it did. The storyline ended up being stretched to the point of distraction, and at times things got pretty unrealistic. But, -- and this is a big one, -- the film was truly a work of visual art. New York has never looked grittier and more human.

One of the first things that got under my skin (in the most positive way possible) was a scene centered around the New York subway system. It brought to mind every late night experience I've had underground. Eerie, enchanting, dirty. The stranger standing on a platform across the tracks, the need to be aware and alert of everything going on around you ... the fact you're standing underneath tons of earth and skyscraper, sweating and sticky sweet with the smell of fuel and burnt rubber.

(grunge.)

Another wonderful aspect of the film was how claustrophobic everything felt. Sometimes living here is like that. Too many people, too many cars, too many things going on around you. The repeated scenes with seas of foreign faces and cars made me feel like saying ... yes. It is like this. Everyday.

How neighbors interacted was another incredibly New York thing about the film. You hear things. You listen to their lives, every minute detail. You get to know them and love/loathe them. Sometimes they are friends, and sometimes they are enemies.

Ah, so New York. So, very, very New York.

And, folks, this is my entry for today.

Happy New Year.