An abridged version of this post appears in Thought Catalog, click here. It has been all of three weeks since my escapade in Europe has come to a close. Since then, it has been an agonising three weeks of endless corporate drudgery, interspersed with wistful reminiscences and reveries. Whilst I have fallen back into a routine…
Author: Jolene
Jolene is a banker by trade, a writer at heart, and is a contributor to Thought Catalog.
You are welcome to peek into her adventures and reflections on films and life at "SoMuchToTellYou", her ultimate love affair with words.
The Count of Monte Cristo
There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must have felt what it is to die…that we may appreciate the enjoyments of life. Those born to wealth,…
Taste of UK & Scandinavia – A Visual & Sensory Smorgasbord (Part II)
Disclaimer: This post has the potential to incite wanderlust, spontaneity, or worse, vertiginous heights of jealousy. Should you have a strong aversion to bedazzling European scenery, culture or people, this post will likely deepen it and you are similarly excused. Otherwise proceed with caution. * * * * * Highlights of Scandinavia Travelled with: Trafalgar…
Taste of UK & Scandinavia – A Visual & Sensory Smorgasbord (Part I)
Disclaimer: This post has the potential to incite wanderlust, spontaneity, or worse, vertiginous heights of jealousy. Should you have a strong aversion to bedazzling European scenery, culture or people, this post will likely deepen it and you are similarly excused. Otherwise proceed with caution. * * * * * Like many casual travellers of non-European…
Me Before You (2016)
Long before its theatrical release in Australia, I have waited with bated breath for a film adaptation of one of the most popular modern romances – Jojo Moyes’ bestseller fiction Me Before You. Needless to say, the subsequent release of a tastefully edited trailer was enough to whet my appetite for a night of The…
One More Day with You?
Dear You, If you could wave a magic wand and have three people re-enter your life – be it only for one day – whom would you choose, and what would you do? I’m sure in moments of nostalgic aberration, we all fall victim to wishful thinking of this nature. Perhaps even I may make a cameo appearance on…
Brooklyn (2015)
By now it should come as no surprise to you that I like simple stories told well. John Crowley’s adaptation of Colm Toibin’s 2009 novel Brooklyn is one of those stories. Crafted with exquisite, understated finesse, Brooklyn serves as a poignant reminder of just how powerful relatively unadorned cinematography can truly be. The film chronicles…
The Before Trilogy – Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004) & Before Midnight (2013)
The Art of Conversing & the Articulation of Love I have always held a special fascination with the simple things in life; the confluence of unspoken companionship and quotidian quibbles which so often come to define personal relationships. In filmmaking, nowhere has it been manifested so starkly than in Richard Linklater’s Before Trilogy. Whilst Linklater’s…
Do You Wonder About Me?
Dear You, I was reminded of you when someone asked if I have seen you lately. It has been a while, I said. 5 years, almost, since I have last seen you. Although at times, it seemed more like 5 days. I wonder how you are. I am not one to dwell on what has…
Family Happiness
I often lie awake at night from happiness, and all the time I think of our future life together. I have lived through much, and now I think I have found what is needed for happiness. A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is…
Everest (2015) – A Vicarious Cinematic Thriller
“It hurts. It’s dangerous. It costs a small fortune and ruins relationships…[then] why?” As a vicarious thrill seeker, the “why” of adventure tourism (euphemism for death-defying stunts) has seldom bothered me. I am much intrigued by the “what” and the “how”. Until now. The conquest of Mt Everest, as portrayed by Baltasar Kormakur’s Everest, is…
McFarland USA (2015)
For one who is only a sedentary sports spectator at best, I have, ironically, watched a disproportionate amount of sports in film and considers them to be one of my favourite genres. Perhaps it is the foreignness of the subject matter (which I have often alluded to as being able to produce a certain lustre)….
The Hunt (Jagten) (2012)
Country: Denmark Language: Danish, English “If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed”. I would loathe to adopt the words of Adolf Hitler on any matters of authority, however it presents such a chilling allusion to Thomas Vinterberg’s latest Danish drama The Hunt (Jagten) that I would…
Far From the Madding Crowd (2015)
“They spoke very little of their mutual feelings: pretty phrases and warm attentions being probably unnecessary between such tried friends.” And indeed, Thomas Vinterberg’s screen adaptation of the classic Thomas Hardy love story Far From the Madding Crowd (screenplay by David Nicholls) leaves you with the sensation that less is undeniably more. Despite precedent successes,…
The Intersection
As a teenager, most of my “passions” have been fleeting. The occasional dabble in poetry, the odd love of stamina-based sports, the weird taste in adolescent boys. Enduring love, for anything for that matter, had proven elusive. Such erstwhile passions have mostly run in parallel to the tune of life, and have since moved on…
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