IRA SACHS: LITTLE MOMENTS

With having seen the previous film by Ira Sachs, Love Is Strange (2014) the year it was released, Little Men (2016) had already given me a promise of enjoyment - which it did deliver. The most powerful attribute of Sachs' filmmaking is affirmed to be his ability to capture small moments. Emphasis on these moments makes Little Men alive; the importance of these instants for the young protagonists is part of the charm, but it doesn't stay only in the childhood nostalgia. By lingering in these moments, I felt a strong sense of going forward - stopping to remember that nothing stays the same. The parents are also important, and it is refreshing to see a family drama where in the end there's no one to blame. The children learned that too, and that is a part of growing up, going forward.

ALL TIME FAVOURITE MUSIC VIDEO

Tom Rosenthal is one of my absolutely favourite musical artists. His whimsical lyrics and melodies keep on touching and/or amusing me. I can't help but admire his collaboration with other great artist too - his music videos keep amazing me with clever ideas and originality. For example, the video for Middle of My Mind features just middle close ups of people thinking about someone they miss. The beauty of basic humanity.

Lead Me To You, directed by Annlin Chao is my favourite though. Again, it's about the beauty and complexity of human psyche with impression of the subconscious. Freud's tip of the iceberg and all that - and in this video, what is hidden underneath is breathtakingly beautiful.

LOOKING FORWARD

I never make proper New Year's resolutions; I know myself well enough to know I couldn't keep them. Instead, I list hopes/wishes for the year. There is not many points this time, I feel like that is only a good sign as I'm quite content with my life right now.

• Travel! I want to make weekend trips to explore my new home country; places I really want to visit include Oxford, Canterbury and just some any nice little seaside town. I'd also want to visit Paris. We'll see.
• Pay more attention to my well-being. Not the eat-healthy-exercise-and-forget-after-January kind, but in a comprehensive way on different levels on my life. I want to take life as it comes, cherish the important details and have it simple.
• Sketch a short film. I have an idea, just have to take it to the finish line.
• Find a cosy home with my friends in the Autumn. x

2017

ME: My 2017 has been quite extreme.

FRIEND: Take the rest of January off.

There's a reason I have not posted lately, and that reason is my weird-ass beginning of 2017. I got a bad fever on New Year's Eve and then, after blood tests taken couple of days later for the temperature not getting down even with medication, I was taken into hospital. They don't know what was wrong with me but something definitely was as my stats were just crazy. I was there for almost five days.

At least I got an extra week of 'holiday' (aka just getting better). I didn't go to my exam today. I haven't finished my essays, deadlines were last week. But hey, it will be all fine. The most important thing is that I will actually get well because this. has. not. been. fun. Being this passive makes me just sad and useless.

A very good thing that has happened though is me discovering Please Like Me. I've heard good things about the show before and my friend very strongly recommended it to me, but in the hospital I had to get Netflix to not die of boredom so I finally actually started watching it. It's gloriously funny and I might never have felt such a connection to a fictional character as I feel with the main character Josh. He's like me on some deep level. please like me please please please please please????

FINALLY

The last classes of the semester were on Friday, so obviously instead of starting working on my essays like I was supposed to, I've been sick for the last couple of days; I always get sick only on holidays. The good thing about being sick and absolutely dying is that now that I'm better I feel very Fresh™ without actually being that fresh. Simple things like Pikachu socks and coffee made me happy today. Anything's better than the feverish sleepiness - but now I should actually work and I don't feel like it.

Time has gone by so quick, like it always does. I'm going home on Sunday and I'm counting days to see my cats and get home to rest. I still have to do my essays though, my original plan was to write all of them this week but it would be impossible at this point so I just have to go with it. But hey. Life is life.

I have good vibes for 2017. I already know some lovely things will happen: we'll go see Nutcracker with my Mom in National Opera of Finland in early January, I'll see couple of plays in March, I think I'll return to some of my hobbies.

Christmas is my favourite time of year and at this point of my first university year I really do need some relaxing. Everything has been so new and sometimes more tiresome than I've wanted to admit myself but after the winter break, I'll be ready to face the rest of it. It's only the beginning of my London life, after all, and there's a lot to look forward to.

FOR AUTUMN EVENINGS: BOTTLE LIGHT

I stumbled upon this idea online while thinking what to make out of a pretty beer bottle I didn't want to throw out. We can't have candles in the halls so as the nights become darker, I was really yearning for some lighting with bit more soul. The way tiny Christmas lights reflect out of the bottle is absolutely beautiful and it makes a simple yet very cute little decor.

FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was worth seeing for the entertainment purposes - and for the visual quality and experience at the BFI IMAX - but nothing I'd see again (or want to be followed by four sequels). It was just too much everything and it made me bit puzzled of who it was actually aimed for; it was partly too dark for the younger audiences but overall not very "adult" for the original Potter generation. The plot had too many lines going on, some of them absolutely useless, but still left the main characters without any depth.  I'm honestly surprised J.K. Rowling did such a bad job with the script.

My favourite things in the film were character design and Colin Farrell.