See The Sun

The Diary of Miss Idilia

Thursday, September 21st, 2006 | Book | 8 Comments

I’ve just read ‘The Diary of Miss Idilia’ - the tragic real-life story of 17-year-old Scottish girl Idilia Dubb. (only available in Swedish and German, I believe). It took place back in the days when it was fashionable for English people to travel to the Rheinland. It is the story of her noble fiancé’s betrayal, of her parents’ problems, of her blossoming relationship with German merchant Christian Bach (whom she met on the ship) and of her tragic fate. After having spent a romantic evening with Christian on the tower of castle Lahneck she climbs it again the next morning to make sketches of the place now so dear to her. But the wooden stairs collaps behind her and she is trapped - left to a painful death. I hear there are plans to make this into a movie: I’d love to see that.

Match Point

Thursday, September 14th, 2006 | Film | No Comments

I’ve finally seen ‘Match Point’. Don’t ask why it took me so long…. This is an intriguing film - although everything inside myself wants to dislike it I just can’t help myself if not loving then at least liking it.

All actors play their part in this ensemble film perfectly: Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Penelope Wilton, James Nesbitt, Brian Cox, Rupert Penry-Jones. And the one great player is Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. He’s a revelation. But his character Chris Wilton is a different story. I love Emily Mortimer, her voice is special. And she conveys vulnerability so magnificently (think Dear Frankie). This is why I hate Chris Wilton even more for cheating on his wife (played by Emily). He seemingly has no morals. But then, at times one gets the feeling that he does, that he’s feeling guilty. Especially in the last scenes. That is why in the end I couldn’t just hate him. And strangely I found myself rooting first for him and Nola - then for him and his crime. Although I knew most (if not all) of the basic plot lines in advance I found myself sitting on the edge being all tense and wondering about the next events. This speaks for Woody Allen - this is a movie that doesn’t leave the audience cold.

However, I’m not of the opinion that life is aimless and meaningless even though control over it it is most of the time totally out of our reach. Since I do not share the first opinion I feel strongly that we (human beings) have the responsibilty to think seriously about how to live our life. I’m against deceiving, lying, etc - all the things Chris Wilton gets away with. Not even his probably honest love for Emily softens his actions. That’s why I hate to have a film like ‘Match Point’ manipulate my emotions contrary to my opinions. But I suppose, it is helpful in that it makes me think, re-evaluate, re-consider….

p.s. Scarlett is great. I thought I’d be disappointed because her role is limited. But I felt that she nailed her character perfectly - showed Nola’s sensual, insecure, flirtatious, jealous and desparate sides. There was never a moment where I thought ‘this is Scarlett acting’, I always believed to see the character Nola Rice.

Messy

Tuesday, September 5th, 2006 | Personal | No Comments

Sometimes I think I might have a tendence to become a ‘messy’ - but actually I do like things clean and orderly…. Well, there’s nothing more embarassing than a friend seeing your rather messy apartment - but also nothing more healthy. Immediately after she left I started putting things to where they belong and things look much brighter now!

Scarlett Johansson

Friday, September 1st, 2006 | Celebrity | No Comments

Scarlett Johansson is currently in Venice. It is her 3rd visit and I’ve always enjoyed the Venice reports. But never as much as this time. It seems that starting with the Reebok event a new era of styling has begun for Scarlett. Her hair is a softer and warmer blonde, her make-up calmer and more natural, her dresses more girly-like and playful yet at the same time also more womanly. It seems that Scarlett has finally left her rebellious teen phase behind. Not that everyone else would have said so a long time ago. But I’ve always found that although she hasn’t been sporting her piercings for a long time (well, except for that nose ring on some candid shots) she was trying to prove something with her dresses, trying to be older and also slightly eccentric. I don’t think some of these elements in her personality have disappeared but I think she’s now comfortable to be a woman, to show a soft and romantic side in her wardrobe.

I also enjoyed reading the latest interview featured in Venice magazine. The last time I was as happy about an interview was in August 2005, the Deanna Kizis interview in Allure (the reason IMO was because it was done by a woman). This time, because the author’s, Steve Baltin, last dealings with her were in October 2001 - when she was one face among hundreds. Already standing out of the group of young actresses but not yet recognized, except by some journalists and a handful of fans. Both journalists have now achieved to portray the woman behind the image of the sexiest woman alive.

My reflection on my relation with Scarlett Johansson:
When I started the site about her ‘Ghost World’ had just been released in the States. Had it not been for the visitor’s counter I would have thought nobody visited the site. Then in time I started getting feedback and it felt like we were a very small group of insiders, knowing the potential Scarlett Johansson had. Articles used to call her ‘not very pretty’ back then. And I remember standing at the newsstand, wondering what some of the women/actresses on those covers had that Scarlett didn’t have. Then Scarlett’s first visit to Venice came - and all of a sudden there were people claiming their right over Scarlett, building MSN groups and whatever. Some of those were also quick to criticize my site. Then these people all went their own ways, the groups were not updated anymore and it was back to good old sj.org. Although having a lot (!) more visitors I still felt like I knew everyone. I don’t know when or how exactly it happened, but with the new forum and everything I started losing myself in the Scarlett experience. Having never tried to contact her and knowing her only from movies, maintaining the site became something of a personal achievement. I wanted to prove myself to every new visitor - which is simply an impossible thing. At the same time rumours and gossip started to surround Scarlett - and my views on her and perceptions of her persona were no longer the ones shared by the main public. Suddenly she was übersexy etc. And some visitors started to involve the aspect of a more sexual interest in every discussion. Me reading everything developed a dislike of that and projected all of these feelings on Scarlett herself - which is of course unjust but I couldn’t help myself. Finally, I decided to give the site away. Seeing how the site was not only maintained in the same spirit by Mel and Riikka but also greatly improved content-wise by Riikka reduced my feelings of guilt for abandoning Scarlett. But all in all it was really healthy. No longer am I involved in directly dealing with all these new fans, no longer have I the stress to be up to date with Scarlett’s busy schedule and finally I can enjoy her movies for myself. Thus, I’m back to having the greatest of respect for her acting and the way she’s dealing with fame.