I thought time heals. I thought time makes you forget...
Then why everything else went fuzzy the moment I saw her glossy smile?
I guess even after all this time, I'm still the same ol' hapless romantic, st-t-tuttering p-poet, and a tragic comic.
What is a diplomat?
According to my Widyaiswara*, a diplomat is someone sent abroad to lie for his/her country.
Needless to say, that was not the politically-correct version. But I’m not going to mull or argue on the definitive term.
In my not-so-humble opinion, here in Indonesia a profession of diplomat has its own, unique definition. In a nutshell, a diplomat is someone who leads a double life in terms of lifestyle and bank saving.
When you’re currently posted at home (that is to say when your status being a PNS/government employee), you struggle to make ends meet with your below-par and ridiculous salary (and 70% budget cut). Even people who drive public transportation for a living (read: busway drivers) earn more salary than you [no offense]. Pathetic that may sounds, that’s the way it is and you need to adapt. To adapt here does not signify or justify any act of fraud. I despise people who commit such thing in the name of their hardship. Every option you take has its own consequences, and you should lie on your own bed. To adapt here does mean that you have to adjust your lifestyle to your paycheck. Of course, it goes without saying with your bank account, too.
Now for the sunny side: when an Indonesian diplomat is posted abroad, he/she leads almost entirely a different life. Fat pa¥ch€¢k$ are guaranteed every month, with many much-welcomed benefits. He/she gets to drive fancy cars (could get away with traffic misdemeanor, sometimes), doesn’t pay taxes, and lives in white-picket fences houses. What’s best, especially for men, being posted abroad provides an excellent reason to skip the monthly compulsory visit to your parents-in-laws.
Obviously, I’m taking things to the extreme. But polarization is sometimes necessary to drive your point home. Talking about home, there’s a local joke in my office about which place is the hardest post. Hardship post is a term used for posting places with not-so-convenient conditions, be them high crime rates, exorbitant price index, or simply dearth of water next to your toilet. Well, it is an accord that “home” is definitely the hardest post. Maybe that explains why I never find any mat emblazoned with the traditional saying “Home Sweet Home”, here in my office.
Having said all the above, it all eventually comes down to making your choices and accepting the consequences. I guess I can finally understand what that Englishman with funny hair really meant when he said “To be or not to be”.
[Disclaimer: This post is drafted, written, and posted by my evil twin a.k.a. BFSR* without my knowledge and consent. He owns his own oil company, earns thousand times more than I do, never pays his taxes, cheats on every woman he encounters, and is incredibly good-looking. If you feel like meeting him, leave your comment here, and I surely will pass it on to him next time we meet in our annual family reunion. ]
Glossary:
* Widyaiswara: a formal term for government employees who teach/lecture in governmental educational and training center
* BFSR: Big Filthy Stinking Rich
I didn’t ask to be born an Indonesian. But I didn’t ask to be born any other national, either. It just happened that I was born from a womb of an Indonesian woman, sired by an Indonesian man, and shed my first teardrop onto Indonesian soil.
Having abused the DVD-ROM in my ancient laptop to watch DVDs all night long, I felt like pretending to be a movie critic. Here it goes, the list of of the films. Pirated? Guilty as charged.
A Scanner Darkly
Casts: K. Reeves, R. Downey Jr., W. Harrelson, W. Ryder
What it says:
The movie is set in suburban Orange County, California in the future. It imagines a paranoid world in which it seems 2 of every 10 Americans have been hired by the government to spy on the other 8, in the name of national security and drug enforcement. (Hmm..are they sure the movie is set on the future?) When one reluctant government recruit (Reeves) is ordered to start spying on his friends, he is launched on a journey into the absurd, where outsourced government contractors largely define the social construct, where identities and loyalties are impossible to decode, and where not even his girlfriend can be trusted (this is not new, I guess). The film highlights the inconsistencies and ironic consequences of the war on drugs.
What I think:
The visual of the film is an eye candy, and the plot is a lullaby. The concoction of the two was potent enough to put any viewer into slumber. Zzz zzz zzz...
Irréversible
Casts: M. Belucci, V. Cassel, A. Dupontel
What it says:
Alex (Belucci) and Marcus (Cassel) are a couple whose story is told over the course of a fateful day. The tumultuous odyssey begins with brutal killing, and unspools in reverse to reveal the horrifying events that lead to the gut-wrenching, violent climax of the opening scene.
What I think:
Rarely did I see a movie with such a provocative display, evocative plot, and lingering aftertaste (of course, I'm just pretending to be a movie critic). The two infamous scenes had contrasting effects on me. The one with the fire extinguisher forced me to focus my eyes on the corner of the screen. The violence was such that I couldn’t bear watching, but didn’t want to look away. The one with the knife got me riveted and numb. The intensity was such that I didn’t want to watch, but couldn’t bear looking away. If you are planning to enrich your French (expletive) vocabulary, this one will make a great manual.
Moral: Girls, never walk home alone at night. Find the most suitable (and eligible) guy in the proximity to accompany you. [Grin...]
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Casts: S. Baron Cohen
Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev (Cohen) embarks on a journey across America to make a documentary. As he zigzags across the nation, Borat meets real people in real situations with hysterical consequences. His backward behavior generates strong reactions around him, exposing prejudices and hypocrisies in American culture.
What I think:
Light and entertaining, I laughed politely here and there to several politically-incorrect mockeries. I didn’t expect much despite its nomination at the 79th Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, and the movie befitted. It was a welcomed change of mood, though, especially after watching Irréversible.
Babel
Casts: B. Pitt, C.Blanchatt, M. Akhzam, G. Garcia Bernal, K. Yakusho
What it says:
A rifle shot echoes through the rugged, mountainous terrain of Morocco, and the lives of four separate groups of strangers on three different continents collide: a vacationing American couple; a rebellious deaf Japanese teenager and her father; a Mexican nanny who, without permission, takes two American children across the border; and two Moroccan shepherd boys. But none of these strangers will ever meet one another.
What I think:
I wonder how Pitt manages to look good in any role/hairdo/clothes/no-clothes in any movies. Second thought, I don’t think I want to know.
I’d been looking forward to seeing Babel from the time it was played in the Jakarta Film Festival few months ago, but I failed to secure a seat. So I settled for a low quality, bootlegged DVD. Not exactly politically-correct, but one needs to adapt.
The movie offered something novel, and I particularly enjoyed the use of four different languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, and Japanese. One note about the Japanese, Yakusho’s acting performance as a deaf girl earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Female Supporting Act, the first for any Japanese actor/actress. Some movie critics claimed that Babel should have won the Best Picture instead of The Departed, but I’m not going to argue on that. I recommend the movie.
Moral: Kids, don't play with guns.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Casts: R. Downey Jr., V. Kilmer
What it says: Harry Lockhart (Downey Jr.) is basically a decent guy. Sure, he’s a petty thief who skates through life on a shaky cocktail of dog-eared charm and cockeyed optimism, but he wants to do the right thing. He just doesn’t know how, exactly. Harry’s perpetual bad luck takes a turn for the better when he and his partner are doing some after-hours Christmas “shopping” at a NYC toy store and the security alarm breaks up the party.
What I think:
The security alarm starts up another party, involving Kilmer (Gay Perry, a private-eye who is..well..gay) and Michelle Monaghan (Harmony Lane, Harry’s high-school heartthrob. The One Who Got Away? ^_^). Despite the title's resemblance to my own bitter experience, I don't have any strong opinion about the movie.
The Good Shepherd
Casts: M. Damon, A. Jolie, R. De Niro
Edward Wilson, the only witness to his father’s suicide and member of the Skull and Bones Society while a student at Yale, is a morally upright young man who values honor and discretion, qualities that help him to be recruited for a career in the newly founded Central Intelligence Agency. While working there, his ideals gradually turn to suspicion influenced by the Cold War paranoia present within the office. Eventually, he becomes an influential veteran operative, while his distrust of everyone around him increases to no end. His dedication to his work does not come without a price though, leading him to sacrifice his ideals and eventually his family.
What I think:
I would enjoy any movie featuring Angelina Jolie. Or Damon. Or De Niro (He is the director, by the way. The Good Shepherd is De Niro's second directorial undertaking after A Bronx Tale, which I also enjoyed very much).
Moral: Family first, career second. Mmm, or is it the other way around?
Underworld: Evolution
Casts: K. Beckinsale, S. Speedman
What it says:
The saga of war continues between the Death Dealers (vampires) and the Lycans (werewolves). The film traces the beginnings of the ancient feud between the two tribes as Selene (Beckinsale) and Michael (Speedman), the lycan hybrid, try to discover the secrets of their bloodlines. All of this takes them into the battle to end all wars as the immortals must finally face their retribution.
What I think:
Cool, dark and entertaining. It’s a blend of brutal limb-shredding, fast-paced action; immaculate lovemaking; and straightforward plot. Kate Beckinsale is indeed the most beautiful vampire, conveniently beating Ryder in Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Moral: Sunlight doesn't only cause cancer. It burns, too.
