Yes, I admit it. Several times during the last couple of weeks I have simply lounged on the sofa and watched a few (erm, perhaps more than a few) made for TV films, all of which are put into the romantic film category.
Part of this came about because I seem to have run out of intense crime shows (in German language) to watch that are more like a mini-series instead of a longer running series, something with 30 plus episodes per season. I much prefer a full feature film that I can start and finish in the same sitting. ER was the probably the last series that I watched regularly with any real interest, and that was 25 years ago.
Anyway, I was browsing through the German broadcasting apps, and found the section Herzkino, where I noticed that there were a few movies that took place in Sweden. I thought, "I like the detective films set in Sweden a lot, so let's see what the less violent films are like?" Part of the attraction for me is the scenery, and Sweden is a rather beautiful country. You can make a similar comparison to the popular English show "Midsomer Murders," where people (like my parents) love watching the program because of the scenic country villages where the show is set. There is something about the contrast between the picturesque setting and the fact that the murder rate is approximately 400%.
The thing about crime series is that they can be pretty gripping, but as much as I like them, I do need to watch something lighter from time to time. And romance movies set in Sweden just seemed like the right option.
I will ask for your forgiveness, since some of this is a little new to me, so I may comment on it with a bit of naivety.
Indeed, the scenery in these films is beautiful. In fact, everything is pretty much as perfect as you can imagine. All the characters are good looking and wealthy. In the unlikely event that there trash in any of the scenes, it, too, is quite pretty. Likewise, the starving artists tend to earn more than six figures in annual salary, and come to that, all of the successful business people don't seem to have to work but 30 minutes per day. In one of the films, the young female doctor moved to the countryside to work as local village practitioner, and she spent almost as much time having cake and coffee with the patients as she spent treating them. In another episode, a ballerina who's career ended prematurely due to injury quickly launched an interior decorating shop in a small village, and although she did receive the odd client, she mostly helped a choreographer with his upcoming dance show.
The problems (that are used to develop the inciting incident and lead to the climax in the plot line) are extremely light, but overly dramatic. I had expected this, but was still a little surprised. The country doctor was in a real pickle because she wasn't getting enough "likes" on her practice's satisfaction survey. The dancer inadvertently fell in love with the choreographer, who happened to be unknown son of her husband. It's all about plausibility, of course.
Well, it was a way of spending a quiet evening at home. A couple of days later, I decided to see what else might be on offer, and this time found a few romantic films set in the southwest region of England, in Cornwall. Again, the characters were overly attractive, extremely rich (one out of work fisherman was driving a brand new Land Rover) and the plots were just as drippy as they were in Sweden.
One of the things that made these films a little more interesting (in a "what the hell?" sort of way) is that all of the characters had English names. This is totally understandable, as the setting was in England, but the fact that it was a German production sort of made this unusual. In one movie, the beautiful young attorney returns to her home village, where her family ran a generations old fishing company. The name of her law office was something so incredibly English, it was almost ridiculous, especially listening to all the German pronunciation. All the dialog is obviously in German, but whenever anyone says an English word (company name, newspaper title, or whatever), one notices the accent. (if you must know, the office was called Higgenboot, Scodley, and Nudson)
Again, the plots were a good ways away from plausible, but I couldn't bring myself to stop watching; somehow I just wanted to see what would happen to make everything a happy ending. My patience was tried, however, when the young lawyer somehow believed what someone told her, even though just 5 minutes before she had clearly stated "I never believe what he says." She went on to drive down the coast in her cute little cabrio in a huff, throw the expensive silver necklace that her lover had just given her into the grass at the side of the road, then, during the final moments of the movie as she made up with her lover, she told him that he would need to buy her a new necklace.
The second movie I watched that night was slightly more plausible, but almost a little too close for comfort. The story revolved around an exceptionally attractive 30 year old (gee, really?) who was in a relationship with someone 30 years older. Where the plausibility waned is that this good looking woman had a best friend who was equally good looking, and she, too, was in a relationship with a man twice her age.
I am deliberately not making any comment about the morality of these stories. It would only derail the plot. There is always going to be a young woman who has to have an affair with the charming surfer. The fact that said surfer is also a nuclear physicist only makes the ending to the story all the happier.
However, late in the week as I was back flushing my espresso machine and cleaning and seasoning my iron skillet (try doing that in a romance movie) I did reflect on one of the other films I had seen. A wedding planner was happily organizing a wedding for a young couple who were excitedly preparing for their dream wedding. Then, it came to light that, due to a one night stand that her mother had had, the bride-to-be daughter was actually the sister of her fiancee. I actually laughed out loud at that.
Sigh.
Thank goodness it's the weekend. Tonight I plan to move away from all the fantasy from the week and get back down to earth. What film, you ask?
"Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain."
It's just so real.
see you out there
bryan
No comments:
Post a Comment