God Would Not Allow Me to Condemn Unjustly

The strange and true story of Anne Boleyn has captured the imaginations of authors, artists, poets, and filmmakers for almost five hundred years. This particular rendition of her sudden rise to power and subsequent demise, Anne of a Thousand Days, was released in 1969, was directed by Charles Jarrott, and starred Richard Burton (who did several very famous films, including The Robe, which is the only one that I've seen) and Genevieve Bujold (who has performed in several foreign films).

The film opens with the end of Anne's story, where King Henry VIII (Burton) agonizes over whether or not to sign her death sentence, approving it. He is crazed, blanched with agony, uncertain who is right and who to blame. He thinks back on his experiences with Anne (Bujold). The film continues to tell their warped love story, as first Henry lusts for Anne, and then begins to believe that he is in love with her. She refuses him, as she is in love with another man, Henry Percy. He pursues her, commands her to come to court, and finally determines that he must divorce his wife, Queen Katherine of Aragon (brilliantly played by Irene Papas), in order to win Anne's favor. Both Katherine and the Pope refuse Henry's request for annulment. Henry is convinced by his adviser Thomas Cromwell to break with Rome, and become head of the church in England, for no one in England shall have more power than the King, according to law. After great consideration and moments of prayer, Henry refuses the authority of the Pope, sends away Katherine, marries Anne, and arrests everyone who disagrees with him on the subject.

Anne finds herself suddenly and deeply in love with Henry, and with the power that such an allegiance brings. She becomes pregnant quickly and births a healthy, perfectly formed baby Elizabeth - a great disappointment to Henry, who is obsessed with and desperately needs sons to keep his kingdom together after his death. He falls out of his infatuation with Anne, and becomes interested in another young, beautiful girl at court. The birth of a dead son from Anne puts the final nail in her coffin. At the suggestion of Cromwell, Henry is persuaded that Anne has committed adultery with numerous men - including her own brother - and condemns her to death for treason. Anne dies, but not before she spits at Henry, "Elizabeth shall be a greater queen than any king of yours. She shall rule a greater England than you could ever have built. Yes! My Elizabeth shall be Queen. And my blood will have been well spent."

There are many nuances to the story that I was unable to explain here. At two hours and twenty-five minutes of playing time, this movie captures them all. I know this story well; I have encountered it in history classes, in historical fiction novels by multiple authors, and in film. I am willing to state that this movie tells it best. It is true tragedy explained - you feel there is no one victim, but rather feel that everyone has a sorrow to bear, and a measure of misfortune all their own - even Henry, as in this movie it seems that he truly believes every thought that crosses his mind. He actually seems to believe that what he does is God's will.

Anne states it best when she says while in prison, "But when I no longer hated him, he began to hate me, except for that one day."

It should be noted that the film was nominated for several Academy Awards, and won the Oscar for Best Costume Design (Margaret Furse). Trust me, the movie and the designer both deserved it.

Though sad, this film is wonderful, vibrant, witty, and beautiful, and I recommend it highly.

If You Want Something, Go Get It

Yesterday, I watched The Pursuit of Happyness. For anyone who hasn't seen the ads, "happyness" is not a typo on my part. It is actually the title of the movie. I'll explain why later. The Pursuit of Happyness was released in 2006, was directed by Gabriele Muccino (an Italian director who has directed several Italian films I have never seen), and stars Will Smith (best known for his character on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air [TV], but also appeared in several other films), and introduces Jaden Smith (Will's real-life son).

The film tells the true story of Chris Gardner (Will Smith), a salesman down on his luck, who decides he wishes to be a stockbroker so he can provide better and in a more regular capacity for his son, Christopher (Jaden Smith). In an effort to become a stockbroker, he applies for an unpaid internship at Dean Witter, a brokerage firm. The internship involves six months of training, with no pay, with only one out of twenty interns becoming a full-time employee at the firm. Chris and his son are required to endure hardship after hardship, including losing his marriage, their car, their home, and all of their money. Chris works hard throughout these trials and tribulations, and his enduring love and provision for his son helps him persist through the most difficult of circumstances, and prevail in the end.

Speaking to my promise before, the misspelling of "happyness" in the title of the film comes from a mural outside of Christopher's daycare, in which the word is misspelled. Chris emphasizes to his son that that is not the correct spelling of "happiness," which made me feel better about the whole misspelling in the first place. The title itself, of course, comes from the Declaration of Independence, in which Thomas Jefferson wrote the ever-famous words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." Chris comments on these words in the film, saying, "It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking, how did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something we can only pursue and maybe we can never actually have it. No matter what. How did he know that?"

That is how the entire movie feels. Leaving aside a few minor moments of joy when Christopher comes out with a joke (adorable!), or when Chris completes a Rubik's cube and impresses a potential employer, and the last five minutes or so, the entire movie is drastically, devastatingly sad. Instead of eagerly watching to see what happens, I found myself shying away - getting water, getting a snack, going to the bathroom - to prolong seeing the bad things happen. Missed opportunities, great loss, and deep fear make this movie hard to bear.

This is not to say that the actors do a terrible job, nor is it a terrible film. On the contrary, Will and his son (among other actors in the film) are incredible. There is a natural chemistry between Will and Jaden, and it is clear that they love each other very much - exactly what was necessary in a movie like this. You feel everything that Chris feels - that is how amazing Will Smith is in this role.

This movie makes you grateful for everything you have - down to the roof over your head and the relationships you have with family and friends. In that way, the film is humbling and appropriate for the season. But this is not a heartwarming, feel-good film. I cautiously recommend it, but, please, don't watch it alone, and don't watch it if you are already sad.

As you may have guessed...

The blog is on a brief hiatus while I'm looking for a new job and readjusting my schedule.

I hope to return soon with more movie reviews. I have several en route from Netflix that I'm excited about!

Thanks for your patience.