Netflixiado

I have succumbed to the ultimate American institution -- the one called Netflix that comes into our home and entertains us at the behest of our postal service. Netflix could not occur in a lot of other countries because of the lack of efficient postal service. At the very least, they would be forced to use UPS or FedEx. That's actually another story, the book I am reading is shedding a whole new light on the magical powers of the people in the little brown shorts.

Anyway, the first two films that I ordered and recieved were Paradise Now and Philadelphia. Paradise Now is presented in Arabic and Philadelphia is in English. Both films were controversial in their own right in their respective times (2005 and 1993), with Paradise Now being a Palestinian-sympathetic movie exploring the mind of two best friend suicide-bombers to-be. There is an incredible scene that truly accentuates the difference between the economic paradise that is Israel and the living hell that is the West Bank. The pain that the Israeli-Arabs feel is made quite palpable and it is an excellent movie that presents a point of view which is difficult to find in the United States.

Philadelphia is about a man with AIDS who is fired from his law firm for having AIDS. This one did not really score points with me for being especially eye-opening. Perhaps in 1993 it was (and Tom Hanks did win the Academy Award for Best Actor), but I have seen every typical HIV/AIDS story bajo del sol. It does sadden me that I am so desensitized to this epidemic that millions of people struggle to defeat each year. But that is what becoming a doctor is for, eventually I should be able to do more than donate money. Still, it is a well made movie that does have the ability to draw some strong emotions.

These are two movies that I command you to see if you want to feel a little bit more human.