Watching Ophuls

It has been a strange week, outside the normal routine, and as a result certain things, like my attempts at maintaining this blog, have fallen by the wayside. 

I managed to finished Otto’s left front and have begun the right, although great progress has not yet been made, I am about 1/10 of the way along the length.

I had thought I would make great progress at knitting tonight, but with all the hustle and bustle and upset of schedules this week, with surprise houseguests and last minute calls to several repairmen, I seem to have forgotten to check the calendar.

Namely I had forgotten that I had promised G to go to a movie tonight.  Bard College is showing the movies of Max Ophuls over the next couple of weeks and G was very interested in seeing some of them.  Unfortunately they are mostly on Thurday nights, although there is an occasional Sunday matinee, a night that he usually works late.   He really wanted to see the one shown tonight, Liebelei, and had altered his office schedule to insure that he would get out of work in time.   

I was totally surprised when, at 5:30 my darling arrives at home, just as I am warming up my own left-over dinner, expecting dinner and a trip up to the movies.  It worked out.  I had not left for knitting yet.  And I admit I did wish to see the movie as well.  I had seen several movies by Max Ophuls during my college years, but really couldn’t remember if I had seen this one or not.

I took the sock with me, but little to no knitting progress was made.  Unlike "The Devil Wears Prada", "Liebelei" requires pretty close attention, especially considering it is in German with English subtitles and my German is non-existent.  I probably could have done straight stockinette, but was ready to do the heel, and there was no way I could attempt to wrap short row stitches in the darkened theater on size 2 needles. 

It was no great loss, the movie was really excellent and makes me wonder if it is possible to rent other movies by Ophuls.  I remember thinking they were quite good, but G has not seen any of the others.  The movie was  a tragedy, but it was very lightly handled.  Ophuls seems really good at portrayng emotions and contrasting them without being heavy handed; and his juxtapositions can shock without seeming forced. The movie’s very lightness seems to make it very effective at portraying the silliness of the rules by which we drive society.   It is also an incredibly romantic movie without being saccharine and overly sentimental, the way so many love stories seem to be today.  The end of the movie is quite disturbing in a strange and almost modern way.  I really can’t explain, perhaps words will come eventually, but I left feeling almost voyeuristic, as if I had been watching something I should not have been. Oddly enough this made me think about how we think about our own lives.

Despite this, it was a most enjoyable evening.  For a moment I thought we should go to the others, but G’s Thursdays are already scheduled, and despite enjoying the movie, I miss the knitting group.   So Thursdays should go back to routine:  no more movies, no Thursday concerts at Tanglewood, and no Thursday plays at Vassar College. Just knitting.