Spanglish

I don't know what it is, but this year has been a good year for movies at the Wall home. I have really enjoyed some movies this year - like House of Flying Daggers, Shall We Dance, and now - Spanglish. I really wanted to see this film in the theater, but it seems we have less opportunity to do this since a night at the movies is a good $40 investment these days. So we rented it on DVD from Netflix this week. It stars Adam Sandler - note this is not a comedy, he plays a serious role, Paz Vega (was fantastic), and some great child actors. I was extremely touched by this film much in the same way as Shall We Dance. Once again it was because of the moral of the story. It is a moral film with a moral ending. It is so refreshing to see films like that. It was directed by James L. Brooks, a name you will recognize from Simpsons fame. He did a great job. I also liked the fact that they did not do subtitles for the Spanish, as it wasn't necessary (yes, I know I understand Spanish, but I still think most people would understand the themes). To clarify, the movie is in English, but there are many Spanish dialogues.

The other thing I really enjoyed was the theme that we want our children to be like us. I have thought of this often, but never realized to what extremes we may go to try and ensure this - and not necessarily for the bad. For example, in the film Paz's character does not want her daughter to go to the rich, private school because she doesn't want her daughter to be like them. I can totally relate to this and understand her motives and agree with her decision. Others can't relate to that and would see this is a crazy decision that is limiting the education of her daughter. In the end she wants her daughter to go through similar experiences as her so she can end up being like her. This is the same for me. I realize that many decisions I make are because I want my children to have a life similar to mine. My life has been great and I like my perception of life. I want my kids to experience similar experiences, which a life at an expensive private school will not provide. On a higher level, this makes me think about God, as he is our Father. He wants us to be like Him, too - and has set up a plan that will allow us to. So it would seem - and we certainly do not dismiss this notion - that He went through similar experiences.

On a different note, but related to deep concepts, I am reading (listening to) the Dark Matter series that Tevia recommended to me. I love this series. It is very deep and thought-provoking. It is a theme about God, creation, sin, and spirituality. Very well-written.