Sucker Guy

Friends,

I watched Once and I enjoyed it. You will too, but only if your heart is powered by human blood. Perhaps the robots who are looking for men shitting will not find this movie touching, but, fuck'em they're robots. Once is a sweet movie along the lines of Sweet Land, but with music. Maybe it's because I read so much dark, unsettling, depressing, woe-be-the-world crap, and my thesis isn't exactly heartwarming, but movies like Once and Sweet Land really get to me anymore. Hell, I watched the entire run of the British version of the Office whilst on my exercise bike and was damn near moved to tears at the end because it's just perfectly sweet. And I had seen that before a couple of times.

This pretty much sinks the putt for me. Once the thesis is done, the next project will be a love story. No bones about it. Authentic, touching sweetness isn't a goal aimed for often enough. Maybe dark is easier because avoiding cliches is simpler that way...but isn't darker narratives as a whole becoming cliche anyway? Isn't it getting close to "Oh, another story about a man fighting for his own self-worth...ooohh boy I can't wait for his soul-hungry antics to unfurl." For god's sake, what stronger emotional center could you aim for then one of the many angles of love?

Tell you what, future creative writing teachers, challenge your students to write a love story would be an interesting and difficult assignment for your students.

Here's a video for the Oscar winning song "Falling Slowly" from Once.


viva los love stories