Animal Collective

Sundays are as most Sundays go, and as usual, this one was spent devouring movies. I had the privilege to see two films today, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and The Squid and the Whale.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is based on the real life story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, who was left paralyzed after suffering a heart attack at the age of 43. Although mentally stable, his only means of communication with the world was through the blinking of his left eyelid. Despite this incapacity, he still manages to fight all odds and complete his memoir through an exhaustive system of letter by letter signals.

The Squid and the Whale, details the sufferings of Walt and Frank, two adolescent boys who are in the middle of a horrible divorce of their two warring parents. As the parents set up schedules in their joint custody effort, both boys find themselves in an entanglement of rebellion and discovery.

Great picks for today. With both films running at about 90 minutes in length, it doesn’t go the overdramatic route, leaving you connected, but not too drowned out in distress.