a prophetic voice-

I laughed out loud, I cried, I was captivated every minute by a little Spanish film (English subtitles) about the relationship between a play-boy gigolo father and the daughter dumped on him by her mother after the two had a brief fling in Acapulco, Mexico. "Instructions Not Included" was a total surprise to me, and as I have checked it out on-line, it has apparently been quite a surprise at the box office, too. Great cast...lovely, tender story... and don't be misled by the poster or the trailers which seem to indicate this is JUST a comedy. Laughter abounds, yes, but the story goes far deeper than the usual yuck-fest which has seemed to dominate so much of American comedic films in recent years. It's about relationships...life changes...over- coming fears...truth...brokenness...healing- anything but the usual  cookie-cutter model of a comedy. Actually, it fits the Shakespearean model of a "comedy" far more closely than what the American...

Spent a most enjoyable afternoon with a remarkably appreciative audience watching "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", one of the best movies I have seen so far this year... and I've seen several good ones. This delightful British film focused on the later-life decisions of a number of "elders" to spend out their remaining years in Rajasthan, India, at this hotel which had been advertised as a place for the elderly and beautiful. The sights and sounds of India are beautifully presented, as are the intricacies of relationships when people are thrust into life with strangers. To me, this lovely film has at its heart the ways in which past and present can so wonderfully merge...focusing on dealing with and letting go of the past and daring to live fully in the present, regardless of age. The audience in our theatre, composed mostly of people of a certain age, burst into applause at the end, which gives you some idea of how fully this movie spoke to us. I laughed heart...