Sunset Limited: A Limited Review

What would happen if two men, one is an atheist-nihilist kind of guy and the other is a true believer, sit in a room and have a deep conversation about life and belief? That’s what this film called Sunset Limited all about.

From the beginning until the end of the film, these two men never call each other by real name. In the end credit though, one is referred as Black and the other is referred as White. Tommy Lee Jones played White, a professor who doesn’t believe in religion, peace, and such thing. The other man, Black, played by Samuel L. Jackson.

This may contain (a little bit) spoiler:

At first we don’t know why or how these people met each other, but as the conversation progress we get to know their characters and stories. While White’s trying to commit suicide by jumping in front of a train (the Sunset Limited), Black was there and stopped White from killing himself. The two of them then went to Black’s apartment, sit there, and then the conversation begins.

The acting is without a doubt magnificent. The plot and the ending is somehow “incomplete”, and the dialogue is heartwarming. Yes, it will warm your heart until it burns. This film is definitely not for everyone, but if you enjoy films like12 Angry Men or The Man From Earth, you should give this film a shot.

Oh, one more fun fact: the director of this film is Tommy Lee Jones himself.

Rate: 3.5 / 5

To Kill A Mocking Bird

To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee, set in Alabama circa 1930s. The novel tells a story about a six-year-old girl named Jean Louise "Scout" Finch who lives with her older brother Jeremy "Jem" Finch and their widowed father Atticus Finch who is a lawyer. In this novel Scout observes things that happen in her neighborhood and explore her relationship with her family, neighbors, and school friends. One of the main idea of the novel is observing the world, or maybe should I say observing the grown-ups matters, through the eye of six-year-old girl.

The story starts with the historical description of Finch family ancestor, and then focuses on Scout and Jem who befriend Dill, a kid of their age who visits Maycomb (a fictional town in Alabama) to stay with her aunt every summer. They have this strange interest in their neighbor, "Boo" Radley, who rarely shows up and just stays inside his house the whole time.

The story then focuses on Atticus who's been appointed by the court to defend Tom Robbinson, a black man accused of raping a white girl named Maya Ewell. The citizens of Maycomb look down on Atticus as he is really trying to defend Tom and not just pretending to defend him as a formality. They even call Atticus "nigger-lover". Atticus also has to deal with a group of people intent on lynching Tom.

Scout's relationship with her black housekeeper, Calpurnia, helps her understand Atticus' point of view; that everyone is equal before the law and there's nothing wrong in defending black people. She defends his father honor and supports him in doing the right thing. The trial of Tom Robbinson vs Bob Ewell (Maya's Father) brings a realistic conclusion, and the story doesn't just end there.

The story flows smoothly from one event to another. From start to end you can feel the great depression that happened during that time, you can understand how racism and racial injustice affecting people's life, how each character's view on the problem presented, and how enjoyable the descriptive narration that makes the story so alive and real. This book is so rich, dealings with sensitive matter but still there's a humor in it.

Lots of people say that this book is a classic; a book that will change people's perspective. Well, I couldn't agree more. The well written story line, the substance, and the characters, they're all really good that you won't forget it even weeks, months, or maybe years after you read the book. I recommend everyone to read this book at least once in a life time and write a review (just like what I did) or even better, write an essay about it.

Rate: 5/5

Brand New Day

...بِسْــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِالرَّحْمَنِ اارَّحِيم

First post! Terinspirasi dari pemikiran sendiri tentang susahnya (atau karena belum terbiasa jadinya susah?) menuangkan suatu ide kedalam bentuk tulisan, maka saya mulai membuat blog baru. Dulu pernah sih punya blog, tapi akhirnya tidak sukses dalam artian bosan untuk mengurusnya. Blog terbaru ini saya harap dapat menampung segala ide yang terlintas dalam benak saya, entah itu berbentuk cerita peristiwa, pemikiran, ilmu, atau apapun. Semoga isi dari blog ini bermanfaat buat saya sendiri khususnya dan semua pengunjung blog pada umumnya. Yeah, here we go again: Let's do this!

NB: Sepertinya pemakaian bahasa bakalan campur aduk, kalo ada salah-salah grammar boleh deh dikoreksi. No hard feelings kok. :D