Our Tornado Story

Peterson (Chad, Sue, and Family)

August 26^th, 2007 Tornado

Just like many of our fellow Northwood residents, Sunday August 26^th for Chad and Sue Peterson (and sons Jace and Erik), started with church.  Our service at Ebenezer Free Lutheran Church was just about to end when we learned about the passing of Pastor Bill Fretwell from Northwood Community Bible Church.  The news left us in shock and set the tone for what was to become a day we will never forget.

We spent much of the day, Sunday, working on the yard.  It was so hot and miserable outside and knew it felt like it could storm.

As it got closer to 8:00 PM, we started seeing weather warnings flash on the television.  We were watching Extreme Makeover - Home Edition (ironic) and were getting things ready for the first day of the school year for Jace and Erik.  Jace was an 8^th grader and Erik was entering 3^rd grade. 

The weather updates kept breaking into the program on TV.  It seemed that a particularly strong storm cell that was currently near McVille was heading our way.  Sue and I decided that we should go up to Northwood Deaconess Health Center (NDHC) to help staff get residents and patients into the hallways for safety should there be bad weather.  Sue and Chad both worked at NDHC.  Sue as a nurse, and Chad was the Human Resources and Technology Manager - as well as the Emergency Management coordinator at the time.

We decided to take the boys with us, and left our dog Abby in her kennel in Chad’s office.  We had a little bit of a discussion about which vehicle to take.  We were a little worried about hail damage and didn’t want anything to happen to the cars if we could help it.

When we arrived at NDHC we quickly started getting folks out into the hallways.  Some had already gone to bed, so staff got them up and into chairs.  We ensured the Dakota Apartment residents had also been notified and asked them to come down to the hallway in the East Wing of the Nursing Home (where the snackbar used to be).  The hospital had taken steps to ensure the safety of their patients, as well.

At about 8:35 PM, we had everyone in as safe of a position as we could have, and so we waited.  Chad turned the TV in the Sunshine Parlor of the Nursing Home so that it could be viewed from his position in the hallway.  Erik was near Chad huddled under a wheelchair.  Jace was in Chad’s office monitoring the radar on the Internet and trying to listen to the radio to hear weather updates.  Sue was with the other charge nurses walking up and down the hallways making sure everyone was ready, giving them additional blankets to cover with to protect themselves from glass and other debris, should it get bad outside.

Somehow we found out that a funnel cloud had been spotted just SW of the airport and was heading our way.  We could hear the emergency siren outside.  The cable television went out, followed shortly by the power.  As the generators kicked in and the alarms started sounding at NDHC, the doors to the Sunshine Parlor on the south side of the nursing home were sucked open.  Chad ran out to try to close them, but quickly realized that wasn’t going to happen.  As he ran back to the hallway, he used his body to shield the resident closest to the doorway and yelled for everyone to cover their heads.  As the tornado passed over, the ceiling tiles in the hallway at NDHC lifted up and down like an accordion.  We could hear glass breaking everywhere, even over the roar of the wind.  Unknown to Chad at the time, moments before the storm hit NDHC, Sue had realized Jace was still in Chad’s office and ran to get him.  While they ran up the hallway from Chad’s office toward the Nursing Home, they saw the ceiling tiles moving up and down and felt the dust and debris in the air.  They ran around the corner and pulled two other nurses into a hall linen closet with them, where they huddled and prayed while the storm passed over.  Erik was protected by his angel – the woman in the wheel chair near Chad who covered him with a blanket and make sure he stayed safe.

After what seemed like many minutes (but we know didn’t take more than 2-3), we started evaluating the chaos.  The alarms were still going off.  Some of the younger staff were crying out of fear, others were dazed.  As we soon discovered, everyone at NDHC was OK, although we definitely had a lot of damage.

While Sue stayed at the Nursing Home side of the building to help staff there take care of the residents, Chad began an initial damage assessment of the building.  Although we had lost part of the roof in the North Wing of the Nursing Home and had windows broken out everywhere, NDHC seemed to still be intact.  The ambulances were safely in the garage, but the front entrance doors to the hospital were broken and hanging off.  We still had no idea of the extent of the damage, but wanted to make sure we could get out with the ambulances and also be accessible to anyone who walked in with injuries.

Chad began to try to establish radio contact with the Fire Department and Police.  No response.  We began to prepare for emergency treatment at the hospital and started setting up the second ER, just in case we needed it.  Still no response from anyone on the radio.  Finally, someone made their way on foot to the hospital and told us that the Fire Department was gone.  They described the damage they had seen as they had made their way to the hospital.  We still hadn’t seen anything outside of our building, but now realized this was very big and that our lives had just been changed forever.  This was the darkest moment of the night for Chad, when he started thinking that outside of this building, all may have been lost. 

As the only place in town with power, NDHC became a gathering point for the folks in town.  One by one, or in small groups, people made their way up there.  Some came to help us, putting plywood over broken windows or vacuuming up rain water which had begun to inundate the North Wing and Nurses Station at the Nursing Home because of the lack of a roof in that area.  Others came just to be safe and have a place to cry and find friends to hug.

Finally, Chad was able to talk to the Grand Forks EOC on the radio and they began relaying to him what was going on.  A Command Post/Staging Area was being set up at Northwood Oil, search and rescue was on-going.  Chad was told to prepare for multiple casualties, which he then relayed on to the nursing staff, who had already begun recalling staff.  Some had already started to arrive, long before any calls for assistance.  It’s just what they do.

As the night wore on, information continued to trickle in.  The search and rescue continued.  Fire Departments and Law Enforcement agencies from all over had come to help.  Injured people were either treated at NDHC or by one of the many EMT units that had come from other communities.  Trees that were blocking access to and from NDHC were being cleared so that we could get our ambulances out and folks could get to us.  Grand Forks Air Force Base called and asked how many generators we wanted and where I wanted them.  They brought a flatbed trailer to the hospital parking lot and began staging light units and generators around our entrance and in key areas around town.

Meanwhile, our adult kids came home.  Nicholas was living in Brookings, SD.  I remember talking to him at what seemed fairly shortly after the tornado had hit.  Then it seemed he was suddenly there.  Austin was living in Grand Forks.  He and his fiancée (Jeramie), along with her parents were also there to help.  While Sue and I stayed at work, they made their way around and over trees and powerlines – and lots of standing water – to get to our house at 308 S. Hougen Street.  They got Abby out of the house (a wall had partially collapsed on her kennel, but she was OK), and they boarded up our broken windows best as they could.  Ralph and Denise Miller (Jeramie’s parents) then took Abby, Jace, and Erik to their house and to safety.  Nicholas, Austin, and Jeramie were determined to stay in Northwood so they could help us.  Sue told them they should try to get some sleep and that if our house wasn’t suitable for sleeping in, they could maybe go sleep on the couches in the Narthex at Ebenezer…we still didn’t know what the damage really was.  They ended up pulling a mattress off a hide-a-bed and slept on the floor of a basement store room in our house, where there hadn’t been any glass or other debris blown onto the floor.  We don’t really know how we could have recovered from this if it wasn’t for their help in the days and weeks ahead.  God has blessed us with amazing children.

Throughout the night, Sue continued to work at the Nursing Home, helping to care for and move residents into safe rooms and get them settled in for the night, while Chad continued to work mainly in the hospital setting up command and control with CEO Pete Antonson.  They were in communication with the State Health Department with an emergency video conference system.  The Health Department was in communication with all the other hospitals and Public Health Agencies and worked tireless on behalf of the residents of Northwood, as well.

The night seemed to last forever.  National Radio and TV networks called for updates/interviews throughout the night.  Chad’s response on many of these interviews was that the real level of destruction would be revealed once daylight came.

At about 7:00 AM on Monday morning, Chad and Sue held hands and began the walk to our house, not at all sure what we would find – or what level of devastation we would see.  We hadn’t been out of the NDHC building at all, yet, and had been working all night.  Our first stop was our van that we had parked on the south side of the Nursing Home.  Chad had left his wedding band in there and wanted to retrieve it.  The van was totaled, but the ring was right where he had left it.  It seemed like it took a very long time to get to our house, even though it was only about three blocks away.  Trees and debris were laying everywhere.  Our garage was gone, and although our house was still standing, there was a tremendous amount of damage.  Rafters from someone’s roof were in our basement.  Glass from our windows was embedded in our walls.  There were cracks everywhere.  It was clear we were very lucky that we weren’t there when the storm hit.  Remember the car we wanted to keep safe from hail?  Lost, as well.

Ralph and Denise Miller opened up their home (near Grand Forks) to us.  We stayed there until Labor Day weekend, when we moved temporarily to the Klevberg farm east of Northwood (thank you again, Klevberg’s!!).  Erik stayed with Chad’s cousin and her husband/family in Thompson during that first week of chaos.  We were very thankful to have him somewhere safe and carry on a semi-normal routine while we tried to recover on multiple fronts.  We were reunited with Erik the next Sunday morning – the morning we came together as a community to worship in a tent next to Northwood Community Bible Church.

Our house was declared a total loss by our insurance company.  Instead of building a new home, we bought the home of Gary and Dawn Lawrence (formerly the C.P. and Helen Austinson home), which was just southwest of our place.  We moved in after repairs there had been completed, in early November.

Austin and Jeramie were to be married at Ebenezer in October, 2007.  Their wedding was moved to Trinity Free Lutheran Church in Grand Forks.  It was a wonderful ceremony and for us was a terrific celebration of not only this newly married couple, but also for all those that had helped us with our recovery so far.

It would be impossible to tell our tornado tale without mentioning some of the other things we were involved in after the tornado.  Chad was the Congregational President at Ebenezer at the time and spent countless hours in meetings (and prayer) as we made decisions ultimately resulting in the construction of a new church building on the site of the former Northwood Public School.  Chad was also on the Park Board, and worked with FEMA and other agencies to return the park back into shape after the pool house and grandstand were destroyed.

We remember the countless examples of other people and communities showing kindness to our community and fellow citizens.  The red carpet that the Hatton School and community rolled out for our kids the next two school years was much appreciated.  We will never forget the very emotional first day of school in Hatton when our Northwood kids were given a VIP welcome.  Thank you, Hatton!

NELC opened its doors to Ebenezer while the new church was being built.  Thank you, NELC!

There are many, many, others who have been (or should be) thanked for what they did on a personal level or through their organizations, to help us (and Northwood) recover. 

As Northwood continued to recover, Chad and Sue volunteered to be the co-chairmen for the Northwood 125+1 Celebration, held in 2010, and helped to organize (along with a terrific team of people) a wonderful week of celebrating not only the past, but also the bright future of the community.

We have learned a lot - about ourselves and about Northwood – because of the tornado and the aftermath of its affects.   We have a much stronger feeling of empathy for all who are dealing with natural and personal disasters in their lives.  One final lesson we learned was that faith, family and community are really all that is important, once everything else is stripped away. 

We thank you, Northwood, for being a wonderful community to us.

Race Night!

Last night, Erik and I went to the races at the Devils Lake Speedway to watch Sue's cousin's son - Jeff Ratzlaff - race.  This was Jeff's first race of the season.  He and his wife, Kim, have been busy - they had a baby a few months ago (Paizleigh)!!

I video-taped his feature race with my cell phone and posted it to YouTube.  You can view it here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9rO9mnj4bA

Jeff started on the second row (he's in the white #9 car) and lapped many cars at least twice in the 15 lap event.  It got a little close at the end as the #97 car closed the gap as Jeff had let up a little.  Lots of fun!!

A couple of thoughts...I always think of the past when I go to the races.  When I was very young, I used to go with my Dad just about every weekend.  We'd go to Grand Forks, Park River, Langdon, and Hallock.   I remember watching the Swangler's from Grand Forks, R. Tesmer from Walhalla, and the Roy's from Langdon - along with many other drivers.  I also remember always wanting to be a race car driver and having my Dad there to support me (be my pit crew, biggest fan, etc...).

Those dreams faded after my mom and dad divorced when I was 10.  I stopped going to the races.  As my kids got older, we got into NASCAR - especially with Jace - and we started going to a few local races.  Those same dreams came back - except now I wanted to be the pit crew and the number one fan, as I watched Jace (or one of his brothers) race around the track.  Here's Erik sitting in Jeff's car after a heat race - working on dreaming his own dreams!

Maybe that's what makes following Jeff Ratzlaff so much fun. We've went to a few of his races and like to be in the pits with him before and after the races.  It's not so much about watching him race - and win (which he does with ease!!)...It's about watching his Dad (Mark) - Jeff's pit crew and number one fan!  I could go on and on about the little things I notice Mark doing to help...from a technical standpoint with the car, getting Jeff over to the driver's meetings before the race, or a pat on the back when everything is finished.  It's fun to watch - and something all dad's should emulate. 

When you have a Dad that is there and supporting you - when you succeed, and especially when you fall a little short - you're always going to end up winning.

Keep racing, Jeff!  Who knows - maybe there will be a Ratzlaff/Peterson Racing merger sometime in the future??

The Cider House Rules

The Cider House Rules is a 1999 movie, based on a 1985 novel by John Irving.  It stars Tobey Maguire as Homer, an orphan who becomes the protege for the director of the orphanage, Dr. Wilbur Larch (played by Michael Caine).  Homer is trained to be a Dr. Larch's assistant and helps care for the abandoned children, the delivery of babies, but refuses to take part in the actual performing of the (illegal) abortions that Dr. Lynch sometimes performs.

Homer, as the oldest orphan, is looked up to by all the children and is heavily depended on by all.

He sees an opportunity to go out on his own when a young army officer (Wally) and a girl (Candy) come to see Dr. Larch for an abortion.  He asks Wally if he can catch a ride when they leave and ends up working in Wally's family apple orchard, along with a migrant work crew led by Mr. Rose.

Wally ends up getting orders and leaves for the war, and Homer and Candy end up getting close to each other, eventually falling in love.

They learn that Wally has been shot down and is paralyzed because of encephalitis and will therefore be returning home soon.  Meanwhile, Homer realizes that Rose Rose, Mr. Rose's daughter, has become pregnant and reaches out to help her.  He and Candy discover that the Rose's father is the father of her baby.

Homer realizes that he can help her and ends up performing an abortion in the migrant quarters.  He also realizes that Candy is going to need to take care of Wally when he returns and therefore, he must leave.

As the migrant workers are preparing to leave, Rose runs away.  She stabs her father after he tries to molest her again, and flees.  Mr. Rose ends up dying in the bunkhouse.

Homer receives word that Dr. Larch has died from an accidental overdose of ether (which he seemed to be quite addicted to).  He decides to return to the orphanage to help out and realizes that Dr. Larch lied to him (out of love) about his heart condition, and had also set him up to be his replacement by creating a false record of Homer's medical certifications.

The movie ends with Homer reading to the boys at the orphanage and saying good night to the "Princes of Maine - the Kings of New England" just as Dr. Larch had done each night for years.

The setting of the film was beautiful and the photography of the northeast was breathtaking.

The main  theme of this film was that as much as we'd like our world to be black and white, it's not always that easy.  Homer is opposed to performing abortions, but ends up softening his stance and therefore, becoming more like Dr. Larch, after he comes to believe that it would be better to have them done safely with him rather than in a way that would be more dangerous.

I'm personally totally uncomfortable with this view and would therefore have liked to have things more black and white.


I think another thing I wrestle with was how loving Dr. Larch and his staff were with the children at the orphanage and how they handled adoptions and tried to give children good homes, and yet, under the same roof they were performing abortions.  It seems at first glance to be quite a contradiction.

We also see Dr. Larch breaking all sorts of rules throughout, and yet he comes across as a very loving, caring man.

The quote that sort of rings true throughout the film was stated by Mr. Rose on his deathbed, when he said, "Sometimes, ya gotta break some rules, to put things straight."

Rules were changing all the time throughout the film, just like they sort of do in life.  As much as I want things to be black and white, I acknowledge that much of that is out of my control and we have to somehow figure things out as we go along.

To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1962 movie, based on the 1960 Pulitzer-prize winning book with the same title, written by Harper Lee.  Gregory Peck plays Atticus Finch, a small town southern lawyer who is raising his two children alone after the death of their mother.

The film is set in 1932 in a town called Maycomb, Alabama, where most of the people are very poor, struggling with the aftermath of the stock market crash and subsequent depression in the U.S.  The other struggle they face is the issue of racism in their community, something many communities could relate to.

The story is told through Atticus' six-year old tomboy daughter Jean Louise (who goes by Scout).  The older Scout narrates the film as she looks back at the adventures she shared with her older brother, Jem, and a boy named Dill who came to visit each summer.

The film shows some of the adventures the kids have, especially concentrating on the mysterious neighbor boy, Boo Radley, who has been hidden from public view by his parents.  This is the source of many tales throughout the community and Scout, Jem, and Dill are very curious about what Boo is really like.

Atticus is well respected in the community and tries to instill values in his children by conducting himself in a very caring way.  He's not the kind of dad, however, that goes outside to play with the kids.  He's much more serious and thoughtful than that.  Jem is constantly asking for a gun.  He feels that Atticus isn't being fair or understands why he would want a gun.  You can tell that the kids are impressed when they are confronted by a rabid dog and the sheriff and Atticus come racing over to take care of it.  Instead of shooting the dog himself, the sheriff tells Atticus to do it because he is the "best shot in the county."

Atticus has been asked to represent a negro man (Tom Robinson) accused of raping a young white woman.  Kids at school tease Scout about her dad defending a ni**er, which prompts her to fight the offending kids.  The harassment certainly isn't limited to young people, however, as many of the white men in the community confront Atticus and urge him to step aside so they can take care of justice for Tom Robinson, themselves.

Atticus does his best job in defending Tom, but Tom is still found guilty (by an all-white jury), despite overwhelming evidence that the crime did not happen and that the girl was instead beaten by her ignorant, town-drunk father, Bob Ewell.  Scout, Jem, and Dill watch the trial from the courthouse balcony area, oblivious to the fact that the balcony is where all the negro people sit.  After the verdict is read and Tom is taken away, the white people in the courthouse all leave.  The negro people in the balcony, however stand and wait for Atticus to pass by, out of respect for what he has done for Tom - and for them.  The Reverend who is letting the kids sit by him, tells Scout, "Miss Jean Louise, stand up.  Your father's passing."

The children are very sad that the Tom was found guilty, but their neighbor, Maudie Atkinson tries to make Jem feel better about their dad by saying, "I don't know if it will help saying this to you... some men in this world are born to do our unpleasant jobs for us... your father is one of them."  This is, to me, one of the most inspiring lines from the movie.

Tom dies that night in an escape attempt and Mr. Ewell swears revenge for embarrassing him at the trial.

A few months later, Scout and Jem are attacked by Mr. Ewell as they are on their way home from a Halloween pageant.  They are saved by a mysterious man, who carries away the unconscious and injured Jem back to his house.  Scout realizes it is Boo.  The Sheriff is called to check things out and he discovers that Mr. Ewell has been killed with a kitchen knife.  After thinking it through, the Sheriff tells Atticus there will be no charges filed - that it was obvious to everyone that Ewell fell on his knife while attacking the children.

This is a great movie!  There is symbolism used throughout (such as the symbolism that "killing a mocking bird is a sin.  The don't do anything but sing their hearts out for us."), and the theme of standing up against evil and doing the right thing is prevalent throughout.  The microcosm of Maycomb and the fight against racism and segregation of the 1930's was very important in the early 1960's when the Civil Rights movement was going strong.  It's a message that still resonates today.

I loved the innocent inquisitiveness of Scout and how she could be so direct with people.

Shadows and and a feeling of eeriness and mystery were used very well - especially when the kids would be looking at Boo's house.  The black and white movie even seemed to by symbolic of the black and white symbolism throughout.  Whites on main floor of courthouse, blacks upstairs.  The black and white issue of fairness and justice (which wasn't served here), and the grayness of how they dealt with the death of Mr. Ewell at the end.  Justice was done, in the end, by even then, Atticus was trying to figure out how to solve the issue through the legal system.  It was the Sheriff who told him that there wouldn't be any charges pressed - that it Bob Ewell killed himself. 

Scout agreed that there shouldn't be any charges pressed against Boo...that "it would be sort of like killing a mockingbird."

The Cove

The Cove is a 2009 documentary featuring Ric O'Barry and his quest to end the industry of capturing dolphins for entertainment parks and other tourist industries, and the mass killing of dolphins for food.  What makes Ric such a noteworthy champion of this cause is the fact that he was the person who captured and trained the dolphins used in the television series Flipper.  He changed his mind about his profession after one of the dolphins that played Flipper became very depressed and made a conscious effort to stop breathing while in Ric's arms.

Ric concentrates his efforts on exposing and stopping the inhumane harvesting of dolphins in a Japanese fishing village called Taiji.  Taiji is one of the leading suppliers in the world of dolphins used by marine parks and tourism-related businesses.  He enlists the help filmmaker Louie Psihoyos and the Oceanic Preservation Society - to help get the word out to the world of the atrocities going on in this seemingly beautiful cove in Taiji.  They assemble a small team of experts to help with the mission, which gives the documentary a more dramatic, suspenseful feel.

Using a wide variety of high-tech cameras - like night vision, infrared, heat detection - and incorporating the shots into the final film definitely gets the audience more engaged in the story.

The scenery is beautiful and the underwater shots of dolphins swimming in the wild are simply amazing.

There isn't a lot of film time that actually displays the unbelievably horrible way that these dolphins are captured and slaughtered (thankfully).  Much of the film concentrates on building up the story, giving us information about how various worldwide bodies have positioned themselves on the issue of killing dolphins, what Ric has done to this point, and kind of a behind the scenes look at the preparation for the filming mission at the cove.

The authorities in Taiji are of course very concerned about any threat to the well-being of their community and their livelihood and come across very negatively in the film, harassing and intimidating anyone who seems to be against what they feel is their traditional way of life.

It is all woven together very well as a passionate call to action.  Watching the film is not enough.  If you want to change the world, you're going to have to act.

I found myself completely engrossed in the film, and I see the righteousness of the cause.  I wonder, though, what people would say about the U.S. meatpacking industry, or how poultry are harvested.  Couldn't just about anything - if you presented the story right - be deemed as evil and draw the ire of activists around the world?

That being said, I really do think there is difference between the way cows and chickens are raised for food (and the regulations that are in place that govern the process) and the way wild mammals are driven to a small cove by the thousands for execution.  Everyone acknowledges that dolphin meat isn't that tasty and contains high levels of mercury.

Why do they do it, then - and why do we (collectively) allow it to happen?  It's a good question, and it's a question that The Cove does a great job of asking.

The Full Monty

The Full Monty was a very entertaining movie that was a lot deeper than I thought it would be.  It was released in 1997 and is set in the English steel city of Sheffield.

I thought the opening was interesting when they used a promotional video of Sheffield from the early 1970's to sort of set the setting of the movie - a once thriving city that is now struggling because of the closure of their steel mills.

The main characters of the movie are struggling to deal with the aftermath of their unemployment.

The colors and setting of the film portray a bleak, industrial-style look, which makes it very apparent that the city - and its people - are in hard times.

The plot centers on the lives of a few of the unemployed employees from one of the factories.  Gaz (played by Robert Carlyle), and Dave (Mark Addy) are good friends and are struggling to regain their livelihood (and their manhood).  They recruit a few others, including their old foreman, to try to make some money and regain some confidence by becoming male strippers, after seeing the enthusiasm displayed by the women in their community for a Chippendale dancer show at a local club.

The subject matter covered in this film was pretty expansive.  Certainly, unemployment was central to the plot, but many symptoms or byproducts were also covered:  child custody and alimony, depression, suicide, homosexuality, body image, honesty, and even erectile dysfunction.

I think it's easy to see a lot of our own flaws and feelings in the characters of the movie.

The music used in the film was fantastic, as was the acting.  The characters seemed like real people that were actually going through these issues.

I found it very amusing that Gaz would allow his son to be around for this escapade, but as you look at the relationship between the two, it seems Nathan is almost more of the father-figure.  Gaz seems to think of Nathan as sort of a playmate or partner for his crazy ventures.  Nathan really wants to believe in and respect his father and more than that, wants his Dad to respect himself and become more like a dad.

Dave is terribly insecure and unhappy.  He doesn't feel like the man he wants to be, is overweight, and is not able to perform sexually with his wife.

They save Lomper from killing himself and recruit him, along with their old supervisor Gerald to start a male stripper ensemble.  Gerald has his own issues, as he has been unable to tell his wife that he has lost his job - even though it's been six months.  She only finds out once their furniture and belongings start to get re-possessed.  Together, they decide to turn their lives around - at least for a night - by becoming part of Hot Metal - the name of their group.

The movie was very funny, but also very sobering as you watch the characters struggle with their identities and the trials and tribulations of losing everything they knew.

Again, this was a very good movie that was very uplifting.  In the end, the guys showed their community and the ones they loved, that they were resilient and were on their way back.

...and we even got to see more gnomes!!

The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight is a 2008 film directed by Chrisopher Nolan (who also directed Memento), based on the DC Comic character, Batman.

I went to this movie in a theater back in 2008 and I recall how dark I thought the movie was, along with how violent.  In particular, the scene where the Joker (played brilliantly by Heath Ledger) shows the mobsters how a pencil can disappear stood out as I recalled what I remembered of the movie.

Watching it again this week, though, helped me to see a lot more of the movie.

What I saw was much more than just a dark movie.  Much of the action was set in the dark, but again that's when Batman comes out to fight against the bad guys.  The title of the movie is very fitting in this regard. 

Christian Bale plays the character of Batman/Bruce Wayne and does a great job.  I really like him as Batman and think he is the most well-rounded of the various Batman's that we've seen.  Much has been said about the way Heath Ledger played the role of the Joker.  As far as crazy, bad guys go - this is it!!  He played him so well, a complicated, psychopathic, arch-enemy to not just Batman, but to all of humanity.

This was definitely a story of good versus evil, but there are also facets of evil versus evil, and even good versus good (as Harvey Dent changes into the role of Two Face), and also the on-going conflict that goes on within Bruce Wayne/Batman as he struggles with his role of being Batman in Gotham City.

Harvey Dent had a quote at one point that I think encapsulates some of that internal struggle within Batman.  "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."  As the movie ends we see that Batman will indeed become the villain as the stage is set for the next Batman movie.

The action scenes and set designs were very good.  Nolan made very good use of the skyline and architecture of Gotham City (Chicago).  The sound and score tied into the film brilliantly.  There were also beautiful shots of Gothem City, which helped me connect more to the city than I had in previous Batman movies.

The acting from the main characters was tremendous, including Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent, but the supporting cast with Michael Caine as Alfred and Morgan Freeman playing Lucius Fox were also quite good and added an extra dimension of believability.

Finally, the style that Christopher Nolan uses with this film make his interpretation of Batman seem more believable than in any of the other Batman movies I've seen.  I love movies that have a higher theme, a theme that deals with humanity, mankind's relationship with mankind.  With The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan effectively got viewers to see the larger picture.

Little Miss Sunshine

Little Miss Sunshine is a movie from 2006 about a very dysfunctional family from Albuquerque, each with their own struggles, that come together to support the youngest member of their family with her dream of being in a beauty contest.

One of the first things I noticed while watching this film, was how wrapped up each character was in their own life, causing them to be (seemingly) disconnected from being a part of their family.

Richard and Sheryl are the parents who are obviously having financial struggles which is causing quite the strain on the marriage.  Richard is hoping to pull his family into financial success with the publishing of a self-help book and speaking tour on his self-improvement method to help you become a winner.  Sheryl's teenage son, Dwayne, has an interest in the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, and has taken on a vow of silence for nine months.  He wants to be an Air Force pilot.   His younger sister, Olive, is seven and wants to be a beauty queen.  She is being trained by her grandfather (Richard's father) who has come to live with the family because he was kicked out of an Assisted Living facility for using heroin.  As the movie opens, Sheryl is picking up her brother, Frank, from a hospital after a failed suicide attempt, who becomes Dwayne's bunkmate, so the family can keep an eye on him to prevent him from attempting suicide again.

Sheryl's sister calls to tell Olive that she is eligible to be in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty contest in California, but the contest is just in a few days and Richard and Sheryl finally decide that the only way they can get Olive there (and support her dream) is if the entire family goes together - in their (very) yellow VW van.

This family is very dysfunctional, but it was very hard not to root for them to succeed.  The trip to California was hilarious (and tense).  One thing that became very clear to me was that especially when it came to Olive, they would stick up for each other and put Olive's needs ahead of theirs.  Two specific examples were 1) in the restaurant when Olive really wanted some ice cream, but Richard told her she would get fat if she ate ice cream.  It was one of those life-defining moments for a young girl and, recognizing this, Frank, Dwayne, Grandpa, and Sheryl all started eating ice cream, which made Olive feel it was OK to have a little ice cream, as well.  Later, toward the end, at the beauty contest, Dwayne and Richard felt that Olive was about to really embarrass herself, because of how advanced the other contestants were.  The whole family ended up on stage with Olive - going through it together, as a family - so that Olive wouldn't be alone.

I thought the colors (the bright yellow of the van, and the bright red outfits that Olive wore) were very evident throughout the film, and the way the camera was used in the van showing the different story-lines going on was very effective, as well.

One thing I thought of after watching the film was that there really wasn't a central character or story.  Everyone had their own stories which tied into the larger story of getting Olive to the pageant.  Frank ends up seeing his lover at a convenience store along the trip, Dwayne discovers he's colorblind which meant he couldn't be in the AF and therefore ended his vow of silence with a huge emotional breakdown.  Grandpa dies of a heroin overdose in a hotel room along the way, and Richard desperately continues to try to connect with the man who was supposed to be helping to sell his book idea.  Meanwhile the van loses the ability to shift from first to second gear and the only way they can get it moving is to push it and then jump in once it's going - kind of like getting into a bobsled.  It's a hilarious visual, but is also symbolic of them working together as a family to achieve their goals.

The subject matter in the film was so totally disjointed but came together very seamlessly.  I found myself becoming a very big fan of this family by the end of the movie.

I thought the setting and set design were very unique.  I have traveled a lot through the southwest and it felt like I was in the van with them as we drove across the desert.  The colors, which I mentioned above were very unique and gave the movie a certain feel, which I don't know if I quite describe.  For me, it was a pleasing visual feel.

Finally, the casting was great.  Collectively, they made this film quite enjoyable - and made my own family, which I always thought was dysfunctional, seem not quite so bad.

Memento

So, I just finished watching Memento.  I think my head will be swimming for days!

Guy Pearce plays the lead role of Leonard Shelby.  Leonard suffers from short term memory loss and uses Polaroid pictures, notes, and tatoos (for really important facts) to help him track down and seek revenge on the the men who raped and murdered his wife - and caused his memory problems.

The movie opens with a scene where Leonard is taking a picture of a man he just killed (we assume on the man who killed his wife), but as you watch the scene, you realize that parts of it are going backward.  The Polaroid picture gets more faded as he fans air on it, the shell casing moves backward, and the blood from the victim is flowing the wrong way.

And as you struggle to try to process that, you begin a two hour journey of black and white film, as well as color, that runs mostly backward to fill in the clues of what has happened.  The end (the beginning?) of the movie blew me away when it was revealed that Leonard had mixed his story up with the story of Sammy and we realize that his wife perhaps didn't die during the rape and murder but instead was given an overdose of insulin.  That made the "Don't Forget Sammy Jankis" tatoo even more meaningful.

The use of the out of sequence style was very interesting.  I've seen it done on television shows before (like on sitcoms), but never this effectively.

Leonard definitely felt inner conflict (even if he didn't remember), which was much of the focus of the movie.  We also see Leonard get used in some external conflict situations between Natalie and Teddy, each of them encouraging Leonard to trust things the other said.

I needed to go back and rewind after I saw the scene where Natalie came in hid all the pens in her house, knowing that Leonard was going to be looking for something to write with.  Evil.

I wouldn't mind seeing this movie in chronological order, but I don't think it would be nearly as powerful.

As I sit here and ponder the movie even more - and go through the Salon.com break down of it, I am remembering other pieces of the movie that I overlooked.

Good movie!  My mind IS blown!

Amelie

Amelie is a French film from 2001 that stars Audrey Tautoe as the lead character, Amelie Poulain.  Amelie is a lonely child who didn't get any attention from her father.  He was a physician and would examine her each month.  She so loved this attention (because her never paid any attention to her otherwise), that her heart would pound rapidly, causing him to mistakenly diagnose her with a heart ailment which prevented her from attending school and playing with other children.  Her mother was a nervous wreck and was accidentally killed by a woman trying to commit suicide, while Amelie was a young girl.

We see Amelie quickly grow to womanhood and see her life become changed on the same day that Lady Di is killed in a car accident in Paris.  On that day, Amelie discovers a tiny box in her apartment, hidden by a former occupant in the 1950's.  She secretly returns the box to him and is elated at his reaction and decides to dedicate much of her time to helping others around her, very reluctant to attend to her own (obvious) needs.

As in some of the past films we've watched, there is an inner-conflict present within the main character.  The symbolism present throughout, which the film returns to quite often is the Renoir painting being done by her neighbor, Raymond Dufayel - The Boating Party.  Dufayel has been painting it every year for nearly twenty years and has struggled to figure out what one of the characters is thinking.  Through the movie we see comparison references between the character in the painting and Amelie.

Amelie does end up helping all those around her, and in the end finally finds love, thanks to the encouragement of Dufayel.

I never in a million years thought I would be watching a French film with subtitles at 1:00 AM, but I did - and I liked it!

The subtitles could easily have been distracting, but I managed to follow things just fine.  The film itself seemed so imaginative.  The photography was very interesting.  I liked the use of colors and shadows and really thought the close-up shots of Amelie at various times throughout the film made the film feel.

Going back to the symbolism a little more, I think you could rightfully compare the man in the boat from Good Will Hunting to the woman on the boat from the Renoir painting as essential elements of the story.

One of the funnier parts of the movie has to do with the travels of the garden gnome, belonging to Amelie's father.  In her attempt to help him get through his depression, she encourages him to travel by kidnapping the garden gnome and sending it on trips with her airline flight attendant friend who takes snapshots of the travels and send pictures back to Amelie's father. 

Another funny spot in the movie (maybe I'm a little morbid) came at the time she discovered the little tin box in her apartment.  Amelie had her television on and was watching the news about Lady Di being killed, when she accidentally bumped a tile along her floorboard which revealed the secret box that had been hiding for years.  She turned off the news to concentrate on her new discovery.  I was sort of assuming that the death of Diana was going to have something to do with the movie - and there are a few references later - but to have her turn off the TV at this point completely ended any idea I had of where the plot was taking me.  Well done.

Again, this was a very good film and another that I hadn't watched before.  The casting of characters were all very fascinating - and a lot of fun!

The King's Speech

In keeping with our theme this week of looking into Fictional and Dramatic Elements of film making (Petrie & Boggs, 2012, Page 34), I watched The King's Speech rather intently, watching for symbolic references and other elements.

The "King" is King George VI (played by Colin Firth), who ascended to the throne in 1937, after his older brother abdicated the throne in order to get married to an American divorcee.
King George's real name is Albert.  He is married to Elizabeth and they have two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret.

The movie opens in 1925 when Albert (then the Duke of York) was tasked by his father, King George V, to speak to the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Stadium, and we see right away that the Duke has a severe speech impediment.  The look on his face as he struggles to get the words out, as well as the look on the face of all who are listening at the stadium, speak volumes.

Elizabeth is determined to help Albert with his speech and enlists the help of several doctors.  Nothing works.  She finally enlists the help of an Australian named Lionel Logue.  Lionel is not like any of the other doctors and works at getting to know Albert (who he calls Bertie) and the root cause of his impediment (I felt a little like the movie Good Will Hunting was creeping in at this point). 

During the course of these sessions with Lionel, tensions rise within the Royal Family and the leadership of Great Britain because of the failing health of King George V and also with the impending conflict with Nazi Germany.  King George V dies and Albert's older brother becomes King Edward VIII.

We learn through his conversations with Lionel, that Albert is quite conflicted.  Lionel noticed that Albert was using his right hand and asked if he was naturally right-handed.  Albert replied that he was actually left-handed but was forced to change since it wasn't proper to be left-handed.  He also told Lionel that he felt more closeness to his nanny's than he did to his family - except for his first nanny, who loved his brother more than him and would always pinch him as she was presenting the boys to their parents so that he would cry and his parents would ask to have him taken away.  He went on to say that she would punish him by not feeding him and that this went on for three years before his parents found out.  He also had a brother named Johnny who was epileptic and died at 13.  His parents had kept Johnny out of the public eye because of his seizures.

In addition to Albert's internal conflict, there is the conflict within Albert to hold the monarchy together by supporting his brother, even though he knows he shouldn't be King.  When he expresses his concerns and the seriousness of the situation to Lionel, Lionel tells him that he would make a great King.  Albert is offended by this and storms away.

Later, we see that Albert does indeed become King, after Edward abdicates.  We don't see much of the
conflict within the family at this time, but it must have been intense.

(Now) King George VI makes it through his coronation with the help of Lionel, but only after he finds out that Lionel is not a doctor and tries to push him away.  Lionel doesn't leave. however, and explains his training and background to King George, who then asks him to stay.


The larger conflict, however, is still to come.  As time progresses toward 1939 and war with Germany, the Prime Minister comes to the King and tells him he is going to resign because he didn't prepare the country well enough for the threat posed by Hitler and the Nazis.  He is succeeded by Neville Chamberlain, as Great Britain prepares for another World War.
On the day war is declared, King George needs to make a speech to rally the British people - and the world (via radio), as they begin the war efforts.  Lionel is there to support him as he gives an impassioned speech, with exactly the right tone, that unites the entire British Empire.
Albert thanks Lionel for his help and his friendship and then goes out to greet his subjects as the nation rallies around their King.


As we look at our text and the various topics within Chapter 3 that could apply to this movie,  I first think of the title The King's Speech and the play on the word speech, which could easily have been his manner of speaking, or speach.  You could also go back to the use of the word speech and realize the importance of the King being able to communicate effectively to his people - especially when war had been declared when he had to give the most important speech of his life.

This is a terrific movie.  I think I've said that about each one of the films we've watched, but it's true! 

References:
Petrie, D., & Boggs, J. (2012). The art of watching films. (8th ed. ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages.

Good Will Hunting

This week we read Chapter 3 of our text The Art of Watching Films, which covered Fictional and Dramatic Elements of films.  It was very timely, then, to watch the third film assignment of this class - Good Will Hunting, a film written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.

Matt Damon plays the role of Will Hunting, a troubled janitor at MIT, who is "discovered" by an MIT mathematics professor after solving very difficult mathematics problems on a chalkboard in the hallway of the building - and given an opportunity (OK - maybe he didn't have much of a choice) to work on math with the professor and his colleagues, while also seeing a psychologist named Sean (Robin Williams), who seems almost as troubled as Will.

Of the three films we've watched so far, I have to say that I enjoyed - and was most moved - by this film.  Will's love interest in this film is Skylar, played by Minnie Driver, who I thought was simply terrific and completely believable as someone who wanted to love (and be loved by) Will and get him to show his true self.  The rest of the cast was terrific, as well, including the role of Will's best friend, Chuckie, played by Ben Affleck.

There are a couple things that really stood out for me as I watched the movie.

First, I thought the symbolism (Petrie & Boggs, 2012, Page 59) of the painting of a lone man struggling in a small boat against the large sea was very well done.  It applied not only to the painter, Sean, as he struggled with the grief of losing his wife, but also to Will as he struggled with the internal demons inside of him that kept him from getting close to people or putting himself in a situation where someone may actually get to know him.  He had been orphaned at a young age and then abused throughout his childhood in various foster homes.  He had spent his entire adult life in trouble - usually resulting from numerous fights/assaults.  This finally resulted in a court appearance where he was to be sentenced to jail, but was released to the custody of Professor Lambeau, and ordered to get psychological help.

The symbolism of the man in the boat is referenced a throughout the film and scenes of a lone rower in the river in Boston pop up every once in a while to again show the conflict between man and the water (himself).

The internal conflict (Petrie & Boggs, 2012, Page 48)within Will was the main focus of the movie, but you also see (and feel) the internal conflict going on within several of the characters, including Sean, and Professor Lambeau.

What a relief it is when Sean and Will finally have their very emotional breakthrough and we watch both of them leave their comfort zone to pursue love (Will) and renewal (Sean).

One of the funnier moments for me came in one of the more serious moments in the film.  When Will and Sean had their first appointment in Sean's office and Will got under Sean's skin by criticizing his painting and asking him if his wife had left him, Sean went a little nuts and ended up pushing Will against the window and choking him - right next to a book in his collection titled "I'm OK - You're OK."  I found that to be more than a little ironic.

I hadn't watched this movie before, and left feeling very impressed and again, was quite moved.

References:

Petrie, D., & Boggs, J. (2012). The art of watching films. (8th ed. ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages.

On the Waterfront

Again, this was a movie that I hadn't seen before.  I had heard some of the Marlon Brando quotes before, obviously, such as "I could have been a contender" and had (wrongly) assumed at the time that these quotes were from some sort of boxing movie.

Our Session 1 reading assignments in Chapters 1 and 2 were very helpful in setting the stage for how I wanted to approach watching the movie and what to look for throughout (Petrie & Boggs, 2012). 

As an aside, one thing I really enjoy about this class so far is being able to watch movies with my wife.  We're typically so busy that we don't have time to sit for a few hours to watch a movie.  This is something I need to incorporate into my life schedule - well beyond the end-date of this class.

Anyway, back to the movie.  On the Waterfront takes place in the New York/New Jersey waterfront and focuses on the corruption that was taking place in the union leadership for the longshoremen.  The union bosses controlled who got the work, what assignments they received, etc...Anyone who disagreed with the union leaders were basically locked out of working.  Those that didn't agree to be deaf and dumb and decided to report corruption to law enforcement usually met some sort of untimely demise - like murder.

The main character, Terry Malloy was played by Marlon Brando.  Terry was approximately 30 years old and had at one time been an up-and-coming boxer.  Terry's older brother Charley was the right-hand man of the corrupt union boss, Johnny Friendly.  Johnny controlled Terry and had him do errands for him, including helping get one of the dockworkers, Joey, to come to the roof of his building, where he was eventually murdered - for agreeing to testify against the union.

Right away, we see that Terry struggles with his role and really wants nothing to do with the corruption, but we also see him take advantage of having easy work on the docks through his relationship with Johnny and Charley.  After Joey's murder, Terry wrestles with his conscience somewhat, but not enough to make him agree to speak out against the corruption.

He does eventually speak out once he meets (and falls for) Joey's sister, Edie.  She sees good in him, even though he considers himself to be just a bum.

Another interesting character in the film is Father Barry, a Catholic priest in the neighborhood who also gets called out by Edie for not doing enough to help his parishioners deal with the corruption.
He ends up getting very engaged and bravely takes a stand and encourages others to stand with him.

Eventually he and Edie convince Terry to testify at a hearing on the corruption.  This becomes easier for Terry once his brother, Charley, is murdered by Johnny and his thugs for not taking care of the problem Terry is posing for the group.  After Terry testifies, it becomes clear that Johnny and the corrupt leaders of the union will soon be indicted.  Despite being threatened by Johnny, Terry goes down to the docks to work, and is shut completely out of an assignment.  He goes to the union office and demands to speak to Johnny.  They have words and eventually begin to fight.  Terry is left nearly unconscious.  The other dockworkers had all left their assignments and gathered around the area to witness Johnny and his thugs beat up Terry.  When the owner of a ship comes down to find out why his ship isn't getting loaded, Johnny tries to get the dockworkers to begin working.  They refuse - until Terry leads them back to the pier and Johnny is left powerless.

I really liked this movie.  There were a couple areas of focus that I thought were very apparent.

One was on the character of Terry and his development from a bum who didn't want to rock the boat to a leader.  I also enjoyed following the character of Father Barry and his involvement with getting his parishioners to speak out...something he himself wasn't doing until Edie sort of convicted him.

I also thought the picture focused on a social problem of the time - union corruption - and was an encouragement for those who wanted to stop it.  It is through this focus, I think, that the film becomes timeless.  Regardless of the era, there is always some sort of conflict between good and evil, right and wrong.  It is through films such as "On the Waterfront" that society is called to action to take a stand against these wrongs.

One last thought.  Was anyone else confused by the part where there was an (apparently) important person watching the hearings on television who told his butler that if Johnny Friendly called, to tell him he wasn't there...?  Seemed like that scene didn't fit and assume that it was meant to just be some anonymous important person who realized they needed to distance themselves from the corruption.

References:

Petrie, D., & Boggs, J. (2012). The art of watching films. (8th ed. ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages.

Casablanca

Week 1 of our Intro to Film class features to classical films: Casablanca and On the Waterfront.  I will discuss the latter film in my next blog entry...

Chapter One of our text talks about the Art of Watching Films.  Specifically, the author writes that viewers of film should work to remove any obstacles that would prevent them from viewing a film objectively, and to remove any personal biases (Petrie & Boggs, 2012, Pages 8-9).

Prior to this week, I had never watched the film, Casablanca.  I kind of feel like I might have been one of the few people who hadn't, since classical lines from the movie are widely quoted.  "Play it again, Sam;" and "Here's looking at you, Kid" are just two examples.

The film takes place in early World War II and centers on an American character named Rick Blaine (portrayed by Humphrey Bogart) who owns an American Cafe/Bar in the city of Casablanca - a city in (Free) French Morocco, which is a gathering place for many French nationals - and other Europeans - trying to flee Nazi-occupied France for a new life in America.

Casablanca is a black and white film, which in and of itself wasn't distracting at all.  What was distracting a little, however, was all the dark shadows used throughout the film.  It added to the some of the drama and mystery, however, and made me focus a little more on what was going on in the film.

Before I get to the love story elements of the film, I must say that I really enjoyed the larger, political events going on.  Rick had been involved in earlier resistance efforts in the past and had worked with underdogs against tyranny.  Casablanca was a very corrupt city and the very nature of why people were gathering there (trying to escape the Nazis) made for some interesting characters revealed to us throughout the film.

Through the use of flashbacks, we learn that when Rick was in Paris, he fell in love with Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) but his heart was broken the day they were scheduled to flee Paris together.  Ilsa didn't make it to the train and Rick was devastated.

Rick was a key person in Casablanca and seemed to be doing very well, although he certainly didn't seem happy.  A central theme, it seems, for Rick in Casablanca was that he would do whatever was in the best interest of himself.  He stated numerous times, that "I stick my neck out for nobody."

Rick's Casablanca world gets turned upside down when Ilsa arrives in Casablanca with her husband, Victor Laszlo, one of the main leaders of the Underground Resistance in Europe, seeking to flee to America together to further the resistance efforts.  We learn that Ilsa was married during the time she and Rick had fallen in love, but had believed her husband had been killed in a concentration camp.  The day she was to leave with Rick was the day she learned that her husband was still alive.

Rick had come in to possession of two writs of passage (exit visas) and the majority of the remainder of the film focuses on what Rick will do with these highly sought documents.

Chapter Two of our text discusses identifying the thematic elements in the film - the theme and focus.

I would have to say that I believe the focus of Casablanca is really on the character (Petrie & Boggs, 2012, Page 20) of Rick and his desire to do the right thing - even when he really doesn't want to.  This idea is further strengthened, in my opinion, when Victor tells Rick at one point that "Each of us had a destiny - for good or evil."

Rick ends up giving the documents to Ilsa and Victor, and gets them safely on an airplane that will take them to Lisbon, and eventually to America.  He did this despite Ilsa professing her love for him and her desire to be with him instead of Victor.

Rick looked at the bigger picture - a utilitarian view, if you will - and determined that there would be greater good occurring in the world (the continuation of the Nazi resistance, etc...) if Ilsa and Victor were to leave together rather than have them split up so Rick and Ilsa could be together.

This was a great picture.  One that I am really happy to have watched and one that I look forward to watching again.


References:

Petrie, D., & Boggs, J. (2012). The art of watching films. (8th ed. ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages.

Initial Post

For quite some time, I've been thinking it would be good (and useful) to do a little blogging.  I've started and stopped a few times in the past.  It's never really become part of my routine.  I think I've always tried to do too much with it before.
A film class that I am taking at the University of Mary requires that I maintain a blog.  These next five weeks, I will post specifically on my assignments for this class.  After that, we'll try to make it part of a routine of some sort.
Happy New Year!