3:22 AM

Yes, it's true, it really is that late. I don't know why I do this to myself.
It's been a very mixed bag of a week, for no interesting reason in particular.

It has come to my attention that most of the movies I enjoy the most have surreal or fantastical qualities. I have no idea why this didn't occur to me before, because now it seems quite obvious. A list for you:

Beetlejuice
Being John Malkovich
The Truman Show
Like Water for Chocolate
The City of Lost Children
The Gods Must Be Crazy
Mon Oncle
Aguirre The Wrath of God
Princess Mononoke
Heavenly Creatures
The Secret of Roan Inish

I consider these to be surrealism-lite, in that they all have a clear linear plot, and the abnormal or absurb elements never reach the extent where they obscure the rest of the story. Some of these are more closely related to fantasy, and many could be considered magical realism. It's true that when I first began A Hundred Years of Solitude in high school I didn't really like it, but the more I read the more I understood what it was doing, and the more I understood the more it seemed to appeal. What these movies have in common is an exploration of a reality so very similar to our own, and yet not. There are fantastic elements next to the mundane in the fabric of these universes, and thus are unremarkable. (A possible exception is Beetlejuice, but it had to be on the list.) The whole idea speaks to me in a very profound way, one that is difficult to articulate.
If you can recommend any other books or movies that you've run into, I'd be grateful.

Someday I'll find something more anecdotal (and thus entertaining) to talk about.