In the Land of Women (2007)
“I’ve been trying to write this letter for a while now, the kind you said you’d never received. The kind I’ve been working on my whole life. I remember being 13 years old, sitting in my room all night, listening to the same song over and over. I thought that if I could write something beautiful, something honest, I could make someone love me. I’ve taken a lot for granted. I’ve never tried too hard; always avoided responsibility. I came here because I was running away, ’cause I wanted to be alone. Instead I met you and you weren’t taking anything for granted. I hope you get all the moments you deserve. I hope you go back to NY and sit in the Met in the room with the painting of the Hudson river, and I hope when you do, you take Lucy with you cause I know she’d love it. I’m sorry if I’ve made your life complicated. I’m sorry for a lot of things, but most of all that I never got the chance to tell you that, no matter what happens next, I’ll never be anything but grateful for every moment I spent with you. And even though I keep fumbling for the right words, all I really wanted to say was thank you.”
Real connections with other people are often quite unexpected, and can come seemingly out of nowhere, taking us by the hand, walking with us, listening to our stories, and really and truly seeing us for who we are. Sometimes these kind of connections are in the form of a lifetime friend or partner, but sometimes they are in the context of a brief few months, weeks, or even days, but they still change us, and help us to feel less alone in this world. People leave marks on us, for better and for worse, and we go on through life wearing the people who have touched us like tattoos. For me, this movie celebrates those kind of connections.
Carter and Lucy and Sarah all connect in different ways, and in each of these connections and moments they change each other. It is beautiful and bittersweet, heartbreaking and hopeful, to watch and the movie, and the connections forged between these unforgettable characters, mean a great deal to me. I feel I have been all three of these characters before in my life, and have been touched by people who remind me of all three, as well. Those connections, whether brief moments or the stuff of forever, they have made me who I am and I am thankful for them, more than I could ever say.
Harness and Wheel :: The Kingsbury Manx
