Simplicity and complexity.
I’ve been thinking about those two things and about how much we expect that a film will either be simple or complex. When I suggested to my wife that we watch this particular film with our children on movie night, a certain memory of this film formed in my mind. I had seen Children of Heaven several years ago and I remember it as being simple and sweet, a snapshot of two children loving each other by the uncomplicated act of sharing their shoes every day.
Until the final five minutes or so, this repeat viewing confirmed that I was remembering correctly. Our children responded to that sweetness and that simplicity for the bulk of the film.
Then came the final moments…As we approached the end credits, my own response to the film was deeply intertwined with how I anticipated the response of my children. I found my heart sinking (A) that everything was not ending with joy and smiles, (B) that in some ways it was not even clear what WOULD happen after the credits rolled or what exactly HAD happened, and (C) that the film was ending on an image of great mystery whose meaning does not announce itself readily. Normally the indie movie compartment of my brain would save me here, as I normally sink into fascination at such a complex ending to a film. With my kids, though, my response was more like, “What? Movie, you’re not going to give my kids the satisfying sweetness and simplicity that we expected from you? Shame on you!”
In the days that have followed our viewing, though, I now see that our kids and I experienced art together :
We experienced art that challenges us and doesn’t play the way we want it to play.
We now have a chance to talk about what art is.
Now we can talk about what life is.
We can even talk about what happens when simplicity gives way to complexity.
