I’ve taken up stalking. There’s a guy in the neighbouring building that I’ve been observing. I don’t even know why, it’s not like he’s doing anything particularly interesting, although he did start washing his windows on Sunday and that’s not normal.

Actually I’ve never paid much attention to my neighbours – they’ve always been there but never relevant to my life. And I’ve never expected them to pay any attention to me. But this weekend I finally found out how close they are.

It all started on Saturday when I got out of the shower. I never see any reason to get dressed since I’m going to moisturise my skin anyway. So I grabbed the lotion and started rubbing it in while just absently staring out of the window. "Ohh, look at that," I thought "you can see so well into other people’s flats when they have their lights turned on. Hmm, I have my light turned on! Hmmm, I’m standing in front of the window!" It took a few more seconds for the thought to sink in and then, in one graceful leap, I was behind the dresser. Naturally, the light switch was in the other side of the room and the towel was not hanging on the dresser-door as it usually is. I contemplated my options, finally thought "The hell with that!" and just walked to the switch.

I’ve been randomly checking up on the guy ever since. As I said, he mostly does nothing interesting and he was gone for most of the Sunday (not that I was home very much) but he always has the light on and rarely uses his curtains. Plus, his windows are clean allowing me to see pretty clearly.

Are you scared yet? I am!

*****

Sunday was the third day of PÖFF and the day of my second film. This time Canadian by the name of Marion Bridge. I definitely liked it better than the previous film. It was a different genre, it wasn’t aiming at being judgemental or funny or ironic. It was just telling a story and seemed to shy away from making any kinds of judgements… although everyone who had been bad suffered as a result.

***spoiler alert***
In a way Marion Bridge was quite the opposite of Intolerable Cruelty (if you haven’t read the previous entry then: the only reason I’m comparing the two is because I saw the latter yesterday). The characters were desperately hoping for some divine intervention, they blamed the problems on outside factors (Marion Bridge as a symbol) but achieved happiness only after realising that it comes from within. Whether loneliness, drug addictions or unresolved relationships, the only way you can get past them is to rely on yourself and your family.
***end spoiler***

The more I think about it, the more I love Marion Bridge. It made me think the way I haven’t thought since secondary school. Right now I’m analysing the way I did when I had to write essays on different books. I didn’t realise I missed it so. Don’t worry, I won’t inflict the thoughts on you because I tend to go on and on (example: the final essay was supposed to be 3-4 A4 pages. I went on for 6 pages and ended it only because I ran out of time) but I’m really happy I got to see a film that made me think again.

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