A matter of time...

I was a boy and SPR was my first R rated movie in theaters that my dad took me to to get a sense of what war is about, a lesson. I thought the movie was insanely powerful. It was the most incredible movie I had ever seen. I knew people that had to walk out. I was just in awe at the power of the movie. I never saw SIL, and when SPR lost to SIL at the Academy Awards, I was dumbfounded.

Let's fast forward. I'm 30 now, and I've graduated college recently after a term in the Navy. I studied film and digital media production. I re-watched SPR again a year ago, and I was dumbfounded by how bad it is. The music in the movie tries its best to glue together the most awkward dialogue scenes with a bogus scene where the group wants to disband. The drama is absolutely shoehorned. The character and plot resolutions are absurd for what is supposed to be an act of chaos. The music, again, is abysmally dominant throughout the movie. If you aren't awestruck by the visuals, the movie falls apart completely.

I just watched Shakespeare in Love, and I was crying throughout the almost entire second half, repeated breakdowns in tears and nose wiping. The act of art and play as reality or inspiring the imaginative belief in the possibility of play syncing up with reality, is portrayed so beautifully. So many bits come together in such a precise web. Not only is this incredible for any movie to achieve, but this movie goes a step further by insinuating that play and 'reality' trade places every so often, ever so subtly. All this while the movie is incredibly entertaining.

I foresee a resurgence in popularity regarding this film, and I firmly believe it will stand the test of time compared to Saving Private Ryan. The academy spread the gold around powerfully. They acknowledged the efforts of Steven Spielberg, the richness of Benigni, and the profoundness of Shakespeare in Love in line with other Best Picture films that reflect such overarching ideas rather than their spectacle. Shakespeare in Love has an overarching idea potent enough for the cementing of an Academy Award.